C-U Biz-en-scène: 09.09.2011
“C-U Biz-en-scène” appears every Thursday/Friday on C-U Blogfidential to give our readers a succinct snapshot of the cinema activity in and near Champaign-Urbana, Illinois, USA. Please support the artists and their work, attend screenings and events, and otherwise become active in our esoteric little world!
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MFHQ & YOU:
Shall CUBiz: The Short Form Become the Norm?
We open on a sad note, the passing of Project Gutenberg founder and Urbana resident Michael Hart (1947-2011) who created the “eBook” format that predated a transformation on how we receive literature and information in this young 21st century. Yet, the various portable readers, electronic tablets, and computer-based viewing methods now available to consumers have collectively wreaked havoc on the traditional publishing model, costing thousands of professionals a livelihood as their roles are reduced, simply nixed, or supplanted by overseas laborers. Harming this already foul development, many publishers don’t want to invest resources in proper development, editing, or compositing in print or electronic media now that much end product has become cheap to reproduce or distribute and otherwise indistinguishable. What is innovation worth if it means stripping the art and matter out of the presentation? It’s dangerous to think so, folks, especially given the apparent long-term instability of current data storage methods. While we begrudgingly admitted years ago that we stopped worrying and learned to (sort of) love the Weblog, CUBlog is not sold on the potential of an exclusively e-reading world that adds little to the overall economy or the checking accounts of once-indispensable quality controllers, typesetters, and designers forced out of the process after being stuck in the middle and publicly unsung for so long.
Elsewhere, we’ve decided that our current Biz format may be the standard moving forward. We hope to branch back out with additional columns, features, and interviews in the near future once we put C-U Confidential ’99 to bed. As a matter of fact, there’s nothing stopping you from contributing to an imminent CUBlog content explosion, dearest readers. Want some? Make some!
ITEMS OF THE WEEK
With the third IMC Film Festival finally arriving September 15-17, we can name-drop a few titles that will be playing: the Danville comedy feature REVOLTING (9/15), the activist piece ENOUGH IS ENOUGH (9/16) about the struggles of convicted felons reintegrating into society, Kate Brickman’s LGBT-in-C-U documentary THIS IS MY JOURNEY (9/17), video art by University of Illinois professor Deke Weaver (9/17), and the southern Illinois zombie drama FARM (9/17) we told you about last fall; a full schedule will appear on Facebook any moment now … CUBlog friend Paul Holze, whose short AUDITIONING FOR ANXIETY will also play the IMC Film Festival, let us know that his Tucson, AZ-based company Groundwork Global Media has received a great boost of attention due to his participation in the first YouTube Creators Institute earlier this year; watch their introductory video here which mentions a new project, RECLAMATION, about “reclaiming health in our lives and setting on a path to prioritize health in our life choices” according to Holze … UI senior, buzz movie writer, and incoming Illini Film & Video president Adam Dreyfuss began production last weekend on his thesis film, HAD HE FIDELITY, a period piece set in 1934 pitting a rural farmer against an unannounced visitor; shooting will last through September in the Champaign-Urbana area … Skip Huston of the Avon Theater has announced the next “Richland College-at-the-Avon” class to be taught by the Head Honcho himself, “Americana at the Movies, pt.5,” which will meet weekly from Thursday, September 22, through Thursday, November 10, starting at 6:30 p.m. and costing $80; to enroll, contact Jennifer Peterson at JPeterso [at] richland [dot] edu or (217) 875-7211 x353 … Dave Noreen of WILL-TV sent a heads-up via Champaign Movie Makers that locally made television programming had been nominated for Mid-America Emmy awards, including SPARK OF GENIUS: THE STORY OF JOHN BARDEEN, produced by Alison Davis Wood and Timothy Hartin for the UI and aired on the Big Ten Network, and THE INVISIBLE GORILLA, produced by Steve Drake for the UI’s Beckman Institute and presented at the 2011 Association for Psychological Science Film Festival in Washington, D.C.
