If you think karaoke isn't embarrassing enough, you might be interested in Movieoke, which -- you guessed it -- allows you to act out scenes from movies. Chicago Movieoke is at the Whistler tonight at 8pm, with additional dates later in the month.
Roger Ebert's Film Festival isn't until next April, but passes for the festival go on sale today. If you want to attend you should probably buy your passes soon, because they sell out quickly.
While we sit out the longest rain in recent memory, Kevin Guilfoile shares footage of the great snowstorms of 20th Century Chicago. Well, the first two, anyway -- 1939 and 1967; look elsewhere for 1978 and 1999.
The Chicago Outdoor Film Festival, which has brought film screenings to Grant Park in the summer, is one of the events on the chopping block in the much tighter 2010 City budget. [via]
International activist pranksters The Yes Men will be at the Co-Prosperity Sphere Thursday night at 7:30pm to plan an action that'll take place after their new film, The Yes Men Fix The World, debuts Friday night at the Music Box.
There weren't a lot of movies shot in Chicago during the first Daley's reign, but those that were captured a city a bit grittier than today.
Looking for some seasonally appropriate YouTube clips for your lunch break? Check out the Facets blog for the culmination of its annual 31 Days of Horror series, and visit Hey! Look Behind You for a mix of modern and vintage horror and gore. [via]
We Live in Public, a new documentary about early dot-com mogul Josh Harris, opens at the Music Box tomorrow -- but there's a special preview screening tonight at 7pm at i^3 hypermedia, 11 E. Illinois, 4th floor. It's $5 advance/$7 at the door and BYOB. (Thanks, Jim!)
Facets Cinematheque continues Facets Night School, its midnight screenings of great cult films. For October they're screening great horror films every Friday and Saturday night. You still have time to hit tonight's kick-off screening, the 1932 version of The Mummy. See the Facets Website for a complete list of screenings.
Facets Multimedia begins the month with their third annual 31 days of horror, where they post one horror film clip a day on their blog. Check out the entries from 2008 and 2007; some of the clips from previous years are still up on YouTube!
Local author Kate Harding reminds us all why Roman Polanski has been "in exile" for 32 years.
Can't wait for Halloween? Well, slip on your finest undead fashion and catch a free screening of Zombieland this Thursday.
Our own Steve at the Movies (aka Capone on Ain't it Cool) hosts a pair of screenings and Q&As of the new film Big Fan at the Music Box this Friday. Director Robert Siegel will be at the early screening; he'll be joined by star Patton Oswalt for the second. Tickets are available here.
Ads for I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell, the new movie based on the stories of U of C graduate and self-proclaimed asshole Tucker Max, have started appearing on CTA buses. The ads feature taglines of, let's say, questionable taste, leading the Reader's Whet Moser to bet they'll be removed by the CTA by next Tuesday.
...But fortunately none are Dave Matthews Band, as Steve Delahoyde eloquently demonstrates in his latest short.
Our own Steve Prokopy, aka Capone on Ain't it Cool News, interviewed Tribune film critic Michael Phillips and the New York Times' A.O. Scott about taking over "At the Movies," Siskel and Ebert's seminal film review show, after a year of poorly chosen replacements.
Decider A.V. Chicago writers David Wolinsky and Kyle Ryan debate whether Ferris Bueller's Day Off is true to Chicago. (The film screens tonight and tomorrow at the Music Box, by the way.)
If you're interested in Bollywood movies but don't know where to start, let The Bollywood Ticket be your guide. Written in Chicago with an American perspective, it's a good entree into the sprawling Hindi cinema.
Guinness and the Mayor's Office of Special Events ruled the Grant Park showing of the Marx Brothers' Duck Soup broke the record for most people wearing Groucho glasses (4,436 frames) at one time on July 21.
If you read our own Steve at the Movies today, you'd know Tribune film critic Michael Phillips and the New York Times' AO Scott are replacing the two Bens on the post-Ebert "At the Movies" show.
Should you feel the need to make a pilgrimage to John Hughes' favorite fictitious Chicago suburb, Shermer, here's a great resource page for shooting locations. And here's a handy schedule of upcoming broadcasts of Hughes' movies (well, some of them).
A travelogue from 1948: Chicago The Beautiful -- and another examining our nightlife. [via]
The Trib gained access to the top secret Netflix sorting facility in Carol Stream and now casts some light on the behind-the-scenes sorting operation.
My favorite webcomic, former GB film critic Gordon McAlpin's Multiplex, today features a stunning rendering of Andersonville's Calo Theater façade (now a Brown Elephant store).
