Calendar: Mar. 30-Apr. 5, 2018
Our movie and media Calendar appears every Friday/Saturday on C-U Blogfidential and caters to the downstate region anchored by Champaign-Urbana, Illinois, USA.
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MILESTONES | Happy Birthday to You!
4/2: Mike White (cohost, The Projection Booth podcast)
4/2: Will Viharo (film columnist, Bachelor Pad Magazine)
4/4: Dakota Pruemer (filmmaker, MITCHELL ROBERT’S HOUSE)
DEADLINES, ETC. | Participate in Cinema Activity
@ The Art Theater, Champaign, IL
Shocktober Film Festival call for entries | Full Information
Early: 3/1; Regular: 6/30; Late: 7/16; Extended: 8/1
@ Capital City Bar & Grill, Springfield, IL
Route 66 Film Festival call for entries | Full Information
Early: 4/1; Regular: 6/30; Late: 7/31; Extended: 8/15
@ Independent Media Center, Urbana, IL
ChamPain Indie Horror Festival call for entries | Full Information
Early: 3/16; Regular: 6/4; Late: 7/6; Extended: 8/3
@ Savoy Recreation Center, Savoy, IL
Dark History & Horror Convention call for entries | Full Information
Early: 3/31; Regular: 5/31; Late: 6/30; Extended: 7/31
@ Savoy Recreation Center, Savoy, IL
Indie Art Convention & Film Festival call for entries | Full Information
Early: 2/28; Regular: 3/31; Late: 4/14; Extended: 4/30
@ TBA, Champaign-Urbana, IL
UIUC Feminist Film Festival call for entries | Full Information
Regular: 4/4
CONFIDENTIAL ALMANAC | Dates in Film Culture History
50 Years Ago … Tuesday, April 2, 1968: The Uptown Theater in Washington, D.C., hosts the world premiere of MGM’s “ultimate trip,” 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY, after nearly three years in production. Moviegoers in the house are left stunned by the film, borne of a collaboration between meticulous director Stanley Kubrick and renowned science fiction author Arthur C. Clarke, due to its groundbreaking visual effects, canny use of classical music, and radical avoidance of “sci-fi” and Hollywood narrative cliché. Based on Clarke’s 1950 novella “The Sentinel,” 2001 depicts mankind’s encounters with glassy monoliths planted in myriad corners of our galaxy; astronauts played by Keir Dullea and Gary Lockwood journey to one such site on the starship Discovery and must contend not only with the implications of alien intelligence but also rebellion by the onboard computer, HAL 9000, enigmatically voiced by Douglas Rain. In one of several soon-to-be-iconic sequences, David Bowman (Dullea) lowers himself into HAL’s machinery to shut down its memory bank. As the computer verbally regresses to its earliest interactions with humans, it restates one of its first sentences before going dead: “Good afternoon, gentlemen. I am the HAL 9000 computer. I became operational at the H.A.L. Lab in Urbana, Illinois, on the twelfth of January, 1992.” Although many have presumed this dialogue is a nod to the long history of computer technology innovation at the University of Illinois, Clarke himself clarified in a 1992 interview for the Chicago Tribune that he cited Urbana as a tribute to a former math professor of his, George C. McVittie, who was head of the UIUC astronomy department at the time of production. In the best-selling novelization, written by Clarke and an uncredited Kubrick parallel to the film’s development, HAL instead notes January 1997 as its activation date. UIUC would play upon this by scheduling the “Cyberfest” campus symposium in March 1997, complete with a 2001 screening emceed by Roger Ebert at the Virginia Theatre in downtown Champaign.
LOCAL FILMS, ETC. | Support Your Media Storytellers
CONSUMED* U.S. DVD Release: Tuesday, 4/3, Nationwide via Echo Bridge Acquisition Corp., La Crosse, WI/Mister Lister Films, Los Angeles, CA
@ The Avon Theater, Decatur, IL
The Herald & Review presents THE INFORMANT!* anniversary show & discussion (4/5, 7 p.m., free w/ticket)
NOW PLAYING | Champaign-Urbana Area
@ The Art Theater, Champaign, IL
THE INSULT (3/30-4/4), 19th annual Animation Show of Shows (3/31-4/1), Science on Screen: BOMBSHELL: THE HEDY LAMARR STORY (4/2, 7:30 p.m.; also, 4/3-4/5), BLADE RUNNER 2049 (3/30-3/31, 10 p.m.), BLOCKERS preview (4/5, 8 p.m., free)
@ AMC Champaign 13, Champaign, IL
ACRIMONY, GOD’S NOT DEAD: A LIGHT IN DARKNESS, THE GREATEST SHOWMAN Sing-a-long, PETER RABBIT/JUMANJI double feature, READY PLAYER ONE, BLACK PANTHER, I CAN ONLY IMAGINE, MIDNIGHT SUN, PAUL, APOSTLE OF CHRIST, PACIFIC RIM: UPRISING, PETER RABBIT, SHERLOCK GNOMES, UNSANE, A WRINKLE IN TIME (3/30 on)
@ English Building, UIUC, Urbana, IL
Illini Film & Video meeting, Room 160 (4/2, 7 p.m.)
