Calendar: July 21-27, 2023
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!
7/21: Shawnee E. Tefteller (owner, Shawnee Studios: Model & Talent Management/Casting, Mt. Olive, IL)
FIELD REPORT DU HQ | From Wherever It May Be Said
For this week’s Report, we ask you to consider contributing to your friendly neighborhood filmmakers, culture cultivators, and movie house revivals. We have suggestions for you, of course! Our ambitious friend Keenan E. Dailey, a Peoria native who settled in Champaign after earning his masters in graphic design at the University of Illinois, is taking his multimedia studio Visage Entertainment to the next level by co-producing a social issue and race relations drama called SEE NO EVIL. You can track their progress on Facebook and support their work on Patreon. And then, organizer Brian L. Ward of the upcoming “diet edition” of Dark History and Horror Convention, set for Saturday, September 9, at the newly christened Orpheum Champaign in downtown Champaign, is in need of financial help to ensure his show goes on as planned. The GoFundMe campaign is one-quarter of the way to a $5,000 goal and the fine folks at Severin Films will donate their portion of ticket sales from their double feature of CATHY’S CURSE and BURIAL GROUND at the Normal Theater in Normal on Tuesday, August 15, as announced by series host Dr. Eric Wesselmann on the Workshop Films Collective group at Facebook.
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Out of this world is the recent reveal by publicist and producer Ann Myrna that Acrostar Films will alight on central Illinois next month to film a sequel to last year’s UFO sci-fi lark, IT CAME FROM SOMEWHERE, titled THEY CAME BACK FROM SOMEWHERE. Be assimilated into the growing fan base of the genre-friendly “Acrostar Family” and kick in some Earth dollars here on Indiegogo before they infiltrate Farmer City for the second time in two years with poodle skirts and space gun fun! More down to earth by far is the feature JIMMY IN SAIGON from director Peter McDowell, a native of Champaign and a professional arts publicist and fundraising consultant, whose older brother Jimmy lived and passed under mysterious circumstances after serving in the military during the Vietnam War. A document of McDowell following the very faint trail left by Jimmy decades ago, SAIGON has earned awards and accolades during its festival run and producers are now looking to cover the cost of worldwide music rights for the soundtrack. Please visit the project page at Film Independent to contribute to the minimum $10,000 it requires.
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In reference to our previous mention of The Orpheum Champaign, which along with The Venue CU has transformed the former Illini and Orpheum theater sites into “destination event” spaces for weddings and the like, we share news of two other nearby vintage houses that hopefully will stay truer to their roots. The Daily News of Effingham ran an article last month about the Heart Theatre, which has not been reliably open to the public in close to 20 years, receiving a “National Register of Historic Places” designation due to the efforts of owner Amy Van Bergen and local volunteers who will fundraise to convert it into a nonprofit performance venue. Those in favor of aiding the Heart in restoring luster to the Courthouse Square should visit this web page for more information. Tom Kacich’s recent feature article in the News-Gazette, by contrast, talks of the unused Will Rogers Theatre in Charleston and its unknown fate given the slow progress that has happened in the fundraising efforts by its owner, Ottawa real estate agent Kathryn Troccoli; the piece and her website will give you an idea of the music-centric plans for it.