Remember that sighting of a film crew shooting what was believed to be a teaser for Seth Rogan's Green Hornet? We've got the scoop on the production and when you can expect to see it on a computer screen near you.
After the great success of their first session, Facets Multimedia kicks off a second season of Facets Night School, a series of midnight screenings paired with a discussion of the film. The second season begins tonight with Eisenstein's Ivan the Terrible, Part 1 and continues through September 19, with a roster of great titles including Riki Oh: The Story of Ricky, Viva Las Vegas, Harold and Maude and The Fifth Element. See the Facets Website for a full schedule.
Last Spring, Johnny Depp and the film crew of Public Enemies took the city back in time. And, once again, Chicago -- mobsters, machine guns and all -- stole the show in familiar places.
Steve at the Movies reviews Break-Up, Date in this week's column. It's a documentary about the world of modern dating, filmed here in Chicago. Opens tonight at the Siskel Center; the director will be at Saturday's 8:15pm screening.
This Thursday, the Neo-Futurists are doing a dramatic reading of Cool as Ice this weekend as part of their annual Film Fest series -- and it just so happens that Vanilla Ice is headlining Cans Outdoor Music Fest this weekend -- so Decider got Vanilla and Neo-Futurist Dina Connolly together for an interview.
Roger Ebert proves once again that sometimes a negative review is the best review.
Taking full advantage of the buzz surrounding Public Enemies, the gun that fired the fatal shot for John Dillinger in 1934 will be up for auction along with its holster, a letter and press photos on July 28.
If you like screaming crowds and the glimpse of a famous person's arm, you should check out the red carpet screening of the Chicago-based Dillinger pic Public Enemies tonight. Johnny Depp, Christian Bale, Marion Cotillard and director Michael Mann are expected around 6pm at the AMC River East. And if you don't like crowds, simply stay home and give a silent thanks to the movie, which pumped $47 million into the local economy, more than The Dark Knight.
Speaking of free, The Midwest Independent Film Festival is hosting a free screening of Food Inc. tonight at 7pm. It's being intentionally overbooked to ensure a full theater, so RSVP and make sure to get there early.
Word is that there's a web series based on the Green Hornet being filmed in or around the Uptown Bank Building these days, a sort of prelude to the movie being filmed starring Seth Rogan (?) and Kung Fu Hustle star Stephen Chow (though we really wished those "Jet Li as Kato" rumors were true).
Look closely and you'll notice a familiar skyline and squad cars with a certain four-starred municipal flag in this promotional film for Philips.
Chicagoist's Rob Christopher interviews two Indiana teens making their own horror film -- for $500. You can pitch in here.
If you're in the market, the infamous Highland Park home featured in Ferris Bueller's Day Off is available at the bargain price of $2.3 million. [via]
Excited for the upcoming Dave Eggers/Vendela Vida film Away We Go? Visit the Book Club page to find out how you can go to a free screening next week.
Illinois film production had another banner year in 2008 despite the recession, chalking up its second-most profitable year on record. With movies like this summer's "Public Enemies," and TV series like "The Beast," the industry spent $141 million and created 5,392 jobs during filming. The Illinois Film Office projects another healthy year in 2009, but didn't give any specifics.
In A/C, Lindsay Muscato writes about filmmakers' struggle to gain the right to quote from other films in the name of fair use.
OrganicNation.TV is "an exploration of the American sustainable food landscape focusing on the people, places and products that are shaping a new green economy and lifestyle." Produced by Fresh Cut Media's Dorothee Royal-Hedinger, the video tour hits the road May 10.
From the deepest depths of the University of Chicago Library's digital stacks came... The Biology of B-Movie Monsters! [via]
Poor journalist/film critic Ray Pride was beaten up a month ago after a Greek film festival, by nationalists who thought he was an "anarchist infiltrator." He provides the details on his blog and elsewhere. The more squeamish may want to avoid the photos Pride took of his bloodied post-attack clothing.
Time Out's Hank Sartin talks to Nina Paley about her film Sita Sings the Blues, which is reviewed in this week's Steve at the Movies.
Speaking of Ferris Bueller's Day Off, Ask.MetaFilter folks put together a list of the crimes committed by the film's protagonists during his day off.
Students at Elk Grove High School and John Hersey High School are probably pretty excited that Freddy will be murdering students in their schools in May.
