Calendar: January 3-9, 2025
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!
1/7: Steve Christopher (actor, WOLVES IN THE WOODS, Redvolver Studios, Chicago, IL)
1/8: Michael Stone (co-founder, Illini Film & Video RSO, UIUC, Urbana, IL)
FIELD REPORT DU HQ | From Wherever It May Be Said
Has anybody gone to the movies this holiday season? Of course you have; the trades won’t stop talking about how much money was raked in during 2024, another so-called rebound year for the industry. You pretty much know what the dozen-ish releases are that occupy the multiplexes right now – hint: they’re listed below – and if one or more of them fit the bill for you and yours, enjoy. We at CUBlog like to take the offbeat or local path and, well, it’s a mixed bag of customer service right now to start off the year.
After the conclusion of the annual “Mannheim Steamroller Christmas with Chip Davis” concert at the Virginia Theatre in downtown Champaign on December 29, the venue closed for business with the general public (save for advance ticket sales) in order to embark on another round of improvements at the facility; talking with the News-Gazette before the break, executive director Steven Bentz promised the new security features and fly system control upgrades would be in place for when the Virginia launches its 2025 schedule with Roger Ebert’s Film Festival on April 23. Elsewhere, the newspaper reported that incoming ownership of the Village Mall in Danville was in talks to lease space to a few sorely-needed tenants that might include a theatrical exhibitor, taking the place of the AMC location that ceased operations two years ago with no fanfare or explanation. We’ve also noticed plenty of updates on the final preparations at the restored Lorraine Theatre in Hoopeston, including the installation of a brand-new Dolby Atmos sound system and projection equipment, via Facebook; commenters from the Save the Lorraine Foundation are hinting that movies will return to the venue in “early 2025” for the first time in more than a decade.
And finally, after a week off that follows month-long Halloween and Christmas movie marathons, the Normal Theater in Normal resumes their programming today, Friday, January 3, with the new Paul Schrader film OH, CANADA, a meditation on aging and art-making with Richard Gere and Uma Thurman; it will begin a stretch of traditional, welcome, and first-run “art house” fare that neither the Virginia’s “experience” nor the five-years-closed Art Theater can honestly provide to the C-U. However, you know what to do to ensure that movies continue to play everywhere from the Normal to the Avon Theatre in Decatur, the Onarga Theater in Onarga, and all cinema-going points in between. Attend. It’s that simple.
~~~~~
IMAGERY DU C-U | Picturing Our Scene on the Screen
Many moons ago in that fateful month of January 2017, when the health of our beloved Ma JaPan started to falter and our lives changed forever, I wrote a handful of posts about personal concerns as well as thoughts on different kinds of writings I might try to liven up CUBlog. None of it went past the “let’s pose an idea and see if it sticks” phase but, given the last few weeks’ worth of Calendar featurettes in which we’ve talked about various ways that our cinema culture has manifested, I’d like to finally try out one of them. The intent was to share relevant artifacts or merchandise that we hadn’t used for editorial before.
To pair with the theatrical theme of today’s Report, I have just the thing to share with you. Although I don’t do it nearly as much as I used to, one of my “kill a little time before bed” activities has been to search on eBay with various terms, many of them directly tied to the film culture du C-U, and see what I could possibly turn up. A smattering of items has been welcomed into the MFHQ holdings over the years because of this – some things for the novelty, some things for their potential use as graphics or information to support Confidential reporting, and some things that I did not know existed before finding their listings. The following piece belongs in the middle category. I’d searched for Art Theater ephemera before and had almost always found nothing. One day, I decided to try “Park Theatre” and I discovered…
~~~~~
~~~~~
Simple and nice, this handout from October 1939 advertises a week’s worth of movie showings at 126 W. Church Street during the Alger Brothers’ ownership of the Park. Since the main features were released by multiple studios – UNION PACIFIC and THANKS FOR THE MEMORIES from Paramount Pictures, CHARLIE CHAN IN RENO from 20th Century Fox, and BLACKWELL’S ISLAND and HELL’S KITCHEN from First National/Warner Bros. – the paper was probably made up by the Algers and not pre-printed by a studio for local management to stamp their venue name on. It reminds me of the four-page movie guides that were being issued by Tom Angelica for the New Art Theatre when I first moved to Champaign in 1993 (again, that year…) often with reprints of Roger Ebert’s reviews from the Chicago Sun-Times.
