<\/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 Illinois Times<\/span>, Springfield, IL) \u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n FIELD REPORT DU HQ | From Wherever It May Be Said<\/strong><\/p>\n What else can<\/em> we talk about in this week\u2019s Report<\/strong>, fearless readers? Plenty, as it turns out, and we\u2019ll take \u201cMiscellaneous of Interest\u201d for $1,000, Alex \u2026 The University of Illinois<\/strong> announced last month the release of a new volume<\/a><\/span> from the University of Illinois Press<\/strong> called The Future of Memory: A History of Lossless Format Standards in the Moving Image Archive<\/span><\/strong> by Jimi Jones<\/strong> and Marek Jancovic<\/strong>, in which the authors describe the recent development of several electronic methods for archiving holdings<\/a><\/span> in a high-quality digital form and the struggles in not only settling on a universal standard for library work, but also arriving at viable solutions that are often at odds with accepted practices in the entertainment and broadcast industries. Jones, who recently began working for the University of Illinois Foundation<\/strong> and will teach his final iSchool<\/strong> course this upcoming semester, has a long relationship with UI higher education as a student, instructor, and researcher specializing in asset management and preservation.<\/p>\n Out in the C-U community, the bridge between a growing professional filmmaking scene and other arts disciplines has been strengthening on several fronts from Pens to Lens<\/strong> to Flyover Film Studios<\/strong> and on; a current example is illustrated by this Indiegogo<\/strong> campaign<\/a><\/span> to raise funds and augment the budget for \u201cGolden Meadow<\/strong>,\u201d an upcoming music video that will use scenes set in our region\u2019s rural landscape (including underwater footage!) to augment the song by local artist Jill Greenlee<\/strong> that \u201cencapsulates life\u2019s trials and beauty.\u201d Her vision will be in good hands with the production team of director Sarah Cayce<\/strong>, producer Sarah Sharp<\/strong>, and cinematographer Robert Patrick Stearn<\/strong>, all of them critical players in the Flyover startup and usually present on the sets of nearly all the recent major narrative filming to be done in and adjacent to Champaign County<\/strong>; the drive ends after Labor Day<\/strong> and the video will be created this fall after many months of planning. Greenlee often appears at local gigs and is also a portrait and still life painter<\/a><\/span>.<\/p>\n And on a frustrating note, we\u2019ve seen the regional articles about AMC<\/strong> locations being shut down with practically no notice to their own employees or the communities where they operate and it feels like Danville<\/strong> in 2022 all over again<\/a><\/span>. The Journal Gazette & Times-Courier<\/span><\/strong> wrote the AMC Classic Mattoon 10<\/strong> theater would close its doors<\/a><\/span> after the last shows on Thursday, August 7,<\/strong> and one week later on Thursday, August 14<\/strong>, the same would come to pass at the AMC Classic Pekin 14<\/strong><\/a><\/span> per the Peoria Journal-Star<\/span><\/strong>, which also noted a third location in Marion<\/strong> had also gone out of business. So much for the first-run industry rebound that apparently had been gathering steam since the waning of the pandemic. Maybe the corporate talking heads and industry analysts spinning every last box-office victory are full of it as the sum total weekly numbers are actually pretty stagnant<\/a><\/span>. Superheroes aren\u2019t quite working like they had been. Sequels to modest hits really aren\u2019t working at all. Original smashes like SINNERS<\/strong> and sleeper hits like WEAPONS<\/strong> are very spread out right now. Disney<\/strong> is, well, Disney. Where does exhibition go from here, really? Novelty popcorn buckets can only carry you