C-U Blogfidential

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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THE BLOGFIDENTIAL TELETYPE | Film News You Can Use, C-U

What we’re seeing on our beat this week … Since the final Roger Ebert’s Film Festival is now upon us and Ye Ed is making the effort to travel long-distance so he can hit the pavement on Park Avenue and walk amongst the faithful one more time, the Teletype needs to be tight for this round …

We’ll remind our dearest C-Uvians of the past – a new exhibit honoring the life and career of the late Dan Fogelberg, who began to come of age as a musician on the stages of the University of Illinois campus in the 1970s, has just opened at the Peoria Riverfront Museum in Peoria and will continue until August 16; a related screening is set for tomorrow, Saturday, April 18, 6:30 p.m., of the performance documentary, DAN FOGELBERG: GREETINGS FROM THE WEST, at the complex’s Giant Screen Theater …

We’ll also point you to the present – a brand-new feature published by Collider this past Wednesday, April 15, covers the rising career of the comedian and actress Janelle James, who talks candidly about her work and character development on the hit show ABBOTT ELEMETARY as well as everything that came before, including her early and “somber” stand-up work that included the stages of Champaign-Urbana …

We’ll even bring you hope for the future – several student film events are about to happen in quick succession, beginning on Tuesday, April 21, at Mr. JaPan’s alma mater Wesleyan, so skim below for the dates, times, and locations of all the programs giving props and guidance to the efforts of undergraduates who are attending Illinois Wesleyan University, Illinois State University, Millikin University, Heartland Community College, and UIUC. Pick at least one, attend with an open mind and big heart, and be encouraging with your very presence as they all, tra la, take the stage. We never know what’s in store for these kids and which ones will go on to fulfill their dreams and do good things in the business that we call show … and that’s what we can reveal for today. Always remember – this is not just movies, it’s our lives.

CONFIDENTIAL ALMANAC | Dates in Film Culture History

20 Years Ago … Saturday, April 22, 2006: The University of Illinois students of Illini Film & Video premiere their feature length horror-comedy, THE UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS VS. A MUMMY. Involving dozens of undergraduates and taking the better part of two academic years to finish, MUMMY plays at 7 and 9 p.m. in the lecture auditorium of Noyes Laboratory on the UI Main Quad, with an encore set for the following afternoon at the UI Spurlock Museum a few blocks away. The prerequisite DVD of this project, envisioned by IFV president Chris Lukeman as a way to encourage club members to work together as a team and try out multiple roles on a single production, would debut the next month and become a long-standing ice breaker for incoming freshmen unfamiliar with the group. In recent years, MUMMY has been in permanent late-night rotation on UI-7, the broadcasting service of the university. As reported on 4/15/06, 4/21/06, 5/14/06 at CUBlog. [R]

20 Years Ago … Sunday, April 23, 2006: BrainSmart Productions, a townie collective led by lo-fi filmmakers Jason Butler and Mark Peaslee, unleashes “Episode 2” of their action-filled B-movie WEREWOLF CEMETERY. The program introducing this newest creation also features “Episode 1” of the “gravediggers vs. lycanthropes vs. normal folk from the big city” epic, the first installment of smaller-scale series THE ADVENTURES OF THE SCREAMING APE, and a music video for “Serrated Edge” by The Living Blue, playing both this night and the next at the stroke of midnight in the beer garden of Mike ‘n Molly’s in downtown Champaign. Four segments total of WEREWOLF would eventually be made by Butler and company, although one must be tight with participants to access the full episodes as they have never been formally released on home video or uploaded for on-line streaming. This is about as underground as it gets with the films of Champaign-Urbana! As reported on 4/15/06, 4/22/16 at CUBlog. [R]

25 Years Ago … Friday, April 20, 2001: Downtown Champaign establishments are adorned with the work of local artists for The Octopus Gallery Walk, a precursor to the Boneyard Arts Festival. Hosted by Southlynn Studios in the Octopus office space is a unique exhibit called “Zineophilia,” featuring paintings and mixed media pieces from the pages of The Ides of March as well as a table adorned with dozens of ‘zines for visitors to browse. Homegrown efforts include low hug by A.j. Michel, Silly Little Trouser Monkees by Brad Bugos, the aforementioned Ides by Dann Tincher and Damian Duffy, and our own flagship mag, MICRO-FILM. [R]

25 Years Ago … Saturday, April 21, 2001: Less than 24 hours later at The Highdive, located across Main Street from the Lincoln Building where “Zineophilia” reigned, Mr. JaPan emcees his first-ever film show. Dubbed “MICRO-FILM Vérité,” the “official programme” is comprised of eclectic low-budget cinema from near and far. Local selections include student shorts from the University of Illinois and Illinois State University, the early Mike Trippiedi “slasher in rhyme” BUCKY McSNEAD, and a trailer for Hart D. Fisher’s THE GARBAGE MAN. Filmmakers from across the nation, such as Cory McAbee (THE MAN ON THE MOON), Jim Sikora (STAGEFRIGHT CHAMELEON), Rusty Nails (SANTIAGO VS. WIGFACE), and Mike White (WHO DO YOU THINK YOU’RE FOOLING?), also represent. [R]

LOCAL FILMS & EVENTS | Support Your Media Storytellers

@ The Esquire Lounge, Champaign, IL
Champaign Movie Makers* meeting (4/20, 7 p.m.)

@ Hansen Student Center, IWU, Bloomington, IL
IWU School of Theatre Arts presents 2026 Phenom Productions Film Festival* (4/21, 7 p.m.) Information

@ The Normal Theater, Normal, IL
ISU School of Communication, etc., presents 2026 Foxtail Film Festival* (4/23-4/25) Information

@ Super Museum, Metropolis, IL
“Superman Day” feat. SUPERMAN (2025) outdoor screening (4/17-4/18) Information

@ The Virginia Theatre, Champaign, IL
Century Law Firm presents 26th Roger Ebert’s Film Festival: “The Last Dance”* (4/17-4/18) Information

NOW PLAYING | Champaign-Urbana Area

@ AMC Champaign 13, Champaign, IL
BOOTH BANGLA* (in Hindi with English sub), BUSBOYS, LEE CRONIN’S THE MUMMY, NORMAL, WHO KILLED THESE WOMEN? THE TINLEY PARK 5 (documentary), THE DRAMA, A GREAT AWAKENING* (faith film), HOPPERS (animation), PROJECT HAIL MARY, THE SUPER MARIO GALAXY MOVIE (animation), YOU ME & TUSCANY (4/17 on), BRIDESMAIDS 15th anniversary (4/18, 4 p.m.; 4/18, 6 p.m.; 4/21, 4 & 7 p.m.), AMC “Scream Unseen” (mystery movie) (4/20, 7 p.m.), MICHAEL sneak preview (4/22, 5 p.m.), FIGHT CLUB (4/22, 6 p.m.), MICHAEL, MOTHER MARY (4/23 on) *single screenings daily

@ Phoenix Savoy 16 + IMAX, Savoy, IL
LEE CRONIN’S THE MUMMY, NORMAL, BEAST, FACES OF DEATH, GOAT (animation), HOPPERS (animation), YOU ME & TUSCANY, THE DRAMA, PROJECT HAIL MARY, READY OR NOT 2: HERE I COME, REMINDERS OF HIM, SCREAM 7, THE SUPER MARIO GALAXY MOVIE (animation), Indian cinema: PALLICHATTAMBI* (in Malayalam with English sub), THIMMARAJUPALLI TV* (in Telugu with English sub), DHURANDHAR THE REVENGE* (in Hindi with English sub), and DACOIT: A LOVE STORY* (in Telugu with English sub) (4/17-4/22), WWE Wrestlemania 38: Night 1 (4/18, 5 p.m., simulcast) and Night 2 (4/19, 5 p.m., simulcast), FERRIS BUELLER’S DAY OFF 40th anniversary (4/19, 3 & 7 p.m.; 4/22, 7 p.m.), KAPODISTRIAS (THE GOVERNOR) (4/22, 3 & 7 p.m., in Greek with English sub), MICHAEL sneak preview (4/22, 6 & 7 p.m.), MICHAEL (4/23 on)

@ Pine Lounge, 1st floor, Illini Union, UIUC, Urbana, IL
Illini Union Board presents “Spring 2025 Weekend Films” feat. 28 YEARS LATER: THE BONE TEMPLE
(4/17-4/18, 7 p.m.; free w/i-card)

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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We kind of knew it would reach this point. We certainly will feel the roller coaster deep down in our guts as this week presses on. The curtains will be drawn, the house lights will dim, and the balcony will be closed on this era of “Ebertfest” when we get to mid-day Sunday. The prior evening, final remarks will be offered by event emcee and producer Chaz Ebert, event director Nate Kohn, and assistant festival coordinator Matt Fagerholm after the last audience of Roger Ebert’s Film Festival watches the last selection, THE AMERICAN PRESIDENT directed by the dearly missed Rob Reiner, and offers each other their goodbyes, high fives, and ugly cries. Let’s appreciate the fact that we even get a reprieve at all.

After making a joint announcement about shutting down Champaign-Urbana’s marquee cinema event back in September with the College of Media at Illinois, which had been a partner dating back to the first Overlooked Film Festival in 1999 and declined to continue their support of the effort due to their reasons, Chaz Ebert asked the faithful what they’d like to see happen. A resounding “One more year!” was the response. We therefore have the 26th overall edition of “Ebertfest” taking place during a concise two-day stretch at its forever home, The Virginia Theatre at 203 W. Park Avenue in downtown Champaign, this Friday, April 17, and Saturday, April 18, with a familiar cast of commentators enlisted to discuss each feature as did famously the eponymous founder, Roger Ebert, and a roster of guests who are either familiar or directly involved with the pictures set to light up that towering screen.

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Eight theatrical features, a new hour-long documentary looking at the qualities of the late film critic and his festival, and a half-hour, one-act play called Siskel/Ebert, which dramatizes the taping of the duo’s show early on in their syndication run with Disney, will make up this final bow to all the attendees, volunteers, journalists, financial partners, community and business sponsors, Ebert student fellows, RogerEbert.com associates, University of Illinois academics and staff, and movie fans-at-large who have played a role in making this annual gathering a success. We’ll even confide in our Confidential Agents that Ye Ed, who has not attended or been directly woven into its fabric for a decade, plans to materialize, even though he may only take in two or three shows at the Virginia. To him, part of the “Ebertfest” mystique all these years was living in the moment all weekend and that involved West Side Park to the west, the Sesquicentennial Neighborhood just past that where he once lived, and the business district to the east with all the pre- and post-movie hangouts one could ask for. Mr. JaPan would like to soak up a little of everything once more.

Before we get together, we must also bring another “Ebertfest” tradition to bear and that is our “short form” schedule you can reference on the fly while darting about Park Avenue – we’re not sure if there will be courtesy tents and food vendors across from the theater as in previous engagements – and rubbing elbows with your friends, neighbors, and visitors. Individual tickets and passes can still be bought through the Virginia’s box office during business hours at (217) 356-9063 or at their website, although we have caught a few social media comments about CHILI FINGER being sold out. In the past, the Virginia has offered rush tickets prior to the more popular screenings, so be aware of those start times that we’ve listed below if you want to take your chances. Enjoy, embrace, and may the thumbs up be with you.

The Ebert Symposium, organized by the Roger Ebert Center for Film Studies and held at the Spurlock Museum of World Cultures on the UI campus in the spring, took place in advance of “Ebertfest” this year on March 30 and 31. The film in focus was THE WIZ and discussions pertained to Black acceptance and participation in our country’s media culture. Ebert and Kohn have confirmed in public comments the Ebert Center will continue on at UI, so maybe we’ll get to enjoy hints of “Ebertfest” vicariously in the future through that avenue, which has offered five to six events per semester and made them free and open to the public. Here’s to the conclusion of a high-water mark in the film culture du C-U. It will be missed.

~ Jason Pankoke

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2026 Roger Ebert’s Film Festival schedule
@ The Virginia Theatre, 203 W. Park Ave., Champaign, IL

Friday, April 17
9:00 a.m. CHARLIEBIRD (2026, 98 min., Dir. Libby Ewing)
11:25 a.m. NUREMBERG (2025, 148 min., Dir. James Vanderbilt)
3:30 p.m. THE LAST MOVIE CRITIC (2026, 58 min., Dir. Luke Boyce & Michael Moreci)
5:10 p.m. BOB TREVINO LIKES IT (2025, 101 min., Dir. Tracie Laymon)
8:50 p.m. GET OUT (2017, 99 min., Dir. Jordan Peele)

Saturday, April 18
9:00 a.m. THE GENERAL (1926, 79 min., Dir. Buster Keaton & Clyde Bruckman) Accompanied by the Anvil Orchestra
10:35 a.m. MI FAMLIA (MY FAMILY) (1995, 127 min., Dir. Gregory Nava)
2:30 p.m. ‘Siskel/Ebert’ performance, starring Stephen Winchell and Zack Mast (Premiered 2024, 35 min., Dir. Katlin Schneider)
3:40 p.m. CHILI FINGER (2026, 100 min., Dir. Edd Benda & Stephen Helstad)
7:25 p.m. THE AMERICAN PRESIDENT (1995, 113 min., Dir. Rob Reiner)

Special guests who are scheduled to appear include Samantha Smart (actress/writer, CHARLIEBIRD), James Vanderbilt (writer/director, NUREMBERG), Luke Boyce and Michael Moreci (writers/directors, THE LAST MOVIE CRITIC), French Stewart (actor) and Tracie Laymon (writer/director, BOB TREVINO LIKES IT), Betty Gabriel (actress, GET OUT), Gregory Nava (writer/director, MI FAMILIA), Stephen Winchell (actor), Zach Mast (actor), and Katlin Schneider (director, ‘Siskel/Ebert’), Judy Greer (actress), John Goodman (actor), Edd Benda (director), and Stephen Helstad (writer/director, CHILI FINGER). Film critics and personalities who are also scheduled to participate include Dr. Doug Williams, Dr. Eric Pierson, Matt Fagerholm, Matt Zoller Seitz, Michael Phillips, Nate Kohn, Nell Minow, Richard Roeper, and Robert Daniels. “Ebertfest” is emceed and produced by Chaz Ebert and directed by Nate Kohn. Sonia Evans is festival coordinator and Matt Fagerholm is assistant festival coordinator. Daniel Jackson is festival associate and Lee Meltzer manages public relations. Website management is by Surface 51.

