Calendar: January 21-27, 2022
Our movie and media Calendar appears every Friday/Saturday on C-U Blogfidential and caters to the downstate region anchored by Champaign-Urbana, Illinois, USA.
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MILESTONES | Happy Birthday to You!
1/26: Mike Watt (editor-in-chief, Exploitation Nation journal, Happy Cloud Media, LLC, Venetia, PA)
FIELD REPORT DU HQ | From Wherever It May Be Said
Today, we have an Almanac reprint after running a pair of brand-new capsules in the Calendar, and this one returns with a rationalization since it is the fashion of our 2020s. A few months after it first appeared on C-U Blogfidential in 2017, dozens of production members from both the E! drama THE ROYALS and the cancelled CW program ONE TREE HILL wrote widely circulated letters that admonished show creator and producer Mark Schwahn for his scummy on- and off-set behavior. This resulted in his release from THE ROYALS and the Pontiac native has apparently not mounted any sort of “comeback” in the industry or the public eye, unlike other entertainment and high-profile personalities called out in the “Me Too” climate who seem to rebound like clockwork or, shall we say, a fine-tuned script. Hopefully, Schwahn has understood the reckoning and is receiving help to curb his tendencies. And, hopefully, the actresses, writers, and other women affected by his advances and so forth have been finding avenues of healing and empowerment that will serve them well in their continued and creative pursuits. Sexual harassment and other aggressions have no place in a healthy working environment. CUBlog stands with survivors.
However, one person’s inexcusable actions should not erase what has come before – remember that a feature, short subject, or television episode is the sum result of many individuals working together – and that includes Schwahn’s first feature, 35 MILES FROM NORMAL, the subject of our Almanac entry. It is a local production for the most part, it achieved exposure on a national stage where next to no other local productions have gone, and I for one would still like to see it some day out of curiosity and for the sake of completeness. That it has never been formally released is a fact that precedes his ROYALS expulsion by many years, and it is even more guaranteed than before that it will remain shelved with the accusations weighing on Schwahn’s shoulders. Ergo, this is the footnote for those who are sensitive to or irked by the very mention of him. We acknowledge the problems he caused. Such things should not be pervasive or tolerated on a production or in any other walk of life. We also plan to retain this milestone in the timeline. 35 MILES fleshes out the film culture and history of downstate Illinois. Because of its achievement and primarily because it is obscure, we make note of it. All around, in real life, we can do better. Onward.
CONFIDENTIAL ALMANAC | Dates in Film Culture History
25 Years Ago … Tuesday, January 21, 1997: 35 MILES FROM NORMAL, the debut feature written and directed by Mark Schwahn, receives its world premiere as part of the “American Spectrum” leg at the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, UT. Produced over a four-week shoot last September and October in Chicago and downstate Pontiac, IL, the comedy-drama is about young adults seeking their niche while a factory strike looms over their small town. Following additional festival play and respectable press notices during the next two years, 35 MILES finally opened commercially on Friday, May 14, 1999, at the GKC Crescent Theaters in Pontiac according to the Bloomington (IL) Pantagraph. Although this was to have launched a self-distribution push by Pontiac native Schwahn and Chicago-based producer James D. Stern for the film, doubling as publicity for eventual home video releases, 35 MILES never found its own niche and is impossible to see despite the notable entertainment credits amassed since then by both men as well as cast members Ethan Supplee and Alan Tudyk. It also stars Gabriel Olds, Jennifer Crystal, Kellie Overbey, G. Riley Mills, and Tracy Walsh. [R]
