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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 12\/3: Greg Woods (publisher, The Eclectic Screening Room<\/span>, Toronto, Canada) \u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n PASSINGS | You Will Be Missed<\/strong><\/p>\n 10\/17: Lesli Putman, 42 (volunteer, Freaky Film Festival, Champaign-Urbana, IL)<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n FIELD REPORT DU HQ | From Wherever It May Be Said<\/strong><\/p>\n We\u2019ll keep the Report<\/strong> short and tightly focused this week with a theatrical flair. First, the Onarga Theater<\/span><\/strong> in Onarga<\/strong><\/span><\/a> has returned to our schedule with a run of GHOSTBUSTERS: AFTERLIFE<\/strong>; it is the last house from our pre-pandemic Calendar<\/strong> listings to have its fate decided. And then, we note the dramatic return of the beleaguered Lincoln Square Theater<\/strong><\/a><\/span> in downtown Decatur<\/strong> tomorrow night, Saturday, December 4<\/strong>, with a music concert headlined by Highway 615<\/strong>; it\u2019s clear the current operators have big plans for reviving the Lincoln as a live entertainment venue, talked about in this Herald & Review<\/span><\/strong> article<\/a><\/span>, and movies may no longer be involved a la<\/em> the Castle<\/strong> in Bloomington<\/strong>. Seasonal favorites will<\/em> return to the Legacy Theatre<\/span><\/strong> in Springfield<\/strong><\/span><\/a> after a two-year hiatus, starting with THE POLAR EXPRESS<\/strong> \u201cpajama party\u201d for kids all this weekend; IT\u2019S A WONDERFUL LIFE<\/strong> and WHITE CHRISTMAS<\/strong> are also scheduled to play on December 17-18<\/strong> at the Legacy, which resumed their trademark stage performances back in July. To conclude, Champaign<\/strong>\u2019s computer guru and animation fanatic Thomas Nicol<\/strong> has resumed his annual Krampusnacht Freeky Film Festival<\/strong><\/a><\/span> as an in-person event; the international selection of dark yuletide yarns will creep out the Phoenix Savoy 16<\/strong> in Savoy<\/strong> at 7 p.m.<\/strong> this Sunday, December 5<\/strong>, the traditional eve of \u201cKrampusnacht<\/strong>\u201d in Europe<\/strong> and Scandinavia<\/strong> before St. Nicholas Day<\/strong> arrives on December 6<\/strong>. Go here if you want to reserve tickets<\/a><\/span>, however, since the Savoy isn\u2019t listing the show on its website<\/a><\/span>. Maybe management is too freeked out? Hrm<\/em>. At least we know they\u2019re open to local bookings again.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n CONFIDENTIAL ALMANAC | Dates in Film Culture History<\/strong><\/p>\n 105 Years Ago<\/strong> \u2026 Friday, October 27, 1916:<\/em> Proclaimed to be one of the grandest playhouses in Illinois<\/strong> and designed by local architectural firm Aschauer & Waggoner<\/strong> as a completely fireproof structure, the Lincoln Square Theatr<\/strong>e<\/strong> opens for business in downtown Decatur<\/strong> and hosts a standing-room-only crowd that enjoys a touring production of the Broadway<\/strong> comedy, Hit-the-Trail-Holiday<\/span><\/strong>, as recounted in Lincoln Square Theatre<\/strong><\/span> by Jasper P. DeVidal<\/strong>. Although constructed to include a roomy backstage area, orchestra pit, and pitch-perfect acoustics for live performances, the Lincoln Square would be retrofit in the coming months to accommodate motion pictures. Managers eventually added a projection