Calendar: March 13-19, 2026
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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THE BLOGFIDENTIAL TELETYPE | Film News You Can Use, C-U
What we’re seeing on our beat this week … “Celebrity sightings” is our calling as we roll out the Teletype! First, the Normal Theater in Normal announced this week they will host a special sneak preview of the upcoming small-town thriller NORMAL on Thursday, April 2, with screenwriter Derek Kolstad (JOHN WICK) and star Bob Odenkirk (BETTER CALL SAUL) in attendance; word is that advance tickets have sold out and day-of tickets will be made available at the box office …
Then, the University of Illinois also announced this week that College of Media alumnus Sean Evans, creator and host of the popular and award-winning HOT ONES chat show on YouTube, will be the commencement speaker on Saturday, May 16, at Gies Memorial Stadium; Evans has interviewed dozens of entertainment names since the series launched in 2015, with guests testing their taste buds on increasingly more potent hot sauce products as the conversations go, with recent episodes featuring Teyana Taylor, Jason Segel, Daniel Radcliffe, and Madison Beer …
From chicken wings to CHILI FINGER, the independently-produced comedy about a woman who runs afoul of a regional fast-food chain that caused a big stir while being filmed in Champaign County last year, we learned that it will enjoy three screenings during the South by Southwest film festival in Austin, Texas, this weekend, including its World Premiere on Saturday, March 14, 2:45 p.m., at the Zach Theater; directed by Edd Benda and Stephen Helstad, it stars Judy Greer, Sean Astin, Bryan Cranston, and John Goodman …
In compiling the Calendar, we see that Viva Kids has a new animated family feature opening in area theaters next Thursday, March 19, called THE POUT-POUT FISH, based on the book written by Deborah Diesen and illustrated by Dan Hanna; the aquatic acquaintances who go on an adventure are voiced by Nina Oyama (UTOPIA) and UI alumnus Nick Offerman (PARKS & RECREATION) …
And finally, who are the stars in our neighborhood? You can always learn by attending the monthly meeting of Champaign Movie Makers, which returns to the Esquire Lounge in downtown Champaign this Monday, March 16, starting at 7 p.m.; grab a refreshment, meet the players, and find a role in what we’re creating. Hooray for Towniewood! …
Oh, right. The Oscars. 6 p.m. Central on ABC-TV … and that’s what we can reveal for today. Always remember – this is not just movies, it’s our lives.
CONFIDENTIAL ALMANAC | Dates in Film Culture History
5 Years Ago … Tuesday, March 16, 2021: After several years of hints, the standard-setting home video company Synapse Films releases Blu-ray and DVD editions of the crime film RUNNING TIME, directed by Josh Becker and starring Bruce Campbell, Jeremy Roberts, Anita Barone, Stan Davis, and Art Le Fleur. Arriving two decades after the original physical media release by Anchor Bay Entertainment, this one presents the black-and-white “real time” crime flick with a transfer upgrade as well as significant extras that now connect it to Champaign-Urbana. In what seems to be a rare arrangement for Synapse, regular cover artist Wen Benscoter contributes a striking composition that serves as the reverse jacket illustration in deference to a unique Campbell portrait that is rendered by Gerry Kissell, a long-time confidant of Becker who helped to arrange the screening of RUNNING TIME held in Noyes Lab on the University of Illinois campus in late 1997. At the event, which served as opening night for the debut Freaky Film Festival, future C-U Blogfidential editor Jason Pankoke offered to tape footage for the organizers, Grace Giorgio and Eric Fisher, including a chat session between the sizeable audience and guest attendees Becker and Campbell, and much of that recording is made available for the first time ever as a bonus on the disc. Two years later, RUNNING TIME became the cover story in the first issue of Pankoke’s film journal, MICRO-FILM. As reported on 10/29/09, 10/5/18, 6/7/19 at CUBlog.
20 Years Ago … Wednesday, March 15, 2006: The first feature film production from Dreamscape Cinema of Champaign to receive distribution, CRAB ORCHARD, is shown locally at the Virginia Theatre as a Midwest premiere. Producer and writer Robin Christian introduces the 7 p.m. screening to a near-capacity crowd north of 1,300. After appearing first in international markets and undergoing a title change, CRAB ORCHARD would come to U.S. DVD in early 2011 as SHEEBA (Questar Home Video). The cast of this family drama includes Ruby Handler, Dylan Patton, Betsy Zajko, Judge Reinhold, and Edward Asner. Media entrepreneur and photojournalist Michael J. Jacobs directed the film for Dreamscape. As reported on 3/12/06, 3/19/06, 1/27/11 at CUBlog. [R]
LOCAL FILMS & EVENTS | Support Your Media Storytellers
@ Analog Wine Library, Urbana, IL
Film Fanatic Movie Nights* presents THE MAN WHO WASN’T THERE (3/19, 7 p.m.)
@ Esquire Lounge, Champaign, IL
Champaign Movie Makers* meeting (3/16, 7 p.m.)
@ Flyover Film Studios, Rantoul, IL
“Spring Break (SB2) Camera Department Intensive” instructed by Robert Patrick Stern (3/16-3/19)
@ Lake County College, Grayslake, IL, etc.
