C-U Blogfidential

Below you will find yet another music video with Champaign-Urbana performers we intended to play at the New Art Film Festival in April. It fell victim to technical issues, unfortunately, so we instead fan its mystical flames right here and now! This sophomore clip promoting the album April’s Empire from The Duke of Uke and His Novelty Orchestra is for a lovely mid-tempo rag with soaring choruses, “Something to Believe,” directed and edited by bandmates Lorene Anderson and Claire Cannon. (They also concocted last fall’s “Jump Back” video, which kicked off the NAFF to thunderous applause.) In it, the Fool (ring leader Dave King, the Duke of Uke) filters in and out of a battle between the Queen of Swords (drummer Rebecca Rury Burlingame) and Death (guest star Erik Anderson) leading to – what else? – a costume party, staged in Urbana’s Channing-Murray Foundation. Alysa Haas and Cannon photographed the colorful affair, featuring two dozen bizarrely-dressed townies cutting some creative rug.

Other than in recordings such as this band-made opus and various fan-taped souvenirs floating ‘round the Interwebs, opportunities for the C-U faithful to enjoy the Novelty Orchestra in concert are running out as the group – currently made up of King, Burlingame, Anderson, Cannon, Anna Hochhalter, David Garcia, and Sarah Cramer – will relocate to New Orleans, Louisiana, at summer’s end. Therefore, do yourself a big groovy favor and catch their infectious dynamism live while you can! Their next local gig takes place later today, Saturday, June 15, starting at 6 p.m. at the Iron Post, 120 S. Race St., Urbana.

~ Jason Pankoke

Our unique movie and media Calendar appears every Friday on C-U Blogfidential and caters to the discerning tastes of citizens in the downstate region anchored by Champaign-Urbana, Illinois, USA.

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PLAYING THIS WEEK
6/14/13-6/20/13

NOW PLAYING

@ The Art Theater Co-op, Champaign, IL: BEFORE MIDNIGHT (6/14 on), FROM UP ON POPPY HILL (6/15-6/16, 11:30 a.m.), The UP Center’s 4th Annual Reel It UP Film Festival presents PASSIONATE POLITICS (6/18, 7:30 p.m.) and MOSQUITA Y MARI (6/18, 9:30 p.m.), Late Night: SIGHTSEERS w/short A BEAR IN THE WOODS* (6/14-6/15, 11:59 p.m.; 6/20, 10 p.m.)

@ Shatterglass Studios, Champaign, IL: Champaign Movie Makers meeting, “Pens to Lens Reports” (6/18, 7 p.m., free)

@ The Virginia Theater, Champaign, IL: “Best of Summer Blockbusters” series presents JAWS (6/15, 1 & 7 p.m.), “Reel Deals” series presents ADMISSION (6/18, 6/20, 7 p.m.)

@ Campbell Gallery, Spurlock Museum, UIUC, Urbana, IL: “Unconventional Bond: The Strange Life of Casino Royale on Film” Exhibit (through 6/16, free)

@ That’s Rentertainment, Champaign, IL: OZ THE GREAT AND POWERFUL, HANSEL & GRETEL: WITCH HUNTERS, SNITCH, BETTY & CORETTA, WRONG, 11 FLOWERS, KILLING LINCOLN, HOUSE OF CARDS (s1), THE NEWSROOM (s1), BURN NOTICE (s6), more! (6/11 on)

@ The Avon Theater, Decatur, IL: MAN OF STEEL (6/14 on), THE INTERNSHIP, NOW YOU SEE ME (6/14-6/19), MONSTERS UNIVERSITY (6/20, 8 p.m.), “Overlooked Films” series pt. 13, week 2 (6/20, 6:30 p.m., must enroll through the Avon or Richland Community College, Decatur)

@ The Normal Theater, Normal, IL: THE ADVENTURES OF ROBIN HOOD (6/13-6/14, 7 p.m.), THE AFRICAN QUEEN (6/15-6/16, 7 p.m.)

@ Sleepy Creek Vineyards, Fairmount, IL: Opening Reception, “Art Quits & Animation: New Works and Old by Nina Paley” feat. SITA SINGS THE BLUES screening (6/15, 6 p.m. reception, 8 p.m. film, free)

@ The Lincoln Theater 4, Lincoln, IL: MAN OF STEEL (3-D & 2-D), THE INTERNSHIP, AFTER EARTH, EPIC (3-D & 2-D) (6/14 on), FAST & FURIOUS 6 (6/14-19), THE SMURFS (6/15, 6/18, 10 a.m.), MONSTERS UNIVERSITY (6/20, 8 p.m.), WORLD WAR Z (6/10, 8:30 p.m.)

@ The Onarga Theatre, Onarga, IL: FAST & FURIOUS 6 (6/14-6/16, 6/19, 7 p.m.), MONSTERS UNIVERSITY (6/20, 8 p.m.)