~~~~~
~~~~~
The young actress on the back of the herald, who was being promoted by Warner Bros. at the time, is Priscilla Lane. She appeared in approximately 30 pictures between 1937 and 1948 and was a member of a popular singing group with her three older sisters. Some of them starred together in a series of movies, the first of which was FOUR DAUGHTERS in 1938, and her other notable Hollywood credits included ARSENIC AND OLD LACE, THE ROARING TWENTIES, and Hitchcock’s SABOTEUR. She rests at Arlington National Cemetery with her husband, Joseph A. Howard, who served in the Army Air Corps.
~~~~~
~~~~~
Just because a piece is old and possibly rare doesn’t mean it will be treated kindly by all hands. After I read an e-mail prompt that told me the package had been delivered, I went out to my mailbox and found the envelope shoved inside as you see it in my photograph. This surely is not the seller’s fault – fairly rigid cardboard had been secured with tape around the Park paper and “Do Not Bend” was clearly marked on the outside – or necessarily the Post Office’s mistake, apart from the decision of the delivery person to not get out of their vehicle and leave it at the back door of MFHQ Deux on that brisk April afternoon. Hrm. The damage was minimal; it’s invisible to the camera lens, but there is a light vertical crease on the left side of poor Priscilla that is consistent with the temporary bend. I stifled a complaint, despite the archivist inside of me having a fit, but that doesn’t mean you should do so when acquiring those collectibles or antiques that mean something to you. As we also can see, the herald still “works” fine and is serving its purpose.
After the next two Calendars, we plan on taking a recess from the Reports for a couple of months. During the “down time,” I will be livening up the “Imagery” department with a series of new photos and old tales to share, based on some of the other items I have picked up recently. Please stick with us if that may interest you, especially as a primer on what to look for in the wild that is related to the movies du C-U.
I’ll leave you with a bonus eBay find that I passed on. It would have been so cool to own if I’d had an appropriate way to display it and if it hadn’t been priced at more than one hundred dollars. Listed by a seller in 2017 and dating from the national rollout by RKO Radio Pictures in 1933, the following is a promotional herald for the original KING KONG when it played the Virginia Theatre. Yes, it sold, and no, I have nary a clue as to who picked up the prize. My consolation was to be heads-up and download the high-resolution images posted to eBay so that future me could use them when the occasion would present itself like, oh, right now. Enjoy.
~~~~~
LOCAL FILMS & EVENTS | Support Your Media Storytellers
@ Springfield Art Association campus, Springfield, IL
SAA presents the 31st annual Molly Schlich Independent | International Film Series “Film Preview Party” feat. film trailers, documentary SOIL & SOUL: FARMING IN THE SANAGMON RIVER VALLEY* (1/8, 7 p.m.)
NOW PLAYING | Champaign-Urbana Area
@ AMC Champaign 13, Champaign, IL
THE DAMNED, HONEY MONEY PHONY (in Mandarin with English sub), BABYGIRL, A COMPLETE UNKNOWN, THE FIRE INSIDE, GLADIATOR II, HOMESTEAD (faith film), KRAVEN THE HUNTER, MOANA 2 (animation), MUFASA: THE LION KING, NOSFERATU, SONIC THE HEDGEHOG 3, WICKED (1/3 on), AMC “Screen Unseen” (mystery movie) (1/6, 7 p.m.), THE LAST SHOWGIRL preview with livestream (1/7, 7 p.m.), AX Cinema Nights: PAPRIKA 15th anniversary (animé) (1/7, 7:30 p.m., in Japanese with English sub; 1/8, 7:30 p.m., English dub), BETTER MAN, DEN OF THIEVES 2: PANTERA, THE LAST SHOWGIRL (1/9 on)
@ Phoenix Savoy 16 + IMAX, Savoy, IL
BABYGIRL, A COMPLETE UNKNOWN, THE FIRE INSIDE, GLADIATOR II, HOMESTEAD (faith film), KRAVEN THE HUNTER*, THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE WAR OF THE ROHIRRIM* (animation), MOANA 2 (animation), MUFASA: THE LION KING, NOSFERATU, RED ONE, SONIC THE HEDGEHOG 3, WICKED (1/3 on), CLUE (1/5, 3 & 7 p.m.; 1/8, 7 p.m.) *single screenings daily
@ The Virginia Theatre, Champaign, IL
Closed until April 2025.