The Virginia Theatre, 203 W. Park Ave., Champaign, Illinois, which first opened in December 1921, is directed by Steven Bentz and operated by the Champaign Park District.

Publicity still from CHILI FINGER is courtesy YellowHouse Entertainment/SXSW. | Publicity still from NUREMBERG is courtesy Sony Pictures Classics. | Poster artwork from THE LAST MOVIE CRITIC is courtesy Shatterglass Films/Roger Ebert’s Film Festival. | Publicity still from CHARLIEBIRD in this week’s Calendar is courtesy Circus Road Films/Tribeca.

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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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THE BLOGFIDENTIAL TELETYPE | Film News You Can Use, C-U

What we’re seeing on our beat this week … Since we went full tilt and at length in the Teletype last week with our sojourn into Bloomington-Normal concerns, we’re going to bring it back home to our own fair Twin Cities and other nearby locales. Movie culture storylines are flowering like crazy here in April…

With the annual Boneyard Arts Festival, sponsored by the 40 North arts council of Champaign County, upon us this weekend comes the annual wondering of what time-based media might be on exhibit as part of the whole. Two artists and three projects have caught our eye. Champaign-Urbana resident Timothy J. Hickey has been recording with still photography the various textures of city streets in our neighborhoods and a 50-minute compilation of those studies, STREET PAVERS, will be presented daily as a continual loop from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. this Friday, April 10, to Sunday, April 12, at the UI Spurlock Museum of World Cultures in Urbana. Also, Champaign-Urbana artist-about-town Matt Harsh had a pair of public displays on the schedule – an interactive light-and-sound installation on the third floor of the One Main building in downtown Champaign, part of the “One Main Art Group” of more than forty artists, and a window arrangement called “Tube Visionz” of older televisions and monitors displaying his creations at 125 W. Main Street in downtown Urbana, across the street from Cinema Gallery, that unfortunately seems to be postponed as of Saturday afternoon. The former can still be enjoyed during all three days, and a visitors’ guide to all the featured Boneyard displays and venues is available to peruse on this page…

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We’ve also kicked up a few other timely tidbits from wandering those streets and a few others, too:

Later tonight, Friday, April 10, the Fischer Theatre will return to showing movies with a special presentation of a new indie production, MANDATE (stylized as “ManDate”), which was written and directed by Danville native James J. Gutierrez. According to a Yahoo News article, this “test screening” is a way for him to share his show business career with the hometown folks and solicit honest feedback about the dramedy, which stars Don Worley, Jon Lovitz, Chris Kattan, Louis Lombardi, Andrew Keegan, and Tara Reid, before it is finalized and released. The story involves several individuals, including the main character “Don” played by Worley, who go on “ManDates” to help restore their self-confidence and an appreciation of their lives. Gutierrez states that theatrical play and distribution are both in the works…

Also, a new documentary about Defy Gravity, the pole fitness studio that is located in Urbana’s Lincoln Square, was recently unveiled at a private showing and its creator, Tori Beach, is looking for assistance to bring it to a wider audience. Celebrating ten years in business last fall, Defy Gravity trains their clientele to find strength and grace in who they are and what they can do while in the moment; Beach’s film, MAYBE IT’S THIS, mixes performance and practice footage of them with testimonials to paint their vibrant picture. The goal is to raise $5,000 to finish the film properly and afford costs related to festival submissions and promotions, while more information and a preview can be found on Facebook. Beach owns the firm Tori Beach Videography in Urbana and provides services through Mager Image…

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To close, here is a sobering note about how nothing lasts forever, yet never is everything lost. We can look to the successful revivals of the Normal Theater, which has been nurtured well over the last three decades by the Town of Normal as was noted last week, as well as the Virginia Theatre, which has been restored in stages by the Champaign Park District due to patience, grant money, and ticket sales from a consistent roster of events like Roger Ebert’s Film Festival, and the Lincoln Square Theatre, which has been jump-started by a game board of directors and avid live concert fans to become an entertainment bedrock in downtown Decatur once again, as examples of different approaches in how to make new use of older communal spaces with loads of historic and sentimental value that had fallen on hard times.

And yet, market forces continue to take their toll elsewhere in the area as other groups seek out the best ways to rebuild the vitality of other venues for the sake of other communities. In one instance that we have neglected to share until now, a regional family operation is refusing to give up on their own legacy after feeling the bottom drop out. On January 4 of this year, the Eagle Theaters chain announced that its locations in Clinton, Robinson, and Streator were closed after a run lasting twenty-two years. Since then, CEO Eric Gubelman has been posting notes on Facebook to their customers, describing in eloquent tones how his group is meeting with municipalities, investors, and more to find a solution to an operations model that had run its course, and it makes sense that all the possible options would require a steady patronage from the moviegoers in order for the doors to open again and stay that way. Can Eagle rise like a phoenix from the proverbial flames left after their last big opening, AVATAR: FIRE AND ASH? Stay tuned… and that’s what we can reveal for today. Always remember – this is not just movies, it’s our lives.

LOCAL FILMS & EVENTS | Support Your Media Storytellers

@ Ames Library, Illinois Wesleyan University, Bloomington, IL
“Festival of the Arts” presents IWU student film showcase (4/11, 3:45 p.m.)

@ Analog Wine Library, Urbana, IL, 7:30 p.m.
Film-Fanatic.Club presents Film Fanatic Movie Nights* feat. A SCANNER DARKLY (4/16, 7:30 p.m.)

@ Phoenix Savoy 16 + IMAX, Savoy, IL
Chambana Film Society* presents Savoy Lumierè 2026* pre-shows feat. RELATIVE w/filmmakers (4/10, 7 p.m.)

@ Spurlock Museum of World Cultures, UIUC, Urbana, IL
Boneyard Arts Festival events: STREET PAVERS* film loop by Timothy J. Hickey (4/11-4/12, 10 a.m.-4 p.m.) and FIVE MONTH TRIAL screening (4/12, 4:30 p.m.), Francophone Film Festival presents LE RETOUR (in French with English sub) (4/13, 6:30 p.m.), South Asian Studies Initiative, Illinois Global Institute, presents ZINDA BHAAG w/discussion (in Punjabi with English sub) (4/16, 7:30 p.m.) Information

NOW PLAYING | Champaign-Urbana Area

@ AMC Champaign 13, Champaign, IL
BEAST, FACES OF DEATH*, NEWBORN, YOU ME & TUSCANY, BUNNY!!* (in Vietnamese with English sub), THE DRAMA, A GREAT AWAKENING (faith film), HOPPERS (animation), PROJECT HAIL MARY, READY OR NOT 2: HERE I COME, THE SUPER MARIO GALAXY MOVIE (animation), THEY WILL KILL YOU (4/10 on), AMC “Scream Unseen” (mystery movie) (4/13, 7 p.m.), OVER YOUR DEAD BODY sneak preview w/bonus content (4/15, 7:30 p.m.), LEE CRONIN’S THE MUMMY, NORMAL (4/16 on) *single screenings daily

@ Phoenix Savoy 16 + IMAX, Savoy, IL
BEAST, DACOIT: A LOVE STORY (in Telugu with English sub), FACES OF DEATH, YOU ME & TUSCANY, THE DRAMA, DHURANDHAR THE REVENGE* (in Hindi with English sub), GOAT (animation), HOPPERS (animation), PROJECT HAIL MARY, READY OR NOT 2: HERE I COME, REMINDERS OF HIM*, SCREAM 7, THE SUPER MARIO GALAXY MOVIE (animation), THEY WILL KILL YOU*, UNDERTONE (4/10 on), UFC 327: Jiří Procházka vs. Carlos Ulberg, more (mixed martial arts) (4/11, 8 p.m., simulcast), The Royal Ballet: Giselle (4/12, 3 p.m., 4/13, 7 p.m., recorded), LEGENDS OF THE LOST ARK (religious documentary) (4/12, 3:30 & 7 p.m.; 4/14-4/15, 7 p.m.), E.T. THE EXTRA-TERRESTRIAL (4/12, 3 & 7 p.m.; 4/15, 7 p.m.), JERRY MAGUIRE 30th anniversary (4/12, 4/14-4/15, 6 p.m.) *single screenings daily

@ Pine Lounge, 1st floor, Illini Union, UIUC, Urbana, IL
Illini Union Board presents “Spring 2025 Weekend Films” feat. MERCY (4/10-4/11, 7 p.m.; free w/i-card)

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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Read the rest of this entry »

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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PASSINGS | You Will Be Missed

3/7: R. C. Raycraft, 58 (filmmaker, INCIDENT AT KICKAPOO CREEK, Raycraft Productions International, Normal, IL)

4/12/24: Donald R. Raycraft, 80 (co-author, Value Guide to Baseball Collectibles with R. Craig Raycraft, Collector Books, Paducah, KY)

THE BLOGFIDENTIAL TELETYPE | Film News You Can Use, C-U

What we’re seeing on our beat this week … The Teletype relays a handful of recent stories, which have appeared in quick succession on the website of WGLT-FM in Normal, that seem to have hit Ye Ed hard like a two-ton heavy thing in large part due to his long-standing history with our fellow Twin Cities.

First with a fun update, the Normal Theater hosted the actor/comedian Bob Odenkirk and screenwriter Derek Kolstad for a sold-out show on Thursday, April 2, as they introduced the pair’s latest collaboration, NORMAL, a murder mystery/action flick set in Minnesota that opens nationwide in two weeks through Magnolia Pictures. It co-stars Henry Winkler and Lena Headey and was directed by Ben Wheatley (KILL LIST, HIGH-RISE). In a summary of the event, Ryan Denham shares what Odenkirk had to say about his notoriety following BETTER CALL SAUL, the shift from funny man to reluctant hero, and why the feature is named what it is, while Kolstad talks about his family’s connection with the JOHN WICK franchise.

We haven’t seen any fresh reviews yet for NORMAL and hope it’s a good one, while we also feel it’s high time the Normal organizes a festival made up of films that all have NORMAL in the title and wry examinations of how that is played on contextually in each instance. The Town of Normal has come a long way with this Art Deco jewel since rescuing and reviving it three decades ago after it was shut down by a chain that had essentially forced a second-run multiplex into a single-screen floor plan. Mr. JaPan attended shows at the Normal not long before it closed in 1991 and not long after its grand reopening in 1994 and can attest to how it’s been a glowing neon model of restoration and film presentation.

WGLT also reported that WGN in Chicago will be premiering a documentary about the case of Jennifer Lockmiller, a journalism student at Illinois State University who was murdered in her apartment right before the 1993-94 academic year, on their WGN+ app next Tuesday, April 7. Alan Beaman, the woman’s ex-boyfriend and a theater major at Illinois Wesleyan University, was arrested soon after and then convicted in 1995 despite a solid alibi and lack of evidence. He would ultimately be exonerated by the courts, released after spending thirteen years in prison of a fifty-year sentence, given a full pardon by Illinois governor Pat Quinn, and awarded millions of dollars in damages from a lawsuit brought against the Town of Normal.

Produced by Larry Potash and WGN Films, the half-hour special features an interview with the retired WGLT reporter Edith Brady-Lunny, who covered at length the effort made by Beaman and his council to push back against local law enforcement and government, and alleged new information that may contribute to finally solving the crime. Part of Ye Ed’s milieu in the last year of his studies at IWU included Lockmiller’s visits to the second-floor office of the student newspaper, The Argus, and reading her bylines and pieces in the ISU student newspaper, The Daily Vidette, as well as random encounters with Beaman on campus and in housing. WHO KILLED JENNIFER? will eventually be made available on multiple fronts and air on WGN-TV, per the station, and we’ll have to build up the nerve to watch.

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WGLT might even be the first broadcast station in the area to make mention of the passing of R. C. Raycraft, and only then on Facebook and Threads in a share of an interview conducted with him a decade ago. The native and resident of Normal, who built an eclectic career that included shooting and licensing police ride-along footage, helping with publicity for The Eagles during their “Hell Freezes Over” tour, authoring books and filming online content and television pilots that stemmed from his association with the long-running 3rd Sunday Market in Bloomington, and producing the evergreen documentary INCIDENT AT KICKAPOO CREEK, died on Saturday, March 7, at age 58. This guts us a bit, especially when coming so soon after the passing of his father Don in 2024 and mother Carol in 2025, and we’re still processing. Mr. JaPan had known the filmmaker for more than twenty years after attending one of his earlier showings of the homegrown rock doc featuring B. B. King, Canned Heat, Irving Azoff, and more.

