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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\/26: Lana Hinshaw-Klann (photojournalist, WBBM Channel 2 (CBS), Chicago, IL) \u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n FIELD REPORT DU HQ | From Wherever It May Be Said<\/strong><\/p>\n It\u2019s a \u201cwomen\u2019s voices loud and clear\u201d edition of the Report<\/strong> this week. First, you\u2019ve most likely heard by now, tra la<\/em>, that THE VOICE<\/span><\/strong> on NBC-TV<\/strong> has proclaimed the Sacramento, CA<\/strong>-based singer and Paxton<\/strong> native Gina Miles<\/strong> the winner<\/span><\/a> of their 23rd season as of the finale aired on Monday, May 22<\/strong>; this follows one year and one day after Los Angeles<\/strong>-based singer and Bloomington-Normal<\/strong> native Leah Marlene<\/strong> placed third in the competition on AMERICAN IDOL<\/strong>\u2019s season 20<\/a><\/span> on ABC-TV<\/strong>. And then, the NPR<\/strong> affiliate based at Illinois State University<\/strong> of Normal, WGLT-FM<\/strong>, recently interviewed rising novelist T. J. Newman<\/strong> about her second thriller, Drowning<\/span><\/strong><\/a><\/span>, which will be released on Tuesday, May 30<\/strong>, by Avid Reader Press\/Simon & Schuster<\/strong> with its adaptation rights already secured by Warner Brothers<\/strong><\/a><\/span>. An alumnus of neighboring Illinois Wesleyan University<\/strong> in Bloomington and a resident of Phoenix, AZ<\/strong>, Neuman parlayed her previous career as a flight attendant into a hit hardcover, Falling<\/span><\/strong>, which S&S published two summers ago and is in active development as a feature film by Universal Studios<\/strong>. Finally, Alexis den Boggende<\/strong> of Downright Creepy<\/span><\/strong> showed some appreciation for John Isberg<\/strong>\u2019s FINAL SUMMER<\/strong> in a review<\/a><\/span> posted on Saturday, May 13<\/strong>, one of several votes of confidence to appear online in recent months for the retro slasher produced in Champaign<\/strong> and Vermilion<\/strong> counties. Continuing the film\u2019s select appearances in anticipation of a formal release, Isberg and crew member Paul Benson<\/strong> will attend a show at Smodcastle Cinemas<\/strong> in Atlantic Highlands, NJ<\/strong>, owned in part by indie film stalwart Kevin Smith<\/strong> (CLERKS III<\/strong>), this Friday, May 26, hot on the heels of the film\u2019s runs<\/a><\/span> at PanicFest<\/strong> of Kansas City, MO<\/strong>, and Crimson Screen Horror Film Festival<\/strong> of Columbia, SC<\/strong>; FINAL SUMMER<\/strong> won a \u201cbest cinematography\u201d trophy at the latter.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n CONFIDENTIAL ALMANAC | Dates in Film Culture History<\/strong><\/p>\n 15 Years Ago<\/strong> \u2026 May 2008:<\/em> Seeking a sense of Midwest authenticity on a modest studio budget, prolific film and television director Steven Soderbergh<\/strong> chooses to capture footage for the corporate intrigue caper THE INFORMANT!<\/strong> in and around Decatur, Illinois<\/strong>, the real-life location of the primary events dramatized in the movie. Beginning with little fanfare around Thursday, May 1<\/strong>, the production moves back and forth between Decatur and outlying towns such as Moweaqua<\/strong> and Forsyth<\/strong> with a cast that includes Scott Bakula, Joel McHale, Melanie Lynksey, Ann Cusack, Tony Hale<\/strong>, and star Matt Damon<\/strong>, attracting helpful and appreciative locals along the way<\/a><\/span>. After spending two-and-a-half weeks in Macon County<\/strong>, the crew moves on to nearby Springfield<\/strong><\/span><\/a> and then St. Louis<\/strong> before making brief stops in far-reaching places like California, Hawaii<\/strong>, and France<\/strong>. Based on the book The Informant: A True Story<\/span><\/strong> by Kurt Eichenwald<\/strong> and adapted by screenwriter Scott Z. Burns<\/strong>, THE INFORMANT!