It's a beautiful weekend, Chicago. Based on the smiles I've seen on people's faces so far, there is a lot to fall in love with in the city. Including the CHIRP Record Fair which is happening at Plumber's Hall on Saturday and Sunday. (Gapers Block will be there on Sunday so come say howdy.) And if you're more likely to be entertained by antiques, artifacts, and cool designer crafts, then the Spring Show at Architectural Artifacts is where you'll want to be. Speaking of crafts, Chicago's premier of Handmade Nation is taking place tonight at Columbia College.
Facets Cinematheque has a great movie series planned: Facets Night School, a series of midnight screenings that range from the sublime (Robert Mitchum in Night of the Hunter) to the ridiculous (the horror-comedy Street Trash). The movies start screening on Saturday nights starting May 2; see the Facets Website for a complete schedule and to purchase passes for the whole series.
Get set for Tuesdays at Butler Field with your favorite stars of the silver screen. This year's Outdoor Film Festival features have been announced, and they sure don't disappoint. Full list after the jump.
WGN's Nick Digilio Show is hosting a double feature at the Brew & View tonight. Watch Hot Fuzz at 8pm and Die Hard at 10pm, with Snuggie and Lou Malnati's giveaways in between. $5 to get in.
Now that Obama has a Presidential Seal, what's his old logo up to?
According to MovieMaker, Chicago is the best city for independent moviemakers, offering "the best all-around chance of finding success with their art during these tough economic times." [via]
The Reader's film blog has news of some weekend appearances by the great documentary filmmaker Frederick Wiseman; he's making a speech at DePaul Friday night, and introducing a double feature of his films (including his 1997 film Public Housing about Chicago's own Ida B. Wells homes) Sunday evening.
This week in Transmission, we give you the low down on an upcoming festival that's been missing from Chicago calendars all this time. It's the inaugural Chicago International Music and Film Festival which comes to town March 4-9.
In A/C, Beatrice Smigasiewicz previews a retrospective of films by Andrzej Wajda currently playing at the Siskel Film Center.
Tomorrow's the 10th anniversary of the death of Gene Siskel. Roger Ebert posts his memories of the man.
Gary Hustwit, director of the excellent Helvetica documentary, is bringing his latest film, Objectified, to Chicago for a special screening April 28, sponsored by AIGA, IDSA and Coudal Partners. Tickets go on sale at noon today.
Remember a couple years ago, when local poet J.J. Jameson was discovered to be an escaped murderer? There's a new documentary about him playing at the Siskel Film Center this Sunday. Steve at the Movies has a review.
Eight Forty-Eight interviews Jim Jacobs, Chicagoan and co-author of Grease, about the real-life events that birthed the musical.
B-Fest 2009, the annual 24-hour-long film fest on Northwestern University's campus, is coming up in less than four weeks, and the word just went out that tickets will be on sale tomorrow. More info has been posted at the B-Fest site.
More rumors abound about the siting of the newest Batman franchise in Chicago, along with some other details.
The Chicago Film Critics Association have chosen WALL-E as Best Picture in their 2008 awards list. A complete list of winning films, including The Dark Knight and Slumdog Millionaire, is available at the CFCA Website.
The Chicago Film Critics Association announced the nominees for its 2008 film awards today.
Now called Nothing Like the Holidays, the movie centered around one Humboldt Park family's holiday hi-jinx had a premiere at the Music Box. Hollywood Chicago has a few pictures of the stars in attendance.
Explore the world of video art with the Video Data Bank.
Photographer Edward S. Curtis' 1914 silent film In the Land of the Headhunters was the first to exclusively star Native North Americans. It was recently restored and will be shown at the Field Museum on Sunday and Monday mornings. Stick around afterwards for a discussion with historians and descendants of the Kwakwaka'wakw nation, who are featured in the film. More details in Slowdown.
The Muppet Movie, The Dark Crystal, Labyrinth and more ... all on the big screen.
Our own Steve at the Movies, aka Capone on Ain't It Cool News, was invited to England a couple months ago on a press junket for the new James Bond film, Quantum of Solace. He's been doling out the details from that trip, and finally posted about his test drives of the current Bond car, the Aston Martin DBS.
Want to see a concert tonight? How about a movie on the 19th? Learn how to get free tickets to either one after the jump.
Calling all Jim Henson fans: The Gene Siskel Film Center is running a month-long program of films created by the Muppet Man! Yes, you get all the Muppet films, but you also get a couple programs of seldom-seen weird experimental films, like "Time Piece". The program starts this weekend, and you can find a full schedule at the Film Center Website.
A/C contributor Elizabeth McQuern asks, "Sure, the Bride of Frankenstein was literally made for him, but what if her heart belonged to someone else? Like a sexy lady vampire?"
