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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 5\/5: Chris Lukeman (\u201cexperience designer,\u201d C-U Adventures in Time & Space escape room, Urbana, IL)<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n PASSINGS | You Will Be Missed<\/strong><\/p>\n 2\/27: Ron Magnoli, Jr., 66 (owner\/operator, Route 34 Drive-In Theater, Earlville, IL)<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n FIELD REPORT DU HQ | From Wherever It May Be Said<\/strong><\/p>\n This week, we give nods to a few OG collegiates who attended local institutions in the past and continue to make their mark in film. First, it turns out Illinois Wesleyan University<\/strong>\u2019s student showcase is now called the Phenom Film Festival<\/strong> and was held<\/a><\/span> at the Hansen Student Center<\/strong> on their Bloomington<\/strong> campus this past Monday, May 1<\/strong>. Phenom presented five class projects and had as a special guest the IWU alumnus Richard Jenkins<\/strong>, a respected character actor with dozens of screen credits, an Emmy<\/strong> award, and several Academy Award<\/strong> nominations to his name. And then, University of Illinois<\/strong> graduate Chuck Russell<\/strong> has been named in the trades as of late<\/a><\/span> as his remake of the Eighties horror movie WITCHBOARD<\/strong> is now underway in Montreal<\/strong>. Once a genre specialist with modest hits under his belt like ERASER, THE MASK<\/strong>, and A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET 3<\/strong>, Russell is slowly regaining a footprint in Hollywood<\/strong> after an apparent dry spell with modern programmers like last year\u2019s Lionsgate\/Saban Films<\/strong> release PARADISE CITY<\/strong> with Bruce Willis<\/strong> and John Travolta<\/strong>. Of course, we shall never forget him as \u201cWilson\u201d<\/a><\/span> in SHOT<\/strong>.<\/p>\n To close, we remember the Urbana<\/strong> native, fellow UI alum, and veteran publisher Michael Wiese<\/strong>, who passed away on March 11<\/strong> in his adopted home of England<\/strong> after a long understanding \u2013 I hesitate to use the clich\u00e9 \u201cbattle,\u201d given how Wiese looked into unorthodox methods to live as fruitfully as possible<\/a><\/span> \u2013 with Parkinson\u2019s disease<\/strong>. A line of professional books<\/a><\/span> geared towards all aspects of the film, television, and new media production process, along with spin-off seminars and virtual content, has been issued from his offices in California<\/strong> for nearly 50 years and a second imprint, Divine Arts Media<\/strong>, delves into sacred teachings and health practices<\/a><\/span> from cultures he admires as explored in his lone video available on Tubi<\/strong><\/a><\/span>, the 2011 documentary TALKING WITH SPIRITS: JOURNEYS INTO BALINESE SPIRIT WORLDS<\/strong>. We truly appreciated his personal investments and our hearts go out to his wife Geraldine<\/strong>, daughter Julia<\/strong>, and the writing and editorial team at Michael Wiese Productions<\/strong>. May his memory live onward and upward.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n CONFIDENTIAL ALMANAC | Dates in Film Culture History<\/strong><\/p>\n 30 Years Ago<\/strong> \u2026 Thursday, May 6, 1993:<\/em> The production crew behind WITH HONORS<\/strong>, an upcoming collegiate drama starring Brendan Fraser<\/span><\/a>, Moira Kelly, Josh Hamilton<\/strong>, and Patrick Dempsey<\/strong>, utilizes the University of Illinois Main Quad<\/strong> to capture a climactic moment<\/span><\/a>. It is one of several location shoots across the United States<\/strong> that will meld together on-screen to depict the settings for the story, Harvard University<\/strong> and Cambridge, Massachusetts<\/strong>. Numerous locals fill the need for extras, sitting about the young actors in the guises of fellow students, faculty, and family members, for a graduation ceremony scene staged at the south end of the Quad with a dressed Foellinger Auditorium<\/strong> as an architectural backdrop. Present for the faux<\/em> festivities is the celebrated writer Gore Vidal<\/strong>, who plays a Harvard professor and faculty advisor to Fraser\u2019s character Monty Kessler, while the popular comedic actor Joe Pesci<\/strong>, appearing as a wiseacre street person with a dreamer\u2019s soul who becomes an unofficial mentor to Monty, is nowhere to be found. Activity is scheduled to wrap by this evening although, according to News-Gazette<\/span><\/strong> coverage at the time, several members of the WITH HONORS<\/strong> team will have spent most of the week in the immediate area before their visit is through. Warner Bros.<\/strong> would open the Spring Creek Productions<\/strong> film a year later almost to the day on Friday, April 29, 1994<\/strong>, at slightly more than 1,000 theaters nationwide. Quad footage can be seen briefly in the accompanying music video for the movie\u2019s hit theme song, \u201cI\u2019ll Remember<\/strong>,\u201d performed by Madonna<\/strong>; WITH HONORS<\/strong> director Alex Keshishian<\/strong> previously worked on the pop star\u2019s concert tour documentary, MADONNA: TRUTH OR DARE<\/strong>, as well as several of her other videos. [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> @ Phoenix Savoy 16 + IMAX, Savoy, IL<\/strong>
\nCollege of Media at Illinois presents MACS Student Showcase* (UIUC student media classwork) (5\/6, 7 p.m., free)<\/p>\n
\nGUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOL. 3, LOVE AGAIN, AIR*, ARE YOU THERE, GOD? IT\u2019S ME, MARGARET., BIG GEORGE FOREMAN: THE MIRACULOUS STORY*, DUNGEONS & DRAGONS: HONOR AMONG THIEVES, EVIL DEAD RISE, JOHN WICK: CHAPTER 4, POLITE SOCIETY*, PONNIYIN SELVAN: PART 2 (in Tamil), SISU, THE SUPER MARIO BROS. MOVIE (animation) (5\/5 on), Studio Ghibli Fest: PONYO 15th anniversary (5\/8, 5\/10, 7 p.m., in Japanese w\/English sub), ROLL WITH IT (faith film, 5\/9, 5\/11, 7 p.m.), BOOK CLUB: THE NEXT CHAPTER (5\/11 on) *single shows daily<\/p>\n
\nGUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOL. 3, LOVE AGAIN, AIR, ARE YOU THERE, GOD? IT\u2019S ME, MARGARET., BEAU IS AFRAID, BIG GEORGE FOREMAN: THE MIRACULOUS STORY, DUNGEONS & DRAGONS: HONOR AMONG THIEVES, EVIL DEAD RISE, JOHN WICK: CHAPTER 4, THE SUPER MARIO BROS. MOVIE (animation) (5\/5 on), UFC 288: Aljamain Sterling vs. Henry Cejudo, more! (mixed martial arts, 5\/6, 9 p.m., simulcast), Studio Ghibli Fest: PONYO 15th anniversary (5\/7, 4 & 7 p.m., English dub; 5\/8, 5\/10, 7 p.m., in Japanese w\/English sub), FOOTLOOSE (1984) (5\/7, 3 & 7 p.m.; 5\/10, 7 p.m.), ), ROLL WITH IT (faith film, 5\/9, 5\/11, 7 p.m.),<\/p>\n