@ The Princess Theatre, LeRoy, IL: EPIC (3-D & 2-D) (6/14-6/16)

@ Route 66 Twin Drive-In, Springfield, IL: MAN OF STEEL, THE HANGOVER PART III, EPIC, FAST & FURIOUS 6 (6/14 on)

@ Highland Room, Hilton Hotel, Springfield, IL: Central Illinois Film Commission meeting (6/20, 7 p.m., free)

@ Harvest Moon Twin Drive-In, Gibson City, IL: MAN OF STEEL, THE INTERNSHIP (6/14 on)

@ Centerbrook Drive-In, Martinsville, IN: MAN OF STEEL, JACK THE GIANT SLAYER (6/14-6/16, 6/18, 6/20)

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Locally produced movies and events featuring locally produced movies are marked with an asterisk (*). Also find out what is “Coming Soon” by hitting the jump below. Go see ‘em, C-U!

COMING SOON

6/25: 4th annual Reel It Up LGBTQA Film Festival (Day 4) feat. SCARY NORMAL*, ROMEOS
@ The Art Theater Co-op, Champaign, IL, 7:30 p.m.

6/27-7/13: Evil Dead: The Musical
@ The Station Theatre, Urbana, IL

10/31-11/2: 4th annual Freeky Creek Short Film Festival*
@ Sleepy Creek Vineyards, Fairmount, IL

11/1-11/2: 12th annual Route 66 International Film Festival
@ Legacy Theatre, Springfield, IL

11/2-11/3: 5th annual Drunken Zombie Film Festival
@ Landmark Cinemas, Peoria, IL

COMMUNITY FILM SERIES

Best of Summer Blockbusters
@ The Virginia Theater, Champaign, IL, 1 & 7 p.m.
6/15: JAWS; 6/22: MEN IN BLACK; 6/29: PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN

UNIVERSITY FILM SERIES

Summer Quad Cinema Series
@ Anniversary Plaza, Illini Union, UIUC, Urbana, IL, 9 p.m.
7/18: 42; 8/15: THE GREAT GATSBY

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If you have items that you would like us to list in the Calendar, please send relevant dates, start/end times, locations, event descriptions, and ticket prices to cuconfidential [at] gmail [dot] com.

Compiled by Jason Pankoke

~~~~~

“Calendar du C-U” © 2013 Jason Pankoke/C-U Blogfidential.

It seems Champaign producing partners Ed Glaser and Meagan Rachelle have reached the end of those long and winding corridors at their micro-budget movie company, Dark Maze Studios, for the duo recently announced it would transform into a new media entity called Neon Harbor Entertainment as of this Friday, June 14! What exactly will differentiate the Harbor from the Maze, you ask? We’re not sure except for the new name, this accompanying logo, a boastful slogan – “Dream Loud!” – and a promise that old Dark Maze favorites like PRESS START ADVENTURES, DÉJÀ VU, and NINJA THE MISSION FORCE will make the transition. You should visit the old Dark Maze Web site and/or this Neon Harbor URL during the weekend for clarification on what the Glasers have in store for your funky lo-fi sci-fi viewing pleasure! Alas, one film will not be emigrating alongside its label brethren, RAMPAGE a.k.a. “Turkish RAMBO,” for it will go on moratorium at the end of today, Wednesday, June 12, as that license is expiring. What now stands as a final salute to the Dark Maze handle appeared last month, a DVD repackage of the original PRESS START that bluntly echoes the title logo of a certain Disney smash hit about the personal lives of video game characters who break free from programmed scenarios. Why yes, Vanellope, there is a similarity between your Hollywood vehicle and the equally fun homegrown opus which (unofficially?) inspired it!

~ Jason Pankoke

Our unique movie and media Calendar appears every Friday on C-U Blogfidential and caters to the discerning tastes of citizens in the downstate region anchored by Champaign-Urbana, Illinois, USA.

~~~~~

PLAYING THIS WEEK
6/7/13-6/13/13

NOW PLAYING

@ The Art Theater Co-op, Champaign, IL: MUD (6/7 on), The UP Center’s 4th Annual Reel It UP Film Festival presents Gender ID shorts (6/11, 7:30 p.m.) and READY? OK! (6/11, 9:30 p.m.), Late Night: FERRIS BUELLER’S DAY OFF (6/7-6/8, 10 p.m.; 6/9, 11:30 a.m.; 6/12, 10 p.m.), SPRING BREAKERS (6/7-6/8, 11:59 p.m.; 6/13, 10 p.m.)

@ The Virginia Theater, Champaign, IL: “Best of Summer Blockbusters” series presents FORREST GUMP (6/8, 1 & 7 p.m.), “Reel Deals” series presents OZ THE GREAT AND POWERFUL (6/11, 6/13, 7 p.m.)

@ Main Quad/Illini Union, UIUC, Urbana, IL: Illini Union Board presents “Summer Quad Cinema Series” featuring OZ THE GREAT AND POWERFUL (6/13, 9 p.m., free)

@ Campbell Gallery, Spurlock Museum, UIUC, Urbana, IL: “Unconventional Bond: The Strange Life of Casino Royale on Film” Exhibit (through 6/16, free)

@ That’s Rentertainment, Champaign, IL: WARM BODIES, A GOOD DAY TO DIE HARD, IDENTITY THIEF, ESCAPE FROM PLANET EARTH, THE MONK, SCUM (SE), THE POLITICIAN’S WIFE, JOURNEY OF THE UNIVERSE, BREAKING BAD (s5), FALLING SKIES (s2), more! (6/4 on)

@ The Avon Theater, Decatur, IL: THE INTERNSHIP, NOW YOU SEE ME (6/7 on), STAR TREK INTO DARKNESS (6/7-6/12), “Overlooked Films” series pt. 13, week 1 (6/13, 6:30 p.m., must enroll through the Avon or Richland Community College, Decatur), MAN OF STEEL (6/13, Midnight)

@ The Normal Theater, Normal, IL: FAT KID RULES THE WORLD (6/6-6/9, 7 p.m.)

