Calendar: June 6-12, 2025
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!
6/10: Allen Richards (publisher, B-Independent.com, VA)
FIELD REPORT DU HQ | From Wherever It May Be Said
Now that we’re back in this space, Ye Ed tells us that we should Report. So, Report we shall. First up is the obvious one – there’s a new feature film that is currently on location in Piatt and Ford counties, as many of you have probably seen by now on social media and through the local press. CHILI FINGER is described as a dark comedy in previous articles by The Hollywood Reporter and Reel Chicago and is directed by Edd Benda and Stephen Helstad of Beyond the Porch, LLC, in Los Angeles, who are teaming with the LA post-production house Gold Tree Studios on the picture. Written by Helstad, the story is about a woman played by Judy Greer who claims to find a human finger in her order at a fast-food restaurant and attempts to cash in on it; John Goodman, Sean Astin, and Bryan Cranston also have roles in the film, the rights for which will be sold internationally at the American Film Market and so on once it’s finished. There is no word that we’ve found about how long the production will be in the area or if they might hit the C-U, but the residents and city leaders of Monticello and Paxton are clearly loving the limelight so far.
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While it will be some time before CHILI FINGER can be seen, we have mere days to wait before we can start watching the television series REVIVAL, a pet project of prolific indie producer Aaron B. Koontz and our own Luke Boyce of Shatterglass Films and Flyover Film Studios, on SyFy. Adapted from the acclaimed series by writer Tim Seely, artist Mike Norton, and publisher Image Comics, the Canada-lensed show will debut next Thursday, June 12, at 9 p.m. CST on the cable channel and each episode will be available to stream on Peacock one week after its debut. The show follows a rural Wisconsin police officer played by Melanie Scrofano, star of SyFy’s previous hit WYNONNA EARP, as she witnesses the phenomena of the recently deceased coming back to life including her sister. Executive producers and showrunners Boyce and Koontz talked with Tara Bennett of SyFy Wire about switching gears from an independently mounted, feature-length treatment to serialized storytelling for the NBC sister network and briefly brought up REVEALER, the religion-and-end-times thriller that Shatterglass and The Line Film Co. made covertly in the C-U during a low ebb in pursuing this project. REVIVAL also stars David James Elliott, Romy Weltman, and Stephen Ogg along with Chicago native Phil Brooks, famously known as CM Punk.
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Finally, John Isberg of Swede Films in Champaign announced during our hiatus that, despite all signs leading many to believe that FINAL SUMMER PART II was on deck, his next production will actually be a horror-comedy called BIG MUDDY and take its inspiration from the regional legends of sasquatch-type creatures. Isberg and team are gearing up for a late summer shoot this year and will launch an Indiegogo campaign on July 3, right after they venture to southern Illinois and partake in the annual Big Muddy Monster Fest of Murphrysboro on Saturday, June 21. According to the Internet Movie Database, Isberg has already cast a good group of Midwest indie horror regulars for BIG MUDDY such as FINAL SUMMER actors Myles Valentine, Seth Boyer, and Bishop Stevens, ATTACK OF THE CORN ZOMBIES and GRINNERS standout Magdalena Conway, STRANGER THINGS veteran and UIUC professor Aaron Muñoz, BLACK MOLD’s Andrew Bailes, and Nathan Brandon Gaik, the towering talent from Bloomington-Normal who will portray “Big Muddy” akin to his turn as the title fiend in Paul A. Brooks’ HUNTING FOR THE HAG, albeit with a more mellow vibe. Also set to appear are Ari Lehman from the original FRIDAY THE 13TH and Oliver Robbins from the original POLTERGEIST. Look for more “Big” news when we get it in…
IMAGERY DU C-U | Picturing Our Scene on the Screen
Well, that was inspiring to see. Your humble editor escaped the house on the edge of an American small town for a spell and attended the first Savoy Lumière at the Savoy 16 + IMAX over the weekend. I only was able to sit in for three shows, but I saw good things and said hello to a few familiar faces. It will be of great interest to see how this endeavor matures and the C-U responds over time. An admirably devoted Daily Illini student writer, Anna Williams, went as well and filed multiple reports on all days of the event starting with this one. Amy Penne has also had the Lumière pulse and shared this notice at Smile Politely on the Audience Award winners tallied up after the screening of SALLY. Below are a few pictures I took on Saturday, May 31, before and during the last show of the day, THE OTHER PEOPLE, a very low-key spooker about a family who gets more than they bargained for in their new home. Seated at the check-in table is Thomas Nicol, who has coordinated with the Savoy 16 in the past on behalf of his sadly departed Krampusnacht Freeky Film Festival, and sitting up front with festival director Nat Dykeman in Theater 8 is the festival guest Chad McClarnon who directed, co-wrote, and co-produced THE OTHER PEOPLE for his company, Best Part Productions of Nashville, Tennessee. We’re still going to look at a few aspects of the Lumière and cinema-going in the C-U over the next few weeks before moving on, so stay tuned.
