Calendar: November 8-14, 2024
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.
~~~~~
MILESTONES | Happy Birthday to You!
11/10: Andrew Nygard (filmmaker, PIG OF JUSTICE AND THE UNBELIEVABLE ROBOTS, Pens to Lens 2024, Champaign-Urbana, IL)
11/10: Andrew Stengele (filmmaker, THE WRONG THAT MADE THINGS MORE RIGHT, Pens to Lens 2024, Champaign-Urbana, IL)
11/14: Ross Snyder (co-owner, Saturn’s Core Audio & Video, Bloomingdale, NJ)
FIELD REPORT DU HQ | From Wherever It May Be Said
It’s a folksy refrain that I’ve heard direct from the source a good number of times now. “Just another day,” says the cashier to Ye Ed at one of the gas stations out by the highway. If ever there was a small-town-livin’ mantra, that’s it. No matter our station in life at the present – where we reside, what we do, who we love and commiserate with, how we feel, why we keep hanging on – we’ll always have another day to look forward to. It can be a gift, even in the seemingly shittiest of times, based on what you, me, or we end up doing with it. Take care of yourselves and don’t give up. Always easier said than done. Always.
To that end … just another day, just another Report for you, dearest readers, revelers, and recoilers.
~~~~~
~~~~~
Two of the local indie horror groups that we keep coming back to because they keep on screaming down the finish line fast with their respective projects are now campaigning for funds to help afford upcoming filmed frights. Acrostar Productions is deep in post on RETURN OF THE CORN ZOMBIES, putting the final touches on NIGHT OF THE DEAD SORORITY BABES for their distributor, BayView Entertainment, and in full swing on Indiegogo with 23 days left to raise preproduction seed money for PERFECT SOUL; the supernatural thriller about one woman’s shaken faith, based on the book by Acro-head S. J. Hermann, is scheduled to be filmed in early 2025. Also howling for help are the creators of THE FAIRFIELD COUNTY FOUR, a found-footage drama pitting a team of cryptid vloggers against a werewolf in the Connecticut woods, which has its own Indiegogo in effect for the next 22 days to raise starting funds; set to be shot on location in April, FAIRFIELD will be directed by Joshua Brucker for his own labels, Gray Sky Pictures and Horror Dadz Productions, as well as Eye4Eye Productions of Georgia. His previous outings in the first-person vein are MOTHMAN, SPLIT SCREEN, and THE WOODMEN.
~~~~~
~~~~~
Two other locally-filmed indies are making their whereabouts known this month. A year after staging a red-carpet premiere for the comedy IRRESPONSIBULL at the Virginia Theatre, the folks at NorthEnd Empire LLC are back with another “home talent” romp in THE L.A.F. KIDS, which will world premiere in style at the Fischer Theatre in downtown Danville on Saturday, November 30, 6 p.m. There is a link for ticket sales and a trailer available at the NorthEnd Facebook account; directed by IRRESPONSIBULL’s Nate L. Morris, the self-described family film stars Brian Yarbrough, Chuck Gibson, Marissa Curry, Holden Hightower, Na’Vaiya Lewis, Adila Taylor, and Naijier Morris in a tale involving nefarious-looking men in black and kidnapping – hence, the “lost and found kids” of the title. Also, at long last, Champaign-Urbana will finally get a first look at the realist drama DEATH ON THE STREETS, filmed partly in the county and partly along the New Jersey coast a few years ago, when director Johan Carlsen and producer Micah Magee present it at 2 p.m. on this Sunday, November 10, at the Phoenix Savoy 16 + IMAX in Savoy. Described as “a nature film from the agrarian democracy of America,” the piece stars Zach Mulligan and Katie Folger and has been all but AWOL since its brief international festival play in 2020 and 2021.
In closing, we congratulate a long-time contributor to our film scene, Andrew Stengele, on accepting the reigns to Champaign Movie Makers from Thomas Nicol, becoming only the third person to run the social and networking group in its 16-year history starting with CMM founder Johnny Robinson. Their next meeting is on the calendar for Monday, November 18, 7 p.m., at the Esquire Lounge in downtown Champaign, so be sure to cry a tear in your beer for ol’ Mr. JaPan since he won’t be there, remind DEATH ON THE STREETS background extra Michael Fuerst that he’s sitting in my seat again, and ask bartender Shelley about WEREWOLF CEMETERY. Awoo!
