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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 6\/30: Drea Aarons (multimedia artist, Art of Drea Aarons, Champaign-Urbana, IL) \u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n FIELD REPORT DU HQ | From Wherever It May Be Said<\/strong><\/p>\n And, this<\/em> week, I have for you a few items to investigate over the holiday weekend that rate as \u201cthe weird du C-U.\u201d Would we have it any<\/em> other way at MFHQ Deux<\/strong>? On with the Report<\/strong>, then\u2026<\/p>\n To start, I\u2019d like to share a couple of public service announcements. Casual scrolling on the socials led me to discover that University of Illinois<\/strong> post-production specialist Ed Glaser<\/strong> is still releasing projects from under his Neon Harbor Media<\/strong><\/a><\/span> umbrella. The current activity on the cult movie front is a fresh batch of episodes for his award-winning Web program, DEJA VIEW<\/strong><\/a><\/span>, in which he tells the histories of international genre films that resemble famous American product. The first three give an engaging look at 3 DEV ADAM<\/strong>, a 1973 Turkish landmark that pits Captain America<\/strong> and the Mexican luchador<\/em> hero Santo<\/strong> against an evil Spider-man<\/strong>, SHOCKING DARK<\/strong>, a James Cameron<\/strong> franchise rip-off from director Bruno Mattei<\/strong> and his merry band of Italians, and ROBO WARRIOR<\/strong>, a wonky Hong Kong<\/strong> mishmash with ninjas and hopping vampires and faint riffs on Paul Verhoeven<\/strong>, oh my<\/em>. They exist, and Glaser has preserved their legacy in a number of previous DEJA VIEW<\/strong>s as well as a book, How the World Remade Hollywood: Global Interpretations of 65 Iconic Films<\/span><\/strong><\/a><\/span>, from McFarland Press<\/strong>. Go view!<\/p>\n ~~~~~<\/p>\n ~~~~~<\/p>\n And then, we\u2019re fortunate that UI professor emeritus Richard Leskosky<\/strong> is still interested in exploring the film world around him. While the general coverage and critique of movies at the News-Gazette<\/span><\/strong> is handled by the veteran reviewer Chuck Koplinski<\/strong><\/a><\/span>, the \u201cMad about the Movies<\/strong>\u201d column that runs every other weekend is the province of Leskosky, who retired from the Unit for Cinema Studies<\/strong> (now Media & Cinema Studies<\/strong><\/a><\/span>) in 2009 after more than 30 years. When his well-informed and accessible writing isn\u2019t promoting local events, such as the N-G<\/span>\u2019s classic film series at the Virginia Theatre<\/strong> or his wife Dr. May Berenbaum<\/strong>\u2019s one-of-a-kind Insect Fear Film Festival<\/strong> that is held every year at the UI Foellinger Auditorium<\/strong>, it can veer in a myriad of directions. Media trends, evolving genres, film festival recaps, television highlights, and industry shifts are obvious topics, but it seems that snakes, leprechauns, sharks, carnivorous plants, and the lengthy B-movie career of filmmaker Jim Wynorski<\/strong><\/a><\/span> (CHOPPING MALL, ATTACK OF THE 50 FOOT CHEERLEADER<\/strong>) are not off the table, either. Click here to skim the headlines<\/a><\/span> of his recently published \u201cMad\u201d material and you should find a few that you\u2019re bound to enjoy. Go read!<\/p>\n ~~~~~<\/p>\n ~~~~~<\/p>\n We wrap it up with a head-spinner that is a precursor to the modern \u201csupercut\u201d video. Back in 2017<\/a><\/span>, I shared a vintage Daily Illini<\/span><\/strong> ad for a happening billed as a \u201cMovie Orgy\u201d at the UI Krannert Center for the Performing Arts<\/strong>. It took me until very recently to figure out the program was actually the legendary \u201cMovie Orgy<\/strong>\u201d compiled by a young Joe Dante<\/strong> (GREMLINS<\/strong>) and Jon Davison<\/strong> (ROBOCOP<\/strong>) and toured as a roadshow to college campuses with sponsorship by the Schlitz Brewing Company<\/strong>. Lasting six or more hours, the experience was a litany of movie clips, serials, commercials, industrials, and cartoons<\/a><\/span> pieced together from Davison\u2019s 16mm library and projected in succession without a break. Last year, the American Genre Film Archive<\/strong> debuted a four-and-a-half-hour restoration in high definition as THE MOVIE ORGY<\/strong> and it is available for public exhibition<\/a><\/span>. No tickets can be charged for admission and a home video release will most likely never happen, explains Dante in interviews<\/a><\/span>, because the combined source material is a potential copyright nightmare in hibernation. Go wild!