In the wake of "Minutegate," Roger Ebert has decided to write his own "little rule book" regarding ethics for his fellow film critics. The picture of Ebert and Jason Patric assisting a rather festive looking Peter O'Toole is worth clicking through.
If you didn't make it to CIFF's surprise film screening at the Music Box last night, be glad you didn't spend the cash: It was RocknRolla, the latest Guy Ritchie flick. At least it was only $12 a ticket.
HollywoodChicago reports that the Chicago International Film Festival will be showing a surprise film at the Music Box on Monday. Get your tickets now.
There are three Illinois independent films on the CIFF schedule tonight, followed by an afterparty at Pops for Champagne. Still time to get tickets!
Cinemaniacs, rejoice! The 44th annual Chicago International Film Festival opens this evening with The Brothers Bloom. If kid flicks are more your style, the Chicago International Children's Film Festival begins on the 23rd.
Chicago 2016 is running a video contest starting today. Submit a video by Nov. 25 telling the world why Chicago should host the Games in 2016. Five finalists will be chosen by online vote and will be featured on NBC 5's "Chicago Today" show starting Dec. 1. The winner of the contest will receive fabulous prizes.
Tickets for the Chicago International Film Festival are now on sale -- as are those for the Chicago International Children's Film Festival.
The documentary A Forgotten Injustice, by Chicago journalist Vincente Serreno, highlights the "repatriation" of thousands of Mexican Americans in the 1930s. The film is screening at the Instituto Cervantes this weekend. Here's an interview with Serrano on Chicago Public Radio.
The Great Chicago Fire is dramatized in In Old Chicago, a 1937 film by 20th Century Fox. More vintage trailers here.
Facets celebrates October once again with 31 days of horror movie clips. (You might want to check out last year's collection to get you in the proper mood.)
There's plenty of speculation that a Dark Knight sequel is ramping up for some work in February 2009.
The documentary Milking the Rhino makes its North American debut tonight at the Siskel Center, and runs through Tuesday. Stick around afterward to meet the Chicago-based filmmakers.
Has Roger Ebert's site been hacked or is he really trumpeting Creationism? I'm going with hacked. Yep.
Roger Ebert responds (third item down) to a reader who doesn't understand why the esteemed film critic didn't review the piss-poor Disaster Movie. [via]
The documentary Heavy Metal in Baghdad will be shown at the Metro tomorrow night, with a cocktail reception before and a Q&A after. It's free, but you have to be 21+ and RSVP to get in.
This week is recycling week at GB, with two features exploring what is typically perceived as the underside of the economy. In A/C, we take a look at Scrappers, a documentary film featuring the lives of three local scrap metal collectors. Over in Detour, we visit with Barry "Can Man" Woodson, leader of a street crew of recyclers in Wrigleyville. After reading the articles, you may want to check out the Scrappers fundraiser on Friday.
Want to see The Duchess, Keira Knightly's latest period piece? Head to HollywoodChicago.com and get your name in for a preview screening Sept. 24.
On August 8, dozens of people joined author Amy Krause Rosenthal in Millennium Park to do... something. This is what they did. (You can do it, too.)
The Chicago Outdoor Film Festival concludes its run tonight with a showing of the blockbuster 1978 Travolta/Newton-John musical Grease, which wll start at 8:03 p.m. in Grant Park (Monroe and Lake Shore Drive).
Over in Tailgate, Ken has a long write-up of Jordanheads, a documentary about Air Jordans whose creators are planning a sneaker fan meet-up on Aug. 23.
If Everyblock's guide to The Dark Knight locations whet your appetite, the Trib has a dozen more to explore.
The Gene Siskel Film Center presents their 14th annual Black Harvest film & video festival all this month. The festival is billed by the Film Center as "the Midwest’s biggest and best celebration of the black experience on film," and it starts tonight with a special program of short films. Full details in Slowdown.
"The balcony is closed." Roger Ebert comments further on the end of "At the Movies."
Taking a page from the much-missed Fast Forward Film Festival, Film Racing is a competition to create a short film in just 24 hours. Get your team ready and register by tomorrow for the Aug. 8-9 race.
Batman Christian Bale turned himself in to London authorities for questioning after apparently assaulting his mother and sister in a hotel room before the European premiere of The Dark Knight.
Roger Ebert announced his departure from the Disney-owned "At the Movies" film review show, following Richard Roeper's announcement yesterday. Ebert and Gene Siskel's estate own the "two thumbs up" trademark, and Ebert vows "the thumbs will return." Stay tuned.
After eight years of telling us to skip it or see it, Richard Roeper announced that he is leaving At the Movies in mid-August, leaving the show without a consistent host as Roger Ebert continues to recuperate from cancer treatment. Roeper's plans for the future are unclear.