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LOCAL FILMS & EVENTS | Support Your Media Storytellers
@ Fire Doll Studio, Champaign, IL
UI Flatlands Dance Film Festival and Krannert Art Museum present “Good House Keep Film Screening” feat. Laura Chiaramonte (6/11, 6:30 p.m., free)
@ Gallery Art Bar, Urbana, IL
UI Flatlands Dance Film Festival presents “Experimental Dance Film Performance and Talkback” feat Laura Chiaramonte, Matt Harsh, and Tessa Olson (6/10, 7 p.m., free)
@ Illini Union Ballroom, UIUC, Urbana, IL
The African Kinship Reunion (TAKiR) present BOUND: AFRICANS VS. AFRICAN-AMERICANS documentary screening w/filmmaker Peres Owino (6/14, 5 p.m., free w/reservation) Tickets
NOW PLAYING | Champaign-Urbana Area
@ AMC Champaign 13, Champaign, IL
BALLERINA, DAN DA DAN: EVIL EYE (animé) (in Japanese with English sub or English dub), DANGEROUS ANIMALS, THE PHOENICIAN SCHEME, THE RITUAL, BRING HER BACK, FINAL DESTINATION: BLOODLINES, FRIENDSHIP, KARATE KID: LEGENDS, LILO & STITCH, MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE – THE FINAL RECKONING, SINNERS*, THUNDERBOLTS** (6/6 on), DOGMA 25th anniversary (re-release) (6/6-6/8), ESCAPE FROM THE 21ST CENTURY (6/9, 8 p.m., in Mandarin with English sub), HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON (6/11 on) *single screenings daily
@ Phoenix Savoy 16 + IMAX, Savoy, IL
BALLERINA, DANGEROUS ANIMALS, THE PHOENICIAN SCHEME, THE RITUAL, BRING HER BACK, FINAL DESTINATION: BLOODLINES, FRIENDSHIP, JANE AUSTEN WRECKED MY LIFE*, KARATE KID: LEGENDS, THE LAST RODEO, LILO & STITCH, A MINECRAFT MOVIE*, MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE – THE FINAL RECKONING, SINNERS, THUNDERBOLTS* (6/6 on), UFC 316: Merab Dvalishvili vs. Sean O’Malley, more (mixed martial arts) (6/7, 9 p.m., simulcast), TWILIGHT (6/8, 3 & 7 p.m.; 6/11, 7 p.m.), THE AMERICAN MIRACLE: OUR NATION IS NO ACCIDENT (faith docudrama) (6/9-6/11, 7 p.m.), HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON (6/11 on) *single screenings daily
@ Main Quad, Illini Union, UIUC, Urbana, IL
Illini Union Board presents “Summer Films on the Quad” feat. PADDINGTON IN PERU (6/12, 9 p.m., free)
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
@ Clintonia Eagle Theater, Clinton, IL
BALLERINA, KARATE KID: LEGENDS, LILO & STITCH, MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE – THE FINAL RECKONING (6/6 on), UFC 316: Merab Dvalishvili vs. Sean O’Malley, more (mixed martial arts) (6/7, 9 p.m., simulcast), THE BAD GUYS (animation) (6/10-6/11, 10 a.m., free)
@ The Harvest Moon Twin Drive-in, Gibson City, IL
LILO & STITCH, KARATE KID: LEGENDS (Screen 1), GREASE, DIRTY DANCING (1987) (Screen 2) (6/6-6/7), LILO & STITCH (Screen 1), GREASE (1987) (Screen 2) (6/8), LILO & STITCH (Screen 1), DIRTY DANCING (1987) (Screen 2) (6/9-6/11), HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON (Screen 1), LILO & STITCH (Screen 2) (6/12 on)
@ The Lorraine Theatre, Hoopeston, IL
LILO & STITCH (6/6-6/8), HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON (6/12 on)
@ Marcus Bloomington Cinema + IMAX, Bloomington, IL
