Calendar: Sept. 29-Oct. 5, 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!
10/1: Jason Croft (editor/publisher, Bachelor Pad Magazine, Champaign, IL)
FIELD REPORT DU HQ | From Wherever It May Be Said
Less is more for this week’s Report, we gather. FINAL SUMMER filmmaker John Isberg has been tipping his hand on Facebook about a “rock ‘n roll” teaser trailer for FINAL SUMMER PART II; write john [at] swedefilms [dot] com if you’d like to crew or be cast in its scenes, which will be shot next weekend in beloved downtown C-U locations. Also, don’t forget to join the Champaign Casting Call group on FB for these kinds of announcements. Elsewhere on the outskirts, University of Illinois professor Deke Wever and his team are staging the next installment of their impressive “Unreliable Bestiary” series, “Cetacean (The Whale),” at the UI Stock Pavilion; performances began last night, Thursday, September 28, and will continue nightly through Monday, October 2, starting at 7:30 p.m. with admission free to the public. Smile Politely has published a nice overview of the multimedia project’s aims in exploring the flux of a worldwide ecosystem that is greatly stressed by climate change and human interference. To close, the group behind the CU International Film Festival has finally opened their call for entries via FilmFreeway and the regular submission deadline of November 30 is fast approaching; created by Max Libman as a showcase for quality work made by his fellow high school and college students from all over, CUIFF is scheduled to return to the UI Spurlock Museum of World Cultures on Saturday, March 2, for its second presentation.
CONFIDENTIAL ALMANAC | Dates in Film Culture History
65 Years Ago … Friday, October 3, 1958: Showman and entrepreneur Louis K. Sher of Columbus, Ohio, helps Champaign mayor Virgil Lafferty cut the ceremonial ribbon outside the Art Theater to celebrate its grand opening. Formerly the Park Theater and one of the few local movie houses not sold by the Alger Brothers to the Kerasotes theater chain earlier this year, the Art is a member of Sher’s growing Art Theater Guild, which turns neglected venues into destinations for those movie viewers who want more sophisticated fare and have less patience for the hustle and bustle of the typical first-run theater. Their celebration includes Richard Packer, the first Art general manager, and Andrew Moraetes, a fellow manager from the nearby Illini Theatre that also belongs to the guild, as recalled in The Art Theater by Perry Morris, et al. A capacity crowd fills all 511 seats at the Art to watch the premiere attraction, THE RED AND THE BLACK (LE ROUGE ET LE NOIR), a 1954 French-Italian period drama from filmmaker Claude Autant-Lara with Danielle Darrieux and Gérard Philipe in the lead roles that is based on the nineteenth century novel by Stendahl and released by the Distributors Corporation of America. According to a cover story run by Boxoffice magazine four years later, the formula for success by guild president Sher includes a generous renovation of each venue, concentration on a single feature per engagement, free coffee and soda for sale in lieu of popcorn or a snack bar, and fine art hung on lobby walls to affect a relaxing atmosphere. Sher would expand the guild’s reach to more than 50 locations, dabble in Broadway shows, and produce exploitation films for his own distribution arm, Sherpix. [R]
LOCAL FILMS & EVENTS | Support Your Media Storytellers
@ Dublin Pub, Springfield, IL
Central Illinois Film Commission* meeting (10/5, 7 p.m.)
