Calendar: August 7-13, 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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PASSINGS | You Will Be Missed
July 22: Chuck Russell, 74 (actor, SHOT, Cinemaguild, The University of Illinois, Urbana, IL)
July 24: Rick Orr, 83 (founder/artistic director, The Celebration Company at the Station Theatre, Urbana, IL)
July 26: Michael Harroun, 69 (former owner, Harvest Moon Twin Drive-in, Gibson City, IL)
THE BLOGFIDENTIAL TELETYPE | Film News You Can Use, C-U
We had intended to resume the Teletype in this Calendar, but Ye Ed is not particularly up for it after the last few weeks of domestication halfassedry, so the plan is to start piling on the deets for your local culture edification in seven days when he promises to emerge from the weeds. At this moment, let’s take the time to remember the folks connected with the movies of Champaign, Urbana, and the cities beyond whom we’ve recently lost; it’s extremely rare for us to experience the central Illinois equivalent of the “group of three” passings when it involves luminaries in media arts and performance who are forever connected to the C-U. This obituary at Legacy.com and an outpouring of loving thoughts collected by The News-Gazette remind us well of Rick Orr, the celebrated florist and a vital force for many years in curating a community stage where high-quality and forward-thinking theatrical performance would be the norm. This report from WCIA-TV provides the briefest of insight into the eclectic life of Mike Harroun, one of two partners who rescued and reopened the Harvest Moon Twin Drive-in at the end of the Eighties and lived to see his sons take over the business operations as stewards to his legacy. And, this career recap by The Hollywood Reporter is one of a good number appearing online for Chuck Russell, the Illinois native and University of Illinois graduate who engineered a solid Hollywood livelihood for two decades that included features like ERASER, THE SCORPION KING, A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET PART 3, the remake of THE BLOB, and Jim Carrey’s THE MASK. May they all rest in peace, and CUBlog needs to pay our respects to a good number of talented folks who’ve left us since we last evoked ‘Thirty.’ Cheers.
LOCAL FILMS & EVENTS | Support Your Media Storytellers
@ Phoenix Savoy 16 + IMAX, Savoy, IL
Chambana Film Society presents “2026 CineSonic Music Film Festival” feat. BROTHER VERSUS BROTHER (documentary) (8/9, 2 p.m.)
@ WEFT 90.1 FM, Champaign, IL
“Frame Noise” film music program hosted by Przemek (8/12, 7-8 p.m.) Streaming | Archive
NOW PLAYING | Champaign-Urbana Area
@ AMC Champaign 13, Champaign, IL
ICE CREAM MAN, ONE NIGHT ONLY, SUPER TROOPERS 3, MINIONS & MONSTERS (animation), THE ODYSSEY, SPIDER-MAN: BRAND NEW DAY, TOY STORY 5 (animation) (8/7 on), Studio Ghibli Fest: TALES FROM EARTHSEA 20th anniversary (animé) (8/8, 4 p.m., English dub) and ONLY YESTERDAY 35th anniversary (animé) (8/9, 4 & 7 p.m., English dub; 8/11, 7 p.m., in Japanese with English sub), Fan Faves: MUPPET TREASURE ISLAND (8/10, 8/12, 11 a.m. & 2 p.m.), AMC “Screen Unseen” (mystery movie) (8/10, 7 p.m.), PRACTICAL MAGIC (8/11, 7:30 p.m.), KATSEYE: WILD HEARTS (music concert documentary) (8/12-8/13, 7 p.m.), THE BRINK OF WAR, THE END OF OAK STREET, PAW PATROL: THE DINO MOVIE (animation) (8/13 on)
@ Phoenix Savoy 16 + IMAX, Savoy, IL
ICE CREAM MAN, ONE NIGHT ONLY, SUPER TROOPERS 3, HADESTOWN: THE MUSICAL (filmed stage musical), MINIONS & MONSTERS (animation), MOANA, THE ODYSSEY, SPIDER-MAN: BRAND NEW DAY, TOY STORY 5 (animation), YOUNG WASHINGTON (faith film) (8/7 on), Studio Ghibli Fest: TALES FROM EARTHSEA 20th anniversary (animé) (8/8, 3 p.m., English dub; 8/10, 7 pm., in Japanese with English sub) and ONLY YESTERDAY 35th anniversary (animé) (8/9, 4 & 7 p.m., English dub; 8/11, 7 p.m., in Japanese with English sub), THE GOONIES (8/9, 3 & 7 p.m.; 8/12, 7 p.m.), THE END OF OAK STREET, PAW PATROL: THE DINO MOVIE (animation) (8/13 on)
@ Main Quad, Illini Union, UIUC, Urbana, IL
Illini Union Board presents “Summer Films on the Quad” feat. STAR WARS: THE MANDALORIAN AND GROGU (8/13, 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
@ The Fischer Theatre, Danville, IL
“End of Summer Movie Series” feat. BACK TO THE FUTURE (8/7, 7 p.m.) and HOOK (8/14, 7 p.m.)