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
NOSFERATU, MUFASA: THE LION KING, SONIC THE HEDGEHOG 3 (1/2-1/5)
@ Clintonia Eagle Theater, Clinton, IL
BABYGIRL, HOMESTEAD (faith film), MUFASA: THE LION KING, NOSFERATU, SONIC THE HEDGEHOG 3, WICKED (1/3 on)
@ Crescent Cinemas, Pontiac, IL
MUFASA: THE LION KING, NOSFERATU, SONIC THE HEDGEHOG 3 (1/3 on)
@ The Fischer Theatre, Danville, IL
BEETLEJUICE BEETLEJUICE (1/3, 7 p.m.)
@ Marcus Bloomington Cinema + IMAX, Bloomington, IL
A COMPLETE UNKNOWN, THE FIRE INSIDE, GLADIATOR II*, KRAVEN THE HUNTER*, THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE WAR OF THE ROHIRRIM* (animation), MOANA 2 (animation), MUFASA: THE LION KING, NOSFERATU, SONIC THE HEDGEHOG 3, WICKED (1/3 on), SEVEN (1/3, 7:20 p.m.; 1/ 4-1/5, 7:25 p.m.; IMAX), Marcus “Mystery Movie” (1/6, 7 p.m.), BETTER MAN, DEN OF THIEVES 2: PANTERA, GAME CHANGER (in Telugu with English sub) (1/9 on) *single screenings daily
@ The Normal Theater, Normal, IL
OH, CANADA (1/3-1/5), FLOW (animation) (1/9)
@ The Onarga Theatre, Onarga, IL
MUFASA: THE LION KING (1/3-1/5)
@ The Princess Theatre, Leroy, IL
MOANA 2 (animation) (1/3-1/5)
@ VIP Lincoln Grand 6, Lincoln, IL
A COMPLETE UNKNOWN, MOANA 2 (animation), MUFASA: THE LION KING, NOSFERATU, SONIC THE HEDGEHOG 3, WICKED (1/3 on)
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. And for northern Illinois industry news, be sure to read Reel Chicago and Screen Magazine.
COMING SOON | Area-wide Events
NEW! 1/24
Flatlands Dance Film Festival* Short Film Competition 2025
@ Spurlock Museum of World Cultures, UIUC, Urbana, IL, 7 p.m.
2/15
3rd annual CU International Film Festival*
@ Spurlock Museum of World Cultures, UIUC, Urbana, IL
3/27-3/29
2025 Big Muddy Film Festival*
@ The Varsity Center, Carbondale, IL
4/3-4/13
35th Onion City Experimental Film Festival, Chicago, IL
4/3-4/10
27th annual Wisconsin Film Festival, Madison, WI
4/23/-4/25
25th Roger Ebert’s Film Festival*
@ The Virginia Theatre, Champaign, IL
5/29-6/2
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.
1/26: AFTER THE FALL: TWO GENERATIONS OF THE VIETNAM CONFLICT; 2/2: The IRLMovieClub Screening feat. THE THINKING GAME; 2/9-2/23: The Oscar Nominated Shorts 2025 – Live Action (2/9), Animation (2/16), and Documentary (2/23)
~~~~~
Compiled by Jason Pankoke.
~~~~~
“Calendar du C-U”
© 2025 Jason Pankoke/C-U Blogfidential
[T −137]