@ The Lincoln Theater 4, Lincoln, IL: THE INTERNSHIP, AFTER EARTH, EPIC (3-D & 2-D), THE HANGOVER PART III, FAST & FURIOUS 6 (6/7 on), MAN OF STEEL (3-D & 2-D, Midnight)

@ The Onarga Theatre, Onarga, IL: EPIC (6/7-6/9, 6/12, 7 p.m.)

@ The Princess Theatre, LeRoy, IL: THE GREAT GATSBY (6/7-6/9), IRON MAN 3 (6/7-6/8), ESCAPE FROM PLANET EARTH (6/8, 11 a.m., free)

@ Route 66 Twin Drive-In, Springfield, IL: EPIC, FAST & FURIOUS 6, THE GREAT GATSBY, THE HANGOVER PART III (6/7 on)

@ Harvest Moon Twin Drive-In, Gibson City, IL: THE INTERNSHIP, FAST & FURIOUS 6 (6/7 on)

@ Centerbrook Drive-In, Martinsville, IN: FAST & FURIOUS 6, STAR TREK INTO DARKNESS (6/7-6/9, 6/11, 6/13)

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Locally produced movies and events featuring locally produced movies are marked with an asterisk (*). Also find out what is “Coming Soon” by hitting the jump below. Go see ‘em, C-U!

COMING SOON

NEW! 6/15: SITA SINGS THE BLUES
@ Sleepy Creek Vineyards, Fairmount, IL, 8 p.m.

6/25: 4th annual Reel It Up LGBTQA Film Festival (Day 4) feat. SCARY NORMAL*, ROMEOS
@ The Art Theater Co-op, Champaign, IL, 7:30 p.m.

6/27-7/13: Evil Dead: The Musical
@ The Station Theatre, Urbana, IL

10/31-11/2: 4th annual Freeky Creek Short Film Festival*
@ Sleepy Creek Vineyards, Fairmount, IL

11/1-11/2: 12th annual Route 66 International Film Festival
@ Legacy Theatre, Springfield, IL

11/2-11/3: 5th annual Drunken Zombie Film Festival
@ Landmark Cinemas, Peoria, IL

COMMUNITY FILM SERIES

Best of Summer Blockbusters
@ The Virginia Theater, Champaign, IL, 1 & 7 p.m.
6/1: E.T. THE EXTRA-TERRESTRIAL; 6/8: FORREST GUMP; 6/15: JAWS; 6/22: MEN IN BLACK; 6/29: PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN

UNIVERSITY FILM SERIES

Summer Quad Cinema Series
@ Anniversary Plaza, Illini Union, UIUC, Urbana, IL, 9 p.m.
6/13: OZ THE GREAT AND POWERFUL; 7/18: 42; 8/15: THE GREAT GATSBY

~~~~~

If you have items that you would like us to list in the Calendar, please send relevant dates, start/end times, locations, event descriptions, and ticket prices to cuconfidential [at] gmail [dot] com.

Compiled by Jason Pankoke

~~~~~

“Calendar du C-U” © 2013 Jason Pankoke/C-U Blogfidential.

Okay, we bristle at the colloquialism “vacay” (and, even more so, “uptown Normal”) as much as you do, but it is true the other twin cities connected with Champaign-Urbana via I-74 will witness indie filmmaking on their own turf during the warmer months of 2013. We have the first scoop on both projects and initial notes on how we might help our neighboring producers in those neighboring college towns to take their narrative escapades to successful fruition.

Later tonight, Saturday, June 1, from 7 p.m. to midnight, a fundraiser for the horror-comedy THE GRAVEYARD MENACE will take place at the Main St. Bar & Grill, 517 N. Main St., downtown Bloomington. Producer and director Chase Cavalera, who also stars as the titular fiend brought back to life by wayward teens in a Midwestern cemetery, will show footage shot previously in B-N and Chicagoland as well as new teasers introducing cast and crew. Chicago rock band My God, the Heat will perform with other bands to fill out the evening, and cost will be $10 with a 21-and-over entry age. More generous benefactors can contribute extra in exchange for an on-screen thank you or producer’s credit. Below is the trailer we included in this year’s New Art Film Festival which is absolutely nothing but grisly Menace, a quality that will be tempered in the final product per Cavalera:

Rocking on a different wavelength is WE HAD THIS BAND, a debut feature project from the Los Angeles-based producing team of Andy Wagner and Andy Steadman, the latter a B-N native and Illinois State University alumnus. As you can glean from this Pantagraph profile, Steadman has already lived a jack-of-all-entertainment-trades in his young life, including eight years’ worth of West Coast stints as actor, comedian, art department assistant, and Universal Studios tour guide, which will hopefully lend to this endeavor. The movie will star Steadman, Wagner, Jane Noseworthy, and Julie Carlson as hometown friends who attempt to revive their indie band, Burn Daylight, a decade after its peak in popularity.