@ Shawnee Studios, Mt. Olive, IL
David Starwalt professional acting seminar (10/1, 11 a.m. doors, 12 p.m. program)
NOW PLAYING | Champaign-Urbana Area
@ AMC Champaign 13, Champaign, IL
THE BLIND (faith film), THE CREATOR, DUMB MONEY, THE EX-FILES 4: MARRIAGE PLAN (in Mandarin with English sub), ON FIRE (12:15 p.m. daily), PAW PATROL: THE MIGHTY MOVIE (animation), SAW X, STOP MAKING SENSE (concert film; re-release), THE VACCINE WAR (in Hindi with English sub), THE EQUALIZER 3, EXPEND4BLES, A HAUNTING IN VENICE, IT LIVES INSIDE, JAWAN (in Hindi with English sub), THE NUN II (9/29 on), MOTHER TERESA & ME (10/5, 7 p.m.), THE EXORCIST: BELIEVER, SHELTER IN SOLITUDE (10/5 on)
@ Phoenix Savoy 16 + IMAX, Savoy, IL
THE BLIND (faith film), THE CREATOR, DUMB MONEY, PAW PATROL: THE MIGHTY MOVIE (animation), SAW X, BARBIE, BLUE BEETLE, THE EQUALIZER 3, EXPEND4BLES, A HAUNTING IN VENICE, IT LIVES INSIDE, MY BIG FAT GREEK WEDDING 3, THE NUN II, OPPENHEIMER, STOP MAKING SENSE (concert film; re-release), TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES: MUTANT MAYHEM (animation) (9/29 on), Canelo Alvarez vs. Jermell Charlo (boxing) (9/30, 7 p.m., simulcast), THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE TWO TOWERS (10/1, 10/4, 3 & 7 p.m.), 1521 (10/2, 7 p.m.), INTO THE WEEDS (documentary) (10/3, 7 p.m.), MOTHER TERESA & ME (10/5, 7 p.m.), THE EXORCIST: BELIEVER (10/5 on)
@ Illini Union, UIUC, Urbana, IL
Illini Union Board presents “Fall 2023 Weekend Films” feat. OPPENHEIMER, Pine Lounge, 1st floor (9/29-9/30, 7 p.m.; free w/i-card)
@ Redbox (streaming), Champaign-Urbana, IL
DELIVER US, THE EXORCISTS, HEAD COUNT, MY BIG FAT GREEK WEDDING 3, OCEAN DEEP, more! (9/26 on) Online rentals
@ The Virginia Theatre, Champaign, IL
Illini Radio Group presents “Rewind 92.5 Movie Series” feat. THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW (10/5, 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
THE CREATOR, PAW PATROL: THE MIGHTY MOVIE (animation), SOUND OF FREEDOM (9/29-10/1)
@ The Fischer Theatre, Danville, IL
No movies this week!
@ The Harvest Moon Twin Drive-in, Gibson City, IL
HARRY POTTER AND THE SORCEROR’S STONE (Screen 1), HARRY POTTER AND THE CHAMBER OF SECRETS (Screen 2) (9/29-9/30)
@ The Lincoln Square Theatre, Decatur, IL
FIELDS OF GOLD* exclusive run (documentary) (9/29, 10/3-10/5, 7 p.m.)
@ The Little Lorraine, Hoopeston, IL
Private parties and “Family Movie Packs”
@ The Normal Theater, Normal, IL
2023 Manhattan SHORT Film Festival (9/29-10/2), THE CURSE OF FRANKENSTEIN (10/4), YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN (10/5)
@ The Onarga Theatre, Onarga, IL
Closed for business until November.
@ The Princess Theatre, Leroy, IL
TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES: MUTANT MAYHEM (animation) (9/29-10/1)
@ The Route 66 Drive-in Theater, Springfield, IL
PAW PATROL: THE MIGHTY MOVIE (animation), TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES: MUTANT MAYHEM (animation) (Screen 1), EXPEND4BLES, THE EQUALIZER 3 (Screen 2) (9/29-9/30)
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 (through 10/8)
@ Landmark’s Glendale 12, etc., Indianapolis, IN
32nd Heartland International Film Festival (10/5-10/15)
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
UPDATE! 10/10
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
10/27-10/28
THE WOODMEN* local film premiere
@ The Little Lorraine, Hoopeston, IL, 7 p.m.
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
11/10
AFTERLIFE* documentary world premiere
@ The Avon Theatre, Decatur, IL, 7 p.m.
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.
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
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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