C-U Biz-en-scène: 09.16.2011
“C-U Biz-en-scène” appears every Thursday/Friday on C-U Blogfidential to give our readers a succinct snapshot of the cinema activity in and near Champaign-Urbana, Illinois, USA. Please support the artists and their work, attend screenings and events, and otherwise become active in our esoteric little world!
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MFHQ & YOU:
The Long and Short Form of It
Capping this super-busy week here on C-U Blogfidential, the Biz pretty much zapped our energies due to an incredibly dense (and unexpectedly sexy) “Links” department, but it’s all good as we switch mental gears for the weekend! Look for your humble editor to attend and volunteer at the IMC Film Festival in Urbana on Saturday, September 17, while viewing and drinking brew will be the order of his business on Sunday, September 18, at the Route 66 International Film Festival in Springfield. He may also get some rare on-the-set time with a student production between now and Sunday evening. Hard work on both CUBlog – the indie movie hub of Champaign, Urbana, and the cities beyond that never seems to sleep – and the C-U Confidential ’99 special issue continues after that. We’re doing our part. How about you? Make sure to comment on this month’s Clean Slate and send in your “C-U Movie Life” essay by the 30th; we’ll be looking for ‘em both!
ITEMS OF THE WEEK
We mentioned Adam Dreyfuss’ senior thesis film project last Biz, and it turns out he’s not the only University of Illinois student with extra filmic irons in the fire. David Jordan, mastermind behind the GEEKS AND ZOMBIES Web series previously mentioned on CUBlog, wrote a few weeks ago to tell us about a new collaborative real-time editing system called Novacut being developed by a group based in Boulder, CO, expressly with HDSLRs in mind; take a look at this expired Kickstarter page for a project description and this official Weblog for further developments … Chicago Filmmakers reports that an October 31 submission deadline is approaching for the Peace on Earth Film Festival, a “not-for-profit festival established to celebrate and encourage the work of independent filmmakers from around the world on the themes of peace, nonviolence, social justice, and eco-balance” returning to the Chicago Cultural Center in February 2012 … Cameron Counts, director of the Central Illinois Film Commission, noted in his e-newsletter that there will be no September meeting for the group while encouraging everyone to attend the Route 66 International Film Festival this weekend; feel free to join the CIFC Yahoo! Group while their Web site is down … CUBlog presumes greatly that you, dearest smart readers, have already noticed an explosion of Roger Ebert press this week keyed in to the release of his memoir, Life Itself, so we’ll only point out these brief Q&As by fellow Chicago Sun-Times reporter Bill Zwecker and protégé Todd McCarthy of The Hollywood Reporter for context.
LINKS OF THE WEEK
In honor of our unofficial “sister” publication, Bachelor Pad Magazine, issuing saucy no.17 upon the world beginning this week, we’ve saved up some apropos items at which you should peek to your heart’s content! BPM editor Jason “Java” Croft and yours truly will soon be featured in RAYCRAFT’S FIRST PICK, a “pilot series” produced by Normal filmmaker R.C. Raycraft and taped during the monthly 3rd Sunday Market antique shows in neighboring Bloomington; check out this segment as a dealer proudly displays Shaft, the 1940s University of Illinois “student life” magazine featuring contributions from undergraduate Hugh Hefner such as a “Co-Ed of the Month” department. Speaking of those early years, we obtained issue 9 of the high-gloss fantasy and science-fiction movie title SPFX Magazine published by indie producer and Hawaiian shirt fan Ted Bohus (THE DEADLY SPAWN, VAMPIRE VIXENS FROM VENUS), in which Hef discuss his love for classic Hollywood and contributions to film preservation while graphics offer a rare look at his childhood print creations: comics and monster magazines! Back in the present, Playboy swaggers forth with its trademark “entertainment for men” and welcomed into the fold recent UIUC graduate and Illinois native Cody Renée Cameron, who appeared in this summer’s College Girls and Lingerie special issues as well as the on-line COED Magazine before relocating to Los Angeles. CUBlog isn’t sure if Cameron has acting in mind along with her modeling, but Ashley Salazar of this weekend’s IMC Film Festival selection FARM leaves no doubt as to her breadth of ambition; the St. Louis based talent manager/military veteran/ring girl/amateur MMA fighter/photographer/model