<\/strong> retells the unbelievable episode involving Mark Whitacre<\/span><\/strong>, a former senior executive at the agricultural manufacturing giant Archer-Daniels-Midland Co.<\/strong><\/span><\/a> of Decatur, who agreed to wear a wire over several years in the early Nineties to help the FBI<\/strong> investigate his employer\u2019s alleged price-fixing attempts. Even though the findings proved to be accurate and wide-reaching, ADM and its global brethren did not suffer much in the courts or marketplace<\/span><\/a>; Whitacre earned his own prison time for inexplicably embezzling millions of dollars from the company while playing the part of a law enforcement mole. Warner Bros.<\/strong> originally announced distribution of THE INFORMANT!<\/strong> for the following spring through their specialty label, Warner Independent Pictures<\/strong>, but would eventually settle for a wide release of the Participant Media\/Groundswell Productions<\/strong> film under the WB shield on September 18, 2009<\/strong>, in North America<\/strong>. It is the last Hollywood<\/strong> narrative feature to shoot in central Illinois<\/strong> to date. As reported on 3\/16\/08<\/span><\/a>, 12\/22\/08<\/span><\/a>, 9\/26\/09<\/span><\/a> at<\/em> CUBlog<\/span><\/strong>. [R]<\/strong><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n LOCAL FILMS & EVENTS | Support Your Media Storytellers<\/strong><\/p>\n @ Julees Shooting Star Tavern, Westville, IL<\/strong> @ Dublin Pub, Springfield, 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> @ Main Quad, Illini Union, UIUC, Urbana, IL<\/strong>
\n5\/30: Cameron Counts (owner, Cam\u2019s Comics, Fairfield, IL)
\n6\/1: William Pace (faculty associate of digital media production, Seton Hall University, South Orange, NJ)
\n6\/1: Bill Yauch (owner, RiellyBoy Productions, Urbana, IL)<\/p>\n
\nNeon Street Productions presents SHUTEYE* short film premiere (5\/26, 9 p.m. & 12 a.m.)<\/p>\n
\nCentral Illinois Film Commission* meeting (6\/1, 7 p.m., last one until September)<\/p>\n
\nABOUT MY FATHER, KANDAHAR, THE LITTLE MERMAID, THE MACHINE, THE WRATH OF BECKY, YOU HURT MY FEELINGS, FAST X, GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOL. 3, JOHN WICK: CHAPTER 4*, THE SUPER MARIO BROS. MOVIE (animation) (5\/26 on), THE LAND BEFORE TIME (animation) (5\/27, 5\/31, 12 p.m.), SHIN KAMEN RIDER (in Japanese w\/English sub) (5\/31, 7 p.m.), THE ANGRY BLACK GIRL AND HER MONSTER (5\/31, 8 p.m.), THE BOOGEYMAN, SPIDER-MAN: ACROSS THE SPIDER-VERSE (animation) (6\/1 on) *single shows daily<\/p>\n
\nABOUT MY FATHER, KANDAHAR, THE LITTLE MERMAID, THE MACHINE, YOU HURT MY FEELINGS, EVIL DEAD RISE, FAST X, GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOL. 3, THE SUPER MARIO BROS. MOVIE (animation) (5\/26 on), ARE YOU THERE, GOD? IT\u2019S ME, MARGARET., BOOK CLUB: THE NEXT CHAPTER (5\/27 on), Fathom Events presents \u201cTomorrow x Together World Tour [Act: Sweet Mirage] in L.A.\u201d (concert performance) (5\/28, 3 p.m., simulcast), ENTER THE DRAGON (5\/28, 3 & 7 p.m.; 5\/31, 7 p.m.), Children’s matinees: PETER RABBIT 2: THE RUNAWAY and SMALLFOOT (animation) (5\/30-6\/1, 10 a.m.), SHIN KAMEN RIDER (in Japanese w\/English sub) (5\/31, 7 p.m.), THE BOOGEYMAN, SPIDER-MAN: ACROSS THE SPIDER-VERSE (animation) (6\/1 on)<\/p>\n
\nIllini Union Board presents \u201cSummer Films on the Quad\u201d feat. CREED III (6\/1, 9 p.m., free)<\/p>\n