{"id":9901,"date":"2016-04-13T09:00:21","date_gmt":"2016-04-13T15:00:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.micro-film-magazine.com\/cublog\/?p=9901"},"modified":"2016-04-13T00:23:59","modified_gmt":"2016-04-13T06:23:59","slug":"tv-special-takes-center-stage","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.micro-film-magazine.com\/cublog\/?p=9901","title":{"rendered":"TV special takes CENTER stage"},"content":{"rendered":"

The opening session of the eighteenth annual Roger Ebert\u2019s Film Festival<\/a><\/strong><\/span>, presented by the College of Media<\/strong> at the University of Illinois<\/strong>, will ensure a packed house at the Virginia Theatre<\/strong> later tonight, Wednesday, April 13<\/strong>, as it features director Guillermo del Toro<\/strong> in person and his period supernatural romance CRIMSON PEAK<\/strong> on the silver screen. Marking the occasion is yet another documentary-slash-promotion about the popular Champaign<\/strong> event, this one directed by Lisa Bralts<\/strong> and Tim Meyers<\/strong> for WILL\/Illinois Public Media<\/strong> and titled EBERTFEST 2016: CENTER OF THE UNIVERSE<\/strong>. New interviews recall the genesis and philosophy behind \u201cEbertfest<\/strong>\u201d as well as preview the selections and goals for the current year with a stress on diversity and inclusiveness. Speaking on behalf of the big show are executive producer and host Chaz Ebert<\/strong>, assistant festival director Casey Ludwig<\/strong>, Media dean Jan Slater<\/strong>, Virginia Theatre director Steven Bentz<\/strong>, \u201clong time\u201d attendee Ellen Warmbrunn<\/strong>, Chicago Tribune<\/strong><\/span> film critic Michael Phillips<\/strong>, Chicago Sun-Times<\/strong><\/span> columnist and film critic Richard Roeper<\/strong>, and UI Public Affairs<\/strong> video producer Anne Lukeman<\/strong>. Meyers and Bralts add visual flair to the special with select film clips and sweeping crowd shots recorded at prior festivals by Shatterglass Studios<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

WILL-TV<\/strong>\u00a0premiered\u00a0EBERTFEST 2016<\/strong> last week on Monday, April 4<\/strong>, and subsequently uploaded it for free Internet viewing, so we embed it below for your convenience and enjoyment; Bralts and Meyers discuss the creation of the program with WILL Radio<\/strong>\u2019s Jeff Bossert<\/strong> in a short audio clip linked to this post<\/a><\/span>.<\/p>\n

Eleven additional features and five panel discussions follow CRIMSON PEAK<\/strong> through midday on Sunday, April 17<\/strong>, after which Ebertfest will wind down for the spring.<\/p>\n

~ Jason Pankoke<\/p>\n


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