HollywoodChicago.com has a slideshow of photos from the red carpet premier of The Dark Knight at Navy Pier Wednesday night. Read Adam Fendelman's review here, and stay tuned tomorrow for Steve at the Movies' own review.
The Fractured Lens Video Festival is looking for amateur and semi-professional video shorts to include in its upcoming showing at the Portage Theater. Here's how to submit.
Bill Zwecker reports that Heath Ledger did some undercover dialect research when he was here filming The Dark Knight, because he wanted his Joker to have a "flat, Midwestern or Chicago accent ... somewhat nasal and even a bit effeminate."
Sure it looks cool on film, but all of those explosions and crashes in The Dark Knight, filmed here in Chicago, required the assistance of a lot of city agencies, as this Reuters story explains.
You’re no doubt well aware at this point that the forthcoming “The Dark Knight” makes sweet visual love to our fair city. Certain set-pieces, like in the LaSalle St canyon and on Lower Wacker, are already the stuff of pre-legend. Over at EveryBlock, we’ve mapped the more than two dozen locations where the film was shot.
He's kept you safe from The Penguin for years. Now, Chicagoans, here's your chance to tell Batman you've got his back. A rally organized by "Citizens for Batman" will be held Tuesday evening on Wacker Drive between Monroe and Adams at the (ahem) Gotham City Community Center No. 5. Sure, they might be giving away some "Dark Knight"-related swag, but we're sure it has NOTHING to do with the movie which opens on July 18.
They gave us 31 days of horror clips and 31 days of Christmas clips, and now the Facets blog is giving us 31 days of weird movie trailers.
As the Sun-Times asks Chicagoans for their favorite memories from the past, no doubt many would include the one-of-a-kind Maxwell Street. A new DVD looks at the history of the cultural crossroads and includes a 1964 documentary on the street, vintage recordings of some of the blues legends who plied their trade on the street and a 38-page booklet.
A bunch of new special footage of The Dark Knight is now available, including a mini-feature on filming in Chicago.
Head to Rosemont tonight (through Sunday) for the annual Flashback Weekend Chicago Horror Convention and you could find yourself rubbing elbows with Chicago's own Svengoolie, Mistress of the Dark Elvira, or even Gapers Block film critic Steve Prokopy as he hosts the 40th anniversary reunion of the cast of Night of the Living Dead (plus a Q&A with director George Romero). And don't miss the inflatable drive-in movie theater.
Aspiring Chicago filmmakers! The final deadline is fast approaching for the Chicago Underground Film Festival! Get your feature, short, animated, documentary or experimental film entered by July 15th and mark your calendars for the 15th annual film fest Oct. 28-Nov. 2, 2008.
Another Dark Knight will be in Chicago this weekend: The Dark Knight Project.
Tickets go on sale Thursday for "72 Hours of Batman," a weekend-long extravaganza at the Navy Pier IMAX starting at midnight on July 18.
Filmmaker Floyd Webb is hosting a fundraiser at the Occult Bookstore on Friday the 13th to raise money for his documentary The Search for Count Dante. Webb promises a preview screening of the film and a demonstration of Count Dante's world's deadliest fighting techniques by Master Chris Pieschala.
Business Week TV profiles Optimo Hats, the company behind the hats Tom Hanks wore in Road to Perdition and Johnny Depp is wearing in that movie we're all aware is filming in Chicago.
As NPR reports, and Netflix members can see for themselves, people like watching movies about where they live. We're no exception: the first six movies that are disproportionately watched by Chicagoans are about or take place in Chicago.
Hollywood Chicago snapped photos of the stars of Sex in the City headed for a taping of "Oprah."
Funnyman Harvey Korman, originally a Chicago boy, Carol Burnett Show performer, Mel Brooks troupe member, and voice of the Great Gazoo has passed away at the age of 81.
Lincoln Avenue was gussied up for the new Michael Mann film Public Enemies, as testified by this Flickr photo set. Johnny Depp plays Dillinger. I wonder if he's heard the (false) rumor about what happened to Little Dillinger after John was gunned down near the Biograph Theater?
HollywoodChicago.com has a slideshow of photos from the Public Enemies shoot happening this week at and around the Biograph Theater.
The Chicago Undergound Film Festival is now accepting submissions for their 15th annual film fest, to be held this fall. Complete details available at the CUFF blog.
Coudal brought to our attention Monster Camp, which finishes a run at Facets Cinematheque tonight! Get tickets now!
