To paraphrase Janeane Garofalo in Reality Bites, if the phrase “once-in-a-lifetime career opportunity” and The Gap ever crossed your mind in the same sentence, well… pass me some of whatever you’re having. Still, Columbia Pictures announced today it is partnering with
eight of the world’s leading companies to offer the “Pursue It Ultimate
Internship Contest,” in which contestants will compete for dream internships at
Gap Inc., The Hollywood Reporter,
Morgan Stanley, NBC, the National Football League, People Magazine, PlayStation and Yahoo!

In addition to the internship position, each winner also
will win a trip to the Hollywood premiere of Columbia
Pictures’ The Pursuit of Happyness
[sic], starring Will Smith, Thandie Newton and Jaden Christopher Syre Smith.
Winners will have the opportunity to meet Smith and enjoy the gala evening with
the film’s cast.

Based on a true story, the movie stars Will Smith as Chris
Gardner, a marginally employed salesman who finds himself with nowhere to go
after he and his 5-year-old son (played by real-life tot Jaden) are evicted
from their San Francisco apartment.
When Gardner lands an internship at
a prestigious brokerage firm, he and his son endure numerous hardships as he
struggles to create a better life for the two of them.

From October 18 through October 30,
2006 contestants can visit the contest Web site www.sony.com/Pursue-It
and choose the company at which they would like to intern. As part of the
online application process, entrants will need to create a video of themselves,
in which they share, in five minutes or less, their own personal motto or “words
to live by,” giving examples of how this philosophy makes them uniquely
qualified to work at the company they have chosen.