Calendar: December 22-28, 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!
12/25: Shea Kelly (producer/host, FILMWAR! YouTube channel, A Thousand Yard Stare Productions, Decatur, IL)
FIELD REPORT DU HQ | From Wherever It May Be Said
We’ve decided to remain studious for one more week and fill today’s Report with musings about alumni from downstate Illinois colleges whom we’ve recently seen referenced. Last month on an episode of the SATURDAY MORNING news magazine, aired by CBS-TV, author and ScreenCrush editor Matt Singer was interviewed about his new book on the professional and personal relationship between Roger Ebert and Gene Siskel, Opposable Thumbs, published in October by G. P. Putnam’s Sons; segment host Dana Jacobson visited with Singer in Chicago about the late film critics and their undeniable influence on pop culture media that arguably persists to this day. And last week, Liam Gaughan of Collider filed a top-ten listicle that suggests the best screen roles of Richard Jenkins, the well-respected actor often cited by reviewers and journalists as a most valuable player in ensemble casts; Oscar-nominated for his lead performance in THE VISITORS from 2008 as well as his supporting role in THE SHAPE OF WATER from 2017, Jenkins is probably the highest-profile graduate of Illinois Wesleyan University in the film business other than Bill Damaschke, who accepted a top position at Warner Bros. over the summer after a long career with DreamWorks Animation. Ye Ed will never reach these heights as a fellow IWU Titan.
Also last week, Mr. JaPan looked at the website for Michael Wiese Productions to see if they had posted anything in regards to founder Michael Wiese, who passed away in March due to complications from Parkinson’s disease; loving words for the Urbana native, University of Illinois alumnus, student contemporary of Ebert, and film producer are offered in his memory by Ken Lee, Alexander Ward, and Geraldine Overton, Wiese’s wife, who will be stewards of the MWP and Divine Arts imprints as the company moves onward and upward. And, just last night, CUBlog friend Jenny Southlynn shared on the socials that UI graduate, Sioux Nation artist and educator, and Native American activist Charlene Teters will be returning to campus on March 21 in the new year for an award ceremony at Temple Buell Hall and a reception at the Link Gallery, both hosted by the School of Art & Design; her efforts to publicly counter the fictional narrative cast over Champaign-Urbana by the former UI sports mascot, a composite Indian persona used for surface-level pageantry and merchandising, were chronicled in the 1998 documentary IN WHOSE HONOR? directed by the now-retired UI professor Jay Rosenstein. His film’s needful look at all sides of the representation issue is still relevant, even as the good fight draws ever so slowly to a conclusion, and Teters’ lecture on the 21st is certain to speak volumes on all fronts. Listen to them.
LOCAL FILMS & EVENTS | Support Your Media Storytellers
BLACK MOLD* U.S. Streaming Release: Thursday, December 7, exclusively on Tubi via Raven Banner Entertainment, Toronto, ON/The Line Film Company-Shatterglass Films-Head Trauma Productions, Rantoul/Champaign/Chicago, IL-Oshkosh, WI
@ The Lincoln Square Theatre, Decatur, IL
FIELDS OF GOLD* exclusive run (documentary) (12/26, 3 p.m.)
NOW PLAYING | Champaign-Urbana Area
@ AMC Champaign 13, Champaign, IL
ANYONE BUT YOU, AQUAMAN AND THE LOST KINGDOM, THE IRON CLAW, MIGRATION, POOR THINGS, SALAAR PART 1: CEASEFIRE (in Hindi or Telugu with English sub), THE BOY AND THE HERON (animé) (in Japanese with English sub or English dub), GODZILLA MINUS ONE (in Japanese with English sub), THE HUNGER GAMES: THE BALLAD OF SONGBIRDS & SNAKES, TROLLS BAND TOGETHER (animation), WONKA (12/22 on), THE BOYS IN THE BOAT (12/24 on), THE COLOR PURPLE, FERRARI (12/25 on),
@ Phoenix Savoy 16 + IMAX, Savoy, IL
ANYONE BUT YOU, AQUAMAN AND THE LOST KINGDOM, THE IRON CLAW, MIGRATION, POOR THINGS, THE BOY AND THE HERON (animé) (in Japanese with English sub or English dub), GODZILLA MINUS ONE (in Japanese with English sub), THE HUNGER GAMES: THE BALLAD OF SONGBIRDS & SNAKES, NAPOLEON, SALTBURN, TROLLS BAND TOGETHER (animation), WISH (12/22 on), IT’S A WONDERFUL LIFE (12/24, 1, 4 & 7 p.m.), THE BOYS IN THE BOAT, FERRARI (12/24 on), THE COLOR PURPLE (12/25 on)
@ Redbox (streaming), Champaign-Urbana, IL
AMERICA IS SINKING, FAST CHARLIE, LIZARD PEOPLE (kiosk), more! (12/19 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
AQUAMAN AND THE LOST KINGDOM, MIGRATION, WONKA (12/21-12/24)
@ The Fischer Theatre, Danville, IL
IT’S A WONDERFUL LIFE (12/22, 7 p.m.; 12/23, 2 & 7 p.m.)