A celebration of life for family and friends will be held in mid-April, according to an obituary posted at Legacy.com and shared by the Pantagraph. We know that he was pondering the next steps for his perennial pet project, a self-described “Western” about a farmland rock-and-roll odyssey held outside the town of Heyworth in the wake of Woodstock as well as a “gentleman farmer,” David Lewis, who organized the happening and skipped town with the proceeds once the local and state authorities threatened to shut it down. The last public screening of INCIDENT was held with some fanfare in September 2022 at the Virginia Theatre in Champaign and, given that Raycraft had never formally released it in any form other than the glimpses seen on Facebook and YouTube, memory of the Incident may fade away once more.

And, in an era fraught with biased reporting and polarizing public commentary, WGLT is using the occasion of their 60th anniversary on the air to remind us how there needs to be dependable outlets for properly researched knowledge and journalism in our society without fear of retribution, in particular from the United States government. One way they are doing so is to sponsor a “Freedom of the Press” film festival at the Normal Theater that begins next week on Tuesday, April 7, with GOOD NIGHT, AND GOOD LUCK (2005) about the efforts of CBS television anchor Edward R. Murrow to counter the fiery claims of McCarthyism. On Tuesday, June 2, ALL THE PRESIDENT’S MEN (1976) will tell how Washington Post writers Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein uncovered the various misdeeds of the Richard Nixon administration. A third film is to be announced for Tuesday, September 29.

The First Amendment of our Constitution is in place with good reason. Support your information sources that do the work to verify and clarify. Be wary of the flood of headlines, claims, and manipulation that is intended to clog and skew the daily news cycle. Your humble editor learned to appreciate the place of local and independent media during high school, college, and his first years living in Champaign-Urbana, which included his experiences in hosting a show on WESN-FM student radio at IWU and assisting promotions at WJBC-FM in Bloomington for an internship. We go nowhere positive by caving or misrepresenting.

Clearly, these developments have offered us plenty to think about in terms of responsibility, civic duty, mortality, culpability, history, and community. We apologize for the super-long Teletype, a habit we’ve been working away from with our Calendar editorial, but it seemed more honest to present the stories together and with just enough Confidential candor to make the points that needed to be made. Thank you … and that’s what we can reveal for today. Always remember – this is not just movies, it’s our lives.

CONFIDENTIAL ALMANAC | Dates in Film Culture History

10 Years Ago … Friday, June 5, 2015: The Incident at Kickapoo Creek, a fabled concert held on private farmland outside of small-town Heyworth, Illinois, during the Memorial Day weekend of 1970 and a lightning rod for controversy, is revisited in the latest promotion organized by historian and filmmaker R. C. Raycraft of Raycraft Productions International in Normal. The centerpiece of a three-day stint at the Normal Theater is the latest cut of his documentary, INCIDENT AT KICKAPOO CREEK, which tells the story of an event fashioned after the famous Woodstock festival held the previous year. An opportunist, L. David Lewis, staged the Incident on his mother’s property and drew the ire of local townsfolk, religious leaders, and authorities who were wary of weathering a counterculture presence in the wake of the Kent State University shootings and the student protest responses to it such as at the University of Illinois. On the flip side, thousands of hip kids made the pilgrimage from many miles and several states away to enjoy fun in the sun, rain, and mud while grooving to an impressive line-up that included B. B. King, Canned Heat, Paul Butterfield Blues Band, Amboy Dukes, and Delaney & Bonnie as well as acts from the area like One-Eyed Jacks, REO Speedwagon, and Finchley Boys, booked by Bob Nutt and Irving Azoff of Blytham, Ltd., out of Champaign-Urbana. Don’t mind the motorcycle gang led by “Caveman,” which was hired by Lewis to patrol the grounds, or the policemen in conspicuous outfits, who were sent in undercover to observe and report, or even Lewis slipping out the proverbial back door with the ticket sale gross, not to be heard from again for decades! The movie INCIDENT is a perennial work-in-progress for Raycraft, who became enamored with the “mysteries and scandals” of the live Incident at a young age and set out in the Nineties to make a record of it. Revised versions of the film have been presented to the public once every few years over the last two decades, improved every outing with new graphics and titles, fresh anecdotes and tidbits from “those who were there,” and recovered audio and visuals that were previously ignored. There is no definitive version and it has yet to be offered on home video or streaming, although a spartan web page and a souvenir book memorialize it. After tonight’s premiere, at which Raycraft talked about the latest updates in his quest to preserve this rock-and-roll enigma, INCIDENT will play at the Normal three more times on Saturday and Sunday, June 6 and 7, and then be shown at the Route 66 Drive-In on Thursday, June 18, in Springfield. A tie-in camping event to celebrate the 45th anniversary of the Incident is also scheduled for Saturday, June 13, at Centennial Park in Heyworth. As reported on 5/31/10, 6/5/15 at CUBlog.

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LOCAL FILMS & EVENTS | Support Your Media Storytellers

@ Phoenix Savoy 16 + IMAX, Savoy, IL
Chambana Film Society* presents Savoy Lumierè 2026* pre-shows feat. HUNDREDS OF BEAVERS (4/7, 7 p.m.)

@ Spurlock Museum of World Cultures, UIUC, Urbana, IL
MillerComm 2026 presents “Films and Conversation with Basma al-Sharif” moderated by Maryam Kashani. UI Gender & Women’s Studies (4/7, 7 p.m., free) Information

NOW PLAYING | Champaign-Urbana Area

@ AMC Champaign 13, Champaign, IL
THE DRAMA, A GREAT AWAKENING (faith film), RAAKAASAA (in Telugu with English sub), THE SUPER MARIO GALAXY MOVIE (animation), THE AI DOC: OR HOW I BECAME AN APOCALOPTIMIST* (documentary), BUNNY!!* (in Vietnamese with English sub), FORBIDDEN FRUITS, HOPPERS (animation), PROJECT HAIL MARY, READY OR NOT 2: HERE I COME, REMINDERS OF HIM, THEY WILL KILL YOU (4/3 on), AMC “Scream Unseen” (mystery movie) (4/6, 7 p.m.), BEAST, FACES OF DEATH, NEWBORN, YOU ME & TUSCANY (4/9 on) *single screenings daily

@ Phoenix Savoy 16 + IMAX, Savoy, IL
BIKERS (in Telugu with English sub), THE DRAMA, RAAKAASAA* (in Telugu with English sub), THE SUPER MARIO GALAXY MOVIE (animation), THE AI DOC: OR HOW I BECAME AN APOCALOPTIMIST* (documentary), DHURANDHAR THE REVENGE* (in Hindi with English sub), GOAT (animation), HOPPERS (animation), PROJECT HAIL MARY, READY OR NOT 2: HERE I COME, REMINDERS OF HIM, SCREAM 7, THEY WILL KILL YOU, UNDERTONE (4/3 on), PRIDE & PREJUDICE 20th anniversary (4/5, 12, 3 & 7 p.m.; 4/8, 7 p.m.) *single screenings daily

@ Pine Lounge, 1st floor, Illini Union, UIUC, Urbana, IL
Illini Union Board presents “Spring 2025 Weekend Films” feat. ANACONDA (4/3-4/4, 7 p.m.; free w/i-card)

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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Read the rest of this entry »

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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THE BLOGFIDENTIAL TELETYPE | Film News You Can Use, C-U

What we’re seeing on our beat this week … Looks like we’re picking odds and ends off the concrete in order to fulfill the Teletype! Let’s begin with the big one-two of detailed reveals that have been made over the last week. Nat Dykeman of Chambana Film Society has posted the entire schedule, including six bonus shows, for the second annual Savoy Lumierè; everything will take place at the Phoenix Savoy 16 + IMAX in Savoy with the core conglomeration of programs scheduled to be shown April 29 to May 5, and you can view the programs and purchase tickets and passes through this website. Also, Chaz Ebert and company have now shared all the main selections and special events of the last Champaign edition of Roger Ebert’s Film Festival, while individual tickets (and, therefore, a concrete schedule) will not be available until next Wednesday, April 1, through the Virginia Theatre box office. A recent News-Gazette article goes over the basics including the local premiere of the locally-filmed indie black comedy, CHILI FINGER, and possibly the first-ever showing of a new Roger Ebert documentary that we didn’t see coming, THE LAST MOVIE CRITIC, shepherded by Luke Boyce and Michael Moreci of REVEALER and REVIVAL fame. Keep a sharp eye on the “Ebertfest” website for all that will be “The Last Dance”…

One of the Savoy Lumierè’s early screenings, set for Friday, April 24, is a local reprise of BRIM, the stylish historic drama about Black health, legacy, and repression that was filmed in the Champaign-Urbana area by the creative team of Keenan Dailey and Trudy Namara from Visage Entertainment. We received an email update about what is happening currently with the studio, now based in Atlanta, GA, and it includes a select theatrical release this summer for BRIM, the festival play of a dramatic short titled BLINK, the upcoming production of a documentary called TIGHTROPE that “follows a group of adults living with social anxiety as they try to reclaim confidence and connection through an improv class designed to help them feel human again,” and completion of a piece in conjunction with Experience CU about the Champaign County African-American Heritage Trail. Samples of their work are on Vimeo …

More and more, students attending the University of Illinois have academic, social, and paid opportunities to explore media-making, and now the College of Media has launched a program to guide teenagers living in the area on becoming literate and responsible with the tools available to them. Based at the Illinois Public Media studio on Goodwin Avenue in Urbana, the Content Creation Lab will host its first series of workshops starting on Saturday, April 4, and participants will be engaged in “podcasting, audio storytelling, video, and digital media projects.” Parents should check out this web page for information on the program’s goals and how to register their children in the sessions, which are of no cost to them …

And lest we forget, our friend Andy Due reminded all of us who need a good laugh and a gaggle of chuckles that his efforts to keep classic comedy alive through Rubber Chicken Films reached the ten-year milestone in February. To celebrate, he released Episode 30 of THE ANDY DUE SHOW on Wednesday, February 25, and it’s an Eighties Spring Break all over again with his tubular friends including Zoe Due, Hannah Leal, Toine Perry, Abigail Pichay, and Dave Rediger of Camp Nostalgia Studios. Surf on over to his YouTube channel to have a fun and explore his skits and parodies. Congratulations, dear chap! … and that’s what we can reveal for today. Always remember – this is not just movies, it’s our lives.

CONFIDENTIAL ALMANAC | Dates in Film Culture History

10 Years Ago … Friday, March 11, 2016: Hometown Hero Productions of Ottawa, nestled at the crux of the Illinois and Fox rivers within the Illinois Valley region that includes Starved Rock State Park, premieres their second feature-length film GRACE’S ROOM at Roxy Cinemas in the city’s bustling downtown. Co-written with Virginia Campbell and directed by Tyler Amm with a deliberate goal to feature various Ottawa personalities, locations, and attractions, such as the annual Ottawa Riverfest that serves as a backdrop for its climax, this manic horror-comedy follows an all-night misadventure suffered by Billie (Rachel Alig), a listless twentysomething who holds down odd jobs while drafting screenplays on the side, and her friends as she housesits for relatives who are visiting the Wisconsin Dells. Billie decides to invade the bedroom of her insufferable cousin, Grace (Grace Reinhardt), in search of an idea book and multi-color pen that she believes the teen stole from her. What they open instead is a can of demon-worshipping worms and inadvertently tip off a bunch of ne’er-do-wells embedded in the community of their presence. GRACE’S ROOM also stars Amber Herfurth, Sean Walsh, Nick Chandler, and Patrick Garrigan as Billie’s crew and Alex Dittmer and Heather Call as their main adversaries. The one-week run at the Roxy also includes showings of a behind-the-scenes featurette, created by Janette Marie, and the group’s previous feature, RIVER CITY PANIC. Both GRACE and a following film, BUTCHER THE BAKERS, would eventually be distributed to streaming platforms by Dark Cuts Entertainment of Santa Monica, CA.