Amongst other unique aspects in preparing to shoot WE HAD THIS BAND, the progress of which you can follow through Facebook, Twitter, Kickstarter, and Tumblr, is the quartet playing out as Burn Daylight in various L.A. rock clubs. These warm-up gigs will help them get ready to perform alongside several local and regional acts on July 7 at The Castle Theatre in downtown Bloomington during a real-life benefit concert, the Tornado Belly Rock Festival. Of course, their appearance will be captured for use in the feature and extras will be solicited to fill the Castle auditorium that evening!

Filming for WE HAD THIS BAND is scheduled to commence mid-June, while THE GRAVEYARD MENACE will resume production shortly. Watch C-U Blogfidential for further updates on both projects.

~ Jason Pankoke

Given yesterday’s post about do-it-yourself film projects and events, it made perfect sense to follow up with an “Image of the Week” featuring a hands-on local musician who has appeared on C-U Blogfidential more than once, Urbana’s Morgan Orion. The following video to his tune, “Fire in Blood,” was submitted too late for us to include in last month’s New Art Film Festival but we said, “What the hey, we like it so we’ll share it!” Our favorite antifolk crooner dons sweet cowboy threads for the clip in which he strums guitar by the proverbial tracks while, on a different day, he and friends race through a neighborhood in burlap sacks only to crash through lovely piles of fallen leaves every chance they get. Matt HarsH and Sam Ambler produced as with the prior clips, while Joe Frieburg, Tad Boehmer, Dave Tcheng, Sara Sasaki, and engineer Paul Kotheimer performed on the track with Orion. Additional songs and albums can be accessed through Bandcamp, of course.

On a side note, Ambler more recently contributed to one of the Pens to Lens shorts we mentioned yesterday, SUPER DUPER LOW, directed by his former co-worker Mike Trippiedi and featuring voice work by his father, well-regarded Station Theater veteran Gary Ambler. SUPER DUPER LOW stars young script writer Quinn F. as “Super Quinn,” a flying heroine in battle with an evil robot. She suddenly pauses to inject insulin since she is diabetic; the break gives Super Quinn a chance to tell her nemesis – and the film’s audience – about the disease and how it is controlled. In an artist’s statement, Trippiedi recalls they designed SUPER DUPER LOW to feel as if it was actually produced by children for children, making the subject matter palatable to Quinn-aged peers. It’s slam-bang execution, we say!

~ Jason Pankoke

Fire in Blood by Morgan Orion from Sam Ambler on Vimeo.

Our unique movie and media Calendar appears every Friday on C-U Blogfidential and caters to the discerning tastes of citizens in the downstate region anchored by Champaign-Urbana, Illinois, USA.

~~~~~

PLAYING THIS WEEK
5/31/13-6/6/13

NOW PLAYING

@ The Art Theater Co-op, Champaign, IL: THE SAPPHIRES (5/31 on), GIMME THE LOOT (6/5, 10 p.m.), The UP Center’s 4th Annual Reel It UP Film Festival presents CODEBREAKER (6/4, 7:30 p.m.) and WEEKEND (6/4, 9:30 p.m.), Late Night: BRIDESMAIDS (5/31-6/1, 11:59 p.m.; 6/6, 10 p.m.)

@ The Virginia Theater, Champaign, IL: “Best of Summer Blockbusters” series presents E.T. THE EXTRA-TERRESTRIAL (6/1, 1 & 7 p.m.)

@ Campbell Gallery, Spurlock Museum, UIUC, Urbana, IL: “Unconventional Bond: The Strange Life of Casino Royale on Film” Exhibit (through 6/16, free)

@ That’s Rentertainment, Champaign, IL: THE NUMBERS STATION, THE LOVING STORY, 6 MONTH RULE, LORE, CLEOPATRA (Blu), LIFE IS SWEET (Criterion), LONGMIRE (s2), more! (5/28 on)

@ The Avon Theater, Decatur, IL: NOW YOU SEE ME, THE HANGOVER PART III, STAR TREK INTO DARKNESS (5/31 on)

@ The Normal Theater, Normal, IL: Vintage Cartoon Fest (5/30-6/2, 7 p.m.)

@ Main St. Bar & Grill, Bloomington, IL: Fundraiser for THE GRAVEYARD MENACE feature film, feat. My God, the Heat (6/1, 7p.m.-Midnight, $10, 21+)

@ The Lincoln Theater 4, Lincoln, IL: AFTER EARTH, EPIC (3-D & 2-D), THE HANGOVER PART III, FAST & FURIOUS 6 (5/31 on)

@ The Onarga Theatre, Onarga, IL: EPIC (5/31 on)

@ The Princess Theatre, LeRoy, IL: IRON MAN 3 (5/31-6/2, 3-D & 2-D)

@ Route 66 Twin Drive-In, Springfield, IL: FAST & FURIOUS 6, STAR TREK INTO DARKNESS, EPIC, THE CROODS (5/31 on)

@ Harvest Moon Twin Drive-In, Gibson City, IL: EPIC, STAR TREK INTO DARKNESS, FAST & FURIOUS 6, THE HANGOVER PART III (5/31-6/1), EPIC, FAST & FURIOUS 6 (6/3-6/6)

@ Centerbrook Drive-In, Martinsville, IN: EPIC, STAR TREK INTO DARKNESS (5/31-6/2, 6/4, 6/6)

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Locally produced movies and events featuring locally produced movies are marked with an asterisk (*). Also find out what is “Coming Soon” by hitting the jump below. Go see ‘em, C-U!

COMING SOON

6/25: 4th annual Reel It Up LGBTQA Film Festival (Day 4) feat. SCARY NORMAL*, ROMEOS
@ The Art Theater Co-op, Champaign, IL, 7:30 p.m.

6/27-7/13: Evil Dead: The Musical
@ The Station Theatre, Urbana, IL

10/31-11/2: 4th annual Freeky Creek Short Film Festival*
@ Sleepy Creek Vineyards, Fairmount, IL

11/1-11/2: 12th annual Route 66 International Film Festival
@ Legacy Theatre, Springfield, IL

11/2-11/3: 5th annual Drunken Zombie Film Festival
@ Landmark Cinemas, Peoria, IL

COMMUNITY FILM SERIES

Best of Summer Blockbusters
@ The Virginia Theater, Champaign, IL, 1 & 7 p.m.
6/1: E.T. THE EXTRA-TERRESTRIAL; 6/8: FORREST GUMP; 6/15: JAWS; 6/22: MEN IN BLACK; 6/29: PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN

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If you have items that you would like us to list in the Calendar, please send relevant dates, start/end times, locations, event descriptions, and ticket prices to cuconfidential [at] gmail [dot] com.

Compiled by Jason Pankoke