Hideous Beast recently announced a short film project, Show and Tell. Find a member of their community willing to teach something they feel is valuable to a larger public, and make a one- to three-minute movie about it. The finished flicks will be shown here and on the Beast's Movie Bus.
If you can't wait until the July 18th opening of "The Dark Knight, you can attempt to get tickets to the Chicago International Film Festival's special screening of the film at the Navy Pier IMAX on July 16th (where they'll be honoring Director Christopher Nolan). Tickets go on sale on 5/16, call 312.683.0121 x154 or go to the website.
Only two days remain in the Dance Movie Blogathon! Learn yourself all about David Bowie's footwork in Labyrinth, Kevin Bacon's prototypical Angry Young Dancer ("I'm so angry I'm dancing up against backlit silo walls") -- and so very much more. [via]
I know you just got back to your desk after a long lunch, but you should really take five minutes and watch this... uh, thing.
The next Sound Opinions movie night is coming on Friday, May 9th, and it's a good one: Rock'n'Roll High School, which pits The Ramones against an evil principal played by Mary Woronov. Amazingly, Ms. Woronov will be in attendance at the screening for Q&A about the film (how DID they get that paper airplane in Paul Bartel's ear?). Tickets available at the Chicago Public Radio Website.
Roger Ebert's 2008 Film Festival begins tonight in Urbana, IL but the film critic won't be attending this year. He explains in his Sun-Times blog that he decided not to make the journey after recently fracturing his hip. Get well soon, Roger!
The Electronics Visualization Lab at UIC has a YouTube channel with videos of their many computer graphics and video experiments. One in particular is worth checking out: a making-of video from 1977 describing how animator Larry Cuba created those Death Star simulations in Episode IV. (via)
Movie fans would be wise to get in on Schadenfreude's Summer 2008 Movie Blockbuster Brackets.
Beverly area natives and Matrix creators Andy and Larry Wachowski are bringing their cutting-edge movie special effects post-production gizmos to a vacant Ravenswood building. If they reprise the Matrix series, will we finally see Neo at Neo?
If you want to geek out about the Blues Brothers, and I mean really geek out, then check out this site. It has a google map that places all of the filming locations along with a history of what has happened to the site since then. (Don't forget to scroll up and see the scene that was filmed in Milwaukee.)
New York Tims film critic A.O. Scott presents an appreciation of Roger Ebert's career as a film critic. (via)
Roger Ebert still needs further surgery to permit him to speak, but still plans to continue reviewing movies. He's taking a break right now, but will resume reviews after his annual film fest on April 23-27.
Local filmmaker Darryl Roberts screens his latest work, America The Beautiful, concerning the country's apparent obsession with beauty, tonight, 7:30pm, at the latest installment of the Midwest Indepent Film Festival. In an interview, Roberts talks about what prompted the examination.
On Friday the line-up of films for Roger Ebert's 10th annual film festival was announced. Unfortunately you latecomers won't be able to get festival passes for the event, but individual tickets for each of the films will go on sale this Friday, April 4.
An unusual movie begins shooting in Chicago today. The thriller Helix is set to be filmed in ONE TAKE beginning today, with several locations around town scheduled to be shut down to accomodate the unusual endeavor.
The marketing whizzes for the upcoming The Dark Knight (read: Batman) movie thought it would be a cool idea to promote the film's fictional district attorney Harvey Dent as a real candidate here in Chicago. The early returns weren't too good: police gave them the boot.
The New York Times tells us how Dark Knight director Christopher Nolan crafted his vision for the film, how "the messiness of reality can't be faked" and how cool it was to shut down Chicago streets on command.
The Sun-Times has a story on Inquiring Nuns, a 1968 film that follows two nuns around the streets of Chicago, asking people that very question. Think of it as a 1968 version of "You Are Beautiful". Inquiring Nuns screens this Sunday at the Chicago History Museum; details in Slowdown.
The Trib offers an article and some video features about the movie Floored, which is currently documenting the lives of the open-outcry traders on the CME.
Sure, reveling in beer-soaked festivities on St. Patrick's Day is one way to recognize Irish culture. For those of you who prefer a more low-key, cinematic celebration, the 9th annual Chicago Irish Film Festival opens tonight at the Beverly Arts Center. The showcase of new and old Irish feature films, shorts and documentaries runs through March 5.
A documentary on the inimitable Chicago-based artist and rocker Wesley Wills debuts tomorrow (Friday) at the Noise Pop Festival in San Francisco. The late Willis was known for his headbutts and requests for fans to "say rawr."