BALLERINA, DAN DA DAN: EVIL EYE (animé) (in Japanese with English sub or English dub), DANGEROUS ANIMALS, THE PHOENICIAN SCHEME, THE RITUAL, BRING HER BACK, FINAL DESTINATION: BLOODLINES, FRIENDSHIP, KARATE KID: LEGENDS, LILO & STITCH, MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE – THE FINAL RECKONING, SINNERS, THUNDERBOLTS* (6/6 on), Indian cinema: HOUSEFULL 5* (Hindi w/Eng sub, 6/6-6/11) and THUG LIFE (Telugu or Tamil w/Eng sub, 6/6-6/11), DESPICABLE ME 4* (animation) (6/8-6/12), DOGMA 25th anniversary (re-release) (6/8, 8 p.m.), THE AMERICAN MIRACLE: OUR NATION IS NO ACCIDENT* (faith docudrama) (6/9-6/11), HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON (6/11 on), MILEY CYRUS: SOMETHING BEAUTIFUL (“visual album” music film) (6/12, 6:30 & 7 p.m.), MATERIALISTS (6/12 on) *single screenings daily
@ The Normal Theater, Normal, IL
THE NEW ADVENTURES OF PIPPI LONGSTOCKING (6/9, 6/11), FRIENDSHIP (6/12)
@ The Onarga Theatre, Onarga, IL
KARATE KID: LEGENDS (6/6-6/8)
@ The Princess Theatre, Leroy, IL
LILO & STITCH (6/6-6/8)
@ The Route 66 Drive-in Theater, Springfield, IL
LILO & STITCH, KARATE KID: LEGENDS (Screen 1), FINAL DESTINATION: BLOODLINES, SINNERS (Screen 2) (6/6-6/8, 6/10-6/11)
@ VIP Lincoln Grand 6, Lincoln, IL
BALLERINA, FINAL DESTINATION: BLOODLINES, KARATE KID: LEGENDS, THE LAST RODEO, LILO & STITCH, MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE – THE FINAL RECKONING (6/6 on), THE AMERICAN MIRACLE: OUR NATION IS NO ACCIDENT (faith docudrama) (6/9-6/11), THE WILD ROBOT (animation) (6/11-6/12, 10 a.m.), HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON (6/12 on)
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. And for northern Illinois industry news, be sure to read Reel Chicago and Screen Magazine.
COMING SOON | Area-wide Events
6/25
“Jay & Silent Bob Aural Sects Tour” starring Kevin Smith & Jay Mewes
@ The Virginia Theatre, Champaign, IL, 7:30 p.m.
9/20-9/22
Champaign Film Society presents
the first CineSonic* music film festival
@ TBA, Champaign-Urbana, IL
11/8-11/9
Dark History & Horror Con 2025
@ The Orpheum Theatre, Champaign, IL
4/23-4/26, 2026
Roger Ebert’s Film Festival*
@ The Virginia Theatre, Champaign, IL
COMMUNITY & CAMPUS SERIES | Champaign-Urbana area
Champaign Park District presents “Moo-vie Nights at Prairie Farm”
@ Prairie Farm/Centennial Park, Champaign, IL, 8 p.m., free
6/13: CHICKEN LITTLE; 6/27: OPEN SEASON; 7/11: BABE; 7/25: HOME ON THE RANGE; 8/8: CHARLOTTE’S WEB (2006)
Illini Union Board presents “Summer Films on the Quad”
@ Main Quad, Illini Union, UIUC, Urbana, IL, 9 p.m. Thursdays, free
6/19: SNOW WHITE; 6/26: A MINECRAFT MOVIE; 7/3: THE PATRIOT; 7/10: THE WOMAN IN THE YARD; 7/17: THE LEGEND OF OCHI; 7/24: DROP; 7/31: THUNDERBOLTS*; 8/7: LILO & STITCH; 8/14: MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE – THE FINAL RECKONING
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Compiled by Jason Pankoke.
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“Calendar du C-U”
© 2025 Jason Pankoke/C-U Blogfidential
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