CONFIDENTIAL ALMANAC | Dates in Film Culture History
25 Years Ago … Sunday, November 8, 1999: PBS affiliates premiere the hour-long television special TRANSISTORIZED!, which dramatizes the creation of the solid-state electrical component that would replace the vacuum tube and make possible much of the consumer technology we use to this day. Archive materials, reenactments, and narration by host and cowriter Ira Flatow (NEWTON’S APPLE) recall the many months of trial and error that physicists Walter Brattain, John Bardeen, and William Shockley went through that led up to December 23, 1947, the day Brattain invented a “triangle” of plastic, germanium, and gold foil based on Bardeen’s ideas that successfully amplified currents. Shockley, a supervisor for the project at the Bell Telephone Laboratories in New Jersey who was not present during the discovery, improved on their design independently from the entire team in an effort to control how this potential breakthrough would be credited in the future. Bardeen left Bell Labs in 1951 thanks to Shockley’s micromanagement streak and joined the faculty of the physics and electrical engineering departments at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where he taught until 1975 and continued to research and publish until his death in 1991. Despite a falling out between the three primary researchers as coworkers, they celebrated together in 1956 as laureates after accepting the Nobel Prize for physics in Stockholm, Sweden, in honor of their achievements with superconductivity. Colleagues from Illinois who appear in interview segments include the physicists Frederick Seitz and Nick Holonyak, Jr., and historians Charles C. Stewart and Lillian Hoddeson. Richard O’Rourke plays Bardeen in the flashback scenes of TRANSISTORIZED!, which was directed by Gary Glassman for KTCA-TV and ScienCentral, Inc., in association with Boston Science Communications. [R]
LOCAL FILMS & EVENTS | Support Your Media Storytellers
@ Phoenix Savoy 16 + IMAX, Savoy, IL
Makrorama presents DEATH ON THE STREETS* local preview (11/10, 2 p.m., free)
@ Lincoln Hall, UIUC, Urbana, IL
Illini Film & Video* meeting (11/11, 7 p.m., Room 1002)
NOW PLAYING | Champaign-Urbana Area
@ AMC Champaign 13, Champaign, IL
ANORA, THE BEST CHRISTMAS PAGEANT EVER (faith film), CESIUM FALLOUT (in Cantonese with English sub), ELEVATION, HERETIC, MEANWHILE ON EARTH, MEMOIR OF A SNAIL (animation), SMALL THINGS LIKE THESE*, BHOOL BHULAIYAA 3* (in Hindi with English sub), CONCLAVE, HERE, SINGHAM AGAIN (in Hindi with English sub), SMILE 2, VENOM: THE LAST DANCE, WE LIVE IN TIME, THE WILD ROBOT (animation) (11/8 on), RED ONE sneak preview (11/10, 4 p.m.), AMC “Screen Unseen” (mystery movie) (11/11, 7 p.m.), KANGUVA* (in Tamil with English sub) (11/13 on), RED ONE (11/14 on) *single screenings daily
@ Phoenix Savoy 16 + IMAX, Savoy, IL
“Andrea Bocelli 30: The Celebration” (concert special), ANORA, THE BEST CHRISTMAS PAGEANT EVER (faith film), ELEVATION, HERETIC, SMALL THINGS LIKE THESE, WEEKEND IN TAIPEI, BEETLEJUICE BEETLEJUICE, CONCLAVE, HERE, HITPIG! (animation), SMILE 2, TERRIFIER 3, VENOM: THE LAST DANCE, WE LIVE IN TIME, THE WILD ROBOT (animation) (11/8 on), ABSOLUTION* (11/8, 11/11-11/14), The Royal Ballet: Swan Lake (11/8, 5 p.m.; 11/9, 2:30 p.m.; 11/10, 1:30 & 7 p.m.; IMAX), THE SUBSTANCE (11/9-11/14), PULP FICTION (11/10, 3 & 7 p.m.; 11/13, 7 p.m.), RED ONE sneak preview (11/10, 4 p.m.), DRAGON BALL DAIMA (animé) (11/10, 11/12, 7 p.m., English dub; 11/11, 7 p.m., in Japanese with English dub), RADIATING JOY: THE MICHELLE DUPPONG STORY (religious documentary) (11/12, 4 & 7 p.m.), RED ONE (11/14 on) *single screenings daily
@ Knight Auditorium, Spurlock Center for World Cultures, UIUC, Urbana, IL
Roger Ebert Center for Film Studies* presents ALIEN: ROMULUS (11/14, 7 p.m., free)
@ Pine Lounge, 1st floor, Illini Union, UIUC, Urbana, IL
Illini Union Board presents IT ENDS WITH US (11/8-11/9, 7 p.m., free w/i-card)
@ 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!
~~~~~
NOW PLAYING | The Cities Beyond
@ The Avon Theater, Decatur, IL
GOODRICH, TITANIC (3-D), THE WILD ROBOT (11/8-11/10)
@ Clintonia Eagle Theater, Clinton, IL
THE BEST CHRISTMAS PAGEANT EVER (faith film), THE CARPENTER (faith film), HITPIG! (animation), SMILE 2, VENOM: THE LAST DANCE (11/8 on)
@ Crescent Cinemas, Pontiac, IL
Closed for the week.
@ The Fischer Theatre, Danville, IL
THE SANTA CLAUSE (11/9, 2 p.m.)