~~~~~

“Calendar du C-U” © 2013 Jason Pankoke/C-U Blogfidential.

Work weeks shortened by holidays often compromise what we’re able to cook up for your timely C-U Blogfidential reading pleasure, so we were not able to pull together a preview of the Champaign-Urbana Film Society’s Pens to Lens Awards Gala that took place at the Art Theater Co-op last night, Wednesday, May 29. Its wide appeal – starting with the involvement of K-12 aged school children living in Champaign County – guaranteed coverage in other local media such as The News-Gazette and Smile Politely, so please hit those links to learn about the screening and its nine film shorts made by Champaign-Urbana filmmakers from student-written scripts. Lucky for you, cinema endeavors have clustered together once again on the C-U calendar, so let’s look to our immediate future for things to come!

Joel Gillespie of SP reports that later tonight, Thursday, May 30, Portland alternative culture warriors will stop by the University YMCA, 1001 S. Wright St., Urbana, IL, to present “Dinner and Bikes.” Starting at 6:30 p.m., chef Joshua Ploeg will serve up a full-course vegan meal with ingredients purchased locally, after which Everyday Bicycling author Elly Blue will discuss how to integrate two-wheelers into one’s daily transit while Microcosm Publishing and Cantankerous Titles guru Joe Biel shows footage from his new documentary on Portland bike activism, AFTERMASS. Chicago indie journalist Aaron Cynic also joins the D&B tour as scheduler and roadie. Cost for the evening will be $15 and attendees are encouraged to give them an advance shout so Ploeg can purchase the proper amount of food for his feast!

Interested in engaging the rock instead of the roll this evening? Lofty Champaign venue, The Velvet Elvis, will be hosting a C-U alt-rock all-star gig featuring Grandkids, Santah, and Elsinore, with the purpose of raising Web hosting and digital storage funds for Urbana Basement Sessions, founded by Jake Metz to archive the faces and sounds of our current music scene. You can sample early examples of their work here, recorded in the Basement proper, and heretofore unseen footage will be projected in between sets at the Elvis, also to be recorded for posterity and to show off Metz and videographer Jack Maples’ skills. Doors open at 7 p.m. and bands go on at 8 p.m., while refreshments will be offered by local chef and part-time werewolf Mark “Shades” Harstein. It would be smart to land tickets ($7 advance/$10 door) through the Facebook links above, particularly if you want to find out where this secretive Elvis lies. BYOB, FYI.

Read the rest of this entry »

Apparently, living hundreds of miles apart will not deprive the current and former players of Champaign-Urbana’s music scene from working together as evidenced by this creation from Chris Eitel, responsible for last year’s haunting stop-motion companion to his former band Elsinore’s song, “Life Inside an Elephant.” From his Floridian digs, Eitel has collaborated with a new C-U country/Americana outfit called The Fights in making a video for their tune, “I Should Have Loved You,” relying as before on handmade animation techniques to breathe fresh lo-fi life into the format. Nifty trickery superimposes the faces of the musicians – Cole Rabenort, Dave Pride, Nick Stine, Clayton Deering, and Joe Gerard – onto paper-doll counterparts, caught playing a gig in a sepia-toned Western dive as its regulars go about their business drinkin’, propositionin’, and fightin’. Reminiscent of shoe-box dioramas your humble editor’s generation might have made for school as children, this neatly evokes subject matter that would have been in vogue two generations before that. “I Should Have Loved You” is otherwise featured on The Fights E.P., available on-line as well as at Exile on Main Street and Error Records in Champaign.

~ Jason Pankoke

The Fights – I Should Have Loved You from Chris Eitel on Vimeo.