CONFIDENTIAL ALMANAC | Dates in Film Culture History
100 Years Ago … July 23, 1923: One of the earliest narrative films of scope made in Champaign County, THE CITY BEYOND, receives a world premiere at the Virginia Theatre in Champaign, IL, where it is paired with the First National Pictures release of PENROD AND SAM. Based on an idea formulated by the owners of the Virginia and the News-Gazette, it is a relationship story spiced with aerial derring-do that is intended to “be a real picture of heart interest, produced by local stars with local settings” as proposed by the newspaper in their June 17 edition. Other articles have not been shy about admitting that its primary purpose is to creatively show off Champaign-Urbana in the best light. Prominent faces appearing on the silver screen at 203 W. Park Avenue include Ruth Honn and Frank Robeson, Jr., of Champaign as well as Elizabeth Boggs Bartling of Chicago, while such locations as West Side Park, the Champaign County Country Club, Chanute Air Force Base in Rantoul, and the Virginia itself can easily be identified in certain scenes. J. Law Siple, a Chicago entrepreneur and veteran producer of agricultural promotional reels, directed THE CITY BEYOND under the watchful eyes of News-Gazette advertising manager E.C. Bleau and photographer Howard F. Duncan; they began production little more than a month ago, believe it or not! The picture would attract hundreds of area residents between its first showing on Monday, July 23, and last on Wednesday, July 25, before the News-Gazette took possession of the print for storage. It is considered lost today. Siple continued to make similar community melodramas-for-hire, such as an alternate version of THE CITY BEYOND in Decatur later the same year and an Army-themed tale called THE SKY TRAILER that debuted in suburban Dolton, IL, in March 1924. [R]
LOCAL FILMS & EVENTS | Support Your Media Storytellers
@ Lincoln Square Mall (starting point), Urbana, IL
Champaign Movie Makers* 48 Hour Film Contest (7/23-7/25)
NOW PLAYING | Champaign-Urbana Area
@ AMC Champaign 13, Champaign, IL
BARBIE, OPPENHEIMER, ELEMENTAL (animation), INDIANA JONES AND THE DIAL OF DESTINY, INSIDIOUS: THE RED DOOR, MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE – DEAD RECKONING, PART ONE, NO HARD FEELINGS, SOUND OF FREEDOM, SPIDER-MAN: ACROSS THE SPIDER-VERSE (animation) (7/21 on), RUBY GILLMAN – TEENAGE KRAKEN (animation) (7/22, 7/26, 9:15 a.m., sensory friendly), THE SECRET LIFE OF PETS (7/22, 7/26, 12 p.m.), TERRIFIER (7/24, 8 p.m.), THE FIRST SLAM DUNK (animé), HAUNTED MANSION, TALK TO ME (7/27 on)
@ Phoenix Savoy 16 + IMAX, Savoy, IL
BARBIE, OPPENHEIMER, ASTEROID CITY, ELEMENTAL (animation), INDIANA JONES AND THE DIAL OF DESTINY, INSIDIOUS: THE RED DOOR, THE LITTLE MERMAID, MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE – DEAD RECKONING, PART ONE, NO HARD FEELINGS, SOUND OF FREEDOM, SPIDER-MAN: ACROSS THE SPIDER-VERSE (animation) (7/21 on), FRIDAY THE 13th (1980) (7/23, 3 & 7 p.m.; 7/26, 7 p.m.), The Metropolitan Opera: Philip Glass’ Akhnaten (7/26, 1 & 6:30 p.m., recorded 2019), HAUNTED MANSION (7/27 on)
@ Main Quad, Illini Union, UIUC, Urbana, IL
Illini Union Board presents “Summer Films on the Quad” feat. AIR (7/27, 9 p.m., free)
@ Redbox, Champaign-Urbana, IL
KANDAHAR, more! (7/18 on) Online rentals
@ The Virginia Theatre, Champaign, IL
No movies this week!
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
@ The Avon Theater, Decatur, IL
BARBIE, OPPENHEIMER, MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE – DEAD RECKONING, PART ONE (7/20-7/23)
@ The Fischer Theatre, Danville, IL
No movies this week!
@ The Harvest Moon Twin Drive-in, Gibson City, IL
BARBIE (Screen 1), MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE – DEAD RECKONING, PART ONE (Screen 2) (7/21-7/22), BARBIE (Screen 1), TRANSFORMERS: RISE OF THE BEASTS (Screen 2) (7/23-7/26), BARBIE (Screen 1), HAUNTED MANSION (Screen 2) (7/27)
@ The Little Lorraine, Hoopeston, IL
JURASSIC PARK 30th anniversary party – pizza & movie (7/21, 6:30 p.m., sold out)
@ The Normal Theater, Normal, IL
DEMOLITION MAN (7/21-7/23), LAST ACTION HERO (7/22-7/23), FROZEN (animation) (7/24, 7/26), ZIGGY STARDUST AND THE SPIDERS FROM MARS: THE MOTION PICTURE (concert film) (7/27)
@ The Onarga Theatre, Onarga, IL
BARBIE (7/21-7/23)
@ The Princess Theatre, Leroy, IL
ASTEROID CITY (7/21-7/23)
@ The Route 66 Drive-in Theater, Springfield, IL
BARBIE, INDIANA JONES AND THE DIAL OF DESTINY (Screen 1), MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE – DEAD RECKONING, SOUND OF FREEDOM (Screen 2) (7/21-7/23, 7/26-7/27)
NOW PLAYING | Midwest
For detailed and curated listings of Chicago-area film presentations and related events, please visit the fine folks at Cine-File and subscribe to their definitive “Cine-List” weekly blast.