LOCAL FILMS & EVENTS | Support Your Media Storytellers
@ Spurlock Museum of World Cultures, UIUC, Urbana, IL
2022 Flatlands Dance Film Festival Short Film Competition (1/22, 7 p.m., free)
NOW PLAYING | Champaign-Urbana Area
@ AMC Champaign 13, Champaign, IL
THE KING’S DAUGHTER, THE 355, AMERICAN UNDERDOG, BANGARRAJU, BELLE (animé), GHOSTBUSTERS: AFTERLIFE, THE KING’S MAN, THE MATRIX RESURRECTIONS, SCREAM, SING 2, SPIDER-MAN: NO WAY HOME, WEST SIDE STORY (1/21 on)
@ Illini Union, UIUC, Urbana, IL
Illini Union Board presents “Spring 2022 Weekend Films” feat. VENOM: LET THERE BE CARNAGE, Pine Lounge, 1st floor (1/21-1/22, 7 p.m.; free w/i-card)
@ Phoenix Savoy 16 + IMAX, Savoy, IL
THE KING’S DAUGHTER, REDEEMING LOVE, THE 355, AMERICAN UNDERDOG, BELLE (animé), GHOSTBUSTERS: AFTERLIFE, THE KING’S MAN, LICORICE PIZZA, THE MATRIX RESURRECTIONS, NIGHTMARE ALLEY, SCREAM, SING 2, SPIDER-MAN: NO WAY HOME, WEST SIDE STORY (1/21 on), UFC 20: Francis Ngannou vs. Cyril Gane, more (mixed martial arts; 1/22, 9 p.m., simulcast), Bolshoi Ballet in Cinema: Jewels (1/23, 11:55 a.m., simulcast), Turner Classic Movies presents CASABLANCA 80th anniversary (1/23, 4:30 & 7:30 p.m.; 1/26, 4 & 7 p.m.), LABYRINTH (1/23, 3 & 7 p.m.; 1/26, 7 p.m.)
@ Redbox, Champaign-Urbana, IL
THE ADDAMS FAMILY 2, LAST NIGHT IN SOHO, RED STONE, more! (1/18 on) Online rentals
@ The Virginia Theatre, Champaign, IL
The News-Gazette Film Series presents ALL ABOUT EVE (1/22, 1 & 7 p.m.)
Events featuring locally produced movies are marked with an asterisk (*). Additional “Now Playing” and “Coming Soon” listings appear after the jump!
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NOW PLAYING | The Cities Beyond
@ AMC Classic Parkway Pointe 8, Springfield, IL
Springfield Art Association presents Molly Schlich Independent | International Film Series feat. THE TRUTH (1/23, 1 & 4 p.m.; 1/25, 7 p.m.)
@ AMC Classic Village Mall 6, Danville, IL
THE 355, THE KING’S MAN, SCREAM, SING 2, SPIDER-MAN: NO WAY HOME, WEST SIDE STORY (1/21 on)
@ AMC Peru Mall 8, Peru, IL
THE 355, AMERICAN UNDERDOG, BELLE (animé), HOUSE OF GUCCI, SCREAM, SING 2, SPIDER-MAN: NO WAY HOME, WEST SIDE STORY (1/21 on)
@ The Avon Theater, Decatur, IL
THE KING’S DAUGHTER, SCREAM, SING 2, THE TENDER BAR (1/21-1/23)
@ The Fischer Theatre, Danville, IL
Closed for the week.
@ The Little Lorraine, Hoopeston, IL
Private rentals for the week.
@ The Normal Theater, Normal, IL
C’MON C’MON (1/21-1/23), WHAT’S UP, DOC? (1/27)
@ The Onarga Theatre, Onarga, IL
Closed for the week.
@ The Princess Theatre, Leroy, IL
SPIDER-MAN: NO WAY HOME (1/21-1/23)
@ Streator Eagle 6, Streator, IL
E.T. THE EXTRA-TERRESTRIAL, THE KING’S DAUGHTER, MEN IN BLACK, REDEEMING LOVE, SCREAM, SING 2, SPIDER-MAN: NO WAY HOME (1/21 on)
@ VIP Lincoln Grand 6, Lincoln, IL
THE KING’S DAUGHTER, THE TIGER RISING, THE 355, AMERICAN UNDERDOG, GHOSTBUSTERS: AFTERLIFE, SCREAM, SING 2, SPIDER-MAN: NO WAY HOME (1/21 on)
@ VIP Roxy Cinemas, Ottawa, IL
THE KING’S DAUGHTER, THE 355, AMERICAN UNDERDOG, SCREAM, SING 2, SPIDER-MAN: NO WAY HOME (1/21 on)
NOW PLAYING | Midwest
For detailed and curated listings of Chicago-area film presentations and related events, as well as cancellations and postponements due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, please visit the fine folks at Cine-File and subscribe to their definitive “Cine-List” weekly blast.
