Calendar: Aug. 29-Sept. 5, 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!
8/30: John Oak Dalton (director, SMART HOUSE, ITN Distribution, Beverly Hills, CA)
9/1: Matt Wiley (designer/cartoonist, Matt Wiley Art, Champaign-Urbana, IL)
9/2: Matt Harsh (videographer/multimedia artist, HarshPro, Champaign-Urbana, IL)
FIELD REPORT DU HQ | From Wherever It May Be Said
The days are getting shorter, the Calendars are getting longer, and we want to get outside more while it’s pleasant since we need to neaten up around MFHQ Deux. So, this week, we’re going to stress quick hits and direct you to a set of stories published elsewhere that have caught our eye. A few of them are from a while ago and got a bit lost in the latest crunch of Report-ing, but you can still read and glean from them. Keeping up with the C-Uvians often means neatening up our virtual workspace from time to time.
So, dearest readers and gleaners, have you heard the ones about:
Eastern Illinois University announcing their television service is going to drop its association with PBS due to a major loss in federal funding through the Corporation for Public Broadcasting? This is the sort of shortfall that will hamper the American people’s ability to access art, performance, history, and news that is unencumbered by the compromises of commercial networks and politically-leaning avenues, yet it will also force institutions like EIU to find other materials to air as well as methods to afford the education and training they can offer undergraduates in broadcasting and journalism, such as at the WEIU-TV studio.
Veteran film critic and “Ebertfest” associate Michael Phillips revealing he was agreeing to a buyout of his contract at the Chicago Tribune, effectively terminating his role at the newspaper, and declining to be reassigned to another department in the newsroom? Following a similar agreement between the Chicago Sun-Times and the former Roger Ebert television co-host Richard Roeper that took place earlier this year, it leaves the dailies of a major American city without chief movie reviewers for the first time in several decades. Across our nation, the devaluing across media forms of critical voices in the arts is striking.
The News-Gazette reporting in late June that a pair of Danville High School students, David Moore and Simone Modest, were writing and singing a song for a music video being made with other area youth during a “Say It With Music” summer camp, facilitated by Project Success of Vermilion County and taught by instructors and professional filmmakers and music engineers through Her Records, Inc., of Atlanta? The theme of the song and video, stopping violence in the community, had personal meaning for Modest whose cousin, Aniyah Davis, was killed by gunfire in Danville right before they began the camp, which is designed to foster creativity and confidence as well as incorporate concepts in STEM and the arts.
Area businessman George Papametro purchasing and beginning the fix-up process of the former Home Theatre in downtown Rantoul, as written about by the News-Gazette in April, with no intent to restore the space as a cinema due to its deterioration and the fickle state of exhibition? A property owner with several locations as well as owner of AG Electric of Thomasboro, Papametro believed that other kinds of groups or businesses could make due with renting space in the Home once his upgrade work is done and didn’t rule out the possibility of live theater being staged in the location. No online update can be found.
WJBC radio confirming the Normal Police Department was incorporated in a throwaway gag on a recent episode of the Netflix series WEDNESDAY, in which a mock-up photo of an arrested “Thing” is shown? The Town of Normal had known about the cameo and kept it under wraps until the episode aired. A spokesperson surmises the inclusion most likely had to do with using “Normal” as easy wordplay against the altogether ooky world of the Addams Family. We at CUBlog absolutely approve of this move.
News-Gazette columnist Bob Asmussen musing on the potential for showing college sports movies on the UI Memorial Stadium scoreboard, which will get its first real-time workout of the season tonight at 6:30 p.m. when Illinois plays Western Illinois to kick off the football season? Apparently, REMEMBER THE TITANS was enjoyed a couple of weeks ago on the screen and family-friendly outings have been hosted there in recent times with Disney and Marvel favorites. Sure, it’s a plausible idea, weather permitting, and could become the athletic equivalent of the weekly Illini Union movies shown every semester. Rah rah!
