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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 1\/26: Mike Watt (editor-in-chief, Exploitation Nation<\/span> journal, Happy Cloud Media, LLC, Venetia, PA)<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n FIELD REPORT DU HQ | From Wherever It May Be Said<\/strong><\/p>\n Today, we have an Almanac<\/strong> reprint after running a pair of brand-new capsules in the Calendar<\/strong>, and this one returns with a rationalization since it is the fashion of our 2020s. A few months after it first appeared on C-U Blogfidential<\/span><\/strong> in 2017, dozens of production members from both the E!<\/strong> drama THE ROYALS<\/strong> and the cancelled CW<\/strong> program ONE TREE HILL<\/strong> wrote widely circulated letters that admonished show creator and producer Mark Schwahn<\/strong><\/a><\/span> for his scummy on- and off-set behavior. This resulted in his release from THE ROYALS<\/strong> and the Pontiac<\/strong> native has apparently not mounted any sort of \u201ccomeback\u201d in the industry<\/a><\/span> or the public eye, unlike other entertainment and high-profile personalities called out in the \u201cMe Too<\/strong>\u201d climate who seem to rebound like clockwork or, shall we say, a fine-tuned script. Hopefully, Schwahn has understood the reckoning and is receiving help to curb his tendencies. And, hopefully, the actresses, writers, and other women affected by his advances and so forth have been finding avenues of healing and empowerment that will serve them well in their continued and creative pursuits. Sexual harassment and other aggressions have no place in a healthy working environment. CUBlog<\/span><\/strong> stands with survivors.<\/p>\n However, one person\u2019s inexcusable actions should not erase what has come before \u2013 remember that a feature, short subject, or television episode is the sum result of many individuals working together \u2013 and that includes Schwahn\u2019s first feature, 35 MILES FROM NORMAL<\/strong>, the subject of our Almanac entry. It is a local production for the most part, it achieved exposure on a national stage<\/a><\/span> where next to no other local productions have gone, and I for one would still like to see it some day out of curiosity<\/a><\/span> and for the sake of completeness. That it has never been formally released is a fact that precedes his ROYALS<\/strong> expulsion by many years, and it is even more guaranteed than before that it will remain shelved with the accusations weighing on Schwahn\u2019s shoulders. Ergo, this is the footnote for those who are sensitive to or irked by the very mention of him. We acknowledge the problems he caused. Such things should not be pervasive or tolerated on a production or in any other walk of life. We also plan to retain this milestone in the timeline. 35 MILES<\/strong> fleshes out the film culture and history of downstate Illinois<\/strong>. Because of its achievement and primarily because it is obscure, we make note of it. All around, in real life, we can do better. Onward.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n CONFIDENTIAL ALMANAC | Dates in Film Culture History<\/strong><\/p>\n 25 Years Ago<\/strong> \u2026 Tuesday, January 21, 1997:<\/em> 35 MILES FROM NORMAL<\/strong>, the debut feature written and directed by Mark Schwahn<\/strong>, receives its world premiere as part of the \u201cAmerican Spectrum\u201d leg at the Sundance Film Festival<\/strong> in Park City, UT<\/strong>. Produced over a four-week shoot last September and October in Chicago<\/strong> and downstate Pontiac, IL<\/strong>, the comedy-drama is about young adults seeking their niche while a factory strike looms over their small town. Following additional festival play and respectable press notices during the next two years, 35 MILES<\/strong> finally opened commercially on Friday, May 14, 1999<\/strong>, at the GKC Crescent Theaters<\/strong> in Pontiac according to the Bloomington<\/strong> (IL) Pantagraph<\/strong><\/span>. Although this was to have launched a self-distribution push by Pontiac native Schwahn and Chicago-based producer James D. Stern<\/strong> for the film, doubling as publicity for eventual home video releases, 35 MILES<\/strong> never found its own niche and is impossible to see despite the notable entertainment credits amassed since then by both men as well as cast members Ethan Supplee<\/strong> and Alan Tudyk<\/strong><\/a><\/span>. It also stars Gabriel Olds, Jennifer Crystal, Kellie Overbey, G. Riley Mills<\/a><\/span><\/strong>, and Tracy Walsh<\/strong>. [R]<\/strong><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n LOCAL FILMS & EVENTS | Support Your Media Storytellers<\/strong><\/p>\n @ Spurlock Museum of World Cultures, UIUC, Urbana, IL<\/strong> \u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n NOW PLAYING | Champaign-Urbana Area<\/strong><\/p>\n @ AMC Champaign 13, Champaign, IL<\/strong> @ Illini Union, UIUC, Urbana, IL<\/strong> @ Phoenix Savoy 16 + IMAX, Savoy, IL<\/strong>
\n2022 Flatlands Dance Film Festival Short Film Competition (1\/22, 7 p.m., free)<\/p>\n
\nTHE KING\u2019S DAUGHTER, THE 355, AMERICAN UNDERDOG, BANGARRAJU, BELLE (anim\u00e9), GHOSTBUSTERS: AFTERLIFE, THE KING\u2019S MAN, THE MATRIX RESURRECTIONS, SCREAM, SING 2, SPIDER-MAN: NO WAY HOME, WEST SIDE STORY (1\/21 on)<\/p>\n
\nIllini Union Board presents \u201cSpring 2022 Weekend Films\u201d feat. VENOM: LET THERE BE CARNAGE, Pine Lounge, 1st floor (1\/21-1\/22, 7 p.m.; free w\/i-card)<\/p>\n
\nTHE KING\u2019S DAUGHTER, REDEEMING LOVE, THE 355, AMERICAN UNDERDOG, BELLE (anim\u00e9), GHOSTBUSTERS: AFTERLIFE, THE KING\u2019S MAN, LICORICE PIZZA, THE MATRIX RESURRECTIONS, NIGHTMARE ALLEY, SCREAM, SING 2, SPIDER-MAN: NO WAY HOME, WEST SIDE STORY (1\/21 on), UFC 20: Francis Ngannou vs. Cyril Gane, more (mixed martial arts; 1\/22, 9 p.m., simulcast), Bolshoi Ballet in Cinema: Jewels<\/span> (1\/23, 11:55 a.m., simulcast), Turner Classic Movies presents CASABLANCA 80th anniversary (1\/23, 4:30 & 7:30 p.m.; 1\/26, 4 & 7 p.m.), LABYRINTH (1\/23, 3 & 7 p.m.; 1\/26, 7 p.m.)<\/p>\n