OyChicago articles

Matt Pais has a cool job. Make that three of them. You might not know his name, but you’ve probably read his articles in the RedEye on your commute to work. A movie critic for the newspaper, he frequently writes witty, spot on movie reviews, interviews celebs and covers red carpet events throughout the city. He also oversees the Chicago.Metromix.com home page as the Metromix senior producer, digital and is a weekly correspondent for WCIU-Ch. 26’s “You and Me this morning.”

A Deerfield native and still under 30, Matt has already made quite the name for himself in the celebrity journalism world. A recent newlywed, Matt took some time out of his busy schedule to answer our AJYSK questions.
So whether you, too, want to be the next Gene Siskel, enjoy your latkes with sour cream and apple sauce or love Michigan, Matt Pais is a Jew You Should Know!

1. What is your favorite blog or website?
I must pick something unrelated to movies or music, so I'm going with SportsIllustrated.com.

2. If time and money were limitless, where would you travel to?
Europe. I've been to Spain (still need to go to Barcelona), London and Scotland, but there are a lot of places (next up: Italy) my wife and I want to go.

3. If a movie was played about your life, who would play you?
Ryan Gosling. No resemblance but he's great in everything, so I trust him to make it work.

4. If you could have a meal with any two people, dead or alive, famous or not, who would it be?
Pat Tillman and Jeff Buckley.

5. What is your idea of the perfect day?
Waking up to lemon ricotta pancakes at the bed and breakfast my wife and I go to every year in Union Pier, Michigan. Then reading and listening to music on the beach, followed by a bike ride along the country road. Mid-afternoon games, with wine. The world's best buffalo chicken pizza for dinner at Stray Dog Bar and Grill. Ending the day by looking at stars and enjoying the sound of the water.

6. What do you love about what you do?
The challenge of devising fun, unique questions for celebrity interviews. The ability to stretch from print to TV to radio to the Internet. A constant influx of new movies to see (free) and albums to hear (free). No complaints.

7. What job would you have had if not the one you have now?
Guy ceaselessly pursuing the job I actually do have now.

8. What is your favorite Jewish thing to do in Chicago?
Eat latkes. Sour cream and applesauce please.