LOCAL FILMS & EVENTS | Support Your Media Storytellers

@ Spurlock Museum of World Cultures, UIUC, Urbana, IL
Roger Ebert Center for Film Studies presents THE WIZ screening (3/30, 7 p.m.) and Ebert Symposium 2026: “Onscreen Fantasies/IRL Illusions: Fandom, Parasocial Relationships, and the Media” (3/31, 2 p.m. roundtable discussion, 4 p.m. keynote address by Dr. Alfred L. Martin, Jr., University of Miami)

NOW PLAYING | Champaign-Urbana Area

@ AMC Champaign 13, Champaign, IL
THE AI DOC: OR HOW I BECAME AN APOCALOPTIMIST (documentary), BUNNY!! (in Vietnamese with English sub), FORBIDDEN FRUITS, A MAGNIFICENT LIFE (animation), THEY WILL KILL YOU, DHURANDHAR THE REVENGE (in Hindi with English sub), GOAT (animation), HOPPERS (animation), PROJECT HAIL MARY, READY OR NOT 2: HERE I COME, REMINDERS OF HIM, SCREAM 7*, UNDERTONE* (3/27 on), THE MUMMY RETURNS 25th anniversary* (re-release) (3/27-3/29), Fan Faves: JESUS REVOLUTION (3/27-3/29, 3/31-4/1) and DAVID* (animation) (3/27-3/30, 4/1), AMC “Scream Unseen” (mystery movie) (3/30, 7 p.m.), THE SUPER MARIO GALAXY MOVIE (animation) (4/1 on), THE DRAMA, A GREAT AWAKENING (faith film) (4/2 on) *single screenings daily

@ Phoenix Savoy 16 + IMAX, Savoy, IL
THE AI DOC: OR HOW I BECAME AN APOCALOPTIMIST (documentary), FORBIDDEN FRUITS, THE MUMMY RETURNS 25th anniversary* (re-release), THEY WILL KILL YOU, DHURANDHAR THE REVENGE (in Hindi with English sub), EPiC: ELVIS PRESLEY IN CONCERT* (music documentary), GOAT (animation), HOPPERS (animation), I CAN ONLY IMAGINE 2* (faith film), PROJECT HAIL MARY, READY OR NOT 2: HERE I COME, REMINDERS OF HIM, SEND HELP*, SCREAM 7, UNDERTONE (3/27 on), STAND BY ME (3/28, 5 p.m.; 3/30-3/31, 4:30 p.m.; 4/2, 4:45 p.m.), BEN-HUR (1959) (3/29, 2 & 7 p.m.; 4/1-4/2, 7 p.m.), THE SUPER MARIO GALAXY MOVIE (animation) (4/1 on) *single screenings daily

@ Pine Lounge, 1st floor, Illini Union, UIUC, Urbana, IL
Illini Union Board presents “Spring 2025 Weekend Films” feat. WICKED: FOR GOOD (3/27-3/28, 7 p.m.; free w/i-card)

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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Read the rest of this entry »

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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THE BLOGFIDENTIAL TELETYPE | Film News You Can Use, C-U

What we’re seeing on our beat this week … The heart and soul of who and what we seek out, the indie creators in our midst, provide the beat for the Teletype this week! To start, our friend Kimberly Conner of Predestined Arts & Entertainment in Springfield has announced she is hosting an updated informational session on what it takes to find success in independent production; “How to Make a Movie in 50 Bite Size Steps” will be reprised on Friday, April 4, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. via the WebEx conferencing platform and registration is one click away. Conner has also revealed that she is exploring options and seeking partnerships for launching a full-service soundstage in or near the Capital City to take advantage of the Illinois tax credit program and bring in business; “serious inquiries only,” and she means it …

Elsewhere, our friend Jessie Seitz of Acid Goth in Decatur recently gave her contributors and supporters a sneak peek at a workprint of MONSTER GIRLS, a long-gestating documentary and tribute to women artists who ply their trade in the messy and exacting world of special effects make-up for the screen and stage. The piece is structured around lengthy talks with two trailblazers, the retired Oscar-winner Ve Neill (BEETLEJUICE, BATMAN RETURNS, FACE OFF) and still active Emmy-winner Jennifer Aspinall (THE TOXIC AVENGER, STREET TRASH, PAM AND TOMMY), and loving nods to the late Millicent Patrick, who designed several seminal characters while at Universal Studios including the Gill Man. Narration and an appearance by Diana Prince (THE LAST DRIVE-IN) is woven in along with commentary from several younger artists voicing their perspectives on the modern iteration of this fascinating line of work. Seitz says a distribution deal is near and fine tuning in store for the passion project and historical record …

We also have a few brief notes to share. One, we finally got a look at the concept short film, CHILDREN OF THE CORNFIELD, which we talked about back in December when its director, Crystal Hughes, hosted a premiere for it at Danville’s Fischer Theatre. You can see the offbeat farmland doings of her on-screen alter ego, “Zella,” for yourselves here and keep an eye out here for hiring announcements on the feature film version that is set for production in late May and June in Vermilion County, last we knew …

Two, Anne and Chris Lukeman are having a soft opening this weekend for their newest endeavor, Parcadia, an “indoor magical minigolf tavern” concept that is located near their successful escape room business, Champaign-Urbana Adventures in Time and Space; who knew their yarn-spinning and crafting savvy would lead these former filmmakers down such unique paths? The secret formula is probably buried along with the Mummy, Ted Johnson, well beneath the University of Illinois foundations …

Three, Camp Nostalgia Studios recently told their Facebook fans of a programming shake-up that will result in the debut of several new shows in 2026 and 2027; staff storyteller and illustrator Gela Rediger takes charge of this year’s premieres including a collaboration with Earth-217 Studios’ Chase Todd called THE SMALL AND TALL BOOK CLUB and an interview series with local artists called REAL ART … and that’s what we can reveal for today. Always remember – this is not just movies, it’s our lives.

LOCAL FILMS & EVENTS | Support Your Media Storytellers

@ Lake County College, Grayslake, IL, etc.
16th annual Lake County Film Festival* (through 3/24) Information

@ The Normal Theater, Normal, IL
Redbird Film Forum at the School of Theatre, Dance, and Film, presents the ISU Student Film Festival* (3/24, 7-9 p.m., free) Information

NOW PLAYING | Champaign-Urbana Area

@ AMC Champaign 13, Champaign, IL
DHURANDHAR THE REVENGE (in Hindi with English sub), THE POUT-POUT FISH* (animation), PROJECT HAIL MARY, READY OR NOT 2: HERE I COME, Studio Ghibli Fest: KIKI’S DELIVERY SERVICE (animé) (in Japanese with English sub or English dub), USTAAD BHAGAT SINGH* (in Telugu with English sub), THE BRIDE!, GOAT (animation), HOPPERS (animation), REMINDERS OF HIM, SCREAM 7, TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES II: THE SECRET OF THE OOZE 35th anniversary* (re-release), UNDERTONE (3/20 on), Fan Faves: THE KING OF KINGS* (animation; 3/22, 3/25) and AMERICAN UNDERDOG* (3/22, 3/25), AMC “Scream Unseen” (mystery movie) (3/23, 7 p.m.), FORBIDDEN FRUITS sneak preview (3/25, 7 p.m.), THE AI DOC: OR HOW I BECAME AN APOCALOPTIMIST (documentary), FORBIDDEN FRUITS, THEY WILL KILL YOU (3/26 on) *single screenings daily

@ Phoenix Savoy 16 + IMAX, Savoy, IL
DHURANDHAR THE REVENGE (in Hindi with English sub), PROJECT HAIL MARY, READY OR NOT 2: HERE I COME, THE BRIDE!*, CRIME 101, EPiC: ELVIS PRESLEY IN CONCERT (music documentary), GOAT (animation), HOPPERS (animation), I CAN ONLY IMAGINE 2 (faith film), REMINDERS OF HIM, SCREAM 7, SLANTED*, TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES II: THE SECRET OF THE OOZE 35th anniversary* (re-release), UNDERTONE, WUTHERING HEIGHTS* (3/20 on), The Metropolitan Opera: Tristan und Isolde (3/21, 11 a.m., simulcast; 3/25, 12 & 6:30 p.m.), RAD 40th anniversary (3/22, 4 & 7 p.m.; 3/24, 7 p.m.), MATILDA (3/22, 3 & 7 p.m.; 3/25, 7 p.m.), THE FIRST HYMN (religious documentary) (3/24, 3/26, 4 & 7 p.m.) *single screenings daily

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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Read the rest of this entry »

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.

~~~~~

THE BLOGFIDENTIAL TELETYPE | Film News You Can Use, C-U

What we’re seeing on our beat this week … “Celebrity sightings” is our calling as we roll out the Teletype! First, the Normal Theater in Normal announced this week they will host a special sneak preview of the upcoming small-town thriller NORMAL on Thursday, April 2, with screenwriter Derek Kolstad (JOHN WICK) and star Bob Odenkirk (BETTER CALL SAUL) in attendance; word is that advance tickets have sold out and day-of tickets will be made available at the box office …

Then, the University of Illinois also announced this week that College of Media alumnus Sean Evans, creator and host of the popular and award-winning HOT ONES chat show on YouTube, will be the commencement speaker on Saturday, May 16, at Gies Memorial Stadium; Evans has interviewed dozens of entertainment names since the series launched in 2015, with guests testing their taste buds on increasingly more potent hot sauce products as the conversations go, with recent episodes featuring Teyana Taylor, Jason Segel, Daniel Radcliffe, and Madison Beer …

From chicken wings to CHILI FINGER, the independently-produced comedy about a woman who runs afoul of a regional fast-food chain that caused a big stir while being filmed in Champaign County last year, we learned that it will enjoy three screenings during the South by Southwest film festival in Austin, Texas, this weekend, including its World Premiere on Saturday, March 14, 2:45 p.m., at the Zach Theater; directed by Edd Benda and Stephen Helstad, it stars Judy Greer, Sean Astin, Bryan Cranston, and John Goodman …

In compiling the Calendar, we see that Viva Kids has a new animated family feature opening in area theaters next Thursday, March 19, called THE POUT-POUT FISH, based on the book written by Deborah Diesen and illustrated by Dan Hanna; the aquatic acquaintances who go on an adventure are voiced by Nina Oyama (UTOPIA) and UI alumnus Nick Offerman (PARKS & RECREATION) …

And finally, who are the stars in our neighborhood? You can always learn by attending the monthly meeting of Champaign Movie Makers, which returns to the Esquire Lounge in downtown Champaign this Monday, March 16, starting at 7 p.m.; grab a refreshment, meet the players, and find a role in what we’re creating. Hooray for Towniewood! …

Oh, right. The Oscars. 6 p.m. Central on ABC-TV … and that’s what we can reveal for today. Always remember – this is not just movies, it’s our lives.

CONFIDENTIAL ALMANAC | Dates in Film Culture History

5 Years Ago … Tuesday, March 16, 2021: After several years of hints, the standard-setting home video company Synapse Films releases Blu-ray and DVD editions of the crime film RUNNING TIME, directed by Josh Becker and starring Bruce Campbell, Jeremy Roberts, Anita Barone, Stan Davis, and Art Le Fleur. Arriving two decades after the original physical media release by Anchor Bay Entertainment, this one presents the black-and-white “real time” crime flick with a transfer upgrade as well as significant extras that now connect it to Champaign-Urbana. In what seems to be a rare arrangement for Synapse, regular cover artist Wen Benscoter contributes a striking composition that serves as the reverse jacket illustration in deference to a unique Campbell portrait that is rendered by Gerry Kissell, a long-time confidant of Becker who helped to arrange the screening of RUNNING TIME held in Noyes Lab on the University of Illinois campus in late 1997. At the event, which served as opening night for the debut Freaky Film Festival, future C-U Blogfidential editor Jason Pankoke offered to tape footage for the organizers, Grace Giorgio and Eric Fisher, including a chat session between the sizeable audience and guest attendees Becker and Campbell, and much of that recording is made available for the first time ever as a bonus on the disc. Two years later, RUNNING TIME became the cover story in the first issue of Pankoke’s film journal, MICRO-FILM. As reported on 10/29/09, 10/5/18, 6/7/19 at CUBlog.

20 Years Ago … Wednesday, March 15, 2006: The first feature film production from Dreamscape Cinema of Champaign to receive distribution, CRAB ORCHARD, is shown locally at the Virginia Theatre as a Midwest premiere. Producer and writer Robin Christian introduces the 7 p.m. screening to a near-capacity crowd north of 1,300. After appearing first in international markets and undergoing a title change, CRAB ORCHARD would come to U.S. DVD in early 2011 as SHEEBA (Questar Home Video). The cast of this family drama includes Ruby Handler, Dylan Patton, Betsy Zajko, Judge Reinhold, and Edward Asner. Media entrepreneur and photojournalist Michael J. Jacobs directed the film for Dreamscape. As reported on 3/12/06, 3/19/06, 1/27/11 at CUBlog. [R]

LOCAL FILMS & EVENTS | Support Your Media Storytellers

@ Analog Wine Library, Urbana, IL
Film Fanatic Movie Nights* presents THE MAN WHO WASN’T THERE (3/19, 7 p.m.)

@ Esquire Lounge, Champaign, IL
Champaign Movie Makers* meeting (3/16, 7 p.m.)

@ Flyover Film Studios, Rantoul, IL
“Spring Break (SB2) Camera Department Intensive” instructed by Robert Patrick Stern (3/16-3/19)

@ Lake County College, Grayslake, IL, etc.
16th annual Lake County Film Festival* (3/12-3/24) Information

NOW PLAYING | Champaign-Urbana Area

@ AMC Champaign 13, Champaign, IL
BOONIE BEARS: THE HIDDEN PROTECTOR* (animation; in Mandarin with English sub), PER ASPERA AD ASTRA (in Mandarin with English sub), REMINDERS OF HIM, THE REVENANT 10th anniversary (re-release), TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES II: THE SECRET OF THE OOZE 35th (re-release), UNDERTONE, THE BRIDE!, DEMON SLAYER: INFINITY CASTLE (animé re-release) (in Japanese with English sub or English dub), DOLLY*, GOAT (animation), HOPPERS (animation), PEGASUS 3* (in Mandarin with English and Chinese sub), SCREAM 7 (3/6 on), WUTHERING HEIGHTS* (3/13-3/17), Fan Faves: ANACONDA* (3/13-3/17, 3/19), ONE BATTLE AFTER ANOTHER* (3/13-), SINNERS* (3/13-3/15), SOUND OF FREEDOM* (3/14-3/15, 3/18), and UNSUNG HERO* (3/14-3/15,3/18), PROJECT HAIL MARY sneak preview (3/16, 7 p.m.), AMC “Screen Unseen” (mystery movie) (3/16, 7 p.m.), USTAAD BHAGAT SINGH (in Telugu with English sub) (3/18, 3:15 p.m.), DHURANDHAR THE REVENGE (in Hindi with English sub) (3/18, 7:10 p.m.), THE POUT-POUT FISH (animation), PROJECT HAIL MARY, READY OR NOT 2: HERE I COME (3/19 on) *single screenings daily

@ Phoenix Savoy 16 + IMAX, Savoy, IL
REMINDERS OF HIM, THE REVENANT 10th anniversary (re-release), SLANTED, TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES II: THE SECRET OF THE OOZE 35th (re-release), UNDERTONE, ANACONDA, THE BRIDE!, CRIME 101, EPiC: ELVIS PRESLEY IN CONCERT (music documentary), GOAT (animation), HOPPERS (animation), I CAN ONLY IMAGINE 2 (faith film), PROTECTOR*, SEND HELP, SCREAM 7, WUTHERING HEIGHTS, ZOOTOPIA 2 (animation) (3/13 on), NORTH BY NORTHWEST (3/15, 3 & 7 p.m.; 3/18, 7 p.m.), USTAAD BHAGAT SINGH (in Telugu with English sub), DHURANDHAR THE REVENGE (in Hindi with English sub) (3/18 on), PROJECT HAIL MARY (3/19 on)

@ Pine Lounge, 1st floor, Illini Union, UIUC, Urbana, IL
Illini Union Board presents “Spring 2025 Weekend Films” feat. THE HOUSEMAID (3/13-3/14, 7 p.m.; free w/i-card)

Events featuring locally produced movies are marked with an asterisk (*). Additional “Now Playing” and “Coming Soon” listings appear after the jump!

