<\/p>\n
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 8\/15: Chuck Koplinski (movie journalist, The News-Gazette<\/span>, Champaign, IL) \u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n FIELD REPORT DU HQ | From Wherever It May Be Said<\/strong><\/p>\n Mr. JaPan<\/strong> still<\/em> isn\u2019t up to speed for writing this week, so we\u2019ll just point out stupid crap for a few and call it a Report<\/strong>. First and foremost, we\u2019re disappointed that WCIA-TV<\/strong> in Champaign<\/strong> has decided, for whatever their reasons, to dismiss the seasoned movie reviewers and reporters Chuck Koplinski<\/strong> and Pamela Powell<\/strong> after a five-year run. You can find plenty of the duo\u2019s discourse via their \u201cReel Talk<\/strong>\u201d website<\/a><\/span> and watch their awkward on-air goodbye here<\/a><\/span>; Powell is diplomatic and Koplinski can\u2019t quite hold back the tart, understandably. Second, making the umpteenth trivia connection<\/a><\/span> between the University of Illinois<\/strong> and the artificial intelligence implications of the HAL 9000 computer<\/a><\/span> in 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY<\/strong> could<\/em> wait, Illinois Public Media<\/strong> and all of UIUC, given how the potential for unregulated AI use in entertainment production<\/a><\/span> is one of the key issues being fought against by unionized writers and actors in Hollywood<\/strong>. No room to create, grow, and work comfortably in the biz, no chance to innovate ever again as with 2001<\/strong>.<\/p>\n Third, we know full well that back-to-school pomp and circumstance needs to be presented squarely in a family-friendly light, yet it\u2019s still a soul crusher when we read how the annual UI Memorial Stadium<\/strong> movie night is basically programmed to appease the youngest siblings and not the enrolled. According to the News-Gazette<\/span><\/strong><\/a><\/span>, \u201cfan votes\u201d for the August 12<\/strong> event dictated that THE SUPER MARIO BROS. MOVIE<\/strong> (videogame adaptation) would be shown over the other finalists: MINIONS: THE RISE OF GRU<\/strong> (franchise animation), THE LITTLE MERMAID<\/strong> (Disney live-action remake of beloved animation), and ANT-MAN AND THE WASP: QUANTUMANIA<\/strong> (comic book adaptation). At least the subsequent \u201cIllinois Sights & Sounds<\/strong>\u201d rally at the stadium yesterday, August 17<\/strong>, incorporated a video welcome from none other than the upper echelon filmmaker Ang Lee<\/strong>, a 1980 UI graduate; his messaging presumably fell in the \u201cfollow your dreams\u201d and \u201cUI is a great institution\u201d camp as opposed to \u201cwatch quality cinema,\u201d and we all<\/em> know deep down that, in both brouhahas, it was ultimately about the football team. Read the articles, folks<\/a><\/span>.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n CONFIDENTIAL ALMANAC | Dates in Film Culture History<\/strong><\/p>\n 15 Years Ago<\/strong> \u2026 Thursday, August 7, 2008:<\/em> More than two years after launching Shatterglass Studios<\/strong> as a full-service media production company for commercial and industrial work, Brett Hays<\/strong> and Luke Boyce<\/strong> premiere their first narrative movie, PRELUDE<\/strong>, at the cozy Onarga Theater<\/strong> in the village of Onarga, IL<\/strong>. Filmed over two weekends in April at The Bread Company<\/strong> in Urbana<\/strong> and a farmhouse on the outskirts of Champaign<\/strong>, this drama depicts a fateful moment in time when the lives of down-on-his-luck writer Kyle (Micah Boyce<\/strong>) and a mysterious traveler named Casey (Vanessa Prokuski<\/strong>) intersect at a bohemian coffee shop; Big Questions are broached and a sense of the supernatural is invoked. C-U Blogfidential<\/span><\/strong> editor Jason Pankoke<\/strong> served as a set photographer during the shoot and receives an assistant producer credit. Written by Boyce from a story created by David Fendley<\/strong>, Michael McCray<\/strong>, and himself, PRELUDE<\/strong> is partly intended as a proof-of-concept for a feature screenplay titled CHADORA<\/strong> and serves as the first release from Shatterglass\u2019 sister label, Essence Films<\/strong>. The latter would soon fold and essentially be revived several years later as Shatterglass Films<\/span><\/strong><\/a>. As reported on 8\/6\/08<\/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 @ The Esquire Lounge, Champaign, IL<\/strong> @ Fine Arts Theatre, Beverly Hills, CA<\/strong> @ The Princess Theater, LeRoy, 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>
\n8\/19: Ken Lee (vice president, Michael Wiese Productions, Studio City, CA)
\n8\/23: Shannon Beranek (copy editor, Bachelor Pad Magazine<\/span>, Champaign, IL)
\n8\/23: Luke Boyce (director, REVEALER, Shatterglass Films, Champaign, IL)<\/p>\n
\nChampaign Movie Makers* mixer (8\/21, 7 p.m.)<\/p>\n
\nPollack Films and Spencer Films present FIELDS OF GOLD* world premiere (8\/19, 7 p.m. PST, sold out)<\/p>\n
\nAcrostar Films presents DESPERATE SOULS* downstate premiere (8\/19, 4 p.m.)<\/p>\n
\nBACK ON THE STRIP*, BLUE BEETLE, STRAYS, BARBIE, GADAR 2 (in Hindi w\/English sub), HAUNTED MANSION, JAILER (in Tamil or Telugu w\/English sub), JULES, THE LAST VOYAGE OF THE DEMETER, MEG 2: THE TRENCH, OPPENHEIMER, SOUND OF FREEDOM, TALK TO ME, TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES: MUTANT MAYHEM (animation) (8\/18 on), Studio Ghibli Fest: PORCO ROSSO (anim\u00e9) (English dub: 8\/20, 4 p.m.; in Japanese w\/English sub: 8\/22, 7 p.m.) and THE WIND RISES 10th anniversary (English dub: 8\/21, 7 p.m.; in Japanese w\/English sub: 8\/23, 7 p.m.), GRAN TURISMO sneak preview (8\/18, 7 p.m.; 8\/19, 3 p.m.), THE CROODS: A NEW AGE (animation) (8\/23, 12 p.m.), GRAN TURISMO, THE HILL, RETRIBUTION (8\/24 on) *single screenings daily<\/p>\n
\nBACK ON THE STRIP, BLUE BEETLE, OLDBOY (2003; re-release), STRAYS, BARBIE, ELEMENTAL (animation), HAUNTED MANSION, THE LAST VOYAGE OF THE DEMETER, MEG 2: THE TRENCH, MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE \u2013 DEAD RECKONING, PART ONE, OPPENHEIMER, TALK TO ME, TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES: MUTANT MAYHEM (animation) (8\/18 on), GRAN TURISMO sneak preview (8\/18, 7 p.m.; 8\/19, 3 & 7 p.m.; 8\/20, 2 p.m.), UFC 292: Aljamain Sterling vs. Sean O\u2019Malley, more (mixed martial arts) (8\/19, 9 p.m., simulcast), SOUND OF FREEDOM (8\/20-8\/24), THE NOTEBOOK (8\/20, 3 & 7 p.m.; 8\/23, 7 p.m.), GOLDA (8\/23, 4 & 7 p.m.), GRAN TURISMO (8\/24 on)<\/p>\n