Our unique movie and media Calendar appears every Friday on C-U Blogfidential and caters to the discerning tastes of citizens in the downstate region anchored by Champaign-Urbana, Illinois, USA.

~~~~~

PLAYING THIS WEEK
5/24/13-5/30/13

NOW PLAYING

@ The Art Theater Co-op, Champaign, IL: BLANCANIEVES (5/24 on), BEYOND THE HILLS (5/28, 7:30 p.m.), Champaign-Urbana Film Society presents Pens to Lens* Awards Gala (5/29, 7 p.m. ceremony w/filmmakers, 9:30 p.m. film-only encore, free), Late Night: THE GOONIES (5/24-5/25, 11:59 p.m.; 5/26, 11:30 a.m.; 5/30, 10 p.m.)

@ Library Lecture Hall, Champaign Central High School, Champaign, IL: DANCE, TEN; FILM, THREE* documentary on A Chorus Line student production by CCHS senior Matthew Brooks (5/24, 7 p.m., free, write dramaladonna [at] yahoo [dot] com to reserve seating)

@ Campbell Gallery, Spurlock Museum, UIUC, Urbana, IL: “Unconventional Bond: The Strange Life of Casino Royale on Film” Exhibit (through 6/16, free)

@ That’s Rentertainment, Champaign, IL: SIDE EFFECTS, THE LAST STAND, BEAUTIFUL CREATURES, PARKER, STAND UP GUYS, YOSSI, CHARLIE CASANOVA, THE ABCS OF DEATH, A COMMON MAN, THALE, MEDIUM COOL (Criterion), TRUE BLOOD (s5), more! (5/21 on)

@ The Avon Theater, Decatur, IL: THE HANGOVER PART III, STAR TREK INTO DARKNESS, THE GREAT GATSBY (5/24 on)

@ The Normal Theater, Normal, IL: A ROYAL AFFAIR (5/23-5/26, 7 p.m.)

@ The Lincoln Theater 4, Lincoln, IL: EPIC (3-D & 2-D), THE HANGOVER PART III, FAST & FURIOUS 6, STAR TREK INTO DARKNESS (3-D & 2-D) (5/24 on)

@ The Onarga Theatre, Onarga, IL: EPIC (5/24 on)

@ The Princess Theatre, LeRoy, IL: PAIN & GAIN (5/24-5/26), SHARK TALE (5/25, 11 a.m., free)

@ Route 66 Twin Drive-In, Springfield, IL: FAST & FURIOUS 6, STAR TREK INTO DARKNESS, EPIC, THE CROODS (5/24 on)

@ Harvest Moon Twin Drive-In, Gibson City, IL: EPIC, STAR TREK INTO DARKNESS, FAST & FURIOUS 6, THE HANGOVER PART III (5/24-5/26), RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK, GREASE (5/30, $5)

@ Centerbrook Drive-In, Martinsville, IN: EPIC, THE CROODS, IRON MAN 3 (5/24-5/26)

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Locally produced movies and events featuring locally produced movies are marked with an asterisk (*). Also find out what is “Coming Soon” by hitting the jump below. Go see ‘em, C-U!

COMING SOON

6/25: 4th annual Reel It Up LGBTQA Film Festival (Day 4) feat. SCARY NORMAL*, ROMEOS
@ The Art Theater Co-op, Champaign, IL, 7:30 p.m.

6/27-7/13: Evil Dead: The Musical
@ The Station Theatre, Urbana, IL

10/31-11/2: 4th annual Freeky Creek Short Film Festival*
@ Sleepy Creek Vineyards, Fairmount, IL

11/1-11/2: 12th annual Route 66 International Film Festival
@ Legacy Theatre, Springfield, IL

11/2-11/3: 5th annual Drunken Zombie Film Festival
@ Landmark Cinemas, Peoria, IL

~~~~~

If you have items that you would like us to list in the Calendar, please send relevant dates, start/end times, locations, event descriptions, and ticket prices to cuconfidential [at] gmail [dot] com.