~~~~~

Read the rest of this entry »

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.

~~~~~

THE BLOGFIDENTIAL TELETYPE | Film News You Can Use, C-U

What we’re seeing on our beat this week … Forgive us, we dropped the beat. Much is afoot at MFHQ Deux, so we’ve had to follow what’s in the cards. Our toes will tap the concrete again next week. Onward … and that’s what we can reveal for today. Always remember – this is not just movies, it’s our lives.

CONFIDENTIAL ALMANAC | Dates in Film Culture History

27 Years Ago … Wednesday, March 3, 1999: Operating out of a studio-office situated near downtown Champaign, Illinois, Opteryx Press puts its spin on independent film discourse to paper for the first time with the release of MICRO-FILM: The Warning Shot. The letter-size, 12-page ‘zine is a copy shop creation with a teal cover that serves as a low-budget teaser for the upcoming MICRO-FILM, “The Magazine of Personal Cinema in Action.” Novice self-publisher Jason Pankoke draws the content from his recent interactions with participants in the American “film festival circuit” as well as science-fiction and horror fandom; interview subjects include Scary Monsters Magazine publisher Dennis Druktenis from the Chicago suburb of Highwood, Oregon-based stop-motion animator Suzanne Twining, and filmmaker and photographer Brien Burroughs of San Francisco. Short subjects created by the latter two were introduced to a Champaign-Urbana audience during the first Freaky Film Festival in 1997. “Many of the films in MICRO-FILM will be raw and unpolished,” writes Pankoke in a “Save the Mirth” editorial. “Some will be experimental and abstract. Most will be far from perfect, at least according to the standards of mainstream critics and cinema historians. However, all belong to the century-old history of motion picture making, and this history deserves to be fleshed out by recording what is going on in the grassroots, the backyards, and the underground. In this case, size doesn’t matter. Your films do.” A second “stepping stone” issue to be called MICRO-FILM 101 is promoted in The Warning Shot but never comes to fruition. As reported on 3/7/09 at CUBlog. [R]

LOCAL FILMS & EVENTS | Support Your Media Storytellers

@ Antioch Theatre, Antioch, IL
16th annual Lake County Film Festival* opening night feat. NUISANCE BEAR (documentary) (3/12, 7 p.m.)

@ Flyover Film Studios, Rantoul, IL
“Spring Break (SB1) Camera Department Intensive” instructed by Robert Patrick Stern (3/9-3/13)

@ Spurlock Museum of World Cultures, UIUC, Urbana, IL
UI Center for Advanced Study “MillerComm 2026” screening: FLAME (documentary) w/discussion (3/10, 5 p.m.), UI Department of French & Italian, etc., present “Francophone Film Festival” feat. LE CONSENTEMENT (in French with English sub) (3/11, 6:30 p.m.)

NOW PLAYING | Champaign-Urbana Area

@ AMC Champaign 13, Champaign, IL
THE BRIDE!, DEMON SLAYER: INFINITY CASTLE (animé re-release) (in Japanese with English sub or English dub), DOLLY*, HOPPERS (animation), PROTECTOR, CRIME 101*, EPiC: ELVIS PRESLEY IN CONCERT* (music documentary), GOAT (animation), I CAN ONLY IMAGINE 2 (faith film), PEGASUS 3* (in Mandarin with English and Chinese sub), SCREAM 7, WUTHERING HEIGHTS (3/6 on), Fan Faves: I CAN ONLY IMAGINE* (faith film) (3/6-3/8, 3/10) and I STILL BELIEVE* (faith film) (3/6-3/8, 3/11), AMC “Screen Unseen” (mystery movie) (3/9, 7 p.m.), REMINDERS OF HIM, UNDERTONE (3/12 on) *single screenings daily

@ Phoenix Savoy 16 + IMAX, Savoy, IL
THE BRIDE!, HOPPERS (animation), MRITHYUNJAY* (in Telugu with English sub), PROTECTOR, CRIME 101, EPiC: ELVIS PRESLEY IN CONCERT (music documentary), GOAT (animation), I CAN ONLY IMAGINE 2 (faith film), SEND HELP, SCREAM 7, WUTHERING HEIGHTS, ZOOTOPIA 2 (animation) (3/6 on), UFC 326: Max Holloway vs. Charles Oliviera, more (mixed martial arts) (3/7, 8 p.m., simulcast), The Royal Ballet: Romeo and Juliet (3/8, 3 p.m., 3/9, 7 p.m.; 2015 recorded performance); LA LA LAND (3/8, 3 & 7 p.m.; 3/11, 7 p.m.), REMINDERS OF HIM (3/12 on) *single screenings daily

@ Pine Lounge, 1st floor, Illini Union, UIUC, Urbana, IL
Illini Union Board presents “Spring 2025 Weekend Films” feat. THE RUNNING MAN (3/6-3/7, 7 p.m.; free w/i-card)

@ The Virginia Theatre, Champaign, IL
Illinois Public Media and the UI Japan House present KOKUHO (in Japanese with English sub) (3/11, 6 p.m. discussion, 7 p.m. film)

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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Read the rest of this entry »

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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THE BLOGFIDENTIAL TELETYPE | Film News You Can Use, C-U

What we’re seeing on our beat this week … Film festivals are the fan fave topics du jour as our feverish fingers clack away at the Teletype! Up front is this weekend’s forty-third iteration of the Insect Fear Film Festival, organized by the Entomology Graduate Student Association and overseen by its founder. Dr. May Berenbaum, which will take place tomorrow, Saturday, February 28, at its forever home on the University of Illinois campus, Foellinger Auditorium. The free all-ages event will begin at 5 p.m. with the children’s art gallery as well as a live and mounted invertebrate exhibit in the foyer, expand with awards and activities at 6 p.m., and segue into a “human-insect hybrid” program at 7 p.m. The media being presented this round is an episode of the Eighties kidvid animation, SECTAURS, and a low-budget 2009 creature feature, INFESTATION, directed by Kyle Rankin and co-starring Ray Wise. Richard Leskosky writes in the News-Gazette about the (partly unfounded) fear to be faced at this entomological exposé …

Our next observation is about the promo spots blooming on the socials for the gang of annual spring showcases that present student work and are organized, to various degrees, by students. UI has the Illinois Student Film Festival, which is scheduled for May 1 at the Spurlock Museum of World Cultures and is accepting material from enrolled students up until April 17; use either the link or QR code at this Facebook page to sign in and submit. Illinois State University has the Foxtail Film Festival, set for April 23-26 at the Normal Theater in Normal; young folks who quality to enter have until this Sunday, March 1, to do so using the guidelines and directions to be found on their FilmFreeway account. And, Southern Illinois University has the venerable Big Muddy Film Festival on deck for their forty-eighth program to be presented March 19-21 at the revitalized Varsity Theatre in Carbondale; their film selections are long set, but they program more broadly like a traditional festival than the others mentioned here and always make room to highlight the work of both current students and SIU alumni working in media vocations …

Chaz Ebert and Nate Kohn have revealed the first specifics about what “The Last Dance” of Roger Ebert’s Film Festival in Champaign will look like when the house lights go down on April 17-19 at the Virginia Theatre. Two of the eight features will be THE AMERICAN PRESIDENT, part in honor of its late director, Rob Reiner, and surely part in helping us remember what a competent if imperfect leader of democracy looks like, and NUREMBERG, part in respect of the tradition of compelling historical dramas, this one starring Russell Crowe and Rami Malek, and surely part in helping us remember what should happen when powerful individuals commit war crimes and spurn democracy. Also to be presented in a twist is a stage play in which the taping of an early episode of Roger Ebert and Gene Siskel’s seminal television review show in Chicago is dramatized. Given today’s date, soon we should learn more …

To close, we caught a Facebook post from the all-but-dormant account of the Dead in Decatur Film Festival that it is rising from the grave to bring its genre- and gender-friendly program back with a target event date of February 2027. The array of deadlines (if not quite the event description) has been updated on FilmFreeway and it’s unclear where the event might be held after the last one in 2022 was relegated to an online presentation. Check it out and send in your questions to returning director Zelda Tindell … and that’s what we can reveal for today. Always remember – this is not just movies, it’s our lives.

CONFIDENTIAL ALMANAC | Dates in Film Culture History

20 Years Ago … Saturday, February 25, 2006: After the seventh issue of the Champaign film journal MICRO-FILM is published, Opteryx Press adapts its “C-U Confidential” local-zine section into a new internet variation, C-U Blogfidential. The first entry written by editor and publisher Jason Pankoke, dated 8:57 p.m., describes an intention of “[making] a minor splash creating a community history through cinema, one that we can definitely call our own,” with CUBlog as its potential epicenter. Topics to be covered in the following months include the Danville fantasy-comedy SHOW; Dreamscape Cinema’s first features, CRAB ORCHARD and DISCONNECTED; the fan- and convention-favorite spoof of video game tropes, PRESS START, from Dark Maze Studios of Champaign; the second episodes of BrainSmart Productions’ WEREWOLF CEMETERY and THE ADVENTURES OF THE SCREAMING APE, directed by Jason Butler; the infamous UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS VS. A MUMMY and lesser-known ROBOTMAN, made by the UIUC students of Illini Film & Video and directed by Chris Lukeman; a video adaptation of Antigone by the Creative Dramatics Workshop and its director, Robert Picklesimer; an empowering documentary called AN UPHILL CLIMB from Callan Films of Effingham; Blue Bassoon Pictures’ darkly funny crime spoof MERRY CHRISTMAS!; visits from UI alumni working in professional media like Fred Rubin and Michael Wiese; and numerous community and campus screenings such as a run of MICRO-FILM Movie Shows at the beloved bar Mike ‘n Molly’s in downtown Champaign. As of January 2026, CUBlog has published content keyed in to the movies of Champaign, Urbana, and the cities beyond in every single month since its launch over more than 1,700 postings. [R]

LOCAL FILMS & EVENTS | Support Your Media Storytellers

@ Foellinger Auditorium, UIUC, Urbana, IL
UI Entomology Graduate Student Association presents 43rd Insect Fear Film Festival* feat. SECTAURS, INFESTATION (2/28, 5 p.m. doors and activities, 6 p.m. announcements and awards, 7 p.m. cartoon and feature, free)

@ Phoenix Savoy 16 + IMAX, Savoy, IL
Chambana Film Society* presents “2026 Oscar-Nominated Short Films” series: 2/27: Animation (7 p.m.), 2/28: Documentary (7 p.m.), 3/1: Live Action (3 p.m.)

@ Spurlock Museum of World Cultures, UIUC, Urbana, IL
UI Roger Ebert Center for Film Studies presents ONE BATTLE AFTER ANOTHER w/discussion (3/5, 7 p.m.)

NOW PLAYING | Champaign-Urbana Area

@ AMC Champaign 13, Champaign, IL
EPiC: ELVIS PRESLEY IN CONCERT (music documentary), K-POPS!, PEGASUS 3* (in Mandarin with English and Chinese sub), SCREAM 7, UMAMUSUME: PRETTY DERBY – BEGINNING OF A NEW ERA* (animé) (in Japanese with English sub), CRIME 101, GOAT (animation), HOW TO MAKE A KILLING*, I CAN ONLY IMAGINE 2, MIDWINTER BREAK*, PSYCHO KILLER, WUTHERING HEIGHTS (2/27 on), TWENTY-ONE PILOTS: MORE THAN WE EVER IMAGINED* (music documentary) (2/26-2/28), Fan Faves: GET ON THE BUS* (2/27-3/5), THE WOMAN KING* (2/27-3/5), and FRUITVALE STATION* (2/27-3/5), DOLLY sneak preview (3/3, 8 p.m.), THE BRIDE!, DOLLY, HOPPERS (animation), PROTECTOR (3/5 on) *single screenings daily

@ Phoenix Savoy 16 + IMAX, Savoy, IL
SCREAM 7, VISHU VINYASAAM (in Telugu with English sub), AVATAR: FIRE AND ASH, CRIME 101, EPiC: ELVIS PRESLEY IN CONCERT (music documentary), GOAT (animation), GOOD LUCK HAVE FUN DON’T DIE*, HOW TO MAKE A KILLING, I CAN ONLY IMAGINE 2, IRON LUNG, PSYCHO KILLER, SEND HELP, SOLO MIO, WUTHERING HEIGHTS, ZOOTOPIA 2 (animation) (2/27 on), HOPPERS sneak preview (2/28, 1 p.m.), SPIDER-MAN 2 (2/28, 7 p.m.; 3/1, 3 & 7 p.m.; 3/ 4, 7 p.m.), THE BRIDE!, HOPPERS (animation) (3/5 on) *single screenings daily

@ Pine Lounge, 1st floor, Illini Union, UIUC, Urbana, IL
Illini Union Board presents “Spring 2025 Weekend Films” feat. FIVE NIGHTS AT FREDDY’S 2 (2/27-2/28, 7 p.m.; free w/i-card)

@ The Virginia Theatre, Champaign, IL
The News-Gazette Film Series presents HOOSIERS (2/28, 2 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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Read the rest of this entry »

