C-U Blogfidential

Coming Soon: TAXI DREAMS at Illinois Disciples Foundation, Champaign, IL (9/27/07), the Tournees French Film Festival at Boardman’s Art Theatre, Champaign, IL (9/28-10/4/07), Film Series Group general meeting at Illinois Street Residence Hall, UIUC, Urbana, IL (9/29/07), C-U Video Group monthly meeting at Rock’s, Champaign, IL (10/3/07), PRESS START theatrical premiere at the Virginia Theatre, Champaign, IL (10/3/07), and a tangent regarding KURT COBAIN: ABOUT A SON theatrical premiere in NYC (10/3/07).

Coming Soon: WETBACK: THE UNDOCUMENTED DOCUMENTARY at Illinois Disciples Foundation, Champaign, IL (9/20/07), Springfield and Central Illinois Film Commission meeting at Kicks, Springfield, IL (9/20/07), A HARD DAY’S NIGHT at the Avon Theatre, Decatur, IL (9/21-23/07), the Moving Images Festival at Armory 101, Armory Building, UIUC, Champaign, IL (9/23/07), and the DVD release of local film PRESS START (9/25/07).

Article in Champaign daily The News-Gazette about the sale of the Twin Cinemas in Villa Grove to Bill and Tana Hayes, who have rechristened the theater Gemini Cinemas.

Article in Champaign newspaper The Daily Illini about the six-part, student-made serial ONE FINE DAY!, the first episode of which will debut October 4, 2007, on YouTube.com.

Coming Soon: VERTIGO at Krannert Art Museum, UIUC, Champaign, IL (9/13/07), SEOUL TRAIN at Wardall Hall/ISR, UIUC, Urbana, IL (9/13/07), the sixth annual Route 66 Film Festival at Hoogland Center for the Arts, Springfield, IL (9/15-16/07), and the third annual Embarras Valley Film Festival in Charleston, IL (9/18-22/07).

Article in Urbana newspaper The Public i about the case brought against the Champaign School District by the late Vashti Cromwell McCollum, challenging the presence of sectarian religious classes in public schools. Also, your editor explains its inclusion here.

Article in Champaign daily The News-Gazette about the production of a video by Australian filmmaker Christopher Faull, featuring students from Franklin Middle School in Champaign. Plus, your editor bitches about the usual.

There may be NO END IN SIGHT for our goverment’s persistent sleight-of-hand in Iraq, but at least the Art Theatre can put a positive spin on the subject. Sort of.

Coming Soon: LIVE NUDE GIRLS UNITE! at the University YMCA, UIUC, Champaign, IL (8/30/07), HALLOWEEN hosted by Troy Taylor at the Avon Theatre, Decatur, IL (8/31/07), CHAK DE! INDIA at Boardman’s Art Theatre, Champaign, IL (8/31-9/1/07), HALLOWEEN hosted by Jill Van Voorst at Savoy 16, Savoy, IL (8/31-9/1/07), and the “Comedy Movie Classics” film class at the Avon Theatre, Decatur, IL (9/13-11/1/07).

An Associated Press story in The Los Angeles Times reports that Roger Ebert’s signature “thumbs up/thumbs down” coda has become a sticking point in the film critic’s contract negotiations with his television producer, Disney-ABC Domestic Television. Also, your editor wonders out loud, “If Hef gets a biopic, why not Ebert?”

The next meeting of Illini Film & Video will be on Monday, August 27, 2007, at 7:30 p.m. in the basement lounge of the UIUC English Building on the Main Quad.

Article in Champaign daily The News-Gazette about Mike and Gail Hanafin, owners of the Princess Theatre in LeRoy, IL, taking over management duties after allowing former operator Ben Slotky to back out of his lease agreement. Plus, your editor ruminates about the failure of the Castle Theatre in Bloomington under Slotky’s ownership.

A trio of downstate indies – LATE AFTERNOON OF THE LIVING DEAD, WELCOME TO TOLONO, and MERRY CHRISTMAS! – will be featured during the second annual Illinois International Film Festival at the Arcada Theatre in St. Charles, IL, on Friday, September 14, 2007, and Saturday, September 15, 2007.

Article in Champaign daily The News-Gazette about Illinois State Police arresting Michigan resident Paul J. Adams III near Watseka, IL, on charges involving speeding, possession of marijuana, and “unlawful use of unidentified audiovisual recordings.”

WILL-TV and the University of Illinois Library once again sponsor “Home Movie Day,” a celebration of amateur small-gague cinema, at the WILL studios on Saturday, August 11, 2007, 1 p.m.