Calendar: Dec. 28 ’18-Jan. 3 ’19
Our movie and media Calendar appears every Friday/Saturday on C-U Blogfidential and caters to the downstate region anchored by Champaign-Urbana, Illinois, USA.
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MILESTONES | Happy Birthday to You!
12/29: Patricia Pankoke Pellow (matron saint to our arts, C-U Confidential)
12/30: Jason Pankoke (cash-strapped patron to our arts, C-U Confidential)
12/30: Paul Benson (crew, EMPOWERED, MAGNETIC FIELDS)
12/31: Leigh Kaiser (producer, Looming Castle Productions)
CONFIDENTIAL ALMANAC | Dates in Film Culture History
40 Years Ago … December 2-6, 1978: A pair of boxing matches are staged for camera by the television unit of Paramount Pictures on the University of Illinois campus for the “telefilm,” FLESH AND BLOOD. According to several recent articles in the Urbana Courier, these scenes will depict fights at venues in Las Vegas and New York City while featuring several well-known actors including Suzanne Pleshette (THE BOB NEWHART SHOW), John Cassavetes (MIKEY AND NICKY), and Tom Berenger (LOOKING FOR MR. GOODBAR). Hundreds of extras have been hired by a local employment agency to fill portions of Assembly Hall, outfitted by the production’s art department with a newly-installed ring, and take their seats between Monday, December 4, and Wednesday, December 6, as set decorators redress the space to resemble either the Las Vegas Convention Center or Madison Square Garden. (Vol. 99 No. 340, December 5, 1978, p.1, 3) The brief stop in south Champaign follows major on-site shoots in Chicago and other suburban cities by Paramount and veteran small-screen actor/director Jud Taylor, a regional shift from the main Brooklyn locale of the source novel by prolific journalist Pete Hamill. Student writers Sue Geraci and Janine Toman would recount their visit in the UIUC Illio yearbook, painting a picture of a worn-out company who faced challenges getting themselves and their gear downstate that possibly contributed to a hectic experience. (“Movie Greats,” Vol. 86, summer 1979, p.124) FLESH AND BLOOD eventually aired in two parts as a CBS-TV “movie spectacular” on October 14 and 16, 1979, critically acclaimed for its gritty air – Academy Award nominee Vilmos Zsigmond (THE DEER HUNTER) photographed the story – and lauded for depicting a complicated triangle between wounded human beings: the nascent con-turned-boxer Bobby Fallon (Berenger), his emotionally needful mother Kate (Pleshette), and his absentee father Jack (Mitchell Ryan) who makes an ill-timed return during Fallon’s rise on the circuit. Denzel Washington (CRY FREEDOM) and Kristin Griffith (INTERIORS) appear in early roles as Bobby’s best friend and love interest, respectively.
NOW PLAYING | Champaign-Urbana Area
@ The Art Theater, Champaign, IL
MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS (12/28 on), ANNA AND THE APOCALYPSE (12/28-12/29, 1/3, 9:30 p.m.)
@ AMC Champaign 13, Champaign, IL
HOLMES & WATSON, SIMMBA, VICE, AQUAMAN, BUMBLEBEE, THE GRINCH, INSTANT FAMILY, MARY POPPINS RETURNS, MORTAL ENGINES, THE MULE, RALPH BREAKS THE INTERNET, SECOND ACT, SPIDER-MAN: INTO THE SPIDER-VERSE, WELCOME TO MARWEN, ZERO (12/28 on)
@ Family Video, Champaign-Urbana, IL
WHITE BOY RICK, SUPPORT THE GIRLS, THE SOUND AND THE FURY, ‘TIL DEATH DO US PART, GAVELSTON, I STILL SEE YOU, THE SUPER, HOUSE OF WAR, RIVER RUNS RED, more! (12/24 on)
@ Goodrich Savoy 16, Savoy, IL
HOLMES & WATSON, VICE, AQUAMAN, BUMBLEBEE, THE FAVOURITE, GREEN BOOK, THE GRINCH, MARY POPPINS RETURNS, MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS, MORTAL ENGINES, THE MULE, RALPH BREAKS THE INTERNET, SECOND ACT, SPIDER-MAN: INTO THE SPIDER-VERSE, WELCOME TO MARWEN (12/28 on), DIE HARD (12/30, 1/2), Rachel Hollis presents “Made for More” (1/3, 7:30 p.m.)
Events featuring locally produced movies are marked with an asterisk (*). Additional “Now Playing” and “Coming Soon” listings appear after the jump!
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NOW PLAYING | The Cities Beyond
@ AMC Classic Village Mall 6, Danville, IL
HOLMES & WATSON, AQUAMAN, BUMBLEBEE, THE GRINCH, MARY POPPINS RETURNS, MORTAL ENGINES, SPIDER-MAN: INTO THE SPIDER-VERSE (12/28 on)
@ The Avon Theater, Decatur, IL
VICE, AQUAMAN, MARY POPPINS RETURNS (12/28 on)
@ The Lincoln Family Theater & Community Center, Lincoln, IL
HOLMES & WATSON, AQUAMAN, BUMBLEBEE, MARY POPPINS RETURNS, MORTAL ENGINES, , THE MULE, RALPH BREAKS THE INTERNET, SECOND ACT, SPIDER-MAN: INTO THE SPIDER-VERSE (12/28 on), I’M NOT ASHAMED (12/28-1/3, daily show, free)
@ The Little Lorraine, Hoopeston, IL
NATIONAL LAMPOON’S CHRISTMAS VACATION (12/28, 7 p.m.)
@ The Normal Theater, Normal, IL
SHOPLIFTERS (12/28, 12/30, 1/3), THE APARTMENT (12/29-12/30)
@ The Onarga Theatre, Onarga, IL
MARY POPPINS RETURNS (12/28-12/30, 1/2)
@ The Princess Theatre, Leroy, IL
RALPH BREAKS THE INTERNET (12/28-12/30)
COMING SOON | Area-wide Events
3/21-3/24, 2019
29th Onion City Experimental Film and Video Festival, Chicago, IL
4/4-4/11, 2019
21st Wisconsin Film Festival, Madison, WI
4/10-4/14, 2019
21st Roger Ebert’s Film Festival
@ The Virginia Theatre, Champaign, IL
NEW! 4/25-4/28, 2019
6th Milwaukee Underground Film Festival, Milwaukee, WI
NEW! 6/6-6/10, 2019
25th Chicago Underground Film Festival, Chicago, IL
COMMUNITY & CAMPUS SERIES | Champaign-Urbana area
The News-Gazette Film Series
@ The Virginia Theatre, Champaign, IL, 1 & 7 p.m.
1/12/19: CHARADE; 2/9/19: TOP HAT; 3/9/19: GASLIGHT; 4/6/19: METROPOLIS; 5/25/19: THE THIN MAN; 6/22/19: ON THE WATERFRONT; 7/13: STAGE DOOR
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Compiled by Jason Pankoke.
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“Calendar du C-U”
© 2018 Jason Pankoke/C-U Blogfidential