IMAGERY DU C-U | Picturing Our Scenes on the Small Screen
The possibilities are circling us now…
CONFIDENTIAL ALMANAC | Dates in Film Culture History
The probabilities are howling all night…
LOCAL FILMS & EVENTS | Support Your Media Storytellers
@ Champaign County Historical Museum, Champaign, IL
“Downtown Champaign Historic Theater Tour” (8/30, 1 p.m.) Tickets
NOW PLAYING | Champaign-Urbana Area
@ AMC Champaign 13, Champaign, IL
CAUGHT STEALING, JAWS 50th anniversary (re-release), LOKAH CHAPTER ONE: CHANDRA* (in Malayam with English sub), PARAM SUNDARI* (in Hindi with English sub), THE ROSES, RUN*, SUNDARAKANDA* (in Telugu with English sub), THE TOXIC AVENGER, THE FANTASTIC FOUR: FIRST STEPS, FREAKIER FRIDAY, HONEY DON’T, LILO & STITCH, NOBODY 2, RELAY*, SUPERMAN, WEAPONS (8/29 on), SHIN GODZILLA ORTHOCHROMATIC (8/31, 6:15 p.m.) (in Japanese with English sub), AMC “Screen Unseen” (mystery movie) (9/1, 7 p.m.), THE CONJURING: LAST RITES, HAMILTON (filmed stage presentation), LIGHT OF THE WORLD (faith animation) (9/4 on) *single screenings daily
@ Phoenix Savoy 16 + IMAX, Savoy, IL
CAUGHT STEALING, JAWS 50th anniversary (re-release), PARAM SUNDARI* (in Hindi with English sub), THE ROSES, RUN*, THE BAD GUYS 2 (animation), THE FANTASTIC FOUR: FIRST STEPS, FREAKIER FRIDAY, HONEY DON’T, LILO & STITCH, THE NAKED GUN, NE ZHA II* (animation; English dub), NOBODY 2, RELAY, SUPERMAN, WEAPONS (8/29 on), SUNDARAKANDA* (in Telugu with English sub) (8/29, 6:35 p.m.), THE BLIND (8/31, 4 & 7 p.m.; 9/1-9/4, 7 p.m.), MADHARASI (in Tamil or Telugu) (9/4 on) *single screenings daily
@ Pine Lounge, 1st floor, Illini Union, UIUC, Urbana, IL
Illini Union Board presents MATERIALISTS (8/29-8/30, 7 p.m., free w/i-card)
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
CAUGHT STEALING, JAWS 50th anniversary (re-release), THE BAD GUYS 2 (animation), FREAKIER FRIDAY, LILO & STITCH, NOBODY 2*, WEAPONS (8/29 on)
@ The Harvest Moon Twin Drive-in, Gibson City, IL
JAWS 50th anniversary (re-release), DEEP BLUE SEA (Screen 1), THE OUTSIDERS, STAND BY ME (Screen 2) (8/29-8/31)
@ The Lorraine Theatre, Hoopeston, IL
JAWS 50th anniversary (re-release) (8/29-8/31), THE CONJURING: LAST RITES (9/4 on)
@ The Normal Theater, Normal, IL
SHARI & LAMB CHOP (documentary) (8/28-8/31), IT’S NEVER OVER, JEFF BUCKLEY (music documentary) (9/4 on)
@ The Onarga Theatre, Onarga, IL
FREAKIER FRIDAY (8/29-8/31)
@ The Princess Theatre, Leroy, IL
THE BAD GUYS 2 (animation) (8/29-8/31)
@ The Route 66 Drive-in Theater, Springfield, IL
JAWS 50th anniversary (re-release), JURASSIC WORLD: REBIRTH (Screen 1), THE TOXIC AVENGER, WEAPONS (Screen 2) (8/29-8/31)
LAST LISTING! @ VIP Lincoln Grand 6, Lincoln, IL
CAUGHT STEALING, JAWS 50th anniversary (re-release), THE ROSES, THE BAD GUYS 2 (animation), FREAKIER FRIDAY, HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON, LILO & STITCH, WEAPONS (8/29 on), THE BLIND (8/31, 4 & 6:50 p.m.; 9/1-9/4, 6:50 p.m.)
Click this link to keep up with the showtimes for the venue above.
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, Screen Magazine, and the Chicago Reader.
COMING SOON | Area-wide Events
NEW! 9/4-9/15
15th Lake County Film Festival*
@ College of Lake County, Grayslake, IL +
Gorton Center, Lake Forest, IL
9/17-9/21
32nd Chicago Underground Film Festival
@ ACX Harper Theater – Hyde Park, Chicago, IL
9/19-9/28
43rd Reeling: The Chicago LGBTQ+ International Film Festival
@ Landmark’s Century Centre Cinema + Chicago Filmmakers, Chicago, IL
9/20-9/22
Chambana Film Society presents
the first CineSonic* music film festival
@ TBA, Champaign-Urbana, IL
10/15-10/26
61st Chicago International Film Festival
@ Music Box Theatre, etc., Chicago, IL
11/6-11/16
34th Whitaker St. Louis International Film Festival
@ The Hi-Pointe Theatre, St. Louis, MO
11/7-11/8
24th Route 66 International Film Festival*
@ Hoogland Center for the Arts, Springfield, IL
11/8-11/9
Dark History & Horror Con* 2025
feat. Screaming Mad Film Festival
@ The Orpheum Theatre, Champaign, IL
11/21
Chambana Film Society presents
The Found Footage Festival
@ Phoenix Savoy 16 + IMAX, Savoy, IL, 7 p.m.
COMMUNITY & CAMPUS SERIES | Champaign-Urbana area
NEW! Illini Union Board presents “Fall 2025 Weekend Films”
@ Pine Lounge, 1st floor, Illini Union, UIUC, Urbana, IL, 7 p.m. Fri. & Sat, free w/i-card
8/29-8/30: MATERIALSTS; 9/5-9/6: KARATE KID LEGENDS; 9/12-9/13: JURASSIC WORLD: REBIRTH; 9/19-9/20: SUPERMAN; 9/26-9/27: 28 YEARS LATER; 10/3-10/4: F1 THE MOVIE; 10/10-10/11: THE NAKED GUN; 10/17-10/18: THE BAD GUYS 2; 10/24-10/25: I KNOW WHAT YOU DID LAST SUMMER; 10/30-10/31: THE CONJURING: LAST RITES; 11/7-11/8: FREAKIER FRIDAY; 11/14-11/15: DOWNTON ABBEY: THE GRAND FINALE; 11/21-11/22: HIM; 12/5-12/6: CAUGHT STEALING
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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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