booth in June 1917 and played their first films, THE CALL OF HER PEOPLE<\/strong> and THE STAR-SPANGLED BANNER<\/strong>, the next month, following with the installation of a pipe organ in January 1919. [R] [Rev. 12-3-21] 105 Years Ago<\/strong> \u2026 Tuesday, November 28, 1916:<\/em> Mayor Dan Dineen<\/strong> excitedly welcomes a capacity crowd to opening night at the Avon Theatre<\/strong><\/a><\/span> on Water Street<\/strong> in downtown Decatur<\/strong>, as retold in Flickering Images: The History and Haunting of the Avon Theatre<\/strong><\/span> by Troy Taylor<\/strong>. Unlike the month-old Lincoln Square Theatre<\/strong> located just three blocks away, the Avon is designed by owner\/manager Joseph Allman<\/strong> and architect R.O. Rosen<\/strong> to be a motion picture house, first and foremost, with floor space allotted for a small orchestra to accompany certain films and a pipe organ scheduled for installation by year\u2019s end. The debut attraction is THE FALL OF A NATION<\/strong>, a far-fetched war fantasia that is directed and written by the controversial minister, lecturer, and segregationist Thomas F. Dixon, Jr.<\/strong>, whose novel The Clansman<\/strong><\/span> was adapted recently by D.W. Griffith<\/strong> as THE BIRTH OF A NATION<\/strong>. [R]<\/strong><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n LOCAL FILMS & EVENTS | Support Your Media Storytellers<\/strong><\/p>\n @ Phoenix Savoy 16 + IMAX, Savoy, IL<\/strong> @ Gregory Hall, UIUC, Urbana, IL<\/strong> \u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n NOW PLAYING | Champaign-Urbana Area<\/strong><\/p>\n @ AMC Champaign 13, Champaign, IL<\/strong> @ Phoenix Savoy 16 + IMAX, Savoy, IL<\/strong>
\n12\/3: Bryan Wendorf (programmer\/artistic director, Chicago Underground Film Festival, Chicago, IL)
\n12\/6: Andy Due (producer\/performer, Rubber Chicken Films\/RL3 Productions, Charleston, IL)
\n12\/8: C. Jay Wallace (producer\/writer, Red Lens Productions, Champaign, IL)
\n12\/8: Britten Traughber (photographer, Britten Traughber Photography, Tucson, AZ)<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong><\/p>\n
\nThird annual Krampusnacht Freeky Film Festival* (12\/5, 7 p.m.)<\/p>\n
\nIllini Film & Video* meeting, Room 100 (12\/6, 7 p.m.)<\/p>\n
\nAKHANDA, BENEDETTA, CHRISTMAS WITH \u2018THE CHOSEN\u2019: THE MESSENGERS, CLIFFORD THE BIG RED DOG, DUNE, ENCANTO, ETERNALS, GHOSTBUSTERS: AFTERLIFE, HOUSE OF GUCCI, KING RICHARD, RESIDENT EVIL: WELCOME TO RACCOON CITY (12\/3 on), SWORD ART ONLINE: THE MOVIE (anim\u00e9; 12\/3, 7:30 p.m.; 12\/4, 3 p.m.; 12\/7-12\/9, 7:30 p.m.), HOW THE GRINCH STOLE CHRISTMAS (12\/3, 4:45 p.m.), ELF (12\/4, 3:30 p.m., sold out), LOVE, ACTUALLY (12\/5, 3:30 p.m., sold out), NATIONAL CHAMPIONS, WEST SIDE STORY (12\/9 on)<\/p>\n
\nCHRISTMAS WITH \u2018THE CHOSEN\u2019: THE MESSENGERS, C\u2019MON C\u2019MON, TADAP, BELFAST, CLIFFORD THE BIG RED DOG, DUNE, ENCANTO, ETERNALS, THE FRENCH DISPATCH, GHOSTBUSTERS: AFTERLIFE, HOUSE OF GUCCI, KING RICHARD, NO TIME TO DIE, RESIDENT EVIL: WELCOME TO RACCOON CITY, VENOM: LET THERE BE CARNAGE (12\/3 on), The Metropolitan Opera: Eurydice<\/span> (12\/4, 11:55 a.m., simulcast; 12\/8, 1 & 6:30 p.m., recorded), Studio Ghibli Fest: MY NEIGHBOR TOTORO (anim\u00e9; 12\/5, 3 p.m.; 12\/6, 12\/9, 7 p.m.), NATIONAL LAMPOON\u2019S CHRISTMAS VACATION (12\/5, 3 & 7 p.m.; 12\/8, 7 p.m.), Krampusnacht Freeky Film Festival* 2021 (12\/5, 7 p.m.), THE MATRIX (IMAX (2-D), 12\/7-12\/8, 7 p.m.), WEST SIDE STORY (12\/9 on)<\/p>\n