Calendar: September 15-21, 2023
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!
9/16: Jay Rosenstein (producer, Jay Rosenstein Productions, Champaign-Urbana, IL)
9/19: Eric Pankoke (webmaster, C-U Blogfidential, Mendota, IL)
9/19: Paul A. Brooks (director, HUNTING FOR THE HAG, Into the Night Motion Pictures, Normal, IL)
9/21: Lisa Cerezo (co-owner, ThirdSide, Champaign, IL)
PASSINGS | You Will Be Missed
9/5: Jude Leak (editor, THE LORD IS NOT ON TRIAL HERE TODAY, Jay Rosenstein Productions, Champaign-Urbana, IL)
FIELD REPORT DU HQ | From Wherever It May Be Said
This post is for the record. I actually let it go this past weekend, but then decided at the 11th hour to compile it. Did you even notice the Calendar did not appear on or after the 15th? Sigh. Case in point.
Also, for the record, we’ll resume the Calendar this week on its normal schedule, tra la. Use it well.
CONFIDENTIAL ALMANAC | Dates in Film Culture History
40 Years Ago … September-October 1983: Extensive filming takes place in the Illinois farming community of Pontiac and other nearby sites for the CBS Theatrical Films production of GRANDVIEW, U.S.A., lasting the better part of two months. As recounted in an article published on October 1 by the Bloomington Pantagraph, the Illinois Film Office encouraged representatives from CBS to consider locations in the state after they failed to find what they needed in Indiana; a drive south of the Chicago suburbs led the scouts inadvertently to Pontiac, which had never been on their list of possibilities. The Livingston County seat now plays host to numerous craftspeople and performers involved in GRANDVIEW, a comedy with musical interludes that is being directed by Randal Kleiser from a screenplay by Ken Hixon. The story centers on a teenager portrayed by C. Thomas Howell who plans to leave his hometown to study oceanography, but not before he makes summertime waves with the town’s demolition derby promoter (Jamie Lee Curtis) much to the chagrin of her star driver (Patrick Swayze). Jennifer Jason Leigh and Troy Donahue also appear in featured roles while hundreds of locals have been hired to play bit parts, walk through backgrounds, and fill out crowds. Exciting scenes depict the destruction of a mobile home, the burning down of the “Cody’s Speedrome” arena, and the pageantry of an agricultural celebration that is captured on the first day of shooting, Sunday, September 4, during the real-life Threshermen’s Reunion Parade. Actors also take some time during the final days of production to participate in a fundraiser to help pay for a local teenager’s mounting medical bills, according to a news item in the October 22 Pantagraph. A follow-up piece eventually ran in the newspaper on August 4, 1985, a year and a day after GRANDVIEW, U.S.A., was released to theaters across the United States by Warner Bros., picturing a citizenry that ultimately viewed its Hollywood encounter as a pleasant experience and not much more; very little would remain of the financial gains and positive upswing felt by Pontiac almost two years prior as its people had turned back to their everyday concerns like crop yields and the correctional center. [R]
LOCAL FILMS & EVENTS | Support Your Media Storytellers
@ The Lincoln Square Theatre, Decatur, IL
Pollack Films, Spencer Films, and the Decatur Herald & Review present FIELDS OF GOLD* Midwest documentary premiere (9/16, 7 p.m.)
NOW PLAYING | Champaign-Urbana Area
@ AMC Champaign 13, Champaign, IL
A HAUNTING IN VENICE, HEART’S MOTIVE (in Mandarin with English sub), THE RETIREMENT PLAN, BARBIE, BLUE BEETLE, BOTTOMS, THE EQUALIZER 3, GRAN TURISMO, JAWAN (in Hindi with English sub), MY BIG FAT GREEK WEDDING 3, NO MORE BETS (in Mandarin with English sub), THE NUN II, OPPENHEIMER, TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES: MUTANT MAYHEM (animation) (9/15 on), EXPEND4BLES, IT LIVES INSIDE (9/21 on)
@ Phoenix Savoy 16 + IMAX, Savoy, IL
CAMP HIDEOUT, A HAUNTING IN VENICE, BARBIE, BLUE BEETLE, BOTTOMS, THE EQUALIZER 3, GRAN TURISMO, MEG 2: THE TRENCH, MY BIG FAT GREEK WEDDING 3, THE NUN II, OPPENHEIMER, TALK TO ME, TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES: MUTANT MAYHEM (animation) (9/15 on), RENÉE FLEMING’S CITIES THAT SING: PARIS (concert film) (9/16, 3 p.m.), RAIN MAN (9/17, 3 & 7 p.m.; 9/20, 7 p.m.), THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING (9/17, 9/20, 3 & 7 p.m.), ROUTE 60: THE BIBLICAL HIGHWAY (religious documentary) (9/18-9/19, 4 & 7 p.m.), SHAKY SHIVERS (9/21, 7 p.m.), EXPEND4BLES, IT LIVES INSIDE (9/21 on)
@ Illini Union, UIUC, Urbana, IL
Illini Union Board presents “Fall 2023 Weekend Films” feat. INDIANA JONES AND THE DIAL OF DESTINY, Pine Lounge, 1st floor (9/15-9/16, 7 p.m.; free w/i-card)
@ Redbox (streaming), Champaign-Urbana, IL
BARBIE, GOLDA, THE HILL, JULES, THE LAST VOYAGE OF THE DEMETER, SICK, SLOTHERHOUSE, more! (9/12 on) Online rentals
@ The Virginia Theatre, Champaign, IL
Illinois Public Media presents “The Arthouse Film Experience” feat. GREENER PASTURES (9/15, 7 p.m.), The News-Gazette Film Series presents THE MALTESE FALCON (9/16, 1 & 7 p.m.)