so far\u2026<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n IMAGERY DU C-U | Picturing Our Scenes on the Small Screen<\/strong><\/p>\n Mr. JaPan<\/strong> actually made progress with picking up the mess in aisle MFHQ<\/strong> and that makes Godzilla<\/strong> jolly\u2026<\/p>\n ~~~~~<\/p>\n ~~~~~<\/p>\n Today\u2019s share is pretty self-explanatory and a good instance of an oddball find that is completely related to our delayed show-and-tell of C-U movie ephemera, but also completely outside of that sequence since it\u2019s not something Ye Ed<\/strong> is planning to pick up. Conveniently, this also serves as the first of a few brief notes on the doings at the revived and rockin\u2019 Lincoln Square Theatre<\/strong> in downtown Decatur<\/strong>; organizers have gone all-in on a winning formula<\/a><\/span> for the 109-year-old venue \u2013 touring music acts, seemingly half originals and half tributes, but who\u2019s counting? \u2013 while rarely dipping a toe in what had<\/em> been the primary attraction in the mid-20th century, the movies. We\u2019ll discuss that a bit in future Calendars<\/strong>, but for today we\u2019d like to share the following that our rummaging editor found in the dense jungle of eBay<\/strong> way back in April and, lo and behold, is still available today from the reseller \u201ckruhe<\/strong>\u201d<\/a><\/span>:<\/p>\n ~~~~~<\/p>\n ~~~~~<\/p>\n Dated February 1960 and described as an Ektachrome slide, despite the fact much of the hue has faded to pink, the image above is one of a few for sale from the merchant that depicts firemen working on this block of Main Street<\/strong>, as certain angles also show a firetruck ladder stretched to the rooftop. Given that it was wintertime when this happened, either Decatur was in a deep freeze and the buildings covered in ice or the fire department had doused the block to put out the fire with so much water or foam that it resulted in a cascading ice effect. Whatever actually happened, the effect is visually striking and, according to local historian and paranormal expert Troy Taylor<\/strong><\/a><\/span>, the damage suffered by the structures also altered the makeup of the Lincoln Square. It\u2019s unfortunate the name of the photographer is not on the slides, at least what is pictured in the eBay listings, but it leads us to believe they were taken by a bystander and not a member of the press. Maybe the current LST trust can pool together and add this history to their archives.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n CONFIDENTIAL ALMANAC | Dates in Film Culture History<\/strong><\/p>\n 10 Years Ago \u2026<\/strong> Sunday, August 16, 2015:<\/em> That\u2019s Rentertainment<\/strong><\/a><\/span> in Champaign closes for good at the end of the business day after serving the University of Illinois<\/strong> campus and Champaign-Urbana<\/strong> community for just a little more than thirty years. Remaining stock would be relocated to the Parasol Label Group<\/strong><\/a><\/span> building on Griggs Street<\/strong> in downtown Urbana and, for a time, made available to walk-in customers in the \u201cRec Room\u201d wing along with collectibles from Geoff Merritt<\/strong>\u2019s other retired Campustown<\/strong> storefront, Toon Town<\/strong>. As of 2025, Rentertaiment\u2019s DNA is sparse at Parasol, although some items can be found on the floor and others, mostly of the print variety, can be purchased from their eBay<\/strong> account<\/a><\/span>. A little bit of video is also available among a lot of great audio recordings at the Parasol seller account on Discogs<\/strong><\/a><\/span>.