C-U Biz-en-scène: 04.29.2011

“C-U Biz-en-scène” appears every Thursday/Friday on C-U Blogfidential to give our readers a succinct snapshot of the cinema activity in and near Champaign-Urbana, Illinois, USA. Please support the artists and their work, attend screenings and events, and otherwise become active in our esoteric little world!

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MFHQ & YOU:
A Guide to Spreading Oneself Thin in the Thick of It All

More than any other week of the year in the C-U, movie-loving eyes are primarily focused upon one specific trajectory – the Virginia Theater – at which the annual Roger Ebert’s Film Festival is now underway. However, what about the rest of the story or, more accurately, the stories? For the former, watch CUBlog in the coming weeks when we’ll present a different perspective on this cinema spring than you’ll receive from the preordained army of “Ebertfest” bloggers already camping out on Park Street. For the latter, look for us to light up CUBlog within the next few days not only with a major Ebertfest flashback from the archives, but also our second “Double Life of a Cinéaste” column by filmmaking friend Tyler Tharpe and a short interview with central Illinois native and courageous AIDS survivor, film artist Dennis Neal Vaughn. Don’t forget to broaden your horizons while out and about this weekend by experiencing other arts activities like the Artists Against AIDS show/fundraiser, which runs April 29-May 2 at 804 N. Neil St. just north of downtown Champaign, the Midwest Zine Fest at the U-C Independent Media Center in downtown Urbana on April 30 and La Casa Collectiva on May 1, The Light in the Piazza at the Station Theater in Urbana through April 30, and THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW at the Canopy Club in Urbana late-night on April 30! You can do it, heartland of America!

  • We’ll remind you about the C-U Confidential panel, which will take place at the Midwest Zine Fest this Saturday, April 30, from 2 to 3 p.m., during which your humble editor will talk local filmmaking with New Art Film Festival artists Don Ferguson, Bogdan Heretoiu, and Thomas Nicol as well as CUBlog friend and documentary director Jay Rosenstein! We’ll also have a table where you can pick up MICRO-FILM/CUZine merch for cheap and help us pay our bills;
  • Ebertfest attendees should also keep looking in the Virginia’s East Wing for the brand-new CUZine no.5, scheduled to appear on the free swag table at some point tomorrow, Friday, April 29, as well as numerous drop points in downtown Champaign;
  • At said swag table, we picked up a promotional card for a venture we’ve known about for some time, the C-U Film Society. While organizers Luke Boyce and Brett Hays of Shatterglass Studios are busy filming the official Ebertfest 2011 documentary, visit their Web site and sign up to receive information on the Society leading up to its fall 2011 debut!

We’re not even close to running out of things to tell you, so please check back on the Biz next week!

MEDIA LINKS

Variety reigns in this CUBiz segment tonight! First, the marvelous Mary Susan Britt of the UIUC College of Media called attention to the newly revamped Ebertfest Web site designed by Leone Advertising. Next, high-rollin’ Head Honcho Skip Huston of the Avon Theater in Decatur passed along this link to an article by Sarah Sluis in Film Journal International about the independent theater’s history and valiant efforts to remain successful in the exhibition industry. Finally, our good friend R.C. Raycraft of the documentary INCIDENT AT KICKAPOO CREEK let us know that no less than The New York Times covered his recent acquisition of extremely rare home movies featuring baseball legends Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig!

PLAYING THIS WEEK

@ The Art Theater, Champaign, IL: “Ebertfest Encore” series: MY DOG TULIP (4/29, 5 p.m.; 4/30, 1 p.m.), METROPOLIS (4/29, 7:30 p.m.; 5/1, 2 p.m.), FROZEN RIVER (4/30, 3 p.m.), MY WINNIPEG (4/30, 5:30 p.m.), TINY FURNITURE (4/30, 7:30 p.m.; 5/1, 7:30 p.m.), SITA SINGS THE BLUES (5/1, 12 p.m.; 5/3, 7:30 p.m.), PLAYTIME (5/1, 5 p.m.), SYNECDOCHE, NY (5/2, 7:30 p.m.), I AM LOVE (5/5, 7:30 p.m.); “Late Night” movie: WAKING LIFE (4/29, 10:30 p.m.; 4/30, 10 p.m., 5/5, 10 p.m.); 2nd Annual Feminist Film Festival (5/4, 7:30 p.m.)

@ The Virginia Theater, Champaign, IL: Roger Ebert’s Film Festival (through 5/1)

@ Independent Media Center, Urbana, IL: C-U Confidential film panel at Midwest Zine Fest (4/30, 2-3 p.m., w/filmmakers Thomas Nicol, Don Ferguson, Bogdan Heretoiu, Jay Rosenstein)

@ The Canopy Club, Urbana, IL: THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW (4/30, 11 p.m., w/shadow cast)

@ Room 104, English Building, UIUC, Urbana, IL: THE GIANT COMMUNIST* audition (5/1, 5 p.m.)