LINKS OF THE WEEK
But wait, there’s more! Jim Vorel of the Decatur Herald & Review talked to “Avon Godfather” and Whitechapel Press president Troy Taylor about last weekend’s Avon Theater showing of THE ST. FRANCISVILLE EXPERIMENT, a documentary-turned-cheap scare film produced in 1999 by the Kushner-Locke Company and Charles Band in which Taylor “plays” himself. Also for the H&R, Vorel interviewed Oakley native and former actress Annie Brunner about the Chicago-set police drama AGAINST THE WALL, her first series as producer and writer which is currently airing on the Lifetime cable network. And for those aiming to enter show business on something the scale of the latter rather than the former, Patricia Batson of Yahoo! News offers tips on becoming an extra for Hollywood films and television shows filming in Chicago.
PLEASE. WRITE. NOW.
Time is ticking away, dearest readers! Treat us to your tales of cinematic wonder experienced as academic or permanent residents of MICRO-FILM Country, and in turn we’ll share it with all your fellow readers as those “five significant movie milestones” become part of CUBlog lore! Check out this earlier post which roughly describes what we’re looking for and then exercise those typing fingers by drafting anecdotes that illustrate how you live la vida cinema in Champaign, Urbana, and the cities beyond. Submission deadline is Friday, September 30, 2011!
PLAYING THIS WEEK
LEADING LADIES* U.S. DVD Release: Tuesday, 9/13, Nationwide via Wolfe Video, New Almaden, CA
@ The Art Theater, Champaign, IL: BUCK (9/9-910, five shows), THE FUTURE (9/9, 9/10, 9/15, 10 p.m.), Macbeth (9/10, 9/11, 12 p.m., opera), PAGE ONE: INSIDE THE NEW YORK TIMES (9/11, three shows), THE INTERRUPTERS (9/12-9/13, four shows, 9/12 7:30 p.m. w/Q&A), TABLOID (9/14-9/15, four shows)
@ The Virginia Theatre, Champaign, IL: ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT (9/10, 1 & 7 p.m.)
@ Independent Media Center, Urbana, IL: IMC Film Festival opening night feat. EIU shorts, REVOLTING* (9/15, 7 p.m.)
@ Krannert Center for the Performing Arts, UIUC, Urbana, IL: Ellnora presents COPS and THE KID w/live accompaniment (9/9, 6:30 p.m.)
@ Krannert Center for the Performing Arts, UIUC, Urbana, IL: Ellnora presents THE GREAT FLOOD w/live accompaniment (9/10, 1:30 p.m.)
@ Danville Public Library, Danville, IL: TRUE GRIT (2010) (9/12, 6:30 p.m.)
@ The Avon Theater, Decatur, IL: CONTAGION, THE DEBT, THE HELP (9/9 on)
@ The Normal Theater, Normal, IL: LE QUATTRO VOLTE (9/8-9/9, 7 p.m.), OF GODS AND MEN (9/10-9/11, 7 p.m.)
@ Princess Theatre, LeRoy, IL: CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE FIRST AVENGER (9/9-9/11)
@ Harvest Moon Twin Drive-In, Gibson City, IL: OUR IDIOT BROTHER, COLUMBIANA (9/9-9/11)
@ Route 66 Twin Drive-In, Springfield, IL: CRAZY STUPID LOVE, FINAL DESTINATION 5, THE SMURFS, RISE OF THE PLANET OF THE APES (9/9-9/10)
@ That’s Rentertainment, Champaign, IL: X-MEN: FIRST CLASS, EVERYTHING MUST GO, HANNA, REBIRTH, CARMEL, FRINGE (s3), COMMUNITY (s2), THE GOOD WIFE (s2), more! (9/9 on)
@ Centerbrook Drive-In, Martinsville, IN: HORRIBLE BOSSES, RISE OF THE PLANET OF THE APES (9/9-9/11)
@ The Lorraine Theatre, Hoopeston, IL: Closed for back-to-school recess!
@ The Onarga Theatre, Onarga, IL: Closed for remodeling!
@ Gemini Cinemas, Villa Grove, IL: Closed for good?
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Locally produced movies and events featuring locally produced movies are marked with an asterisk (*). Go see ‘em!
COMING SOON
9/15-9/17: IMC Film Festival*
@ Independent Media Center, Urbana, IL
9/16-9/18: Route 66 International Film Festival*
@ Hoogland Center for the Arts, Springfield, IL
9/20: BAG IT: IS YOUR LIFE TOO PLASTIC?
@ The Art Theater, Champaign, IL, 7 p.m.
