Givin’ the gifts of local movie lit!
One thing your humble editor is quite thankful for today, other than sharing a few refreshing days with family during the long Thanksgiving weekend, is that he proactively spent time before the holiday distributing the brand-new issue 7 of C-U Confidential digest! The primary reason, of course, is that he wants to get it in your hands as soon as possible. If you have not yet enjoyed our most recent print collection of the stories behind the movies of Champaign, Urbana, and the cities beyond, do it now. CUZine #7 can be yours for the ultra-low price of FREE this Cyber Monday and many days after if you hurry to the following locations…
In Champaign, visit Aroma Café, the Art Theater Co-op, Café Kopi, the Champaign County Convention & Visitors Bureau, the Champaign Public Library, Espresso Royale @ Neil & Kirby, Espresso Royale @ Sixth & Daniel, Exile on Main Street, Furniture Lounge, Ippatsu Salon, Jane Addams Bookshop, the downtown Jupiter’s Pizza & Billiards and Merry Ann’s Diner, Mike ‘n Molly’s, Pekara Bistro, Quality Beer, That’s Rentertainment, and the WEFT 90.1 FM studios to grab the goods. In Urbana, seek out Caffe Paradiso, Cinema Gallery, Crane Alley, Espresso Royale @ Goodwin & Oregon, Flying Machine Coffee/Pizza M, Heartland Gallery, Priceless Books, the Urbana-Champaign Independent Media Center, and the Urbana Free Library to nab the movie news fit to print. We will add 10 to 15 more drops this week in Campustown and at outlying C-U businesses, but that may be it on the home front as we conserve copies for Danville, Bloomington, and Normal (save The Coffeehouse & Deli, which received a stack yesterday) as well as patrons of the New Art Film Festival and Roger Ebert’s Film Festival in the spring!
While you wander our post-Black Friday world, make sure to preview and purchase copies of The Art Theater: Playing Movies for 100 Years at the Art, Jane Addams, Cinema Gallery, the county archives at Urbana Free, and the Orpheum Children’s Science Museum in downtown Champaign. Priced at a quite reasonable $25, this maiden literary voyage from Champaign Urbana Theater History and authors Perry C. Morris, Joseph Muskin, and Audrey Wells is a great gift for movie fans, history buffs, and supporters of the arts. Apart from designing the cover and interior, your editor also contributed … oh, but that would be telling. Check out The Art Theater for yourselves to see what exactly we mean!
~ Jason Pankoke
p.s. Believe it or not, Ye Ed has already stumbled upon even more local movie culture books in various stages of development. We’ll spill the eventual specifics when we can!
p.s.2 In the broader category of “movie culture merchandise,” we happily remind you to support your local filmmakers early and often! This includes the back-to-back home video releases coming at us next week, first in the C-U and then Danville. Be sure to dig on the details when we deliver ‘em!