COMING SOON | Area-wide Events
2/18-2/19
B-Fest 2022
@ Northwestern University, Evanston, IL
3/31-4/3
32nd Onion City Experimental Film + Video Festival
@ Chicago Filmmakers, Chicago, IL
4/7-4/17
24th annual Wisconsin Film Festival
@ University of Wisconsin, etc., Madison, WI
4/8-4/10
Dead in Decatur presents “The Art of Fear”
@ Heroic Age Art Center, Mt. Zion, IL
4/20-4/23
22nd Roger Ebert’s Film Festival
@ The Virginia Theatre, Champaign, IL
9/22-10/2
40th Reeling: The Chicago LGBTQ+ International Film Festival, Chicago, IL
COMMUNITY & CAMPUS SERIES | Champaign-Urbana area
UPDATE! “The Arthouse Experience Film Series” curated by Sanford Hess
@ The Virginia Theatre, Champaign, IL, 7 p.m.
2/9: THE ARTIST; 2/23: ADAPTATION; 3/23: THE ROYAL TENENBAUMS; 4/6: BIG NIGHT; 5/25: EIGHTH GRADE; 6/1: THREE BILLBOARDS OUTSIDE EBBING, MISSOURI
Illini Radio Group presents “Rewind 92.5 Film Series”/“Mix 94.5 Throwback Thursdays”*
@ The Virginia Theatre, Champaign, IL, 7 p.m.
2/2: GROUNDHOG DAY; 3/21: ESCAPE FROM NEW YORK; 4/4: FACE/OFF; 5/23: MAD MAX BEYOND THUNDERDOME; 6/30: WAYNE’S WORLD; 7/14: STARSHIP TROOPERS
Illini Union Board presents “Spring 2022 Weekend Films”
@ Pine Lounge, 1st floor, Illini Union, UIUC, Urbana, IL, 7 p.m. Fri. & Sat, free w/i-card
1/21-1/22: VENOM: LET THERE BE CARNAGE; 1/28-1/29: SHANG-CHI AND THE LEGEND OF THE TEN RINGS; 2/4-2/5: DUNE; 2/11-2/12: DEAR EVAN HANSON; 2/18-2/19: NO TIME TO DIE; 2/25-2/26: ETERNALS; 3/ 4-3/5: ENCANTO; 3/11-3/12: THE MATRIX RESURRECTIONS; 3/18-3/19: SING 2; 3/25-3/26: HOUSE OF GUCCI; 4/1-4/2: GHOSTBUSTERS: AFTERLIFE; 4/8-4/9: SPIDER-MAN: NO WAY HOME; 4/15-4/16: A JOURNAL FOR JORDAN; 4/22-4/23: JACKASS FOREVER; 4/29-4/30: RUMBLE
Springfield Art Association presents the 30th annual Molly Schlich Independent | International Film Series
@ AMC Classic Springfield 12, Springfield, IL, 1 & 4 p.m. Sunday + 7 p.m. Tuesday
1/23, 1/25: THE TRUTH; 1/30, 2/1: SPOOR; 2/6, 2/8: INDIA SWEETS AND SPICES; 2/13, 2/15: THE MAN WHO SOLD HIS SKIN; 2/20, 2/22: THE RESCUE; 2/27, 3/1: RIDERS OF JUSTICE
The News-Gazette Film Series
@ The Virginia Theatre, Champaign, IL, 1 & 7 p.m.
1/22: ALL ABOUT EVE; 2/19: IT HAPPENED ONE NIGHT; 4/30: DUCK SOUP; 6/25: HIGH NOON; 7/29: TOP HAT
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Compiled by Jason Pankoke.
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“Calendar du C-U”
© 2022 Jason Pankoke/C-U Blogfidential