Johnny Depp will be in Wisconsin later this year for the filming of the Michael Mann-produced John Dillinger biopic Public Enemies. Joining him will be Christian Bale, who is no stranger to the area from filming Batman here last summer.
At 7pm tonight only, catch Jaque Tati's masterpiece Playtime (it's the Reader's Rosenbaum's favorite movie) at U of C's Doc Films. Tickets are just $5. (Thanks, Brandy!)
Mon Congrats to Lemont-born Diablo Cody who took home the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay at last night's 80th Annual Academy Awards. Of course, now that all the excitement's over, all that's left is a myriad of odd hollywood gossip stories about the stripper turned blogger turned screenwriter.
Fans of scantily clad Internet star Tila Tequila are invited to a casting call being held on Saturday, March 1 from 4-8 p.m. at a Loop location TBA. E Oh Productions is conducting the talent search on behalf of a documentary project about the Tequila phenomenon; contact them here.
If you can't have Johnny Depp in your arms, you can at least try to get him into your car. The producers of Public Enemies, a Michael Mann-directed flick starring Depp as John Dillinger, want your vintage cars, trucks and buses for the film. If you have a ride that fits the bill (circa 1930-35), bring a photo of it to the Hyatt Regency Woodfield in Schaumburg between 9am and 4pm this Saturday. You can also e-mail your pictures to pechicago@gmail.com.
Iconic horror film magazine Fangoria is teaming up with the normally erudite Music Box Theater to present a "Winter Massacre Horror Film Festival" February 22-23 in conjunction with the magazine's local convention. Highlights include a showing of "Friday The 13th" with a live cast reunion and a "A Nightmare on Elm Street" introduced by Robert (Freddy Kreuger) Englund. Admission is free for convention attendees, otherwise you have to pony up at the door or buy tickets online.
Chicago's own Common has been chosen to play Green Lantern in the coming Justice League of America film.
More big names have been added to the cast of Humboldt Park, a holiday movie set in (you guessed it) Chicago's Humboldt Park neighborhood. Joining John Leguizamo will be Alfred Molina and "Will and Grace" star Debra Messing. Shooting is scheduled to start on February 13. We're guessing the boathouse will be featured in there somewhere.
From Call Northside 777 to The Blues Brothers, the Trib reminds us of another reason to check out movies filmed in Chicago.
At the beginning of this month the Gene Siskel Film Center canceled screenings of the documentary Senator Obama Goes to Africa when the Senator won big in Iowa. In case you still wanted to see the doc, the Music Box will be hosting a couple of screenings in coming weeks. Details in Slowdown.
The Reader's film blog notes that Facets Multimedia is starting up its winter session of weeknight film classes next month. Four different classes are being offered; check the Facets Website for the schedule and class details.
Amazingly, there are still tickets available for B-Fest, the annual 24-hour b-movie marathon. It's this Friday and Saturday; grab a sleeping bag and get in there.
The Reader's film blog reports on one of the down sides to Barack Obama's big showing in Iowa: the Gene Siskel Film Center's cancellation of screenings of Senator Obama Goes To Africa, a documentary of Obama's visit to the African continent in 2006. If you still want to see the movie, it's available on DVD, and there's a short clip on YouTube.
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind director Michel Gondry will be discussing his new film, Be Kind Rewind at the Apple Store at 679 N. Michigan tonight from 7 to 8pm. Time Out Chicago's Ben Kenigsberg will be moderating the event.
Sacha Baron Cohen, the mastermind behind Ali G and Borat, is slated to play Abbie Hoffman in Steven Spielberg's The Trial of the Chicago 7. The city's image is still reeling a bit from the clash between Chicago police, Hoffman and other anti-war protestors.
Roscoe Village's Hard Boiled Records and Video is dropping the "and video" part of its name to make room for more vinyl. All DVDs are priced to move, which means tons of last-minute holiday gifts for your loved ones who love indie films, foreign flicks, obscure TV series, and super-bloody Asian cinema. Nothing says Christmas cheer like Hong Kong action!
In this week's Reader, news about a documentary about StreetWise vendors. The movie has its premiere tonight at the Park West; details in Slowdown. And if you miss the film tonight, you should be able to buy a DVD copy from your favorite StreetWise vendor.
Batman fans will be excited to hear that a six-minute prologue from the next installment will show at the Navy Pier Imax Theatre before I am Legend.
Holiday classic or pandering schmaltz? Frank Capra's It's A Wonderful Life is the next film thrown into the ring in the latest round of Cinema Slapdown at the Columbia College Film Row Cinema tomorrow night; full details in Slowdown. Columbia staffer Brigid Murphy will defend the film while Tribune movie critic Michael J. Phillips goes on the offensive. Mr. Potter would be proud...