<\/p>\n ~~~~~<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n LOCAL FILMS & EVENTS | Support Your Media Storytellers<\/strong><\/p>\n @ Esquire Lounge, Champaign, IL<\/strong> @ The Fischer Theatre, Danville, 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> @ 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 @ Clintonia Eagle Theater, Clinton, IL<\/strong> @ The Harvest Moon Twin Drive-in, Gibson City, IL<\/strong> @ The Lorraine Theatre, 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> @ VIP Lincoln Grand 6, Lincoln, 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<\/a><\/span>. And for northern Illinois industry news, be sure to read<\/em> Reel Chicago<\/span><\/strong><\/a><\/span>,<\/em> Screen Magazine<\/span><\/strong><\/a><\/span>, and the <\/em>Chicago Reader<\/span><\/strong><\/a><\/span>.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n COMING SOON | Area-wide Events<\/strong><\/p>\n 8\/22 & 8\/24<\/strong> 9\/17-9\/21<\/strong> 9\/19-9\/28<\/strong> 9\/20-9\/22<\/strong> 10\/15-10\/26<\/strong> 11\/6-11\/16<\/strong> 11\/7-11\/8<\/strong> 11\/8-11\/9<\/strong> ~~~~~<\/p>\n Compiled by Jason Pankoke.<\/em><\/p>\n ~~~~~<\/p>\n \u201cCalendar du C-U\u201d Select movie listings for August 15-21, 2025 in Champaign, Urbana, and the cities beyond! Don\u2019t forget to peruse this week\u2019s Field Report! And, did you take a peek at the Images of the week? Also, have you memorized the Confidential Almanac for today?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1666,374,869,2011,53,19,2967,29,274,10,31],"tags":[2232,870,915,3039,3038,3040,968,839,3041,2328],"class_list":["post-16644","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-bittersweet-places","category-business-matters","category-calendar-du-c-u","category-crowdsourcing-du-c-u","category-educationclasses","category-images-du-cu","category-music-consumption","category-music-video","category-print-matter-du-c-u","category-production-updates","category-the-old-school","tag-amc-theaters","tag-cinema-calendar","tag-film-preservation","tag-golden-meadow","tag-jess-greenlee","tag-jimi-jones","tag-parasol-label-group","tag-thats-rentertainment","tag-the-future-of-memory","tag-university-of-illinois-press"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.micro-film-magazine.com\/cublog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16644","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.micro-film-magazine.com\/cublog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.micro-film-magazine.com\/cublog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.micro-film-magazine.com\/cublog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.micro-film-magazine.com\/cublog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=16644"}],"version-history":[{"count":12,"href":"https:\/\/www.micro-film-magazine.com\/cublog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16644\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":16662,"href":"https:\/\/www.micro-film-magazine.com\/cublog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16644\/revisions\/16662"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.micro-film-magazine.com\/cublog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=16644"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.micro-film-magazine.com\/cublog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=16644"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.micro-film-magazine.com\/cublog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=16644"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\n8\/18: Jeff Brandt (owner, Exile on Main Street, Champaign, IL)
\n8\/19: Ken Lee (vice president, Michael Wiese Productions, Studio City, CA)<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\nChampaign Movie Makers* meeting + Pens to Lens recap (8\/18, 7 p.m.)<\/p>\n
\n\u201cFischerFest: The Cinematic Legacy of Gene Hackman\u201d featuring: BONNIE & CLYDE (8\/16, 11 a.m.), THE FRENCH CONNECTION (8\/16, 3 p.m.), UNFORGIVEN (8\/16, 7 p.m.), CRIMSON TIDE (8\/17, 11 a.m.), \u201cDessert & Discussion\u201d hosted by Chuck Koplinski and Pamela Powell (8\/17, 2 p.m.), and THE ROYAL TENENBAUMS (8\/17, 4 p.m.) Further details<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n
