C-U Biz-en-scène: 06.23.2011
“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:
When the Feast Loses its Flavor
Earlier this week, Smile Politely pointed out that local foodie blog Taste of Champaign is going on hiatus for the summer, although Lisa Morgan’s announcement on ToC itself implies she might entertain completely different uses of her spare time. A casual look-through reveals how exhaustive her efforts have been since ToC launched in May 2006. C-U Blogfidential hopes Morgan finds the path she is looking for since her decision hits close to home, not only because both Weblogs eclipsed the five-year mark this past spring but due to the fact we also debated about giving it a temporary rest once the University of Illinois academic year ended. Keeping up with production of alternative and personal media is not an easy task; Smile Politely will conveniently reiterate this reality tomorrow when they post an “oral history” of the former C-U weekly newspaper The Octopus for which your humble editor worked 10 years ago. At times, the efforts of the few and proud can only yield so much with limited hours and resources at their fingertips, leading to bouts of frustration, disinterest, and possibly resignation. So we ask the loaded question which you should ponder if not respond to publicly: Who takes up recording the movie history of Champaign, Urbana, and the cities beyond were CUBlog to cease its existence? Think very hard about where else you might encounter anything close to the specialized cinema coverage we dredge up just for you, week after week:
- We begin with updates on two notable home video releases scheduled for the fall. First is the feature LEADING LADIES, for which Wolfe Video has set a street date of Tuesday, September 13, and offered product and pre-order information here. Producers/directors Erika and Daniel Beahm are asking fans to add LADIES to their Netflix queues so y’all had better (dance) step on it!
- Arriving a bit sooner will be a documentary titled THE SHAMAN & AYAHUASCA directed by CUBlog friend Michael Wiese, an Urbana native and successful film industry publisher, producer, and speaker. Passion River Films will nationally distribute the 73-minute film on DVD beginning Tuesday, August 23, when you can experience Wiese’s visit to Peru where modern shaman Don Jose Campos introduces him to the “healing and visionary properties” of plant brew ayahuasca. More information about the disc is available here and through Wiese’s new imprint, Divine Arts Media;
- Apart from THE DRUNK, which we introduced to your collective consciousness last week, Shatterglass Studios’ Brett Hays alerted CUBlog that he may also be involved with the long-mooted debut feature of Mt. Zion/Decatur firm Heroic Age Studios, so named for their decade-plus involvement in the comics industry. Company founder Eric Hector is apparently leaning toward horrific TRICK AND TREAT, one of several properties developed during the last few years by Heroic Age to demonstrate commercial viability on low budgets, and confirmed for us that investor discussions and initial casting sessions have been taking place in Los Angeles. You can send inquiries to heroicage [at] aol [dot] com to request the scoop on cast/crew needs when they become available;
- We also found out through an A.J. Christensen post on the Champaign Movie Makers board this morning that the UI’s Office of Public Affairs will need extras to populate new commercials that will appear during televised Illini sporting events during the next academic year. Click here for a Microsoft Word document outlining the requirements for these non-speaking roles; if you are unable to view it, contact directly Chris Harris at charrris [at] Illinois [dot] edu or (217) 333-5010 to learn more. The shooting dates will be next Tuesday, June 28, 11 a.m., at the Beckman Institute, and next Wednesday, June 29, 3 p.m., on the Main Quad in front of Foellinger Auditorium; target age bracket for extras is 16-25 years old;
- Speaking of CMM, leader Johnny Robinson of Urbana announced the group’s next meeting will take place on Tuesday, June 28, 7 p.m., at Class Act Interactive in downtown Champaign with the featured topic TBA;
- Staff from the UI’s National Center for Supercomputing Applications (NCSA) will introduce two screenings of THE TREE OF LIFE at the Art Theater also in downtown Champaign, describing their collaboration with auteur filmmaker Terrence Malick in creating computer visuals for the highly acclaimed feature. Plan to attend either this Saturday, June 25, 7:30 p.m., or next Friday, July 1, 7:30 p.m., to hear all about it;
- Continuing with the on-campus action, the UI’s Krannert Center for the Performing Arts (KCPA) has released its complete performance schedule for the biannual Ellnora guitar festival, which will take place September 8-10 in the Urbana complex. Amongst the virtuoso performances will be a trio of live accompaniments to films, including a “double feature” on Friday, September 9, 6:30 p.m., of Buster Keaton’s COPS (1922) paired with Lee Ranaldo of Sonic Youth and Charlie Chaplin’s THE KID (1921) serenaded by Marc Ribot. On Saturday, September 10, 1:30 p.m., found footage expressionist Bill Morrison (DECASIA) will premiere a meditation on the 1927 Mississippi River flooding, THE GREAT FLOOD, with Bill Frisell providing the musical score;
- To conclude, the Decatur (IL) Park District began their “Movies in the Park” summer series with HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON this past Tuesday, June 21. Upcoming films will be shown in various public spots at dusk: ALL DOGS GO TO HEAVEN (Tuesday, June 28), THE SANDLOT (Sunday, July 3), and GREASE (Wednesday, July 20). You can read more details about this all-ages program in Monday’s Herald & Review article.