Compiled by Jason Pankoke

~~~~~

“Calendar du C-U” © 2013 Jason Pankoke/C-U Blogfidential.

… that Mr. JaPan earned his right of way:

Amongst all the movie paraphernalia that decorates the walls of the Secret MICRO-FILM Headquarters hangs one modest document of distinction, earned with the turning of tassels on Illinois Wesleyan University’s Eckley Quadrangle the afternoon of Saturday, May 22, 1993. Little did I know, sitting with my art school peers and graduating class on that pleasantly breezy day, I would end up in a similar-sized college town barely 50 miles away within six months, only to remain there ever since. Even less did I know, with movie-making a career consideration throughout my school years, I would eventually become a film culture journalist and arts proponent without really becoming a movie maker. Where I am today, professionally or cinematically, could not have been foretold through my essential IWU experiences throughout those four years and I have little regret with how it all played out.

At certain moments on certain days, I can’t help but flash back with a casual smile. The Argus, after hours … even later nights at the School of Art … midnight rendezvous at the Hot Plate … Lizards From Afar, rocking the Quad on Saturday afternoons … The RadioActive Doghouse, rocking for the weekend on WESN FM … literary discourse wafting from within the walls of the English House … coffee to snap the senses awake, courtesy of the Dugout … meetings of the buzzy minds across the street at Mugsy’s … skimming of the stacks instead of studying in Milner Library at ISU … basking in the sun with Big Questions in mind while visiting the French countryside during J-Term … yelling ridiculously as our more-successful-than-not Fighting Titans sports teams competed … dreaming of the movies we were going to make but never did, simply because we had plenty other things to do, my friends and I. Ulp.

I invariably pass by the IWU campus along Main Street if I cut through Bloomington-Normal en route to visiting dearest Ma JaPan. Despite the addition of several buildings and revamping of others, my alma mater Wesleyan always feels like the comfortable, tree-shrouded hideaway of learning it became for me back in those semi-serene, pre-grunge Nineties. Marking this milestone on C-U Blogfidential may seem an awkward fit of nostalgia, but soon I hope you will connect the contextual dots while reading future articles relating to this era in my life, starting with that monumental act of moving on at age 22.

One tick on our collective timeline, which just so happened to involve Hollywood-funded cap-and-gown action on a different downstate Quad later that same summer, will be recounted in the next studious issue of C-U Confidential digest – FIRST NEWS! WINK! WINK! – set to hit Champaign-Urbana this fall. Look for it!

~ Jason Pankoke

p.s. See? It’s all connected.

p.s.2 Not really sure why B-N has managed to creep onto CUBlog so much lately. Go here, check here, and look for at least one more at this time next week.

p.s.3 Do you remember what happened on the Main Quad at the University of Illinois 20 years ago this summer? More importantly, were you there? Write us and spill those memories, gang!

One year ago, Smile Politely honored the New Art Film Festival as the “Best Local Film Festival Other than Ebertfest” as part of their annual “Best of Champaign-Urbana” compilation essays. Contributor and film fan Jeremiah Stanley has surprised us again in this year’s “Best” series, not by giving NAFF repeat props but for bestowing kudos upon individual achievements. This is intriguing to us at C-U Blogfidential since our reporting acumen typically avoids the critical assessment of films in our own film culture – we do our best to love ‘em all, big or small – and it is uncommon for a writer in other Champaign-Urbana media to express value judgment in our milieu, even with a deliberately positive bent. Therefore, dearest readers, this is what it looks like when someone appreciates the art of local filmmaking.

In the “Best Arts” 2013 posting, Stanley singles out the “Ebertfest” and community contributions of Shatterglass Studios while Matthew Green gives props to the Art Theater Co-op for their (currently on-hold) live theater and opera programming. And then, Stanley awards “Best Short Film” to the dark comedy ALWAYS, co-directed by University of Illinois research scientist Robin Berthier, “Best Performance in a Film” to Karen Vaccaro, the actress/narrator in the documentary hybrid THE ACTUAL, AUTHENTIC VERSION OF WHO YOU SAY I AM directed by Mark Ring and UI professor Robert Anderson, and “Best Supporting Performance in a Film” to April Cleveland as “Danielle” in Jennifer Bechtel’s C-U feature SCARY NORMAL. Congratulations to all, we say!

We also applaud Stanley and SP for taking baby steps to better incorporate our movie mavens and their merits into the cultural coverage of “Champaign-Urbana’s Online Magazine” … outside the blanket overviews disguised as interviews with your humble editor. (Although, according to this praise of Stanley’s own work by SP editor-in-chief Tracy Nectoux, he did indeed interview a local filmmaker named Jason Pankoke. Well, maybe.) Of course, we’re kidding; anything Smile Politely can contribute to the cinema conversation of Champaign, Urbana, and the cities beyond is most welcome, and Jeremiah Stanley is a good man and great anchor around which to build this discourse. CUBlog is only happy to help.

~ Jason Pankoke

