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Perry Chen on Del Mar Village Voice & Carmel Valley News: Young Movie Critic Featured on CBS News

Published on: 4th June, 2009

Perry Chen getting miked up for a recent news interview.

By Diane Y. Welch

June 4, 2009

Carmel Valley resident Perry Chen has a five star-rated talent. Red star fish that is. At just 9 years old, he is the youngest movie critic in the country and now his unusual talent for rating movies–using his signature star fish rating– has garnered him national attention. On Sunday, May 31, Perry was the star of a feature human interest story on prime time CBS News.
Friends, family, neighbors, and school chums gathered at the Chens’ Torrey Hills home to watch Perry’s story on television. And in a slightly novel twist, the local CBS News affiliate was filming Perry live at the same time.
Everyone present cheered and congratulated Perry on his swift rise to fame. Articulate and composed with big smiles and a cute presence, this pint-sized movie critic looked and sounded like a true pro. With this newfound fame, when asked if he thought he needed an agent, Perry said, “I already have one!” and giggled at his mom.
Perry’s reviews of G and PG rated movies have appeared in local newspapers and he is a regular columnist for the We Chinese in America newspaper. He has a website, a blog, may be tracked on Twitter, and will soon have merchandise named after him. His tagline ‘Perrific’ is, “a compound word, combining ‘Perry’ and ‘terrific,’” explained Perry.
This third grader, with word decoding abilities of a high schooler, according to his Torrey Hills Elementary School teacher Joli Harris, proves that he knows a thing or two about rating movies.
He’s been doing so since last fall, when his reviews on the Oscar-nominated animated short films, and full-length animated feature, Azur and Asmar, were each published. Perry’s sophisticated critique of Azur and Asmar came into the radar of Michel Ocelot, the movie’s director who– so impressed by Perry’s talent– wanted to meet him. “So we accepted his invitation and went to San Francisco for a special screening of the movie,” said Perry’s mom, Dr. Zhu Shen.
In total Perry has written about 20 movie reviews and recently interviewed Pixar’s “Up” director Pete Docter, and producer Jonas Rivera when they came to San Diego in May. “I can see why all Pixar movies have been blockbuster hits, because they have such talented people like Pete and Jonas!” wrote Perry on his website.
Perry recently wrote a review of the hit Pixar 3-D movie “Up!” “Have you ever wondered how many balloons it takes to lift a real house? More than 20 million! Carl Fredricksen, a widowed 78-year-old curmudgeon and main hero in the uplifting film “Up,” has the curiosity and courage to try it,” began Perry’s column.
With no hint of his new found fame– quietly spoken and modest– Perry’s eyes light up when he describes his favorite movies: Charlotte’s Web, Kirikou and the Sorceress, and Azur and Asmar. And he talks animatedly about how his written reviews came about. “First I decided to write reviews for books and then one night I watched a movie and my mom thought that it would be a good idea if I wrote a movie review.”
Perry’s first book review was Zen Ties, and his first movie review was Charlotte’s Web, his favorite movie of all time. Perry watched the video at home with his mom and in this comfortable setting, honed his critiquing skills. In his review he wove in the moral of the film, a sophisticated aspect of his interpretive skills, “even death cannot break the bond between two friends,” he later explained to reporter, Ben Tracy, during his interview on CBS news.
Yet his process is simple. Perry watches the movie, thinks about it, then writes and organizes his thoughts later, remembering all the details. Shen discusses the movie with Perry and together they analyze the deeper, abstract concepts that are often woven into the plots of G-rated movies, she said.
With Perry’s first published assignment, he became an official movie critic, and is on the emailing list for media screenings of upcoming movie releases. He previews movies before they are released to the general public, attending the theater with his mom.
Perry’s parents have nurtured his critical thinking skills and creative processes, said Shen, who is an award-winning business leader, author, and media personality. As CEO of BioForesight, a strategic consulting company, she provides licensing, and investment advice, along with other services, to clients in North America, Europe, and China. Shen is also an artist and avid art collector. Perry’s father, Dr. Changyou Chen, is a Professor at Guangzhou Institute of Biomedicine and Health, a graduate of China’s prestigious Peking Union Medical College where he studied molecular biology and virology.
In 1988, Perry’s parents came to the USA from Beijing, China, to attend graduate schools. Perry, born 12 years later, speaks fluent Chinese, plays soccer and attends an after school martial arts program at the Golden Dragon Chinese Kung-Fu School. He also loves to draw. His art renderings have been collected over the years, with a flower and vegetable garden providing ample inspiration, and Perry has written and illustrated several books. Many of his recent artworks were on display in the home for everyone to enjoy.
When asked what’s ahead, Perry replied, “I want to be an artist and a movie critic, but I also want to write screenplays.” Perry is currently working on a script for a movie short, figuring that when he is older he will tackle a full length feature film.
To find out more about Perry Chen and his movie reviews visit his website at www.perryspreviews.com