16th annual Lake County Film Festival* (3/12-3/24) Information
NOW PLAYING | Champaign-Urbana Area
@ AMC Champaign 13, Champaign, IL
BOONIE BEARS: THE HIDDEN PROTECTOR* (animation; in Mandarin with English sub), PER ASPERA AD ASTRA (in Mandarin with English sub), REMINDERS OF HIM, THE REVENANT 10th anniversary (re-release), TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES II: THE SECRET OF THE OOZE 35th (re-release), UNDERTONE, THE BRIDE!, DEMON SLAYER: INFINITY CASTLE (animé re-release) (in Japanese with English sub or English dub), DOLLY*, GOAT (animation), HOPPERS (animation), PEGASUS 3* (in Mandarin with English and Chinese sub), SCREAM 7 (3/6 on), WUTHERING HEIGHTS* (3/13-3/17), Fan Faves: ANACONDA* (3/13-3/17, 3/19), ONE BATTLE AFTER ANOTHER* (3/13-), SINNERS* (3/13-3/15), SOUND OF FREEDOM* (3/14-3/15, 3/18), and UNSUNG HERO* (3/14-3/15,3/18), PROJECT HAIL MARY sneak preview (3/16, 7 p.m.), AMC “Screen Unseen” (mystery movie) (3/16, 7 p.m.), USTAAD BHAGAT SINGH (in Telugu with English sub) (3/18, 3:15 p.m.), DHURANDHAR THE REVENGE (in Hindi with English sub) (3/18, 7:10 p.m.), THE POUT-POUT FISH (animation), PROJECT HAIL MARY, READY OR NOT 2: HERE I COME (3/19 on) *single screenings daily
@ Phoenix Savoy 16 + IMAX, Savoy, IL
REMINDERS OF HIM, THE REVENANT 10th anniversary (re-release), SLANTED, TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES II: THE SECRET OF THE OOZE 35th (re-release), UNDERTONE, ANACONDA, THE BRIDE!, CRIME 101, EPiC: ELVIS PRESLEY IN CONCERT (music documentary), GOAT (animation), HOPPERS (animation), I CAN ONLY IMAGINE 2 (faith film), PROTECTOR*, SEND HELP, SCREAM 7, WUTHERING HEIGHTS, ZOOTOPIA 2 (animation) (3/13 on), NORTH BY NORTHWEST (3/15, 3 & 7 p.m.; 3/18, 7 p.m.), USTAAD BHAGAT SINGH (in Telugu with English sub), DHURANDHAR THE REVENGE (in Hindi with English sub) (3/18 on), PROJECT HAIL MARY (3/19 on)
@ Pine Lounge, 1st floor, Illini Union, UIUC, Urbana, IL
Illini Union Board presents “Spring 2025 Weekend Films” feat. THE HOUSEMAID (3/13-3/14, 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
@ The Lorraine Theatre, Hoopeston, IL
HOPPERS (animation) (3/13-3/15, 3/12 on)
@ The Normal Theater, Normal, IL
2026 Oscar-Nominated Short Films: Animation (3/13-3/15), Documentary (3/14), and Live Action (3/14-3/15), FRIDAY THE 13TH PART 2 (3/13), CARNIVAL OF SOULS (1962) (3/16), THE QUIET MAN (3/17), Town of Normal presents BIKE VESSEL w/discussion (documentary) (3/18, 7 p.m.), ISU Department of Psychology and School of Creative Technologies present THE HARDER THEY COME w/discussion (3/18, 7 p.m.)
@ The Princess Theatre, Leroy, IL
I CAN ONLY IMAGINE 2 (faith film) (3/13-3/15)
NOW PLAYING | Midwest
@ The Varsity Center, Carbondale, IL
SIU Carbondale presents 48th Big Muddy Film Festival* (3/19-3/21) Information
COMING SOON | Area-wide Events
3/20-4/12
20th Asian Pop-Up Cinema festival
@ AMC Newcity 14, Chicago, IL
3/24-3/29
64th annual Ann Arbor Film Festival
@ Michigan Theater, Ann Arbor, MI
4/3-4/10
28th annual Wisconsin Film Festival, Madison, WI
4/9-4/12
36th Onion City Experimental Film Festival, Chicago, IL
4/17-4/19
26th Roger Ebert’s Film Festival: “The Last Dance”*
@ The Virginia Theatre, Champaign, IL
4/23-4/26
2026 Foxtail Film Festival*
@ The Normal Theater, Normal, IL
5/1
2026 Illinois Student Film Festival*
@ UI Spurlock Museum of World Cultures, Urbana, IL, 7 p.m.
9/7-9/17
44th Reeling: The Chicago LGBTQ+ International Film Festival
@ Landmark’s Century Centre Cinema + Chicago Filmmakers, Chicago, IL
COMMUNITY & CAMPUS SERIES | Champaign-Urbana area
Illini Union Board presents “Spring 2025 Weekend Films”
@ Pine Lounge, 1st floor, Illini Union, UIUC, Urbana, IL, 7 p.m. Fri. & Sat, free w/i-card
3/27-3/28: WICKED: FOR GOOD; 4/3-4/4: ANACONDA; 4/10-4/11: MERCY; 4/17-4/18: 28 YEARS LATER: THE BONE TEMPLE
UPDATE! Roger Ebert Center for Film Studies events
@ Spurlock Museum of World Cultures, UIUC, Urbana, IL, 7 p.m. (unless noted otherwise)
3/30: THE WIZ screening; 3/31: Ebert Symposium 2026: “Onscreen Fantasies/IRL Illusions: Fandom, Parasocial Relationships, and the Media” (2 p.m. roundtable discussion, 4 p.m. keynote address by Dr. Alfred L. Martin, Jr., University of Miami)
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Compiled by Jason Pankoke.
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“Calendar du C-U”
© 2026 Jason Pankoke/C-U Blogfidential
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