Iowa State film aficionados can catch a free premiere screening of the film “Election” and receive some hot tips from Hollywood insider Tim Menke, who is visiting the campus today.

Menke, an alumnus of ISU, is the senior publicist for Paramount Pictures. He will talk about the business of entertainment at noon in the Great Hall of the Memorial Union.

Eric Yarwood, program adviser for the Student Union Board, one of the sponsors of the event, said Menke is the final speaker in a series about film that started in February.

“We are honored that he is coming to speak to us about promotions and publicity, and it is even more special that he is an Iowa State alum,” he said.

Menke is the third ISU alumnus to speak as a part of the series, Yarwood said.

“Chris Brock, who serves as legal counsel for 20th Century Fox, and Carmen Weets, who works for a production company in New York, spoke to us earlier this year,” Yarwood said. “It is neat to see what people do after they graduate from ISU.”

Menke has been working at Paramount Studios since 1991, said Pat Miller, director of the Committee on Lectures. He is responsible for the strategic development and execution of the publicity-marketing campaigns for motion pictures, she said.

“The list of films that he has promoted is phenomenal,” she said. “He has won numerous awards for motion picture publicity and serves on various committees.”

Menke is the trustee on the board of directors for the Publicist Guild of America and has served on the Academy Awards Host Committee for the past five years, Miller said.

“This year, he escorted the governor of California and [‘Titanic’ star] Gloria Stewart to the Academy Awards,” she said. “He has a very fun job.”

Menke’s achievements include receiving the Maxwell Weinberg Showmanship Award for outstanding achievement in motion picture publicity for “Braveheart” and “Titanic.”

“When he gets done with films, he is on to new projects,” she said. “He is working on an upcoming Madonna movie right now.”

Miller said that she hopes ISU students attend the speech.

“This is the perfect chance to hear how this Mason City native and 1986 graduate of Iowa State got where he is today,” she said.

“Election,” starring Matthew Broderick and Reese Witherspoon, is a satirical comedy, Miller said. Broderick plays a government adviser who is determined to stop an over-achieving student body presidential candidate.

Free tickets will be distributed at the Varsity Theater, 2412 Lincoln Way, on a first-come, first-serve basis, she said.

Doors will open at 3 p.m., and the film will be shown at 4 p.m.

The event is being sponsored by SUB, the Institute on National Affairs, the Marketing Club and the Public Relations Society of America.