It feels pretty good to contemplate how communities are capable of pulling together for the sake of a beloved local institution, does it not? In terms of Champaign-Urbana film culture, we’ve now seen it happen twice in a year’s time on a relatively large scale with one movie house, the Art Theater Co-op in Champaign, and one ozoner, the Harvest Moon Twin Drive-in of Gibson City. Not all can be that lucky, however. Quality of product, reputation, and legacy only count for so much if tomorrow’s operating dollars aren’t coming through the door today, so we must pass along the sad news of two other media businesses that have met their respective demise in the past month.

Unbeknownst to C-U Blogfidential at the time, the five days of last month’s Roger Ebert’s Film Festival ran parallel with the last five days during which owner Dave McBride kept open the doors to The Movie Fan, 503 S. Main St., Normal. After starting the shop in 1995, McBride moved from a strip mall on Veteran’s Parkway in Bloomington to a prime location across the street from the Normal Theater in downtown Normal, offering discerning year-round residents and the campus populations of Illinois State and Illinois Wesleyan universities a diverse video library more than 20,000 titles deep. Due to the Town of Normal’s aggressive rebuilding program, McBride relocated one last time to the current address in between a pizza (now frozen yogurt) joint and coffee house, along a stretch eerily echoing our new-look Campustown.

According to a final Weblog post, The Movie Fan era was scheduled to finish at 7:30 p.m. on Sunday, April 21. We can only guess McBride made his decision due to the paying public’s gradual drift away from brick-and-mortar stores to kiosk dispensers, rental by mail, and on-line streaming for their entertainment needs. The alternative student newspaper, The Indy, named another culprit hastening its end – the massive loss of foot traffic due to last year’s shuttering of Southside, a cluster of aging ISU residence halls located mere blocks away. Apart from appreciating the nearly 20-year run managed by McBride and his staff, we simply feel for our fellow cinephiles up I-74 way. Be sure to show your love for That’s Rentertainment, dearest readers, if you value organic discovery over touch-button convenience.

Read the rest of this entry »

Our unique movie and media Calendar appears every Friday on C-U Blogfidential and caters to the discerning tastes of citizens in the downstate region anchored by Champaign-Urbana, Illinois, USA.

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PLAYING THIS WEEK
5/17/13-5/23/13

NOW PLAYING

@ The Art Theater Co-op, Champaign, IL: THE COMPANY YOU KEEP (5/17 on), NO (5/20-5/21, 7:30 p.m.; 5/22, 5 p.m.), Late Night: STOKER (5/17, 5/18, 5/22, 10 p.m.), OLDBOY (5/17-5/18, 11:59 p.m.; 5/23, 10 p.m.)

@ Shatterglass Studios, Champaign, IL: Champaign Movie Makers meeting, “Greenscreens” (5/21, 7 p.m., free)

@ 88 Broadway, Lincoln Square, Urbana, IL: Blues, Brews and BBQ 2013 Festival fundraiser feat. THE BLUES BROTHERS (5/23, 7:30 p.m., free)

@ Campbell Gallery, Spurlock Museum, UIUC, Urbana, IL: “Unconventional Bond: The Strange Life of Casino Royale on Film” Exhibit (through 6/16, free)

@ That’s Rentertainment, Champaign, IL: CLOUD ATLAS, TEXAS CHAINSAW, A GLIMPSE INSIDE THE MIND OF CHARLES SWAN III, IF I WERE YOU, OF TWO MINDS, FRANKIE GO BOOM, LIZ & DICK, 3:10 TO YUMA (Criterion), more! (5/14 on)

@ The Avon Theater, Decatur, IL: STAR TREK INTO DARKNESS, THE GREAT GATSBY (5/17 on), IRON MAN 3 (5/17-5/21), THE HANGOVER PART III (5/22 on)

@ The Normal Theater, Normal, IL: QUEEN OF VERSAILLES (5/16-5/19, 7 p.m.), GASLAND PART II w/director Josh Fox in attendance (5/20, 7 p.m.)

@ The Lincoln Theater 4, Lincoln, IL: STAR TREK INTO DARKNESS (3-D & 2-D), IRON MAN 3 (3-D & 2-D) (5/17 on), THE GREAT GATSBY (3-D & 2-D) (5/17-5/21), ESCAPE FROM PLANET EARTH (5/17-5/19, 1:10 p.m., $2), THE HANGOVER PART III (5/22 on)

@ The Onarga Theatre, Onarga, IL: IRON MAN 3 (5/17-7/19, 7/22, 7 p.m.)

@ The Princess Theatre, LeRoy, IL: OBLIVION (5/17-5/19)

@ Route 66 Twin Drive-In, Springfield, IL: IRON MAN 3, OZ THE GREAT AND POWERFUL, STAR TREK INTO DARKNESS, OBLIVION (5/17-5/18)

@ Harvest Moon Twin Drive-In, Gibson City, IL: STAR TREK INTO DARKNESS, IRON MAN 3 (5/17-5/19), FERRIS BUELLER’S DAY OFF, FOOTLOOSE (5/23, $5)

@ Centerbrook Drive-In, Martinsville, IN: IRON MAN 3, OLYMPUS HAS FALLEN (5/17-5/19)

@ ICE Landmark 10, Chicago, IL: JUMP IN* w/filmmakers (5/18, 7 p.m.)

@ The Movie Fan, Normal, IL: Closed

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Locally produced movies and events featuring locally produced movies are marked with an asterisk (*). Also find out what is “Coming Soon” by hitting the jump below. Go see ‘em, C-U!

COMING SOON

UPDATE! 5/29: CUFS presents Pens to Lens* Awards Gala
@ The Art Theater Co-op, Champaign, IL, 6 & 9:30 p.m., w/filmmakers

6/25: 4th annual Reel It Up LGBTQA Film Festival (Day 4) feat. SCARY NORMAL*, ROMEOS
@ The Art Theater Co-op, Champaign, IL, 7:30 p.m.

6/27-7/13: Evil Dead: The Musical
@ The Station Theatre, Urbana, IL

10/31-11/2: 4th annual Freeky Creek Short Film Festival*
@ Sleepy Creek Vineyards, Fairmount, IL

11/1-11/2: 12th annual Route 66 International Film Festival
@ Legacy Theatre, Springfield, IL

11/2-11/3: 5th annual Drunken Zombie Film Festival
@ Landmark Cinemas, Peoria, IL

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If you have items that you would like us to list in the Calendar, please send relevant dates, start/end times, locations, event descriptions, and ticket prices to cuconfidential [at] gmail [dot] com.

Compiled by Jason Pankoke

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“Calendar du C-U” © 2013 Jason Pankoke/C-U Blogfidential.