9/22: GREEN FIRE: ALDO LEOPOLD AND A LAND ETHIC FOR OUR TIME
@ The Virginia Theater, Champaign, IL, 7 p.m.
9/23-9/25: Chicago Horror Film Festival, Chicago, IL
9/23-9/25: B Movie Celebration, Franklin, IN
10/6-10/20: Chicago International Film Festival, Chicago, IL
10/7: THIS IS MY JOURNEY* local broadcast
@ WILL-TV 12, Urbana, IL, 8 p.m.
10/13-10/22: Heartland Film Festival, Indianapolis, IN
10/21-10/22: THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW
@ The Avon Theater, Decatur, IL, time TBA
10/21-10/23: CHICAGO 8: Small Gauge Film Festival, Chicago, IL
10/21-10/23: Dark Carnival Film Festival, Bloomington, IN
10/28-10/30: Freeky Creek Short Film Festival
@ Sleepy Creek Vineyards, Fairmount, IL
11/3-11/12: Reeling Lesbian & Gay International Film Festival, Chicago, IL
11/4-11/5: Drunken Zombie Film Festival
@ Peoria Theater, Peoria, IL
11/10-11/12: Embarras Valley Film Festival
@ EIU campus/Will Rogers Theater/etc., Charleston, IL
11/11-11/13: HorrorHound Weekend (Horror culture), Cincinnati, OH
11/10-11/20: St. Louis International Film Festival, St. Louis, MO
4/15, 2012: Buttered Corn on the Cob Film Festival
@ 88 Broadway, Urbana, IL
4/18-4/22, 2012: Wisconsin Film Festival, Madison, WI
4/25-4/29, 2012: Roger Ebert’s Film Festival
@ The Virginia Theater, Champaign, IL
COMMUNITY FILM SERIES
Horror Films
@ The “Haunted” Avon Theater, Decatur, IL, 10:30 p.m., free
10/7: THIR13EN GHOSTS (2001); 10/8: DOG SOLDIERS; 10/14: NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD (1968); 10/15: DAWN OF THE DEAD (2004); 10/28: JEEPERS CREEPERS; 10/29: TRICK ‘R TREAT
The New Classics: Great Books to Great Films from the Past 50 Years
@ Danville Public Library, Danville, IL, 6:30 p.m.
9/12: TRUE GRIT (2010); 10/10: THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS; 11/14: ORDINARY PEOPLE; 12/12: FAIL SAFE (1964); 1/9/12: NEVER CRY WOLF; 2/13/12: AWAKENINGS; 3/12/12: ADAPTATION; 4/9/12: UP IN THE AIR
The News-Gazette Film Series 2011
@ The Virginia Theater, Champaign, IL, 1 & 7 p.m.
9/10: ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT; 10/8: THE EXORCIST; 11/5: THE GODFATHER; 12/3: THE NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS
UNIVERSITY FILM SERIES
AsiaLENS: AEMS Documentary/Film Series
@ Knight Auditorium, Spurlock Museum, University of Illinois, Urbana, IL, 7 p.m.
10/4: BHUTAN: TAKING THE MIDDLE PATH TO HAPPINESS; 11/8: WHO KILLED CHEA VICHEA?
Global Lens 2011: International Films
@ The Art Theater, Champaign, IL
10/20: A USEFUL LIFE, Uruguay; 11/17: WHITE MEADOWS, Iran
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That’s it for the “business of our scene” this week!
If you have relevant news, opportunities, dates, or promotions that you would like included in CUBiz, please forward the who, what, where, when, and how much to cuconfidential [at] gmail [dot] com.
Compiled by Jason Pankoke
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We welcome your virtual presence in the Confidential scheme!
314 awesome (but way too few) peeps dig our Facebook page, while 23 astounding (yet way way way too few) comrades keep a watchful eye on our YouTube channel, the C-U Confidential Revue! We’d place our bets in a heartbeat that many more would enjoy our social/video outreach if they knew about us! Have you joined us on-line? Will you be ambassadors for our indie film cause and send your recruits in our direction? The more attention we receive, the better we can serve the interests of local artists and the movies of Champaign, Urbana, and the cities beyond!
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“C-U Biz-en-scène” no.59 © 2011 Jason Pankoke/C-U Blogfidential.