Calendar: January 5-11, 2024
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.
~~~~~
MILESTONES | Happy Birthday to You!
1/7: Steve Christopher (actor, HUNTING FOR THE HAG, Into the Night Motion Pictures, Normal, IL)
FIELD REPORT DU HQ | From Wherever It May Be Said
With our holiday celebrations modest and in the books, we’d be happy to kill a little more time in benign ways to mark the New Year with you before we all dig in our heels. How about a word association game that will last long enough to string together our first Report for 2024? Mr. JaPan will gladly start…
“Winter,” which finally hits central Illinois in earnest over the next week according to our forecast, is the opposite of “summer,” and our friend John Isberg at Front 76 Films has announced a trivia contest you can enter between right this very moment and 5 p.m. tomorrow, Saturday, January 6, in order to win a piece of FINAL SUMMER merchandise. The retro-styled slasher movie, promoted by their sweet swag, made its debut on Tubi last month as did another horror the Front 76 camp worked on in the Champaign-Urbana area, John Pata’s BLACK MOLD. Both writer/directors are planning to expand the reach of their respective features later in the year with further streaming options and physical media release for the former and a DIY theatrical tour for the later, booked by our pal Jessie Seitz of Capricorn Rising.
“Black mold” is not-very-secret code for “possibility of filming shows in and around the former Octave Chanute Air Force Base,” and we couldn’t help but think of MOLD, which was filmed there in early 2022, when learning the city of Rantoul had finally regained complete ownership of the Chanute grounds from the US military as of a ceremony held on Wednesday, October 25. Despite the hushed discussions of recent times held in particular corners about turning one or more of the remaining structures into a fully-equipped production stage with competitive rates, the topic is curiously absent from the News-Gazette’s article, although it does name-drop other businesses that have already claimed their real estate.
And, “commercial media production” is symbiotic with “available and trained work force,” the latter of which would be necessary to accommodate the former on location and at establishments like a soundstage. This need for staffing is the focus of the Illinois Film Office’s “Film & TV Production Training” program that is sponsored locally by Shatterglass Studios. Wednesday, January 31, is the deadline to apply for classes to be held this February and March in Champaign County, so visit the official website and submit your information if this is of interest. Good luck on getting your feet wet and MOLD-y!
NOW PLAYING | Champaign-Urbana Area
@ AMC Champaign 13, Champaign, IL
NIGHT SWIM, SHINING FOR ONE THING (in Mandarin with English sub), ANYONE BUT YOU, AQUAMAN AND THE LOST KINGDOM, THE BOYS IN THE BOAT, THE COLOR PURPLE, FERRARI, THE HUNGER GAMES: THE BALLAD OF SONGBIRDS & SNAKES, THE IRON CLAW, MIGRATION, POOR THINGS, WONKA (1/5 on), THE BEEKEEPER preview (1/6, 7 p.m.), AMC “Screen Unseen” (mystery movie) (1/8, 7 p.m., PG-13), THE BEEKEEPER, THE BOOK OF CLARENCE, HANU-MAN (in Telugu with English sub), MEAN GIRLS (1/11 on)
@ Phoenix Savoy 16 + IMAX, Savoy, IL
NIGHT SWIM, ANYONE BUT YOU, AQUAMAN AND THE LOST KINGDOM, THE BOY AND THE HERON (animé) (in Japanese with English sub or English dub), THE BOYS IN THE BOAT, THE COLOR PURPLE, FERRARI, GODZILLA MINUS ONE (in Japanese with English sub), THE HUNGER GAMES: THE BALLAD OF SONGBIRDS & SNAKES, THE IRON CLAW, MIGRATION, POOR THINGS, TROLLS BAND TOGETHER (animation), WISH (animation), WONKA (1/5 on), The Metropolitan Opera: Nabucco (11/12, 11:55 a.m., simulcast; 1/10, 1 & 6:30 p.m., recorded), THE BEEKEEPER preview (1/6, 7 p.m.), AIRPLANE! (1/7, 3 & 7 p.m.; 1/10, 7 p.m.), THE BEEKEEPER, THE BOOK OF CLARENCE, MEAN GIRLS (1/11 on)
@ Redbox (streaming), Champaign-Urbana, IL
Follow the link to view seasonal favorites and the hottest new releases! (1/2 on) Online rentals
@ The Virginia Theatre, Champaign, IL
No movies this week!
Events featuring locally produced movies are marked with an asterisk (*). Additional “Now Playing” and “Coming Soon” listings appear after the jump!
~~~~~
NOW PLAYING | The Cities Beyond
@ The Avon Theater, Decatur, IL
NIGHT SWIM, MIGRATION, WONKA (1/4-1/7)
@ The Fischer Theatre, Danville, IL
THE GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL (1/5, 7 p.m.), FARGO (1/6, 2 & 7 p.m.), ELVIS (1/8, 7 p.m.)
@ The Normal Theater, Normal, IL
YOU CAN’T TAKE IT WITH YOU (1/11)
@ The Onarga Theatre, Onarga, IL
MIGRATION (1/5-1/7)
@ The Princess Theatre, Leroy, IL
WONKA (1/5-1/7)
NOW PLAYING | Midwest
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
3/2
CU International Film Festival*
@ Spurlock Museum of World Cultures, UIUC, Urbana, IL
4/4-4/11
26th annual Wisconsin Film Festival, Madison, WI
4/4-4/14
34th Onion City Experimental Film Festival, Chicago, IL
4/17-4/20
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.
1/18: RETURN OF THE JEDI; 2/8: THE BLUES BROTHERS; 3/21: E.T. THE EXTRA-TERRESTRIAL; 4/25: PITCH PERFECT*; 5/23: FAME (1980); 6/27: HARRY POTTER AND THE SORCERER’S STONE*; 7/11: GREASE “sing-a-long” edition
Illinois Public Media presents “The Arthouse Experience Film Series”
@ The Virginia Theatre, Champaign, IL, 7 p.m.
1/19: PASSING; 2/16: GOSPEL: WHERE SONG AND SERMON MEET excerpt w/discussion; 5/24: FREE SOLO; 7/19: STOP MAKING SENSE
Illini Union Board presents “Spring 2024 Weekend Films”
@ Pine Lounge, 1st floor, Illini Union, UIUC, Urbana, IL, 7 p.m. Fri. & Sat, free w/i-card
1/19-1/20: DICKS: THE MUSICAL; 1/26-1/27: DUMB MONEY; 2/2-2/3: WISH; 2/9-2/10: FIVE NIGHTS AT FREDDY’S; 2/16-2/17: THE HUNGER GAMES: THE BALLAD OF SONGBIRDS & SNAKES; 2/23-2/24: THE MARVELS; 3/1-3/2: TROLLS BAND TOGETHER; 3/8-3/9: AMERICAN FICTION; 3/15-3/16: AQUAMAN AND THE LOST KINGDOM; 3/22-3/23: ANYONE BUT YOU; 3/29-3/30: THE COLOR PURPLE; 4/5-4/6: FERRARI; 4/12-4/13: THE BOYS IN THE BOAT; 4/19-4/20: WONKA; 4/26-4/27: THE BOOK OF CLARENCE; 5/3-5/4: THE IRON CLAW
The News-Gazette Film Series
@ The Virginia Theatre, Champaign, IL, 1 & 7 p.m.
1/20: THE WIZARD OF OZ; 2/10: SINGIN’ IN THE RAIN; 4/13: THE THIRD MAN
~~~~~
Compiled by Jason Pankoke.
~~~~~
“Calendar du C-U”
© 2024 Jason Pankoke/C-U Blogfidential