<\/p>\n According to a chart in this 2015 dissertation by David Neary<\/strong><\/a><\/span> for his studies at New York University<\/strong>, UIUC was the first Midwest location and one of the first institutions outside of New York<\/strong> state to host the \u201cOrgy.\u201d Evidence in ad mats and articles appearing in the DI<\/span> place the \u201cOrgy\u201d at KCPA in May 1971, when it was staged on the roof to take advantage of the springtime warmth, and again in the facility\u2019s Foellinger Great Hall<\/strong> in late October 1971 to coincide with Halloween<\/strong>. All the ad art is hand-drawn by UI students, like the example we show here, apart from an adaptation of the photo collage poster by Davison and Dante who most likely traveled to Urbana<\/strong> for both outings to make sure their Frankenstein monster made of cinematic parts was presented as well as it could be. Amusingly, they nicknamed it \u201cA 2001 Splice Odyssey<\/strong>\u201d at the time, and unfortunately, I don\u2019t see anyone in the C-U daring to book or sit through it today. Go cry, sweeties.<\/p>\n \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> @ Redbox, Champaign-Urbana, IL<\/strong> @ The Virginia Theatre, Champaign, IL<\/strong> Events featuring locally produced movies are marked with an asterisk (*). Additional \u201cNow Playing\u201d and \u201cComing Soon\u201d listings appear after the jump!<\/em><\/p>\n ~~~~~<\/p>\n <\/p>\n NOW PLAYING | The Cities Beyond<\/strong><\/p>\n @ The Avon Theater, Decatur, IL<\/strong> @ The Fischer Theatre, Danville, IL<\/strong> @ The Harvest Moon Twin Drive-in, Gibson City, IL<\/strong> @ The Little Lorraine, Hoopeston, IL<\/strong> @ The Normal Theater, Normal, IL<\/strong> @ The Onarga Theatre, Onarga, IL<\/strong> @ The Princess Theatre, Leroy, IL<\/strong> @ The Route 66 Drive-in Theater, Springfield, IL<\/strong> \u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n NOW PLAYING | Midwest<\/strong><\/p>\n For detailed and curated listings of Chicago-area film presentations and related events, please visit the fine folks at <\/em>Cine-File<\/strong> and subscribe to their definitive \u201cCine-List\u201d weekly blast<\/span><\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n
\n7\/1: Michael Juvinall (editor, Horror Patch<\/span> website, Channahon, IL)
\n7\/5: Paul Riismandel (cohost, Radio Survivor<\/span> podcast, San Francisco, CA)<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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\nINDIANA JONES AND THE DIAL OF DESTINY, PAST LIVES, RUBY GILLMAN \u2013 TEENAGE KRAKEN (animation), SATYAPREM KI KATHA (in Hindu with English sub), ASTEROID CITY, ELEMENTAL (animation), THE FLASH, NO HARD FEELINGS, SPIDER-MAN: ACROSS THE SPIDER-VERSE (animation), TRANSFORMERS: RISE OF THE BEASTS (6\/30 on), THE LITTLE MERMAID (6\/30-7\/2), KUNG FU PANDA (animation) (7\/1, 7\/5, 10 a.m.), SOUND OF FREEDOM (faith film) (7\/3 on), INSIDIOUS: THE RED DOOR, JOY RIDE (7\/6 on)<\/p>\n
\nINDIANA JONES AND THE DIAL OF DESTINY, PAST LIVES, RUBY GILLMAN \u2013 TEENAGE KRAKEN (animation), ASTEROID CITY, THE BLACKENING, THE BOOGEYMAN, ELEMENTAL (animation), THE FLASH, GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOL. 3, THE LITTLE MERMAID, NO HARD FEELINGS, SPIDER-MAN: ACROSS THE SPIDER-VERSE (animation), TRANSFORMERS: RISE OF THE BEASTS (6\/30 on), JAWS (7\/2, 12, 3 & 7 p.m.; 7\/5, 7 p.m.), SOUND OF FREEDOM (faith film) (7\/3 on), INSIDIOUS: THE RED DOOR (7\/6 on)<\/p>\n
\nIllini Union Board presents \u201cSummer Films on the Quad\u201d feat. RENFIELD (7\/6, 9 p.m., free)<\/p>\n
\nTHE MAN FROM ROME, more! (6\/27 on) Online rentals<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n
\nIllinois Public Media presents \u201cThe Arthouse Experience Film Series\u201d feat. MAMA BEARS w\/discussion (6\/30, 7 p.m.)<\/p>\n
\nASTEROID CITY, INDIANA JONES AND THE DIAL OF DESTINY, ELEMENTAL (animation) (6\/29-7\/2)<\/p>\n
\nTOP GUN (6\/30, 7 p.m.; 7\/1, 2 & 7 p.m.; 7\/2, 7 p.m.)<\/p>\n
\nINDIANA JONES AND THE DIAL OF DESTINY, TRANSFORMERS: RISE OF THE BEASTS (Screen 1), TOP GUN, TOP GUN: MAVERICK (Screen 2) (6\/30-7\/3), INDIANA JONES AND THE DIAL OF DESTINY (Screen 1), TRANSFORMERS: RISE OF THE BEASTS (Screen 2) (7\/5), INDIANA JONES AND THE DIAL OF DESTINY (Screen 1), closed for private screening (Screen 2) (7\/6)<\/p>\n
\nPrivate parties and \u201cFamily Movie Packs\u201d<\/p>\n
\nINDEPENDENCE DAY (6\/30-7\/2), YANKEE DOODLE DANDY (7\/1-7\/2), YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE (7\/6)<\/p>\n
\nINDIANA JONES AND THE DIAL OF DESTINY (6\/30-7\/2)<\/p>\n
\nTHE LITTLE MERMAID (6\/30-7\/2)<\/p>\n
\nINDIANA JONES AND THE DIAL OF DESTINY, THE BOOGEYMAN (Screen 1), ELEMENTAL (animation), TRANSFORMERS: RISE OF THE BEASTS (6\/30 on)<\/p>\n