@ Family Video, Champaign-Urbana, IL
STAR WARS: THE LAST JEDI, LET THERE BE LIGHT, THE LAST MOVIE STAR, ACTS OF VIOLENCE, THE VANISHING OF SIDNEY HALL, THE AMERICANS (s5), LEGION (s1), more! (3/27 on)
@ Goodrich Savoy 16, Savoy, IL
ACRIMONY, GOD’S NOT DEAD: A LIGHT IN DARKNESS, THE GREATEST SHOWMAN Sing-a-long, READY PLAYER ONE, BLACK PANTHER, GAME NIGHT, I CAN ONLY IMAGINE, LOVE, SIMON, MIDNIGHT SUN, PAUL, APOSTLE OF CHRIST, PACIFIC RIM: UPRISING, PETER RABBIT, SHERLOCK GNOMES, TOMB RAIDER, UNSANE, A WRINKLE IN TIME (3/30 on), DIARY OF A WIMPY KID: THE LONG HAUL (3/30-4/1, 10 a.m.), The Metropolitan Opera: Così fan tutte (3/31, 11:55 a.m., simulcast; 4/4, 1 & 6:30 p.m., recorded), EASTER PARADE (4/1, 4/4), BEST F(R)IENDS (4/2, 8 p.m.), EATING YOU ALIVE (4/5, 7 p.m.)
@ Illini Union, UIUC, Urbana, IL
Illini Union Board presents “Weekend Films at the Union” feat. MOLLY’S GAME, Pine Lounge (3/30-3/31, 7 p.m., free w/i-card)
@ The Virginia Theatre, Champaign, IL
Rewind 92.5 Film Series: Patrick Swayze double feature w/GHOST (3/31, 1 p.m.) and ROADHOUSE (3/31, 7 p.m.)
Events featuring locally produced movies are marked with an asterisk (*). Additional “Now Playing” and “Coming Soon” listings appear after the jump!
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NOW PLAYING | The Cities Beyond
@ AMC Classic Village Mall 6, Danville, IL
ACRIMONY, GOD’S NOT DEAD: A LIGHT IN DARKNESS, READY PLAYER ONE, I CAN ONLY IMAGINE, PACIFIC RIM: UPRISING, SHERLOCK GNOMES (3/30 on)
@ The Avon Theater, Decatur, IL
7 DAYS IN ENTEBBE, READY PLAYER ONE, SHERLOCK GNOMES (3/30-3/31, 4/2 on), THE INFORMANT!* (4/5, 7 p.m., free w/ticket)
NOW OPEN! @ The Harvest Moon Twin Drive-in, Gibson City, IL
READY PLAYER ONE (Screen 1), BLACK PANTHER (Screen 2) (3/30-3/31)
@ The Lincoln Grand 8, Lincoln, IL
GOD’S NOT DEAD: A LIGHT IN DARKNESS, PETER RABBIT/JUMANJI double feature, READY PLAYER ONE, I CAN ONLY IMAGINE, MIDNIGHT SUN, PACIFIC RIM: UPRISING, SHERLOCK GNOMES (3/30 on)
@ The Little Lorraine, Hoopeston, IL
JUSTICE LEAGUE (3/30-4/1)
@ The Normal Theater, Normal, IL
FACES PLACES (3/30-4/1), WOLF GUY (3/30), CLUE (3/31-4/1), Vaudeville Monday live show (4/2), BYE BYE BIRDIE (4/4), ISSE VIBE Talent Showcase (4/5)
@ The Onarga Theatre, Onarga, IL
READY PLAYER ONE (3/30-4/1, 4/4)
@ The Princess Theatre, Leroy, IL
PETER RABBIT (3/29-3/31)
NOW PLAYING | Midwest
@ various locations, Madison, WI
20th annual Wisconsin Film Festival (4/5-4/12)
COMING SOON | Area-wide Events
UPDATE! 4/7
THE STRIPPER RIPPER* reprise
@ Vintage Villains, Danville, IL, 7 p.m., free or donation
4/18-4/22
20th annual Roger Ebert’s Film Festival
@ The Virginia Theatre, Champaign, IL
4/28
4th annual Illinifest Student Film Festival
@ Gregory Hall, UIUC, Urbana, IL, free
5/3
UNDERGROUND SOUND* documentary premiere
@ The Avon Theater, Decatur, IL, 7 p.m.
6/6-6/10
25th annual Chicago Underground Film Festival, Chicago, IL
7/14
Indie Art Convention & Film Festival
@ Savoy Recreation Center, Savoy, IL
10/3
2018 Shocktober Film Festival
@ The Art Theater, Champaign, IL
10/28
2nd annual ChamPain Indie Horror Festival
@ Independent Media Center, Urbana, IL
11/2-11/3
17th annual Route 66 Film Festival
@ Capital City Bar & Grill, Springfield, IL
11/9-11/10
4th Dark History & Horror Convention
@ Savoy Recreation Center, Savoy, IL
COMMUNITY & CAMPUS SERIES | Champaign-Urbana area
AEMS presents AsiaLENS Documentary/Film Series
@ Spurlock Museum, UIUC, Urbana, IL, 7 p.m., free
4/10: DRAWING THE TIGER
Illini Union Board Presents “Weekend Films at the Union”
@ Pine Lounge, Main Level, Illini Union, UIUC, Urbana, IL, 7 p.m., free w/i-card
3/30, 3/31: MOLLY’S GAME; 4/6, 4/7: INSIDIOUS: THE LAST KEY; 4/12: STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS; 4/13, 4/14: STAR WARS: THE LAST JEDI; 4/20, 4/21: DEN OF THIEVES; 4/26: FIFTY SHADES OF GREY, FIFTY SHADES DARKER; 4/27, 4/28: FIFTY SHADES FREED
The News-Gazette Film Series
@ The Virginia Theatre, Champaign, IL, 1 & 7 p.m.
4/14: SINGIN’ IN THE RAIN; 5/12: MY DARLING CLEMENTINE; 6/23: TBA
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Compiled by Jason Pankoke.
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“Calendar du C-U”
© 2018 Jason Pankoke/C-U Blogfidential