COMING SOON | Area-wide Events
7/28
Champaign Movie Makers* 48 Hour Film Fest
@ Phoenix Savoy 16 + IMAX, Savoy, IL, 8:30 p.m.
7/28
DVD/streaming release: YOU’RE OUT!*
+ Gravitas Ventures, Cleveland, OH
8/9
HUNTING FOR THE HAG* screening
@ Music Box Theatre, Chicago, IL, 7 p.m.
8/10
Illini Radio Group presents “Rewind 92.5 Movie Series” feat. FINAL SUMMER*
@ The Virginia Theatre, Champaign, IL, 7 p.m.
8/19
DESPERATE SOULS* downstate premiere
@ The Princess Theater, LeRoy, IL, time TBD
8/19
FIELDS OF GOLD* world premiere
@ Fine Arts Theatre, Beverly Hills, CA, 7 p.m. PST
9/9
Dark History and Horror Convention
@ The Orpheum Theater, Champaign, IL, 11 a.m.-8 p.m.
NEW! 9/12
Streaming release: FINAL SUMMER*
+ Cardinal XD, Burbank, CA
9/13-9/17
30th Chicago Underground Film Festival, Chicago, IL
9/16
FIELDS OF GOLD* Midwest premiere
@ Lincoln Square Theatre, Decatur, IL, 7 p.m.
9/21-10/8
41st Reeling: The Chicago LGBTQ+ International Film Festival, Chicago, IL
9/23
Route 66 Film Festival presents “Get Your Flicks on Route 66” showcase
@ Hoogland Center for the Arts, Springfield, IL, 10 a.m.-5 p.m., free
9/26
DVD release: GEORGE HARRISON: A BEATLE IN BENTON, ILLINOIS* 60th anniversary edition
+ MVD Visual, Pottstown, PA
10/5-10/15
32nd Heartland International Film Festival, Indianapolis, IN
10/2
SPIDER-MAN: INTO THE SPIDER-VERSE Live in Concert
@ State Farm Center, UIUC, Urbana, IL, 7 p.m.
10/11-10/22
59th Chicago International Film Festival, Chicago, IL
10/28
Small Press Fest 2023
@ Lincoln Square Mall, Urbana, IL, 11 a.m.-4 p.m.
11/3-11/3
22nd Route 66 Film Festival, Springfield, IL (virtual)
11/9-11/19
32nd Whitaker St Louis International Film Festival, St. Louis, MO
12/2
Krampusnacht Freeky Film Festival*
@ Phoenix Savoy 16 + IMAX, Savoy, IL
COMMUNITY & CAMPUS SERIES | Champaign-Urbana area
“The Arthouse Experience Film Series” curated by Sanford Hess and sponsored by Illinois Public Media
@ The Virginia Theatre, Champaign, IL, 7 p.m.
8/11: THE DUKE
Champaign Park District presents “Thursday Night Flix”
@ various venues, dusk, free admission
8/3: BACK TO THE FUTURE @ Toalson Park; 8/10: TBA @ Champaign Fire Station 3, 702 Bradley Ave.
Illini Radio Group presents “Rewind 92.5 Movie Series”/“Mix 94.5 Throwback Thursdays”*
@ The Virginia Theatre, Champaign, IL, 7 p.m.
8/10: FINAL SUMMER*
Illini Union Board presents “Summer Films on the Quad”
@ Main Quad, Illini Union, UIUC, Urbana, IL, 9 p.m. Thursdays, free
8/3: FAST X; 8/10: THE LITTLE MERMAID
The News-Gazette Film Series
@ The Virginia Theatre, Champaign, IL, 1 & 7 p.m.
8/12: ONCE UPON A TIME IN THE WEST
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Compiled by Jason Pankoke.
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