'Star Wars' Casting Call In Chicago: Open Call For Young 'Episode VII' Leads Comes To Park West Nov. 14

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May the force be with you, hopeful Chicago-area padawans.

Reports emerged Friday that the production team behind the J.J. Abrams-directed "Star Wars: Episode VII" will be holding an open casting call for two "lead" roles in the latest addition to the sci-fi franchise from 3-8 p.m. at Park West, 322 W. Armitage Ave., on Nov. 14.

The Chicago Tribune first reported the film's casting director Maryellen Aviano is seeking a 17-18-year-old female who is "street smart, independent, athletic, natural beauty… all ethnicities, multi & bi-racial" as well as a male who can play 19-23 years old who is "athletic, smart, handsome, independent spirite [sic]." The characters have been named Rachel and Thomas.

Hopeful cast members younger than 18 need to be accompanied by a parent or guardian. Acting experience is not required.

The descriptions mirror those for a casting call being held in the United Kingdom this weekend and in other U.S. cities including St. Louis, Nashville, Austin, Troy, Mich. and Bloomington, Minn. in the weeks ahead. Applications can also be submitted online.

Earlier this week, Disney announced the highly-anticipated film will be released on Dec. 18, 2015.

Related on HuffPost:

Alec Baldwin Twitter Meltdown Comes After Journalist Accuses Wife Of Tweeting During Funeral

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Alec Baldwin and his wife Hilaria Baldwin attended the late "Sopranos" actor James Gandolfini's funeral Thursday morning, but while they were among mourners at the New York City church, Hilaria's Twitter account appeared to remain active. After a report from the UK's Daily Mail detailing as much, Baldwin launched a Twitter rant against the publication's writer who produced the piece -- and used several gay slurs in the process.

During the funeral, tweets were sent from Hilaria's account asking followers for wedding anniversary ideas and retweeting @RachaelRayShow's updates about her Thursday morning appearance.

A source close to Hilaria insists to The Huffington Post that she merely later retweeted updates that had been tweeted during the service and was not actively tweeting inside the church.

Baldwin's publicist, Matthew Hiltzik, who says he still represents the actor, despite Baldwin having tweeted "I don't have a publicist anymore. I fired them," sent HuffPost the following statement:

"It is disgraceful that this reporter manufactured a story and never called for comment or explanation -- especially when it needlessly diverted attention away from a day to honor the memory of a beloved figure like Mr Gandolfini."

Below, a screenshot of Baldwin's now disabled Twitter account which displays his rant against reports that his pregnant wife was not fully present at the funeral.

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