has been campaigning mightily to get into Playboy herself. [NAUGHTY BOX :: Conservative readers can skip to the end bracket while we save budding fans of petite blonde Cameron (or Cody Renée, depending on where one looks) and robust brunette Salazar valuable Google search time. :: NAUGHTY BOX] A random click at COED turned up a last-minute tidbit we were completely unaware of, as 21-year-old Champaign native Brittany Clapper will play a Bunny on the new NBC-TV show THE PLAYBOY CLUB dramatizing the eponymous high society joint Hef operated in Chicago. Moving on from a lovely ginger to an ugly situation, this July article from the Chicago Tribune’s suburban circuit reports on a lawsuit threatened by the owners of high-concept “Hollywood Boulevard” theaters in Naperville and Woodridge against adult cinema chanteuse Jenna Jameson, claiming she weaseled out of prearranged appearances and book signings back in March. (A quick search turned up no further developments in the case.) And while one might wonder why we’d link to The Guardian’s recent chat with well-known Slovenian author, philosopher, and cultural critic Slavoj Žižek, other than as an easy-to-digest sampling of his mind at work, we learned last year after discovering his three-part docu-monologue THE PERVERT’S GUIDE TO CINEMA he is prone to using high-class cinema as illustration for his topics. (We believe Žižek’s tongue is most likely planted in cheek as his use of the term “pervert” may allude to one who digs below the formal dressings of cinema with an unwavering eye to dissect its underlying themes and history. Sorry, no Ebert-penned Russ Meyer flicks to be found here.) Fascinating as a whole and loaded with clips from movies directed by Alfred Hitchcock, Charlie Chaplin, David Lynch, Andrei Tarkovsky, Krzysztof Kieslowski, etc., this UK television production piques our interest greatly during an extremely curious scene in which Žižek waters tulips while muttering about their “disgusting” sexual nature and vagina dentata. If research has served us well, we believe PERVERT’S filmmaker Sophie Fiennes and Žižek originally shot that particular segment as test footage somewhere in Champaign-Urbana when the latter came to UIUC for a lecture! So, yeah, we know we’ll have to get to the bottom of that one.
PLEASE. WRITE. NOW.
Time is ticking away, dearest readers! Treat us to your tales of cinematic wonder experienced as academic or permanent residents of MICRO-FILM Country, and in turn we’ll share it with all your fellow readers as those “five significant movie milestones” become part of CUBlog lore! Check out this earlier post which roughly describes what we’re looking for and then exercise those typing fingers by drafting anecdotes that illustrate how you live la vida cinema in Champaign, Urbana, and the cities beyond. Submission deadline is Friday, September 30, 2011!
PLAYING THIS WEEK
@ The Art Theater, Champaign, IL: CONAN O’BRIEN CAN’T STOP (9/16-9/17, 9/21-9/22, five shows), SUMMER WARS (9/16, 9/17, 9/15, 10 p.m.), Swan Lake (9/17, 9/18, 12 p.m., ballet), EL BULLI: COOKING IN PROGRESS (9/17, 3:30 & 5:30 p.m.), REJOICE AND SHOUT (9/18, 3:30 p.m.), EVERYDAY SUNSHINE: THE STORY OF FISHBONE (9/18, 5:30 p.m.), BEATS, RHYMES & LIFE: THE TRAVELS OF A TRIBE CALLED QUEST (9/18, 7:30 p.m.), MY PERESTROIKA (9/19, 7:30 p.m. w/Q&A), BAG IT (9/20, 7:30 p.m.), MAGIC TRIP (9/21, 7:30 p.m.; 9/22, 5:30 p.m.), THE SECRET OF KELLS (9/22, 10 p.m.)
@ The Virginia Theatre, Champaign, IL: GREEN FIRE: ALDO LEOPOLD AND A LAND ETHIC FOR OUR TIME (9/22, 7 p.m.)
@ Independent Media Center, Urbana, IL: Third Annual IMC Film Festival* (9/15, 7-10 p.m.; 9/16, 7-10 p.m.; 9/17, 2 p.m.-12 a.m.)
@ The Avon Theater, Decatur, IL: DRIVE, CONTAGION, THE HELP (9/16 on)
@ The Normal Theater, Normal, IL: THE DOUBLE HOUR (9/15-9/16, 7 p.m.), POTICHE (9/17-9/18, 7 p.m.)
@ Hoogland Center for the Arts, Springfield, IL: Tenth Annual Route 66 International Film Festival* (9/16, 6:30 p.m. – 12 a.m.; 9/17, 9:30 a.m.-12 a.m.; 9/18, 9:30 a.m.-9 p.m.)
@ Route 66 Twin Drive-In, Springfield, IL: SPY KIDS: ALL THE TIME IN THE WORLD, APOLLO 18, FRIENDS WITH BENEFITS, 30 MINUTES OR LESS (9/16-9/17)
@ Princess Theatre, LeRoy, IL: THE SMURFS (9/16-9/18)
@ Harvest Moon Twin Drive-In, Gibson City, IL: OUR IDIOT BROTHER, ZOOKEEPER (9/16-9/18)
@ That’s Rentertainment, Champaign, IL: LEADING LADIES*, THOR, THE SILENT HOUSE, MEEK’S CUTOFF, BILL CUNNINGHAM N.Y., INCENDIES, HESHER, RESCUE ME (s6/7), more! (9/13 on)
@ Centerbrook Drive-In, Martinsville, IN: TRANSFORMERS: DARK OF THE MOON, HORRIBLE BOSSES (9/16-9/18)
@ Hemmens Cultural Center, Elgin, IL: Elgin Short Film Festival (9/17, 7 p.m.)