@ The Harvest Moon Twin Drive-in, Gibson City, IL
SPIDER-MAN: BRAND NEW DAY (Screen 1), SUPER TROOPERS 3 (Screen 2) (8/7-8/9)
@ The Lorraine Theatre, Hoopeston, IL
SPIDER-MAN: BRAND NEW DAY (8/7-8/9)
@ The Normal Theater, Normal, IL
ROSE OF NEVADA (8/7, 7 p.m.; 8/8-8/9, 3 & 7 p.m.), FRANK (8/12, 7 p.m.), the Normal and Experimental Aircraft Association, Chapter 129, present RED TAILS (8/13, 7 p.m.)
@ The Princess Theatre, Leroy, IL
SPIDER-MAN: BRAND NEW DAY (8/7-8/9)
@ The Route 66 Drive-in Theater, Springfield, IL
SPIDER-MAN: BRAND NEW DAY, SUPERGIRL (Screen 1), SUPER TROOPERS 3, SCARY MOVIE (Screen 2) (8/7-8/9, 8/12-8/13)
COMING SOON | Area-wide Events
8/15
Pens to Lens* gala 2026
@ The Virginia Theatre, Champaign, IL, 3 p.m.
8/22
Halloran Family Foundation presents
FischerFest* “Big Stories, Short Films”
@ Fischer Theatre, Danville, IL, 3-10 p.m., free
9/7-9/17
44th Reeling: The Chicago LGBTQ+ International Film Festival
@ Landmark’s Century Centre Cinema + Chicago Filmmakers, Chicago, IL
9/23-9/27
33rd Chicago Underground Film Festival
@ ACX Harper Theater – Hyde Park, etc., Chicago, IL
10/8-10/18
35th Heartland Film Festival
@ various venues, Indianapolis, IN
10/23
“Behind the ‘Scream’: A Live Conversation with David Arquette”
feat. 30th anniversary screening of SCREAM (1996)
@ Bloomington Center for the Performing Arts, Bloomington, IL, 7 p.m.
10/27
An evening with ‘Partially Devoured’ author Daniel Kraus
feat. screening of NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD (1968)
@ The Virginia Theatre, Champaign, IL, 7 p.m.
11/5-11/15
Cinema St. Louis presents
35th Whitaker St. Louis International Film Festival
@ The Hi-Pointe Theatre, St. Louis, MO
11/20-11/22
25th anniversary Route 66 Film Festival*
@ Hoogland Center for the Arts, Springfield, IL
NEW! 4/8-4/11, 2027
37th Onion City Experimental Film Festival
@ Chicago Filmmakers Firehouse, Chicago, IL
COMMUNITY & CAMPUS SERIES | Champaign-Urbana area
Chambana Film Society presents “2026 CineSonic Music Film Festival”
@ Phoenix Savoy 16 + IMAX, Savoy, IL, 2 p.m.
8/16: “Shorts: Music Documentary”; 8/23: WE ARE FUGAZI FROM WASHINGTON D.C.; 8/30: RADIOHEART: THE DRIVE & TIMES OF DJ KEVIN COLE
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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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