Events featuring locally produced movies are marked with an asterisk (*). Additional “Now Playing” and “Coming Soon” listings appear after the jump!
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NOW PLAYING | The Cities Beyond
@ The Avon Theater, Decatur, IL
A HAUNTING IN VENICE, MY BIG FAT GREEK WEDDING 3, SOUND OF FREEDOM (9/15-9/17)
@ The Fischer Theatre, Danville, IL
No movies this week!
@ The Harvest Moon Twin Drive-in, Gibson City, IL
CASPER, GHOSTBUSTERS (1984) (Screen 1), THE NUN II, THE CONJURING (Screen 2) (9/15-9/16)
@ The Lincoln Square Theatre, Decatur, IL
FIELDS OF GOLD* exclusive run (documentary) (9/18, 9/21, 7 p.m.)
@ The Little Lorraine, Hoopeston, IL
Private parties and “Family Movie Packs”
@ The Normal Theater, Normal, IL
PASSAGES (9/15-9/17), INSIDE OUT (animation) (9/16), ISU Center for Math, Science, & Technology and ISU Office of Sustainability present “The Green Screen: A Climate Change Film Series” feat. THE HUMAN SCALE (documentary) (9/19), ISU Honors Program presents “Ethnogothic Film Series” feat. BONES (9/21)
@ The Onarga Theatre, Onarga, IL
Closed for business until November.
@ The Princess Theatre, Leroy, IL
OPPENHEIMER (9/15-9/17)
@ The Route 66 Drive-in Theater, Springfield, IL
A HAUNTING IN VENICE, HAUNTED MANSION (Screen 1), THE NUN II, TALK TO ME (Screen 2) (9/15-9/16)
NOW PLAYING | Midwest
@ Music Box Theatre/Chicago Filmmakers/Landmark’s Century Centre Cinema, Chicago, IL
41st Reeling: The Chicago LGBTQ+ International Film Festival, Chicago, IL (9/21-10/8)
For detailed and curated listings of Chicago-area film presentations and related events, please visit the fine folks at Cine-File and subscribe to their definitive “Cine-List” weekly blast.
COMING SOON | Area-wide Events
9/23
Route 66 Film Festival presents “Get Your Flicks on Route 66” showcase
@ Hoogland Center for the Arts, Springfield, IL, 10 a.m.-5 p.m., free
9/26
DVD release: GEORGE HARRISON: A BEATLE IN BENTON, ILLINOIS* 60th anniversary edition
+ MVD Visual, Pottstown, PA
10/5-10/15
32nd Heartland International Film Festival, Indianapolis, IN
10/2
SPIDER-MAN: INTO THE SPIDER-VERSE Live in Concert
@ State Farm Center, UIUC, Urbana, IL, 7 p.m.
10/11-10/22
59th Chicago International Film Festival, Chicago, IL
10/28
Small Press Fest 2023
@ Lincoln Square Mall, Urbana, IL, 11 a.m.-4 p.m.
11/3-11/3
22nd Route 66 Film Festival, Springfield, IL (virtual)
11/9-11/19
32nd Whitaker St Louis International Film Festival, St. Louis, MO
12/2
Krampusnacht Freeky Film Festival*
@ Phoenix Savoy 16 + IMAX, Savoy, IL
3/2/24
CU International Film Festival*
@ Spurlock Museum of World Cultures, UIUC, Urbana, IL
4/17-4/20/24
24th Roger Ebert’s Film Festival*
@ The Virginia Theatre, Champaign, IL
COMMUNITY & CAMPUS SERIES | Champaign-Urbana area
Illini Radio Group presents “Rewind 92.5 Movie Series”/“Mix 94.5 Throwback Thursdays”*
@ The Virginia Theatre, Champaign, IL, 7 p.m.
9/28: I WANNA DANCE WITH SOMEBODY* “sing-a-long” edition; 10/5: THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW; 11/16: PLANES, TRAINS AND AUTOMOBILES*, 12/21: DIE HARD
Illinois Public Media presents “The Arthouse Experience Film Series”
@ The Virginia Theatre, Champaign, IL, 7 p.m.
10/6: ROSENCRANZ AND GUILDENSTERN ARE DEAD; 12/1: SYNECDOCHE, NEW YORK
Illini Union Board presents “Fall 2023 Weekend Films”
@ Pine Lounge, 1st floor, Illini Union, UIUC, Urbana, IL, 7 p.m. Fri. & Sat, free w/i-card
9/22-9/23: BARBIE; 9/29-9/30: OPPENHEIMER; 10/6-10/7: HAUNTED MANSION; 10/13-10/14: TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES: MUTANT MAYHEM; 10/20-10/21: MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE – DEAD RECKONING, PART ONE; 10/27-10/28: INSIDIOUS: THE RED DOOR; 11/3-11/4: GRAN TURISMO; 11/10-11/11: STRAYS: 11/17-11/18: BLUE BEETLE; 12/1-12/2: THE EQUALIZER 3
The News-Gazette Film Series
@ The Virginia Theatre, Champaign, IL, 1 & 7 p.m.
10/14: NORTH BY NORTHWEST; 11/25: NATIONAL LAMPOON’S CHRISTMAS VACATION; 12/2: IT’S A WONDERFUL LIFE
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Compiled by Jason Pankoke.
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“Calendar du C-U”
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