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Our movie and media Calendar appears every Friday\/Saturday on <\/em>C-U Blogfidential<\/span><\/strong> and caters to the downstate region anchored by Champaign-Urbana, Illinois, USA.<\/em><\/p>\n ~~~~~<\/p>\n MILESTONES | Happy Birthday to You!<\/strong><\/p>\n 7\/23: Randy Wheat (owner, Imagemaker Video Productions, Normal, IL)<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n FIELD REPORT DU HQ | From Wherever It May Be Said<\/strong><\/p>\n I\u2019m only laying down one story of interest instead of multiple because, as they say, it\u2019s been a week. However, the story is a good one. Echoing both our previous Field Report<\/strong> about former local college students<\/a><\/span> who struck it big in entertainment and today\u2019s Almanac<\/strong> repeat, let\u2019s enjoy the saga of T.J. Newman<\/strong>, an alumna of Illinois Wesleyan University<\/strong> in Bloomington<\/strong>. After graduation in 2006, she tried her hand at acting in New York<\/strong> theater before giving up and moving back home to Arizona<\/strong>, where she became a flight attendant like other family members. A local book store sparked her interest in writing and through perseverance, as told recently to Christopher Borrelli<\/strong> of the Chicago Tribune<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/a> and Kayla Holliday<\/strong> of Vanity Fair<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/a>, she arrived at the airborne thriller Falling<\/span><\/strong>, her first novel. Published this month by Simon & Schuster<\/strong><\/a><\/span> after the movie rights were sold in advance to Universal Studios<\/strong>, Falling<\/span> made its debut at no. 2 on the New York Times<\/span><\/strong> bestseller list and has sold more than 33,000 copies to date<\/a><\/span>. This<\/em> flight risk was worth it.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n CONFIDENTIAL ALMANAC | Dates in Film Culture History<\/strong><\/p>\n 25 Years Ago<\/strong> \u2026 Thursday, July 25, 1996:<\/em> James R. Velde<\/strong>, a former Hollywood<\/strong> executive, passes away at the Motion Picture & Television Hospital<\/strong> in Woodland Hills, CA<\/strong>, at age 82, according to an obituary<\/span><\/a> published by the Los Angeles Daily News<\/strong><\/span>. Velde spent his entire career in the motion picture industry apart from serving in the United States<\/strong> army during World War II<\/strong>, starting at a regional shipping office of Paramount Pictures<\/strong> in the mid-1930s and eventually retiring in 1977 as a senior vice president of United Artists<\/strong> after nearly 30 years with that studio. He is well regarded in the industry for his innovations in film distribution and marketing as well as philanthropy. A native of Bloomington, IL<\/strong>, Velde joined Paramount after graduating from Illinois Wesleyan University<\/strong>, per a 1976 Boxoffice<\/strong><\/span> magazine article<\/a><\/span>. [R]<\/strong><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n LOCAL FILMS & EVENTS | Support Your Media Storytellers<\/strong><\/p>\n @ online Zoom<\/strong> NOW PLAYING | Champaign-Urbana Area<\/strong><\/p>\n @ AMC Champaign 13, Champaign, IL<\/strong> @ Busey Bank, Urbana, IL<\/strong> @ Phoenix Savoy 16 + IMAX, Savoy, IL<\/strong>
\nGiertz Gallery at Parkland College presents \u201cAround the Block III\u201d webinar feat. multidisciplinary artists Keenan Dailey (GREENE)* and Crystal Hartman (WHITE CHOCOLATE)* (7\/28, 6 p.m.) Register<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n
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\nOLD, SNAKE EYES: G.I. JOE ORIGINS, BLACK WIDOW, THE BOSS BABY: FAMILY BUSINESS, CRUELLA, ESCAPE ROOM: TOURNAMENT OF CHAMPIONS, F9: THE FAST SAGA, THE FOREVER PURGE, THE HITMAN\u2019S WIFE\u2019S BODYGUARD, A QUIET PLACE PART II, SPACE JAM: A NEW LEGACY, ZOLA (7\/23 on), THE GREEN KNIGHT, JUNGLE CRUISE, STILLWATER (7\/29 on)<\/p>\n
\nThe Urbana Free Library and Urbana Arts and Culture Program present \u201cCinema & Sound\u201d event feat. BLACK PANTHER, live performance by Ibrahim Ouedraogo (7\/28, 7 p.m., parking lot)<\/p>\n
\nJOE BELL, OLD, SNAKE EYES: G.I. JOE ORIGINS, BLACK WIDOW, THE BOSS BABY: FAMILY BUSINESS, ESCAPE ROOM: TOURNAMENT OF CHAMPIONS, F9: THE FAST SAGA, THE FOREVER PURGE, A QUIET PLACE PART II, ROADRUNNER: A FILM ABOUT ANTHONY BOURDAIN, SPACE JAM: A NEW LEGACY (7\/23 on), WEATHERING WITH YOU (anim\u00e9; 7\/25, 3 p.m.; 7\/27, 7 p.m.), JURASSIC PARK (7\/25, 3 & 7 p.m.; 7\/28, 7 p.m.), ABOMINABLE, HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON: THE HIDDEN WORLD (7\/27-7\/29, 10 a.m.), The Metropolitan Opera: Carmen<\/span> (7\/28, 1 & 6:30 p.m., recorded), JUNGLE CRUISE (7\/29 on)<\/p>\n