After five years’ activity, we believe we have yet to tell the full story about the Champaign-Urbana cinema as we’d really like to. Wouldn’t it be sad for us to find reason(s) to stop prematurely and inadvertently sell our community short? The kicker is that we have yet to see anyone else take a serious stab at it themselves, let alone offer regular contributions to our own efforts. Think hard about that one too, gang.
MEDIA LINKS
“Shortage” is not in our vocabulary this week, dearest readers! Premiering tonight at 8 p.m. CST on ABC-TV is EXPEDITION IMPOSSIBLE, another in the “cross-country challenge” genre popularized by THE AMAZING RACE; one competing team is led by Richard Smith, long-time owner of the WildCountry outdoor supply stores in Champaign and Normal. (We’d link to the News-Gazette’s feature from last Sunday’s edition were it posted on-line – surprised? – so the Pantagraph’s comparable report will have to do.) Elsewhere, the Harvest Moon Drive-In of Gibson City receives the expected (quarterly?) love from the Daily Illini in the form of a Colin Therriault photo gallery posted last week. And then, did you hear the uproar about Roger Ebert tweeting presumptive comments in regards to the fatal car accident involving a more-than-legally-drunk Ryan Dunn of JACKASS infamy? (Trick question, folks, everybody heard it.) We conclude with another brouhaha involving Urbana mayor Laurel Prussing and the Champaign County Convention and Visitors Bureau, wherein the former is suggesting her city withhold a $72,000 investment from the latter by claiming the Chamber of Commerce division (and, by implication, the 40 North 88 West arts council) does little to aid economic growth through tourism promotion. Anyone remember the chamber’s failed Silver Screen Source project? Had it survived and if Prussing’s decision stands, any incoming production attracted by the SSS might be relegated to “Filmed in Champaign-sans-Urbana, IL” status, at the least suggesting a humorous slap-in-the-face category for the Internet Movie Database.
PLAYING THIS WEEK
@ The Art Theater, Champaign, IL: THE TREE OF LIFE (6/24 on), HOBO WITH A SHOTGUN (6/24, 6/25, 6/30, 10:30 p.m.)
NEW! @ Class Act Interactive, Champaign, IL: Champaign Movie Makers meeting (6/28, 7 p.m.)