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Are you still out there, dearest readers who have a vested interest in the movie history and related film culture of Champaign, Urbana, and the cities beyond, spread far and wide throughout the state of Illinois? We certainly hope so, because we are still in here at the Secret MICRO-FILM Headquarters and would like to share with you, in some fashion or another, our continued purpose as we’ve reached this point on the calendar today, Wednesday, February 25. It’s the twentieth anniversary of the moment we went live with the first post from yours truly, the forever editor and publisher, on Saturday, February 25, 2006, in which a simple question was posed – “What is C-U Blogfidential?” – that really couldn’t be answered at the time, even though a precedent was explored in the pages of our flagship journal, MICRO-FILM.

By all rights, a singular forum devoted to the particular thrills of cinematic pursuits, in and adjacent to a pair of specific Midwest college towns, should not have had legs over such a long stretch, never mind a prayer to exist in the first place, during which the faces, places, creations, and achievements of a local pedigree might be covered at length and in knowing detail. CUBlog could have been shut down at several junctions for various reasons, especially during the last few years when my personal challenges and family responsibilities ramped up to an extreme, yet I’ve chosen to continue on for various other reasons and, in the coming months, we’re going to get chatty about how we plan to change our approach to movie coverage and chronicle in east central Illinois. My personal skin in this game is tougher and less elastic than in the past, and middle-aged sweat equity can have dry spells. It’s time to flex different muscles.

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Until we expand on where CUBlog goes from here, there is no harm in celebrating the longevity of a DIY pet project that has more or less maintained that very character. If nothing else, it’s a way to say that CUBlog has never been conformed to corporate interests or blunted by outside pressures – it’s central voice and conscience have always been my own, warts and all – while the definition of its “success” is probably way more subjective to define than one might think. I often let out a sigh of relief that I still find value in doing CUBlog and (usually privately) bemoan how it is probably destined to never become a viable business entity, a beloved local institution, a fashionable presence in the current C-U zeitgeist, or a cult classic with a devoted following that willingly seeks you out instead of the other way around. It’s just “here” until it’s not anymore. And it won’t be here anymore if I say it’s time to flash “The End” up on the screen. Our scene du C-U will keep going no matter what, so I’m good with choosing my own ending.

I plan to share further thoughts on CUBlog so far – watch this space around or on March 3 – and constructive blather on what CUBlog will be – look back for more on or around March 15 – so this is as deep as I want to tap the well for today. Even though my comments here may seem a bit deflated in spirit, it doesn’t mean we haven’t been active; every single month since it launched, CUBlog has posted content and there is plenty of it for you to catch up on, we’d bet. Another level that CUBlog has never unlocked is “award-winner,” so I decided to make the 20-years graphic that you see above and on our social media accounts; we’ll call it a “badge of honor” and, if you are so inclined to help spread the news, you can right-click on either image and download a larger file to share in your spaces, hopefully with a kind word and a link directing your circle back to us. Thank you, friends and neighbors. We will C-U at the ‘blog, then!

Jason Pankoke
Editor & Publisher
C-U Blogfidential
Champaign, Illinois
& Mendota, Illinois

[This post #1800 + 1 on CUBlog. Is post #2000 within reason?]

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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PASSINGS | You Will Be Missed

2/9: David Schroeder, 66 (house organist, The Virginia Theatre, Champaign Park District, Champaign, IL)

THE BLOGFIDENTIAL TELETYPE | Film News You Can Use, C-U

What we’re seeing on our beat this week … Learning opportunities are the key takeaway from this trip ‘round the block! First, we recently discovered OLLI (Osher Lifelong Learning Institute) at Illinois, which offers online and hybrid teaching for the older generation in east central Illinois, and that certain classes this semester are being taught by friends in film. Perry C. Morris will share “A Brief History of Champaign and Urbana Theaters” weekly between February 25 and April 15, while Chuck Koplinski will investigate “Is It Still Funny? Film Comedy from Different Eras” weekly between February 25 and April 22, except for on March 18, and “The Victorian Novel, Dickens and Trollope, on Film” will be led by local classical music expert John Frayne from February 27 to April 17 …

Senior honors student M. E. Colby, who attends Eastern Illinois University, has combined her love of butterfly research with training in video production to arrive at BUTTERFLIES & YOU, a 24-minute documentary about the various species that inhabit Illinois and the work of the Urban Butterfly Initiative, a non-profit organization based in Charleston. After several semesters’ worth of planning, shooting, and traveling the state thanks to a grant, the double major in communications and biology saw her thesis project air on WEIU-TV and debut via YouTube on Tuesday, January 13 …

Community members young and older have opportunities to stoke their creative fires and hone their brewing skill sets in the coming weeks. A final Pens to Lens workshop for the last-minute massaging of scripts, written by K-12 students and teams from the immediate area, will be held on Saturday, February 28, 1 p.m., at the Urbana Health and Wellness Center on Washington Street, while Flyover Film Studios has a pair of half-weeks dedicated to crash courses on camerawork, led by the cinematographer and producer Robert Patrick Stern, slated for March 9-13 and 16-19 in Rantoul. The latter, which do have a sizeable participation fee, follow a free introductory look at how different makes and models of cameras behave that is scheduled for later tonight, Friday, February 20, at the campus … and that’s what we can reveal for today. Always remember – this is not just movies, it’s our lives.

CONFIDENTIAL ALMANAC | Dates in Film Culture History

25 Years Ago … Tuesday, January 23, 2001: A prolific distributor of micro-budget films and related collectibles, Sub Rosa Studios of Syracuse, New York, announces a trio of new titles releasing to the home video market. One is the debut feature-length project from Shut Up and Do It Productions of Champaign, DOGS IN QUICKSAND, which was filmed by writer/director Mike Trippiedi and cinematographer/editor Bill Yauch with cast and crew in numerous Champaign County locations during the summer of 1997. Although several of their recent video shorts have played in regional film festivals, earned awards in competition, and received coverage in periodicals friendly to the emerging “backyard cinema” movement in America such as Film Threat and Shock Cinema, DOGS is the first effort to be made widely available to the general public in any format. Local audiences received an initial look at the movie, a dark and quirky comedy about an estranged small-town couple played by Anne Shapland Kearns and Trippiedi whose lives are turned upside down after a murder occurs, in November 1999 as a selection of the third Freaky Film Festival at the New Art Theater. PSYCHO SCARECROW and THE MURDER MEN are the other two indies being premiered on VHS by Sub Rosa, which would reissue DOGS in various DVD sets over the next several years after rebranding as SRS Cinema. [R]

LOCAL FILMS & EVENTS | Support Your Media Storytellers

@ Analog Wine Library, Urbana, IL, 6 p.m.
Film Fanatic Movie Nights* presents THE UNKNOWN (1927) (2/26, 6 p.m.)

@ Flyover Film Studios, Rantoul, IL
“Flyover Labs: Camera & Lens Shootout” gear demonstration (2/20, 6 p.m., free w/ticket)

@ Phoenix Savoy 16 + IMAX, Savoy, IL
Chambana Film Society* presents “2026 Oscar-Nominated Short Films” series: 2/20: Live Action (7 p.m.), 2/21: Animation (7 p.m.), 2/22: Documentary (3 p.m.)

@ Spurlock Museum of World Cultures, UIUC, Urbana, IL
UI Department of Slavic Languages & Literatures and Spurlock Museum present 2000 METERS TO ANDRIIVKA w/discussion (in Ukrainian with English sub) (2/24, 5 p.m.)

NOW PLAYING | Champaign-Urbana Area

@ AMC Champaign 13, Champaign, IL
BLADES OF THE GUARDIANS* (in Mandarin with English and Chinese sub), HOW TO MAKE A KILLING, I CAN ONLY IMAGINE 2, MIDWINTER BREAK, PSYCHO KILLER, REDUX REDUX, THIS IS NOT A TEST, AVATAR: FIRE AND ASH*, CRIME 101, GOAT (animation), GOOD LUCK HAVE FUN DON’T DIE, SEND HELP, SOLO MIO, WUTHERING HEIGHTS (2/20 on), Fan Faves: FRUITVALE STATION* (2/20-2/26) and SINNERS* (2/20-2/26), K-POPS! sneak preview w/Anderson .Paak live discussion (2/24, 7:30 p.m., simulcast), TWENTY-ONE PILOTS: MORE THAN WE EVER IMAGINED (music documentary) (2/26, 6 p.m.), EPiC: ELVIS PRESLEY IN CONCERT (music documentary), K-POPS!, SCREAM 7 (2/26 on) *single screenings daily

@ Phoenix Savoy 16 + IMAX, Savoy, IL
EPiC: ELVIS PRESLEY IN CONCERT (music documentary; IMAX), HOW TO MAKE A KILLING, I CAN ONLY IMAGINE 2, PSYCHO KILLER, AVATAR: FIRE AND ASH, COLD STORAGE, CRIME 101, GOAT (animation), GOOD LUCK HAVE FUN DON’T DIE, IRON LUNG, MARTY SUPREME, SEND HELP, SOLO MIO, THE STRANGERS: CHAPTER 3, WUTHERING HEIGHTS, ZOOTOPIA 2 (animation) (2/20 on), Indian cinema: HEY BHAGAWAN (in Telugu with English sub; 2/21-2/25), ASSI* (in Hindi with English sub; 2/21-2/25), and DO DEEWANE SEHER MEIN* (in Hindi with English sub; 2/21-2/25), BREAKFAST AT TIFFANY’S (2/22, 3 & 7 p.m.; 2/25, 7 p.m.), HOMECOMING: THE TOKYO SERIES (sports documentary) (2/23-2/24, 7 p.m.), SCREAM 7 (2/26 on) *single screenings daily

@ Pine Lounge, 1st floor, Illini Union, UIUC, Urbana, IL
Illini Union Board presents “Spring 2025 Weekend Films” feat. ZOOTOPIA 2 (2/20-2/21, 7 p.m.; free w/i-card)

@ The Virginia Theatre, Champaign, IL
Mix 94.5 & Rewind 92.5 present MY NEIGHBOR TOTORO (animé) (2/21, 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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Read the rest of this entry »

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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THE BLOGFIDENTIAL TELETYPE | Film News You Can Use, C-U

What we’re seeing on our beat this week … 7 Palms Entertainment, LLC, of Columbus, OH, has started its release strategy for THE FAIRFIELD COUNTY FOUR, the recently completed found footage werewolf horror from Watseka filmmaker Joshua Brucker for Horror Dadz Productions; Amazon Prime is now offering it VOD as of last Friday, February 6, with more avenues on the way and streaming/physical media options going out soon to the project’s backers, per Brucker …

We neglected to mention a special addition to the recent Champaign Movie Makers 48-hour contest presentation at the Phoenix Savoy 16 + IMAX last month, the local premiere of Earth-217 Studios’ newest short, FLIP & SUZY; the dark romance stars Tayler Holler, Mercedes DeSilva, Chloe Loren, and writer/director Chase Todd, who announced yesterday that it and another Earth-217 dose of doomed love, AN AFFAIR AT THE END OF THE WORLD, are now available to watch on YouTube in time for Valentine’s Day …

Ye Ed’s rummaging around at DeepDiscount has revealed the upcoming physical release of a central Illinois indie that was produced a few years ago, DON’T LET ME STAY, which will be available as MOD from Filmhub starting on Tuesday, March 3; made in the Springfield and Bloomington areas in 2021; director Aaron Thomas’ feature debut, which has already been available to stream on services like Prime, YouTube, and Tubi, is about a young peoples’ outing at a country homestead that exhibits malevolence as the weekend wears on …

Simeon Faith and Fathom Entertainment’s release of MOSES THE BLACK has ended in the area after a two-week run, while it’s difficult to gauge how well it did nationwide since Fathom hasn’t been reporting numbers to the aggregates like Boxoffice Pro or Box Office Mojo; Amy Penne of Smile Politely recounted the special screening of the locally-filmed drama at Savoy 16, hosted by Chambana Film Society, and Chuck Koplinski offered his critical thoughts on it via the News-Gazette … and that’s what we can reveal for today. Always remember – this is not just movies, it’s our lives.

