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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 7\/21: Shawnee E. Tefteller (owner, Shawnee Studios: Model & Talent Management\/Casting, Mt. Olive, IL)<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n FIELD REPORT DU HQ | From Wherever It May Be Said<\/strong><\/p>\n For this week\u2019s Report<\/strong>, we ask you to consider contributing to your friendly neighborhood filmmakers, culture cultivators, and movie house revivals. We have suggestions for you, of course! Our ambitious friend Keenan E. Dailey<\/strong>, a Peoria<\/strong> native who settled in Champaign<\/strong> after earning his masters in graphic design at the University of Illinois<\/strong>, is taking his multimedia studio Visage Entertainment<\/strong><\/a><\/span> to the next level by co-producing a social issue and race relations drama called SEE NO EVIL<\/strong>. You can track their progress on Facebook<\/strong><\/a><\/span> and support their work on Patreon<\/strong><\/a><\/span>. And then, organizer Brian L. Ward<\/strong> of the upcoming \u201cdiet edition\u201d of Dark History and Horror Convention<\/strong>, set for Saturday, September 9<\/strong>, at the newly christened Orpheum Champaign<\/strong><\/a><\/span> in downtown Champaign, is in need of financial help to ensure his show goes on as planned. The GoFundMe<\/strong> campaign<\/a><\/span> is one-quarter of the way to a $5,000 goal and the fine folks at Severin Films<\/strong><\/a><\/span> will donate their portion of ticket sales from their double feature of CATHY\u2019S CURSE<\/strong> and BURIAL GROUND<\/strong> at the Normal Theater<\/strong> in Normal<\/strong> on Tuesday, August 15<\/strong>, as announced by series host Dr. Eric Wesselmann<\/strong> on the Workshop Films Collective<\/strong> group at Facebook.<\/p>\n ~~~~~<\/p>\n ~~~~~<\/p>\n Out of this world is the recent reveal by publicist and producer Ann Myrna<\/strong> that Acrostar Films<\/strong> will alight on central Illinois<\/strong> next month to film a sequel to last year\u2019s UFO sci-fi lark, IT CAME FROM SOMEWHERE<\/strong>, titled THEY CAME BACK FROM SOMEWHERE<\/strong>. Be assimilated into the growing fan base of the genre-friendly \u201cAcrostar Family\u201d and kick in some Earth<\/strong> dollars here on Indiegogo<\/strong><\/a><\/span> before they infiltrate Farmer City<\/strong> for the second time in two years with poodle skirts and space gun fun! More down to earth by far is the feature JIMMY IN SAIGON<\/strong> from director Peter McDowell<\/strong>, a native of Champaign and a professional arts publicist and fundraising consultant<\/a><\/span>, whose older brother Jimmy<\/strong> lived and passed under mysterious circumstances after serving in the military during the Vietnam War<\/strong>. A document of McDowell following the very faint trail left by Jimmy decades ago<\/a><\/span>, SAIGON<\/strong> has earned awards and accolades during its festival run and producers are now looking to cover the cost of worldwide music rights for the soundtrack. Please visit the project page at Film Independent<\/strong><\/a><\/span> to contribute to the minimum $10,000 it requires.<\/p>\n ~~~~~<\/p>\n ~~~~~<\/p>\n In reference to our previous mention of The Orpheum Champaign, which along with The Venue CU<\/strong><\/a><\/span> has transformed the former Illini<\/strong> and Orpheum<\/strong> theater sites into \u201cdestination event\u201d spaces for weddings and the like, we share news of two other nearby vintage houses that hopefully will stay truer to their roots. The Daily News<\/span><\/strong> of Effingham<\/strong> ran an article last month about the Heart Theatre<\/strong>, which has not been reliably open to the public in close to 20 years, receiving a \u201cNational Register of Historic Places<\/strong>\u201d designation<\/a><\/span> due to the efforts of owner Amy Van Bergen<\/strong> and local volunteers who will fundraise to convert it into a nonprofit performance venue. Those in favor of aiding the Heart in restoring luster to the Courthouse Square<\/strong> should visit this web page for more information<\/a><\/span>. Tom Kacich<\/strong>\u2019s recent feature article in the News-Gazette<\/span><\/strong><\/a><\/span>, by contrast, talks of the unused Will Rogers Theatre<\/strong> in Charleston<\/strong> and its unknown fate given the slow progress that has happened in the fundraising efforts by its owner, Ottawa<\/strong> real estate agent Kathryn Troccoli<\/strong>; the piece and her website will give you an idea of the music-centric plans for it<\/a><\/span>.