@ The Lorraine Theatre, Hoopeston, IL: Closed for back-to-school recess!
@ The Onarga Theatre, Onarga, IL: Closed for remodeling!
@ Gemini Cinemas, Villa Grove, IL: Closed for good?
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Locally produced movies and events featuring locally produced movies are marked with an asterisk (*). Go see ‘em!
COMING SOON
NEW! 9/23-9/29: Latin American Film Festival
@ The Art Theater, Champaign, IL
9/23-9/25: Chicago Horror Film Festival, Chicago, IL
9/23-9/25: B Movie Celebration, Franklin, IN
NEW! 9/27, 9/29: FAST FIVE
@ The Virginia Theater, Champaign, IL, 7 p.m.
NEW! 10/1: THE WORLD’S FASTEST INDIAN
@ The Virginia Theater, Champaign, IL, 7 p.m.
10/6-10/20: Chicago International Film Festival, Chicago, IL
10/7: THIS IS MY JOURNEY* local broadcast
@ WILL-TV 12, Urbana, IL, 8 p.m.
10/13-10/22: Heartland Film Festival, Indianapolis, IN
10/21-10/22: THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW
@ The Avon Theater, Decatur, IL, time TBA
10/21-10/23: CHICAGO 8: Small Gauge Film Festival, Chicago, IL
10/21-10/23: Dark Carnival Film Festival, Bloomington, IN
10/28-10/30: Freeky Creek Short Film Festival
@ Sleepy Creek Vineyards, Fairmount, IL
11/3-11/12: Reeling Lesbian & Gay International Film Festival, Chicago, IL
11/4-11/5: Drunken Zombie Film Festival
@ Peoria Theater, Peoria, IL
11/10-11/12: Embarras Valley Film Festival
@ EIU campus/Will Rogers Theater/etc., Charleston, IL
11/11-11/13: HorrorHound Weekend (Horror culture), Cincinnati, OH
11/10-11/20: St. Louis International Film Festival, St. Louis, MO
4/15, 2012: Buttered Corn on the Cob Film Festival
@ 88 Broadway, Urbana, IL
4/18-4/22, 2012: Wisconsin Film Festival, Madison, WI
4/25-4/29, 2012: Roger Ebert’s Film Festival
@ The Virginia Theater, Champaign, IL
COMMUNITY FILM SERIES
Horror Films
@ The “Haunted” Avon Theater, Decatur, IL, 10:30 p.m., free
10/7: THIR13EN GHOSTS (2001); 10/8: DOG SOLDIERS; 10/14: NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD (1968); 10/15: DAWN OF THE DEAD (2004); 10/28: JEEPERS CREEPERS; 10/29: TRICK ‘R TREAT
The New Classics: Great Books to Great Films from the Past 50 Years
@ Danville Public Library, Danville, IL, 6:30 p.m.
10/10: THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS; 11/14: ORDINARY PEOPLE; 12/12: FAIL SAFE (1964); 1/9/12: NEVER CRY WOLF; 2/13/12: AWAKENINGS; 3/12/12: ADAPTATION; 4/9/12: UP IN THE AIR
The News-Gazette Film Series 2011
@ The Virginia Theater, Champaign, IL, 1 & 7 p.m.
10/8: THE EXORCIST; 11/5: THE GODFATHER; 12/3: THE NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS
UNIVERSITY FILM SERIES
AsiaLENS: AEMS Documentary/Film Series
@ Knight Auditorium, Spurlock Museum, University of Illinois, Urbana, IL, 7 p.m.
10/4: BHUTAN: TAKING THE MIDDLE PATH TO HAPPINESS; 11/8: WHO KILLED CHEA VICHEA?
Global Lens 2011: International Films
@ The Art Theater, Champaign, IL
10/20: A USEFUL LIFE, Uruguay; 11/17: WHITE MEADOWS, Iran
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That’s it for the “business of our scene” this week!
If you have relevant news, opportunities, dates, or promotions that you would like included in CUBiz, please forward the who, what, where, when, and how much to cuconfidential [at] gmail [dot] com.
Compiled by Jason Pankoke
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“C-U Biz-en-scène” no.60 © 2011 Jason Pankoke/C-U Blogfidential.