\nAMERICANA*, COOLIE* (in Tamil with English sub), DEAD TO RIGHTS* (in Mandarin with English and Chinese sub), EAST OF WALL*, JIMMY AND STIGGS*, THE KNIFE*, NOBODY 2, SHIN GODZILLA (in Japanese with English sub), WAR 2* (in Hindi with English sub), WITCHBOARD*, THE BAD GUYS 2 (animation), THE FANTASTIC FOUR: FIRST STEPS, FREAKIER FRIDAY, JURASSIC WORLD: REBIRTH, THE NAKED GUN, SKETCH*, SUPERMAN, WEAPONS (8\/15 on), AMC \u201cScreen Unseen\u201d (mystery movie) (8\/18, 7 p.m.), NE ZHA II sneak preview (animation) (8\/18, 7 p.m.), HONEY DON\u2019T, NE ZHA II (animation; English dub), RELAY (8\/21 on) *single screenings daily<\/p>\n
\nAMERICANA, COOLIE (in Tamil with English sub), DEAD TO RIGHTS (in Mandarin with English and Chinese sub), EAST OF WALL, NOBODY 2, WAR 2 (in Hindi with English sub), THE BAD GUYS 2 (animation), F1 THE MOVIE, THE FANTASTIC FOUR: FIRST STEPS, FREAKIER FRIDAY, JURASSIC WORLD: REBIRTH, THE NAKED GUN, SKETCH, SUPERMAN, WEAPONS (8\/15 on), TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES 35th anniversary (8\/16-8\/19, 1 & 7 p.m.; 8\/20, 7 p.m.), THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE TWO TOWERS (8\/16, 2 & 7 p.m.; 8\/17, 3 & 7 p.m.; 8\/20, 7 p.m.), UFC 319: Dricus du Plessis vs. Khamzat Chimaev, more (mixed martial arts) (8\/16, 9 p.m., simulcast), NE ZHA II sneak preview (animation) (8\/18, 7 p.m., IMAX), \u201cTexas Chain Saw Day\u201d feat. THE TEXAS CHAIN SAW MASSACRE (1974), documentary preview (8\/18, 7 p.m.), \u201cRiffTrax Live!\u201d presents TIMECOP (8\/19, 7 p.m., simulcast), PRIMITIVE WAR (8\/21 on)<\/p>\n
\nIllini Union Board presents \u201cWelcome Back Film on the Quad\u201d feat. HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON (8\/24, 9 p.m., free)<\/p>\n
\n40 North, Champaign Movie Makers, Champaign-Urbana Design Organization, and Champaign Park District present the 2025 Pens to Lens Gala and Award Ceremony* (8\/16, 2 p.m. doors and red carpet, 3 p.m. presentation) Information<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n
\nMEN IN BLACK, NOBODY 2, TOP GUN: MAVERICK, THE BAD GUYS 2 (animation), FREAKIER FRIDAY, WEAPONS (8\/15 on)<\/p>\n
\nTHE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW 50th anniversary (Screen 1), FREAKIER FRIDAY (Screen 2) (8\/15, 8\/17), THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW 50th anniversary with Flustered Mustard shadow cast performance (Screen 1), FREAKIER FRIDAY (Screen 2) (8\/16)<\/p>\n
\nFREAKIER FRIDAY (8\/15-8\/17)<\/p>\n
\nFANTASTIC VOYAGE (8\/15-8\/17), INNERSPACE (8\/16-8\/17), CLOWN IN A CORNFIELD (8\/20), KILLER KLOWNS FROM OUTER SPACE (8\/21)<\/p>\n
\nClosed for the week.<\/p>\n
\nTHE FANTASTIC FOUR: FIRST STEPS (8\/15-8\/17)<\/p>\n
\nTHE BAD GUYS 2 (animation), FREAKIER FRIDAY (Screen 1), WEAPONS, SUPERMAN (Screen 2) (8\/15-8\/17, 8\/20-8\/21)<\/p>\n
\nNOBODY 2, THE BAD GUYS 2 (animation), THE FANTASTIC FOUR: FIRST STEPS, FREAKIER FRIDAY, JURASSIC WORLD: REBIRTH, THE NAKED GUN, WEAPONS (8\/15 on)<\/p>\n
\nJIMMY IN SAIGON* screening w\/filmmaker Peter McDowell
\n@ Chicago Filmmakers Firehouse Cinema, Chicago, IL, 7 p.m. (8\/22) & 6 p.m. (8\/24)<\/p>\n
\n32nd Chicago Underground Film Festival
\n@ ACX Harper Theater \u2013 Hyde Park, Chicago, IL<\/p>\n
\n43rd Reeling: The Chicago LGBTQ+ International Film Festival
\n@ Landmark\u2019s Century Centre Cinema + Chicago Filmmakers, Chicago, IL<\/p>\n
\nChampaign Film Society presents
\nthe first CineSonic* music film festival
\n@ TBA, Champaign-Urbana, IL<\/p>\n
\n61st Chicago International Film Festival
\n@ Music Box Theatre, etc., Chicago, IL<\/p>\n
\n34th Whitaker St. Louis International Film Festival
\n@ The Hi-Pointe Theatre, St. Louis, MO<\/p>\n
\n24th Route 66 International Film Festival*
\n@ Hoogland Center for the Arts, Springfield, IL<\/p>\n
\nDark History & Horror Con* 2025
\nfeat. Screaming Mad Film Festival
\n@ The Orpheum Theatre, Champaign, IL<\/p>\n
\n\u00a9 2025 Jason Pankoke\/C-U Blogfidential<\/span>
\n[T \u2212105]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"