CONFIDENTIAL ALMANAC | Dates in Film Culture History

5 Years Ago … Thursday, January 21, 2021: At approximately 4:30 a.m., following an all-night cleaning session that included removal of the remaining decorations from the walls of the Secret MICRO-FILM Headquarters, publisher Jason Pankoke takes his name off the mailbox in the lobby of the World Famous “Building” on the corner of Hill and Prairie streets in Champaign’s Sesquicentennial Neighborhood and slips the keys through the mail slot of the manager’s office. It concludes a run of nearly thirty years for Pankoke as a citizen, taxpayer, wage-earner, community member, and contributing arts promoter and creator in Champaign-Urbana, Illinois, with the last quarter century spent as the occupant of Suite 3D. He makes it safely to his mother’s house at sunrise with a vehicle packed to the hilt and then crashes in bed after an eight-week-long ordeal clearing out the space almost single-handedly during the pandemic.

30 Years Ago … Saturday, July 1, 1995: A recent Twin Cities transplant named Jason Pankoke takes over as the tenant of apartment 3D in a property managed by the owners of a downtown Champaign family business, Custom Flooring and Interior. Wanting to move on from his original residence in west Champaign, Pankoke responded to an advertisement in the News-Gazette and agreed to meet with landlord Jean Niemann at the location, an older and converted business building one block north of West Side Park. He was surprised at the character and make-up of the immediate vicinity, having never set foot before in the Sesquicentennial Neighborhood, and took a liking to the roomy third-floor unit. The spare bedroom would soon be turned into a workspace for his art and design activity, eventually designated as the Secret MICRO-FILM Headquarters after the first issue of MICRO-FILM was published in 1999.

LOCAL FILMS & EVENTS | Support Your Media Storytellers

@ Esquire Lounge, Champaign, IL
Champaign Movie Makers* meeting (2/16, 7 p.m.)

@ Flyover Film Studio, Rantoul, IL
“Background to Speaking Roles” with Compass Casting* (2/16, 6 p.m.); “Flyover Labs: Camera & Lens Shootout” gear demonstration (2/20, 6 p.m., free w/ticket)

@ Martens Center, Champaign, IL
Pens to Lens* Student Screenwriting Workshop (2/14, 1 p.m.)

@ Spurlock Museum of World Cultures, UIUC, Urbana, IL
Francophone Film Festival presents 120 BATTEMENTS PAR MINUTE (2/18, 6:30 p.m.)

NOW PLAYING | Champaign-Urbana Area

@ AMC Champaign 13, Champaign, IL
COLD STORAGE, CRIME 101, GOAT (animation), GOOD LUCK HAVE FUN DON’T DIE, O’ROMEO* (in Hindi with English sub), SCARLET (animé) (in Japanese with English sub), WUTHERING HEIGHTS, AVATAR: FIRE AND ASH*, DRACULA, THE HOUSEMAID*, IRON LUNG*, MELANIA* (documentary), THE MOMENT*, SEND HELP, SOLO MIO, THE STRANGERS: CHAPTER 3*, ZOOTOPIA 2 (animation) (2/13 on), STRAY KIDS: THE DOMINATE EXPERIENCE* (concert film; in Korean with English sub) (2/13-2/15), Fan Faves: LOVE & BASKETBALL* (2/13-2/16) and THE BEST MAN* (2/13-2/16), I CAN ONLY IMAGINE 2 sneak preview (2/14, 5 p.m.), AMC “Screen Unseen” (mystery movie) (2/16, 7 p.m.), BLADES OF THE GUARDIANS* (in Mandarin with English and Chinese sub) (2/17-2/18), HOW TO MAKE A KILLING, I CAN ONLY IMAGINE 2, MIDWINTER BREAK, PSYCHO KILLER, THIS IS NOT A TEST (2/19 on) *single screenings daily

@ Phoenix Savoy 16 + IMAX, Savoy, IL
COLD STORAGE, CRIME 101, GOAT (animation), GOOD LUCK HAVE FUN DON’T DIE, THE MOMENT, O’ROMEO* (in Hindi with English sub), WUTHERING HEIGHTS, AVATAR: FIRE AND ASH, HAMNET, THE HOUSEMAID*, IRON LUNG, MARTY SUPREME, SEND HELP, SOLO MIO, THE STRANGERS: CHAPTER 3, ZOOTOPIA 2 (animation) (2/13 on), PRETTY IN PINK 40th anniversary (re-release) (2/13-2/16), Indian cinema: FUNKY* (in Telugu with English sub; 2/13, 2/16), COUPLE FRIENDLY* (in Telugu with English sub; 2/13-2/14, 2/17), O’ROMEO* (in Hindi with English sub; 2/13, 2/17-2/18), TU YAA MAIN* (in Hindi with English sub; 2/15), and MY LORD* (in Tamil with English sub; 2/18), The Metropolitan Opera: Cinderella (2/14, 12 p.m., simulcast; 2/18, 1 & 6:30 p.m., recorded), CASABLANCA (2/14, 4:30 & 7 p.m.), JURASSIC PARK (2/15, 3, 7 & 10 p.m.; 2/16, 3 & 7 p.m.; 2/18, 7 p.m.), I CAN ONLY IMAGINE 2 (2/19 on) *single screenings daily

@ Pine Lounge, 1st floor, Illini Union, UIUC, Urbana, IL
Illini Union Board presents “Spring 2025 Weekend Films” feat. REGRETTING YOU (2/13-2/14, 7 p.m.; free w/i-card)

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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Read the rest of this entry »

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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THE BLOGFIDENTIAL TELETYPE | Film News You Can Use, C-U

If you’ve been paying attention to the Calendar over the last few months, apart from reviewing and using the information we bring to you diligently, then you’ve possibly noticed that we’ve scaled down what it offers to you every week. Ye Ed has decided that he’d like to direct more of his research and writing time elsewhere for CUBlog’s sake and regularly has to remind himself – and now, all of you – that the Calendar is a knowing sketch of our film culture in Champaign, Urbana, and the cities beyond. It does not need to be the end-all be-all, in particular since the movie listings can be accessed elsewhere.

The same will now go for our Report. Arguably, a number of times, the stories and anecdotes we work up for your pleasure and enlightenment might have been presented as their own posts on CUBlog and not encumbered your humble editor as much as it has at roughly the same time every week for many months on end. It’s a recurring bottleneck that is mostly invisible to you, dearest readers, but it’s taken a toll and we did have the mind to strike it from the Calendar for good. But, as they say, context is best.

We’ll instead revert to the old “news ticker” format to bring you the notes and links you’ll need to navigate our cinema. In fact, that is the new Calendar philosophy – make it useful and fruitful at a glance for all our friends and neighbors. If there is any heavy lifting to be done with our writing, we’ll offer it in bonus CUBlog posts instead of here. We hope this change-up meets with your approval and, at the least, it will alleviate the secondary bottleneck for your reading ease, avoiding the kind of posts where it seemed to take forever for your wandering eyes and wondering mind to get to the play dates. Let’s see how it goes.

We’ll begin the new format next week and simply point you to the handful of special events happening in the area over the coming days – the Flatlands Dance Film Festival, the Film-Fanatic.club showing of ONE FROM THE HEART: REPRISE, the “Ebertschool” presentation of THE UMBRELLAS OF CHERBOURG, the Virginia Theatre’s booking of WHAT’S UP, DOC?, and the Chambana Film Society’s special screening of the Oscar-nominated film, THE VOICE OF HIND RAJAB, plus a whole string of compelling programs at the Normal Theater. If the cinema du C-U was only this good every week. Cheers.

LOCAL FILMS & EVENTS | Support Your Media Storytellers

@ Gallery Art Bar, Urbana, IL
Film Fanatic Movie Nights* presents ONE FROM THE HEART: REPRISE (2/7, 6 p.m.)

@ Phoenix Savoy 16 + IMAX, Savoy, IL
Chambana Film Society* presents THE VOICE OF HIND RAJAB (2/8, 3 p.m., in Arabic with English sub)

@ Spurlock Museum of World Cultures, UIUC, Urbana, IL
Dance at Illinois presents the 2026 Flatlands Dance Film Festival* (2/6, 7 p.m., free), Roger Ebert Center for Film Studies* presents THE UMBRELLAS OF CHERBOURG (2/12, 7 p.m., free)

NOW PLAYING | Champaign-Urbana Area

@ AMC Champaign 13, Champaign, IL
DRACULA, THE MOMENT, SOLO MIO, THE STRANGERS: CHAPTER 3, STRAY KIDS: THE DOMINATE EXPERIENCE (concert film; in Korean with English sub), WHISTLE*, AVATAR: FIRE AND ASH, THE HOUSEMAID*, IRON LUNG, MELANIA (documentary), SEND HELP, SHELTER, ZOOTOPIA 2 (animation) (2/6 on), BUFFALO KIDS (animation) (2/6-2/8), MERCY* (2/6-2/8), Fan Faves: ALI* (2/6-2/12) and GLORY* (2/6-2/12), STILL HOPE (2/8, 4 p.m.), CRIME 101 sneak preview w/discussion (2/9, 7 p.m.), AMC “Screen Unseen” (mystery movie) (2/9, 7 p.m.), COLD STORAGE, CRIME 101, GOOD LUCK HAVE FUN DON’T DIE, GOAT (animation), WUTHERING HEIGHTS (2/12 on) *single screenings daily

@ Phoenix Savoy 16 + IMAX, Savoy, IL
SCARLET (animé) (in Japanese with English sub; IMAX), SOLO MIO, STILL HOPE, THE STRANGERS: CHAPTER 3, 28 YEARS LATER: THE BONE TEMPLE, AVATAR: FIRE AND ASH, HAMNET, THE HOUSEMAID, IRON LUNG, MARTY SUPREME, MERCY, MOSES THE BLACK, NO OTHER CHOICE (in Korean with English sub), PRIMATE, SEND HELP, SHELTER, ZOOTOPIA 2 (animation) (2/6 on), STRAY KIDS: THE DOMINATE EXPERIENCE (concert film; in Korean with English sub; IMAX) (2/6, 2/8-2/11), TIME HOPPERS: THE SILK ROAD (animation) (2/7-2/8, 2 p.m.), CASABLANCA (2/8, 3 & 7 p.m.; 2/11, 2, 4:30 & 7 p.m.), GALE: YELLOW BRICK ROAD (2/11, 7 p.m.), GOAT (animation), WUTHERING HEIGHTS (2/12 on) *single screenings daily

@ Pine Lounge, 1st floor, Illini Union, UIUC, Urbana, IL
Illini Union Board presents “Spring 2025 Weekend Films” feat. TRON: ARES (2/6-2/7, 7 p.m.; free w/i-card)

@ The Virginia Theatre, Champaign, IL
The News-Gazette Film Series presents WHAT’S UP, DOC? (2/7, 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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Read the rest of this entry »

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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PASSINGS | You Will Be Missed

12/30: Dean E. Williams, 84 (founder/executive director, Central Illinois Film Commission, Springfield, IL)

FIELD REPORT DU HQ | From Wherever It May Be Said

Vintage news items from “The Confidential Teletype” feature in MICRO-FILM have enhanced our knowledge of the movies of Champaign, Urbana, and the cities beyond for the last three weeks, but today it’s time to be present in the here and now before we relax the Report for a few weeks more. One paragraph of weird whimsy will be followed by another graf of cinema du C-U and then a sign-off until we pipe back up for the occasion of our twentieth anniversary, which lands on Wednesday, February 25.

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Behind the scenes in Ye Ed’s personal activity involving indie films, the topic of one of the very first local productions to be highlighted here on C-U Blogfidential has come back up and, with it, a sprig of fresh-to-the-taste context that is courtesy of our friend and the project’s co-editor and co-star, Paul A. Brooks. It’s time for six degrees of LATE AFTERNOON OF THE LIVING DEAD! The 2007 horror-comedy, filmed in various Illinois locations like Bloomington-Normal, Decatur, and Chicago by writer/director Jason Huls and his team, is available in a shortened and spiffed-up edition on YouTube if you need a refresher or a belated first look, and we’ll connect a few dots between it and what’s happening now. We recently talked about Huls’ newest film, THE FAWN, and it will be featured at the Normal Theater tomorrow night, Saturday, January 31, in a program sponsored by the boutique label Severin Films; FAWN plays before the 1984 feature EYES OF FIRE, which Severin restored as part of their massive “All the Haunts be Ours” revival of international folk horror cinema. Also, we confirmed that LATE AFTERNOON actress Ashley O’Neil went on to be a screenwriter and script editor in Hollywood with at least a dozen film credits, according to IMDb, which include the Steve Guttenberg sci-fi duo, LAVALANTUA and 2 LAVA 2 LANTUA, produced by University of Illinois alumnus Paul Hertzberg for CineTel Films and shown in back-to-back years at the UI Insect Fear Film Festival at Foellinger Auditorium. And, in the “no part is too small” arena, we’ve learned that area alum Britt Lower, who was awarded a prime time Emmy last year for her performance in the hit television series SEVERANCE, provided overdubbing for one of the lady leads in LATE AFTERNOON while she was an undergraduate at Northwestern University. How about that!

