C-U Biz-en-scène: 12.02.2011
“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:
We Bounce Right Back
Really, we are in a good mood even though your humble editor had to keep the Biz reigned in for one more week because he hasn’t been feeling his best. While he works hard to patch himself up and regain a sense of snap, we invite you to peruse the lively items below!
ITEM OF THE WEEK
Sanford Hess of the Art Theater has announced the Art Theater Co-Op will officially launch the evening of Friday, December 16, at 10 p.m. with a special screening at the theater in downtown Champaign. Patrons are encouraged to donate via this IndieGoGo campaign, with all funds covering the initial legal costs needed to form the Co-Op, and will be allowed to vote for the evening’s movie presentation after making a contribution. Presumably, the general public can purchase tickets to the event as with most other Art shows; CUBlog has yet to learn whether the movie or the interim Co-Op board members will be announced prior to the 16th.
LINKS OF THE WEEK
Just like confetti, our peripheral reading selections pop with colorful variety! First up, as you might expect, is the announcement from Roger Ebert that his revived AT THE MOVIES television show will go on hiatus at year’s end due to a lack of production funds; we’ll point you to this Hollywood Reporter article for an overview. On a more arresting note, Smile Politely columnist P. Gregory Springer channels his literary past as a film writer to dissect the hour-long Champaign police surveillance video recently leaked to the Internet; recorded last summer with a security camera mounted in a cruiser, the footage captures one officer’s arguably too-aggressive behavior in handling a mouthy African-American youth walking through Campustown. Down south a ways, Charleston’s Will Rogers Theatre has been purchased by the management team behind the Majestic Theater in Streator; they intend to restore and reopen the movie house by mid-2012 according to the Decatur Herald & Review. That newspaper’s columnist Tim Cain also offered his thoughts on Seventies cinema enfant terrible Ken Russell (THE DEVILS, TOMMMY) who passed away at age 84 last weekend. Finally, this feature run in the Illinois State University student paper, The Daily Vidette, tells of an intoxicating new play called Fat Jack’s that was inspired by the arrest of drunken playwright and actor Sam Shepard in Bloomington two years ago.
PLAYING THIS WEEK
@ The Art Theater, Champaign, IL: MARTHA MARCY MAY MARLENE (12/2 on), BELLFLOWER (12/2, 12/3, 12/8, 10 p.m.), BREATHLESS (12/3, 12 p.m., w/CUFS discussion), Tosca (12/4, 12 p.m., opera)
@ The Virginia Theatre, Champaign, IL: NATIONAL LAMPOON’S CHRISTMAS VACATION (12/3, 1 & 7 p.m.)
@ Knight Auditorium, Spurlock Museum, UIUC, Urbana, IL: AsiaLENS presents WINGS OF DEFEAT (12/8, 7 p.m.)
@ The Avon Theater, Decatur, IL: THE MUPPETS, TWILIGHT: BREAKING DAWN, Part 1, J.EDGAR (12/2 on)
@ The Normal Theater, Normal, IL: BACHELOR MOTHER (12/1-12/2, 7 p.m.), THE SHOP AROUND THE CORNER (12/3-12/4, 7 p.m.)
@ The Lorraine Theatre, Hoopeston, IL: THE MUPPETS, TWILIGHT: BREAKING DAWN, Part 1 (12/2 on)
@ The Onarga Theatre, Onarga, IL: THE MUPPETS (12/2-12/4, 12/7)
@ The Princess Theatre, LeRoy, IL: JACK AND JILL (12/2-12/4)
@ That’s Rentertainment, Champaign, IL: CAVE OF FORGOTTEN DREAMS, ANOTHER EARTH, TUCKER & DALE VS. EVIL, OUR IDIOT BROTHER, 30 MINUTES OR LESS, ONE DAY, more! (11/29 on)
@ Rockit Bar & Grill, Chicago, IL: MIFF presents Best of the Midwest Awards Gala (12/6, 7 p.m.)
@ Harvest Moon Twin Drive-In, Gibson City, IL: Closed for the season!
@ Route 66 Twin Drive-In, Springfield, IL: Closed for the season!
@ Centerbrook Drive-In, Martinsville, IN: Closed for the season!
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Locally produced movies and events featuring locally produced movies are marked with an asterisk (*). Go see ‘em!
COMING SOON
12/12: SANTA CLAUS CONQUERS THE MARTIANS w/shorts
@ The Onarga Theatre, Onarga, IL, 2 p.m.
NEW! 12/13: Champaign Movie Makers meeting*
@ SoDo Theatre, Champaign, IL, 7 p.m.
12/15: Central Illinois Film Commission meeting
@ TBA
12/15: A CHRISTMAS STORY w/live band
@ The Avon Theater, Decatur, IL, 6:30 p.m., free
NEW! 12/16: Art Theater Co-Op launch party + movie TBA
@ The Art Theater, Champaign, IL, 10 p.m.
12/16: LOVE ACTUALLY
@ The Avon Theater, Decatur, IL, 10:30 p.m., free
12/17: HOME ALONE w/HOW THE GRINCH STOLE CHRISTMAS! animated
@ The Avon Theater, Decatur, IL, 10 a.m., free
NEW! 12/20: DVD release: ACT YOUR AGE*
+ Vanguard Cinema, Los Angeles, CA
12/22: NATIONAL LAMPOON’S CHRISTMAS VACATION w/A CHARLIE BROWN CHRISTMAS animated
@ The Avon Theater, Decatur, IL, 7 p.m., free
NEW! 12/31: THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA (2004)
@ The Avon Theater, Decatur, IL, time TBA
4/15, 2012: Buttered Corn on the Cob Film Festival
@ 88 Broadway, Urbana, IL
4/18-4/22, 2012: Wisconsin Film Festival, Madison, WI
4/20, 2012: Issue release: C-U Confidential #6
+ Paper Opteryx, Champaign, IL
4/25-4/29, 2012: Roger Ebert’s Film Festival
@ The Virginia Theater, Champaign, IL
Fall 2012: Issue release: C-U Confidential ‘99
+ Paper Opteryx, Champaign, IL
COMMUNITY FILM SERIES
The New Classics: Great Books to Great Films from the Past 50 Years
@ Danville Public Library, Danville, IL, 6:30 p.m.
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
NEW! The News-Gazette Film Series 2012
@ The Virginia Theater, Champaign, IL, 1 & 7 p.m.
1/7: CITY LIGHTS; 2/11: THE HUNCHBACK OF NOTRE DAME (1939); 3/17: CABARET; 4/7: EASTER PARADE; 6/2: AN AMERICAN IN PARIS; 7/7: CHITTY CHITTY BANG BANG; 8/4: THE THIRD MAN; 9/1: THE MALTESE FALCON
UNIVERSITY FILM SERIES
AsiaLENS: AEMS Documentary/Film Series
@ Knight Auditorium, Spurlock Museum, University of Illinois, Urbana, IL, 7 p.m.
12/8: WINGS OF DEFEAT
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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.71 © 2011 Jason Pankoke/C-U Blogfidential.