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n CONFIDENTIAL ALMANAC | Dates in Film Culture History<\/strong><\/p>\n 100 Years Ago<\/strong> \u2026 July 23, 1923:<\/em> One of the earliest narrative films of scope made in Champaign County<\/strong>, THE CITY BEYOND<\/strong>, receives a world premiere at the Virginia Theatre<\/strong> in Champaign, IL<\/strong>, where it is paired with the First National Pictures<\/strong> release of PENROD AND SAM<\/strong>. Based on an idea formulated by the owners of the Virginia and the News-Gazette<\/span><\/strong>, it is a relationship story spiced with aerial derring-do that is intended to \u201cbe a real picture of heart interest, produced by local stars with local settings\u201d as proposed by the newspaper in their June 17<\/strong> edition. Other articles have not been shy about admitting that its primary purpose is to creatively show off Champaign-Urbana in the best light. Prominent faces appearing on the silver screen at 203 W. Park Avenue<\/strong> include Ruth Honn<\/strong> and Frank Robeson, Jr.<\/span><\/strong><\/a>, of Champaign as well as Elizabeth Boggs Bartling<\/strong> of Chicago, while such locations as West Side Park<\/strong>, the Champaign County Country Club<\/span><\/strong><\/a>, Chanute Air Force Base<\/strong> in Rantoul<\/strong>, and the Virginia itself can easily be identified in certain scenes. J. Law Siple<\/strong>, a Chicago<\/strong> entrepreneur and veteran producer of agricultural promotional reels, directed THE CITY BEYOND<\/strong> under the watchful eyes of News-Gazette<\/span> advertising manager E.C. Bleau<\/strong> and photographer Howard F. Duncan<\/strong>; they began production little more than a month ago, believe it or not! The picture would attract hundreds of area residents between its first showing on Monday, July 23<\/strong>, and last on Wednesday, July 25<\/strong>, before the News-Gazette<\/span> took possession of the print for storage. It is considered lost today. Siple continued to make similar community melodramas-for-hire, such as an alternate version of THE CITY BEYOND<\/strong><\/span><\/a> in Decatur<\/strong> later the same year and an Army<\/strong>-themed tale called THE SKY TRAILER<\/strong> that debuted in suburban Dolton, IL<\/strong><\/a><\/span>, in March 1924<\/strong>. [R]<\/strong><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n LOCAL FILMS & EVENTS | Support Your Media Storytellers<\/strong><\/p>\n @ Lincoln Square Mall (starting point), 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> @ Main Quad, Illini Union, UIUC, Urbana, IL<\/strong><\/p>\n
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\nChampaign Movie Makers* 48 Hour Film Contest (7\/23-7\/25)<\/p>\n
\nBARBIE, OPPENHEIMER, ELEMENTAL (animation), INDIANA JONES AND THE DIAL OF DESTINY, INSIDIOUS: THE RED DOOR, MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE \u2013 DEAD RECKONING, PART ONE, NO HARD FEELINGS, SOUND OF FREEDOM, SPIDER-MAN: ACROSS THE SPIDER-VERSE (animation) (7\/21 on), RUBY GILLMAN \u2013 TEENAGE KRAKEN (animation) (7\/22, 7\/26, 9:15 a.m., sensory friendly), THE SECRET LIFE OF PETS (7\/22, 7\/26, 12 p.m.), TERRIFIER (7\/24, 8 p.m.), THE FIRST SLAM DUNK (anim\u00e9), HAUNTED MANSION, TALK TO ME (7\/27 on)<\/p>\n
\nBARBIE, OPPENHEIMER, ASTEROID CITY, ELEMENTAL (animation), INDIANA JONES AND THE DIAL OF DESTINY, INSIDIOUS: THE RED DOOR, THE LITTLE MERMAID, MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE \u2013 DEAD RECKONING, PART ONE, NO HARD FEELINGS, SOUND OF FREEDOM, SPIDER-MAN: ACROSS THE SPIDER-VERSE (animation) (7\/21 on), FRIDAY THE 13th (1980) (7\/23, 3 & 7 p.m.; 7\/26, 7 p.m.), The Metropolitan Opera: Philip Glass\u2019 Akhnaten<\/span> (7\/26, 1 & 6:30 p.m., recorded 2019), HAUNTED MANSION (7\/27 on)<\/p>\n
\nIllini Union Board presents \u201cSummer Films on the Quad\u201d feat. AIR (7\/27, 9 p.m., free)<\/p>\n