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Last week, we also touched on a few imminent happenings in the C-U that local film supporters and our community-at-large would be wise to attend … but, wait, there’s more! Sunday at Savoy 16 are the Champaign Movie Makers 48-hour films, starting at 12:30 p.m., to be followed by a de facto group viewing and talkback of MOSES THE BLACK at 3 p.m., to be followed on Tuesday night at the Orpheum Champaign by a CMM-curated local film block at 7 p.m. as we already shared. Not long after, Dance at Illinois will have their biennial Flatlands Dance Film Festival coming up on Friday, February 6, at the UI Spurlock Museum at 7 p.m.; this is the “short film competition” program. As well, Paul Young’s Film Fanatic Movie Nights returns for its sophomore outing with Francis Ford Coppola’s recut of his fantastical ONE FROM THE HEART, starring Teri Garr, Raul Julia, Frederic Forrest, Harry Dean Stanton, and Nastassja Kinski, at 6 p.m. in the heart of Urbana’s Gallery Art Bar the following night, Saturday, February 7. And finally, we guess it’s true that “Ebertfest” will get its “Last Dance” as the Virginia Theatre has begun selling festival passes as of today, Friday, January 30, the traditional week/end for them to be made available to filmgoers everywhere; hit this link to reserve yours for the April coda. Over the course of cross-checking all that we’ve packed into our Report, we noticed it was one year ago to a tee when we had previously noticed a pre-spring glut of goodness to choose from in our film culture. Maybe this is the new trend in the C-U, “Our Film February.” Yes?

Now, we say a brief adieu to Report-ing while your humble editor begins the extended slog of figuring out how to live the stable life in the house on the edge of an American small town while courting gainful employment and starting in earnest the exodus of excess material goods that are clogging up the home front we’ve come to know as Momkoke Manor. Still, expect to see a few editorial bonuses and whims making their way onto CUBlog as we continue with a dependable and stripped-down Calendar. Onward.

LOCAL FILMS & EVENTS | Support Your Media Storytellers

@ Orpheum Champaign, Champaign, IL
Champaign Movie Makers* presents “Local Movie Showcase” (2/2, 7 p.m., free)

@ Phoenix Savoy 16 + IMAX, Savoy, IL
Chambana Film Society* presents The Champaign Movie Makers* 2026 48-Hour Film Competition Screening (2/1, 12:30 p.m.), MOSES THE BLACK* w/filmmaker discussion (2/1, 3 p.m.)

NOW PLAYING | Champaign-Urbana Area

@ AMC Champaign 13, Champaign, IL
IRON LUNG, MELANIA (documentary), PARIS HILTON: INFINITE ICON – A VISUAL MEMOIR* (music documentary), SEND HELP, SHELTER, ANACONDA, AVATAR: FIRE AND ASH, THE HOUSEMAID, MARTY SUPREME*, MERCY, PRIMATE*, RETURN TO SILENT HILL, ZOOTOPIA 2 (animation) (1/30 on), THE LEGO MOVIE (animation) (1/30, 2/1, 1:45 & 4:30 p.m.; 1/31, 1:45 p.m.; 2/2-2/4, 4:30 p.m.), THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING* (re-release) (1/30, 2/2), THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE TWO TOWERS* (re-release) (1/31, 2/3), THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE RETURN OF THE KING* (re-release) (2/1, 2/4), MOSES THE BLACK (1/31, 2/4, 7 p.m.), AMC “Scream Unseen” (mystery movie) (2/2, 7 p.m.), BUFFALO KIDS (animation), DRACULA, SOLO MIO, THE STRANGERS: CHATPER 3 (2/5 on) *single screenings daily

@ Phoenix Savoy 16 + IMAX, Savoy, IL
IRON LUNG, MOSES THE BLACK, SEND HELP, SHELTER, 28 YEARS LATER: THE BONE TEMPLE, AVATAR: FIRE AND ASH, HAMNET, THE HOUSEMAID, MARTY SUPREME, MERCY, NO OTHER CHOICE (in Korean with English sub), PRIMATE, RETURN TO SILENT HILL, SONG SUNG BLUE, ZOOTOPIA 2 (animation) (1/23 on), Indian cinema: OM SHANTI SHANTI SHANTIHI* (in Telugu with English sub; 1/30, 2/1-2/2), BORDER 2 (in Hindi with English sub; 1/30-2/4), ANAGANAGA OKA RAJU* (in Telugu with English sub; 1/31, 2/4), and MANA SHANKARAVARAPRASAD GURY (in Telugu with English sub; 2/3), THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING (re-release) (1/30, 2/2), THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE TWO TOWERS* (re-release) (1/31, 2/3), THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE RETURN OF THE KING* (re-release) (2/1, 2/4), UFC 325: Alexander Volkanovski vs. Diego Lopes, more (mixed martial arts) (1/31, 8 p.m., simulcast), TITANIC (2/1, 3 & 7 p.m.; 2/4, 7 p.m.), STILL HOPE (2/5 on) *single screenings daily

@ Pine Lounge, 1st floor, Illini Union, UIUC, Urbana, IL
Illini Union Board presents “Spring 2025 Weekend Films” feat. BLACK PHONE 2 (1/30-1/31, 7 p.m.; free w/i-card)

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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Read the rest of this entry »

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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PASSINGS | You Will Be Missed

12/27: Grant Morenz, 51 (actor, SCARY NORMAL, Hot Diggity Productions, Champaign, IL)

FIELD REPORT DU HQ | From Wherever It May Be Said

We’ve been hearing from not-so-far away that Champaign-Urbana weather is a big ol’ polar bear this weekend. Therefore, we hope that everybody does their best to be heads’ up if you have to go out. AMC Champaign 13 cancelled their slate for Friday and the Savoy 16 has done the same on Sunday as we finally put this together, so, please visit your favorite theaters’ websites or call their hotlines to be in the know on when they’re open for business. We won’t be updating this week’s Calendar after today unless we sneak in an anecdotal goodie for you. Once a week to compile is enough for ye olde Ye Ed.

That said, from the comfort of your shelter we can finish looking back at local film activity as reported in MICRO-FILM issue 7 from October of 2005, when it provided a smorgasbord of cinema writings for our dearest micro-readers to devour. “The Confidential Teletype” packed a litany of updates and what follows are the final tidbits from page 44 of that fateful journal. If you’ve enjoyed our reminisces in the last two Reports, you’ll enjoy this as well. Who and what else played a part in our film scene? Glad you asked…

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Carlin Trammel of Savoy has completed two short films under his Stormspeed Entertainment banner. DAVID VON FANGE IN TASTES LIKE CHICKEN adapts a comics story about a restaurateur/superhero whose capacity to “turn off” his emotions interfere with getting the girl, while MISSED ME (in tandem with Farmer City resident Josh Hawn of Ten44 Productions) finds a pair of camouflaged soldiers tangling with “some rather unconventional weaponry” …

Members of the Creative Dramatics Workshop in nearby Sidney branched out into video production with a full-length rendering of Sophocles’ Antigone. Adapted and directed by the theater group’s Robert Picklesimer, ANTIGONE follows closely the classic war-tragedy set in Thebes with an unusually young-skewing cast, including 18-year-old Claire Cowles in the title role. The film made its bow in April at the Savoy 16 Theaters …

At the same time, the seventh annual edition of Roger Ebert’s Overlooked Film Festival (MF 3) once again welcomed thousands of moviegoers to the Virginia Theatre in downtown Champaign, presenting several features and guests that should be familiar to MF readers: PRIMER (Shane Carruth), BAADASSSSS! (Mario Van Peebles), THE SECRET OF ROAN INISH (John Sayles), ME AND YOU AND EVERYONE WE KNOW (Miranda July), and a glorious Guy Maddin match-up, THE HEART OF THE WORLD and THE SADDEST MUSIC IN THE WORLD …

Correcting an error in last issue’s Teletype, John Chua (MARION’S TRIUMPH) actually earned a Ph.D. in Comparative Literature – not Cinema Studies – from the University of Illinois. Chua’s documentary also had its first public C-U screening in April … fin.

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…and, Great Scott, we’re back to the future. Trammel and family now live in Tallahassee, where he works at the University of Florida and wields his multimedia skills in their advancement department, while Hawn offers insurance products in Farmer City and apparently has kept open Ten44 as a sideline to “manage video projects such as Documentaries, Mission Videos, [and] Hunting Television Series” per LinkedIn. Since the death of Picklesimer in 2020, both the Workshop and its long-time home, the Homer Opera House in Homer, have struggled to keep going as online records of their activity have trickled to a halt. Chua has made several social-issue films since MARION’S TRIUMPH and trotted the globe for work in various capacities as a producer, writer, and academic instructor. “Ebertfest,” at least the version of it we’ve known since its inception in 1999, is allegedly returning to Champaign for “one last dance” in an abbreviated format, per Chaz Ebert, with an intent to keep it going in some fashion if a replacement source of funding is found, per Nate Kohn. All us average citizens can do at this point is to stay tuned.

If you want a concentrated dose of C-U film culture in the here and now, you won’t have long to wait. Postponed from this Sunday due to the weather and now scheduled for next Sunday, February 1, at 12:30 p.m., is a program of 48-hour challenge films made by teams of Champaign Movie Makers members. It will be followed at 3 p.m. by a screening of MOSES THE BLACK, the Fathom Events release that was almost completely filmed in east central Illinois back in the fall. Both events are presented by Chambana Film Society and will be held at the Phoenix Savoy 16 + IMAX in Savoy. There is also a third event of the fashionable “pop-up” variety, arranged by CMM organizer Andrew Stengele, which will take place at a former theatrical venue, the Orpheum Champaign, on Tuesday, February 3, starting at 7 p.m. It will be a collection of local films, old and new, projected in a storied space that hasn’t seen this kind of action in some time. Might it be a recurring thing? Attendance by you, you, and you will help CMM decide.

NOW PLAYING | Champaign-Urbana Area

@ AMC Champaign 13, Champaign, IL
CHATHA PACHA: THE KING OF ROWDIES* (in Malayalam with English sub), H IS FOR HAWK, MERCY, RETURN TO SILENT HILL*, 28 YEARS LATER: THE BONE TEMPLE, ANACONDA, AVATAR: FIRE AND ASH, GREENLAND 2: MIGRATION*, HAMNET*, THE HOUSEMAID, MARTY SUPREME, PRIMATE, THE SPONGEBOB MOVIE: SEARCH FOR SQUAREPANTS* (animation), ZOOTOPIA 2 (animation) (1/23 on), THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING* (re-release) (1/23-1/26, 1/29), THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE TWO TOWERS* (re-release) (1/23-1/25, 1/27), THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE RETURN OF THE KING* (re-release) (1/23-1/25, 1/28), SENTIMENTAL VALUE w/onscreen discussion by cast (in Norwegian with English sub) (1/25, 2 p.m.), AMC “Screen Unseen” (mystery movie) (1/26, 7 p.m.), PARIS HILTON: INFINITE ICON – A VISUAL MEMOIR (music documentary) (1/28, 7 p.m.; 1/29, 4 & 7:10 p.m.), IRON LUNG, SEND HELP, SHELTER (1/29 on) *single screenings daily

@ Phoenix Savoy 16 + IMAX, Savoy, IL
MERCY, RETURN TO SILENT HILL*, 28 YEARS LATER: THE BONE TEMPLE, AVATAR: FIRE AND ASH, CHARLIE THE WONDERDOG* (animation), DAVID (faith animation), GREENLAND 2: MIGRATION*, HAMNET*, THE HOUSEMAID, IS THIS THING ON?, MARTY SUPREME, NO OTHER CHOICE (in Korean with English sub), PRIMATE, SONG SUNG BLUE, THE SPONGEBOB MOVIE: SEARCH FOR SQUAREPANTS* (animation), ZOOTOPIA 2 (animation) (1/23 on), Indian cinema: BORDER 2* (in Hindi with English sub; 1/23-1/28), NARI NARI NADUMA MURAI (in Telugu with English sub; 1/23), CHATHA PACHA: THE KING OF ROWDIES* (in Malayalam with English sub; 1/23-1/24), THALAIVAR THAMBI THALAIMAIYIL* (in Tamil with English sub; 1/24, 1/26), ANAGANAGA OKA RAJU* (in Telugu with English sub; 1/25), and MANA SHANKARAVARAPRASAD GURY (in Telugu with English sub; 1/25-1/28), THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING* (re-release) (1/23), THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE TWO TOWERS* (re-release) (1/24), THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE RETURN OF THE KING* (re-release) (1/25), The Metropolitan Opera: The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Klay (1/24, 1 p.m., simulcast; 1/28, 1 & 6:30 p.m., recorded), UFC 324: Justin Gaethje vs. Paddy Pimblett, more (mixed martial arts) (1/28, 8 p.m., simulcast), INTERSTELLAR (1/24, 1/28, 7 p.m.), SEND HELP (1/29 on) *single screenings daily

@ Illini Union, UIUC, Urbana, IL
Illini Union Board presents “Spring 2025 Weekend Films” feat. ROOFMAN, I-Room A, 1st floor (1/23-1/24, 7 p.m.; free w/i-card)

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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Read the rest of this entry »