@ The Little Lorraine, Hoopeston, IL
Private parties and events
@ The Normal Theater, Normal, IL
HOME ALONE, THE MUPPET CHRISTMAS CAROL, SILENT NIGHT DEADLY NIGHT (12/22), NATIONAL LAMPOON’S CHRISTMAS VACATION (12/22, 12/24), ELF, DIE HARD (12/23), IT’S A WONDERFUL LIFE, WHITE CHRISTMAS (12/23-12/24)
@ The Onarga Theatre, Onarga, IL
MIGRATION (12/21-12/24)
@ The Princess Theatre, Leroy, IL
WISH (12/22-12/24)
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
3/2/24
CU International Film Festival*
@ Spurlock Museum of World Cultures, UIUC, Urbana, IL
4/4-4/11/24
26th annual Wisconsin Film Festival, Madison, WI
4/4-4/14/24
34th Onion City Experimental Film Festival, Chicago, IL
4/17-4/20/24
24th Roger Ebert’s Film Festival*
@ The Virginia Theatre, Champaign, IL
COMMUNITY & CAMPUS SERIES | Champaign-Urbana area
NEW! Illini Radio Group presents “Rewind 92.5 Movie Series”/“Mix 94.5 Throwback Thursdays”*
@ The Virginia Theatre, Champaign, IL, 7 p.m.
1/18: RETURN OF THE JEDI; 2/8: THE BLUES BROTHERS; 3/21: E.T. THE EXTRA-TERRESTRIAL; 4/25: PITCH PERFECT*; 5/23: FAME (1980); 6/27: HARRY POTTER AND THE SORCERER’S STONE*; 7/11: GREASE “sing-a-long” edition
NEW! Illinois Public Media presents “The Arthouse Experience Film Series”
@ The Virginia Theatre, Champaign, IL, 7 p.m.
1/19: PASSING; 2/16: GOSPEL: WHERE SONG AND SERMON MEET excerpt w/discussion; 5/24: FREE SOLO; 7/19: STOP MAKING SENSE
NEW! Illini Union Board presents “Spring 2024 Weekend Films”
@ Pine Lounge, 1st floor, Illini Union, UIUC, Urbana, IL, 7 p.m. Fri. & Sat, free w/i-card
1/19-1/20: DICKS: THE MUSICAL; 1/26-1/27: DUMB MONEY; 2/2-2/3: WISH; 2/9-2/10: FIVE NIGHTS AT FREDDY’S; 2/16-2/17: THE HUNGER GAMES: THE BALLAD OF SONGBIRDS & SNAKES; 2/23-2/24: THE MARVELS; 3/1-3/2: TROLLS BAND TOGETHER; 3/8-3/9: AMERICAN FICTION; 3/15-3/16: AQUAMAN AND THE LOST KINGDOM; 3/22-3/23: ANYONE BUT YOU; 3/29-3/30: THE COLOR PURPLE; 4/5-4/6: FERRARI; 4/12-4/13: THE BOYS IN THE BOAT; 4/19-4/20: WONKA; 4/26-4/27: THE BOOK OF CLARENCE; 5/3-5/4: THE IRON CLAW
NEW! The News-Gazette Film Series
@ The Virginia Theatre, Champaign, IL, 1 & 7 p.m.
1/20: THE WIZARD OF OZ; 2/10: SINGIN’ IN THE RAIN; 4/13: THE THIRD MAN
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Compiled by Jason Pankoke.
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“Calendar du C-U”
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