@ Marcus Bloomington Cinema + IMAX, Bloomington, IL
“Andrea Bocelli 30: The Celebration”* (concert special), ANORA, THE BEST CHRISTMAS PAGEANT EVER (faith film), ELEVATION, HERETIC, OVERLORD: THE SACRED KINGDOM (animé) (Japanese w/Eng dub or Eng sub), SMALL THINGS LIKE THESE*, WEEKEND IN TAIPEI, BEETLEJUICE BEETLEJUICE, CONCLAVE, HERE, SMILE 2, VENOM: THE LAST DANCE, WE LIVE IN TIME, THE WILD ROBOT (animation) (11/8 on), Indian cinema: DHOOM DHAAM* (11/8-11/10, 11/12-11/13, Telugu w/Eng sub), APPUDO IPPUDO EPPUDO* (11/8-11/12, Telugu w/Eng sub), KA* (11/8-11/9, 11/11-11/12, Telugu w/Eng sub), and LUCKY BASKHAR* (11/8-11/10, 11/12, Telugu w/Eng sub), The Royal Ballet: Swan Lake (11/8, 5:30 p.m.; 11/9, 2:30 p.m.; 11/10, 1 & 7:30 p.m.; IMAX), RED ONE sneak preview (11/10, 4 & 4:30 p.m.), DRAGON BALL DAIMA (animé) (11/10, 11/11, 6:30 p.m., English dub), RADIATING JOY: THE MICHELLE DUPPONG STORY (religious documentary) (11/12, 7 p.m.), A24 x IMAX present THE LIGHTHOUSE (11/13, 7 p.m., IMAX), KANGUVA (Tamil or Telugu w/Eng sub) (11/13 on), GHOST CAT ANZU (animé) (in Japanese with English sub or English dub), RED ONE (11/14 on) *single screenings daily
@ The Normal Theater, Normal, IL
THE FALLING STAR (11/8-11/10), INDIA 42: A PEACE CORPS STORY w/panel discussion (documentary) (11/11, 7 p.m., free), ALMOST FAMOUS (11/12), MY NAME IS ALFRED HITCHCOCK (documentary) (11/14)
@ The Onarga Theatre, Onarga, IL
Closed until November.
@ The Princess Theatre, Leroy, IL
THE WILD ROBOT (animation) (11/8-11/10)
@ VIP Lincoln Grand 6, Lincoln, IL
THE BEST CHRISTMAS PAGEANT EVER (faith film), HERETIC, HERE, SMILE 2, TERRIFIER 3, VENOM: THE LAST DANCE, THE WILD ROBOT (animation) (11/8 on)
NOW PLAYING | Midwest
@ College of Lake County, Grayslake, IL
14th Lake County Film Festival (11/8-11/11) Information
@ Chicago Filmmakers Firehouse Cinema, Chicago, IL
Project Chicago presents the 21st Chicago International REEL Shorts Film Festival (11/8-11/9)
@ CineCity Studios, Chicago, IL
Midwest Film Festival presents “Best of the Midwest Awards 2024” (11/14, 6-11 p.m.)
@ The Hi-Pointe Theatre, St. Louis, MO
Cinema St. Louis presents the 33rd St. Louis International Film Festival (through 11/17)
UPDATE! 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. And for northern Illinois industry news, be sure to read Reel Chicago and Screen Magazine.
COMING SOON | Area-wide Events
2/15/25
3rd annual CU International Film Festival*
@ Spurlock Museum of World Cultures, UIUC, Urbana, IL
3/27-3/29/25
2025 Big Muddy Film Festival*
@ The Varsity Center, Carbondale, IL
4/23/-4/25/25
25th Roger Ebert’s Film Festival*
@ The Virginia Theatre, Champaign, IL
5/29-6/2/25
The Chambana Film Festival
@ TBA, Champaign-Urbana, IL
COMMUNITY & CAMPUS SERIES | Champaign-Urbana area
Chambana Film Festival* screening series
@ Phoenix Savoy 16 + IMAX, Savoy, IL, 4 p.m.
11/17: THE PROBLEM OF THE HERO; 11/24: THE HOBBY; 12/29: documentary shorts incl. FACING THE FALLS
Illini Radio Group presents “Rewind 92.5 Movie Series”/“Mix 94.5 Throwback Thursdays”*
@ The Virginia Theatre, Champaign, IL, 7 p.m.
11/20: THE BOY AND THE HERON (animé); 12/5: FRIDAY*
Illini Union Board presents “Fall 2024 Weekend Films”
@ Pine Lounge, 1st floor, Illini Union, UIUC, Urbana, IL, 7 p.m. Fri. & Sat, free w/i-card
11/15-11/16: SCREAM (1996); 11/22-11/23: BEETLEJUICE BEETLEJUICE; 12/6-12/7: HOW THE GRINCH STOLE CHRISTMAS
Illinois Public Media presents “The Arthouse Experience Film Series”
@ The Virginia Theatre, Champaign, IL, 7 p.m.
11/22: RUSHMORE; 12/14: ROBOT DREAMS (animation)
The News-Gazette Film Series
@ The Virginia Theatre, Champaign, IL, 1 & 7 p.m.
11/30: THE WIZARD OF OZ; 12/7: IT’S A WONDERFUL LIFE
Roger Ebert Center for Film Studies* event series
@ Knight Auditorium, Spurlock Center for World Cultures, UIUC, Urbana, IL
12/5: GREMLINS screening
~~~~~
Compiled by Jason Pankoke.
~~~~~
“Calendar du C-U”
© 2024 Jason Pankoke/C-U Blogfidential
[T −145]