@ The Avon Theater, Decatur, IL: WATER FOR ELEPHANTS, WIN WIN, THE CONSPIRATOR (4/29 on)

@ The Normal Theater, Normal, IL: BARNEY’S VERSION (4/28-5/1, 7 p.m.)

@ The Lorraine Theatre, Hoopeston, IL: FAST FIVE, RIO (4/29 on)

@ Gemini Cinemas, Villa Grove, IL: HOP, RIO (4/29 on)

@ The Onarga Theatre, Onarga, IL: RIO (4/29-5/1, 7 p.m.)

@ Princess Theatre, LeRoy, IL: HOP (4/29-5/1)

@ Harvest Moon Drive-In, Gibson City, IL: FAST FIVE, RIO (4/29-5/1)

@ Route 66 Drive-In, Springfield, IL: RIO, DIARY OF A WIMPY KID: RODRICK RULES, HOP, THE ADJUSTMENT BUREAU (4/29-4/30)

@ That’s Rentertainment, Champaign, IL: JOLENE, 3 IDIOTS, SELLING GOD, FLY AWAY, CHAWZ, STUDENT SERVICES, UPSTAIRS DOWNSTAIRS (s1, 2010), BLOW OUT (Criterion), more! (4/26 on)

@ Centerbrook Drive-In, Martinsville, IN: HOP, THE ADJUSTMENT BUREAU (4/29-5/1)

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Locally produced movies and events featuring locally produced movies are marked with an asterisk (*). Go see ‘em!

COMING SOON

5/8: Film Firm Casting audition for untitled indie film*
@ Room 409, Illini Union, UIUC, Urbana, IL, 12-7 p.m.

NEW! 5/17: Champaign Movie Makers meeting
@ Class Act Interactive, Champaign, IL, 7 p.m.

5/19: Central Illinois Film Commission meeting
@ TBA, 7 p.m.

5/19-5/28: “Vincentennial” (Vincent Price celebration), St. Louis, MO

6/2-6/9: Chicago Underground Film Festival, Chicago, IL

6/23-6/26: Onion City Experimental Film and Video Festival, Chicago, IL

7/19-7/24: Blue Whiskey Independent Film Festival, Palatine, IL

9/16-9/18: Route 66 International Film Festival
@ Hoogland Center for the Arts, Springfield, IL

10/6-10/20: Chicago International Film Festival, Chicago, IL

10/28-10/30: Freeky Creek Short Film Festival
@ Sleepy Creek Vineyards, Fairmount, IL

11/10-11/12: Embarras Valley Film Festival
@ EIU campus/Will Rogers Theater/etc., Charleston, IL

11/10-11/20: St. Louis International Film Festival, St. Louis, MO

COMMUNITY FILM SERIES

The News-Gazette Film Series 2011
@ The Virginia Theater, Champaign, IL, 1 & 7 p.m.

5/14: REAR WINDOW; 6/4: MOULIN ROUGE!; 7/23: BREAKFAST AT TIFFANY’S; 8/6: ARSENIC AND OLD LACE; 9/10: ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT; 10/8: THE EXORCIST; 11/5: THE GODFATHER; 12/3: THE NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS

WILL-TV/Independent Lens “Community Cinema” series
@ Champaign Public Library, Champaign, IL, 6:30 p.m.

5/10: WELCOME TO SHELBYVILLE; 6/11: TWO SPIRITS (@ Art Theater)

UNIVERSITY FILM SERIES

AsiaLENS: AEMS Documentary/Film Series
@ Knight Auditorium, Spurlock Museum, University of Illinois, Urbana, IL, 7 p.m.

5/3: IN THE MATTER OF CHA JUNG HEE

Global Lens 2011: International Films
@ Latzer Hall, University YMCA, University of Illinois, Urbana, IL, 5:30 p.m.

5/19: THE INVISIBLE EYE, Argentina; 6/16: THE LIGHT THIEF, Kyrgyzstan; 7/21: SOUL OF SAND, India; 8/18: STREET DAYS, Georgia; 9/15: THE TENANTS, Brazil; 10/20: A USEFUL LIFE, Uruguay; 11/17: WHITE MEADOWS, Iran

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That’s it for the “business of our scene” this week!

If you have relevant news, opportunities, dates, or promotions that you would like included in CUBiz, please forward the who, what, where, when, and how much to cuconfidential [at] gmail [dot] com.

Compiled by Jason Pankoke

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We welcome your virtual presence in the Confidential scheme!

284 awesome (but way too few) peeps dig our Facebook page, while 15 astounding (yet way way way too few) comrades keep a watchful eye on our YouTube channel, the C-U Confidential Revue! We’d place our bets in a heartbeat that many more would enjoy our social/video outreach if they knew about us! Have you joined us on-line? Will you be ambassadors for our indie film cause and send your recruits in our direction? The more attention we receive, the better we can serve the interests of local artists and the movies of Champaign, Urbana, and the cities beyond!

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“C-U Biz-en-scène” no.40 © 2011 Jason Pankoke/C-U Blogfidential.

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