@ The Avon Theater, Decatur, IL: CARS 2, GREEN LANTERN, SUPER 8 (6/24 on)
@ The Normal Theater, Normal, IL: NATIONAL VELVET (6/23-6/24), CAT ON A HOT TIN ROOF (6/25-6/26)
@ The Lorraine Theatre, Hoopeston, IL: CARS 2, GREEN LANTERN (6/24 on)
@ Gemini Cinemas, Villa Grove, IL: CARS 2, MR. POPPER’S PENGUINS (6/24 on)
@ The Onarga Theatre, Onarga, IL: CARS 2 (6/24-6/26, 6/29)
@ Princess Theatre, LeRoy, IL: BRIDESMAIDS (6/24-6/26)
@ Harvest Moon Drive-In, Gibson City, IL: CARS 2, GREEN LANTERN (6/24 on)
@ Route 66 Drive-In, Springfield, IL: CARS 2, SOUL SURFER, MR. POPPER’S PENGUINS, X-MEN: FIRST CLASS (6/24 on)
@ That’s Rentertainment, Champaign, IL: THE ADJUSTMENT BUREAU, UNKNOWN, CEDAR RAPIDS, HAPPYTHANKYOUMOREPLEASE, ELEKTRA LUXX, ORGASM, INC., KISS ME DEADLY (Criterion), more! (6/21 on)
@ Centerbrook Drive-In, Martinsville, IN: CARS 2, GREEN LANTERN (6/24-6/29)
@ Gene Siskel Film Center + Chicago Filmmakers, Chicago, IL: Onion City Experimental Film and Video Festival (6/23-6/26)
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Locally produced movies and events featuring locally produced movies are marked with an asterisk (*). Go see ‘em!
COMING SOON
7/8: THE ST. FRANCISVILLE EXPERIMENT w/Troy Taylor
@ The Avon Theater, Decatur, IL, 10:30 p.m.
7/14-7/24: Indianapolis International Film Festival, Indianapolis, IN
7/15-7/17: G-Fest XVIII (Japanese pop culture), Rosemont, IL
7/19-7/24: Blue Whiskey Independent Film Festival, Palatine, IL
8/4-8/7: Gen Con (Gaming), Indianapolis, IN
8/11-8/14: Wizard World Chicago (Comics & entertainment), Rosemont, IL
NEW! 9/9: COPS and THE KID w/live accompaniment
@ Ellnora: the Guitar Festival, Krannert Center for the Performing Arts, UIUC, Urbana, IL, 6:30 p.m.
NEW! 9/10: THE GREAT FLOOD w/live accompaniment
@ Ellnora: the Guitar Festival, Krannert Center for the Performing Arts, UIUC, Urbana, IL, 1:30 p.m.
9/15-9/17: IMC Film Festival
@ Independent Media Center, Urbana, IL
9/16-9/18: Route 66 International Film Festival
@ Hoogland Center for the Arts, Springfield, IL
9/23-9/25: B Movie Celebration, Franklin, IN
10/6-10/20: Chicago International Film Festival, Chicago, IL
10/13-10/22: Heartland Film Festival, Indianapolis, IN
10/21-10/23: Dark Carnival Film Festival, Bloomington, IN
10/28-10/30: Freeky Creek Short Film Festival
@ Sleepy Creek Vineyards, Fairmount, IL
11/3-11/12: Reeling Lesbian & Gay International Film Festival, Chicago, IL
11/4-11/5: Drunken Zombie Film Festival
@ Peoria Theater, Peoria, IL
11/10-11/12: Embarras Valley Film Festival
@ EIU campus/Will Rogers Theater/etc., Charleston, IL
11/11-11/13: HorrorHound Weekend (Horror culture), Cincinnati, OH
11/10-11/20: St. Louis International Film Festival, St. Louis, MO
COMMUNITY FILM SERIES
The New Classics: Great Books to Great Films from the Past 50 Years
@ Danville Public Library, Danville, IL, 6:30 p.m.
7/11: THE WITCHES OF EASTWICK; 8/8: INTO THE WILD; 9/12: TRUE GRIT (2010); 10/10: THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS; 11/14: ORDINARY PEOPLE; 12/12: FAIL SAFE 1964); 1/9/12: NEVER CRY WOLF; 2/13/12: AWAKENINGS; 3/12/12: ADAPTATION; 4/9/12: UP IN THE AIR
The News-Gazette Film Series 2011
@ The Virginia Theater, Champaign, IL, 1 & 7 p.m.
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
UNIVERSITY FILM SERIES
Global Lens 2011: International Films
@ The Art Theater, Champaign, IL
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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“C-U Biz-en-scène” no.48 © 2011 Jason Pankoke/C-U Blogfidential.