Archive for the 'Alums Done Good' Category

One of these days, I’m going to…

Tuesday, January 5th, 2021

There might as well be something soothing about this and, surprise, it doesn’t come from the cinema.

Hollywood vet ‘Directing’ at MWP

Tuesday, September 15th, 2020

Our limited series on filmmaking books from the Michael Wiese Productions library continues with ‘John Badham on Directing’ by John Badham, reviewed by Andrew J. Rausch.

UI ghosts linger on and off screen

Friday, May 29th, 2020

University of Illinois students a generation apart do their on-camera best to convince viewers that campus spirits drift among us. Their existence somewhat haunts your humble editor to this day.

MWP home to ‘Shorts’ whisperer

Wednesday, May 6th, 2020

Our limited series on filmmaking books from the Michael Wiese Productions library continues with ‘Making it Big in Shorts: The Ultimate Filmmaker’s Guide to Short Films’ by Kim Adelman, reviewed by Jason Pankoke.

MWP volume sifts ‘Footage’ gold

Friday, March 27th, 2020

Our limited series on filmmaking books from the Michael Wiese Productions library continues with ‘Stock Footage + Everything under the Sun’ by James Forsher, reviewed by Jason Pankoke.

MWP begins again with ‘Writing’

Thursday, March 12th, 2020

We relaunch our limited series on filmmaking books from the Michael Wiese Productions library begins with a complete posting on ‘Writing for the Cut’ by Greg Loftin, reviewed by Daniel Tice.

COUNTRY to encore on WILL-TV

Friday, March 6th, 2020

It has been a long while since a feature-length project has emerged from the WILL-TV studios in Urbana, so we welcome ILLINOIS COUNTRY with open arms. It airs tonight, March 6, 2020, at 7:30 p.m.

MWP reviews begin with ‘Writing’

Wednesday, January 22nd, 2020

Our limited series on filmmaking books from the Michael Wiese Productions library begins with ‘Writing for the Cut’ by Greg Loftin, reviewed by Daniel Tice.

Promo film find is on sketchy side

Friday, February 22nd, 2019

Does anybody remember when your humble editor was an artist and photographer instead of a Confidential provocateur? We present the dirt on his past dalliances in black-and-white and living color!

In My Backyard: Year 12

Monday, October 22nd, 2018

“In My Backyard” Year 12 was obviously shelved, so here we go again at long last. We’re posting plug-and-play content as we now count down and lead up to Year 14. This time, we correct course on passionate words.

Of picks, pans, and “Potato” puns

Friday, October 5th, 2018

Former Champaign County resident Gerry Kissell, a commercial illustrator in science-fiction and military storytelling, has brought back his C-U movie-reviewing alter ego, the Couch Potato Critic. Dine in and read on!

Oscar nominated UI alumni gone

Monday, September 24th, 2018

University of Illinois alumni Richard Greenberg and Thomas Rickman, who built Hollywood careers as a main titles designer and screenplay writer, respectively, passed away during the summer months of 2018.

Logan elucidates on Lindsay logic

Wednesday, June 20th, 2018

Last fall, the New Art Film Festival tried to introduce you to central Illinois’ first major contributor to film history. Only a handful attended. Remedy your situation by watching our first-ever video release on the same.

SEEDS, more sewn in busy spring

Wednesday, May 16th, 2018

Diversity is key to experiencing this wide world through film. Witness it through our previews of SEEDS, UNDERGROUND SOUND, THE ART OF SITTING QUIETLY AND DOING NOTHING, and – yes – TURKISH STAR WARS!

CA 2017 crosses 2018 threshold

Sunday, December 31st, 2017

Beautiful in their low-gloss execution, the animated shorts CASTLE ASSHOLE 2017 and THE CROSSING bridge time frames in both a filmmaker’s growth and the Champaign-Urbana film scene’s evolution.