Find production crews, set designers, DVD duplicating services, audition space and more in Screen Magazine's film industry guide targeting that geographical area "between the coasts."
That's right, Road House fans. The Patrick Swayze is in town filming an A&E show, "The Beast." We spoke with a crewman at the Wicker Park unit who showed us the shooting schedule, so if you want to spot yourself some Swayze, head to Emmit's this eve. He'll be in the area.
"I don't know how you can be pro-human and not anti-war," John Cusack says in an interview about his new film, Grace Is Gone, (shot in and around Chicago) which officially opens tomorrow.
John C. Reilly will take the stage at the Cubby Bear tonight - in character as Dewey Cox - to promote his upcoming film Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story. Fingers crossed that Chris Gaines joins him for a number or two. [via]
After celebrating October with 31 days of horror clips, the fine folks at Facets' blog are celebrating December with 31 days of video clips for the winter holidays.
A new trailer for the upcoming film Chicago 10. [via]
The fine folks of Sound Opinions take on the new Joe Strummer documentary, The Future is Unwritten, during their movie night tomorrow at the Music Box. Tickets appear to be still available here.
Senator Obama Goes to Africa, a feature documentary by Chicago-based Media Process Group, comes out on DVD this month. The film chronicles Obama's journey around the continent, including such stops as the prison where Nelson Mandela was held, a Darfur refugee camp in Chad, and Kisumu, Kenya -- where he reconnects with his family's past. Pre-sales of the DVD began Nov. 10, with a ship date of Nov. 20. [via]
Inspired by My Kid Could Paint That (the documentary of a father who sold his four year-old daughter's paintings for big bucks), the what-is-art debate rages amongst Chicago's storefront theater intelligentsia over at the blog Angry White Guy. You can still catch the film in Wilmette and rue your own unappreciated kinder-masterpieces, or see Mr. Fluxus at The Neo-Futurarium and decide whether you agree with Yoko Ono's take on art.
Vince Vaughn is making an appearance at the AMC River East 21, 322 E. Illinois St., tonight at 5:15pm for the Chicago premiere of his new movie, Fred Claus. Tickets to the premiere are sold out, but you can help create an atmosphere of celebrity-crazed pandemonium by lining up to watch Vaughn and director David Dobkin walk the red carpet.
As long as you don't mind seeing a movie a couple weeks after it comes out (assuming it stays in the theaters that long), Kerasotes has a deal for you.
Hollywood Chicago yesterday published their review of festival hit Juno. The movie was penned by Chicago native (subsequently transplanted to Minneapolis and then LA) Diablo Cody.
Joel Swanberg lives and makes movies here in Chicago. The NY Times and IFC have taken notice, but he still wonders where money for groceries will come from. The Reader profiles Swanberg and "mumblecore," the film genre he helped create.
Facets, the best video store in the city for indie and obscure films, has a blog, and they're posting a horror clip a day for the month of October. [via]
It's the 25th anniversary of Poltergeist, and for one night only -- tonight -- the original film is back in theaters. Catch it at the River East 21 or one of a handful in the suburbs. Don't go into the light.
Facets Film School's first fall term has already started, but the second fall term begins the first week of November and ends right before Christmas. Classes are weekly (with Thanksgiving week off), 7 to 10 PM, and cost under $100 for the term. If you like Woody Allen dramas, outlaw couples, movies out of Hong Kong, or Howard Hawks movies (and who doesn't?), you still have time to enroll. You can find more details here.
To get into the Halloween spirit, the fine folks at Facets are posting one horror film clip per day on the Facets blog. Expect to see a bunch of classic film moments from the people who run one of the best video stores in the city.
If you missed last week's Michigan Avenue screening of Wes Anderson's Hotel Chevalier, you can still watch it before The Darjeeling Limited by downloading it for free from iTunes [link will open iTunes].
Forbes.com scored 60 well-known pundits who critique entertainment, news, sports, etc., and found Roger Ebert to be the most powerful pundit in America. Use your power wisely, Roger. (via)
Wes Anderson's Darjeeling Limited comes out this weekend, but you can catch its sort-of prequel, Hotel Chevalier, a 12-minute short film starring Jason Schwartzman and Natalie Portman, at the Michigan Avenue Apple Store tomorrow night at 9pm. Screenwriter Roman Coppola will answer questions after the show.
The new comedy I Want Someone to Eat Cheese With, which was filmed in Chicago and stars Second City alum and city native Jeff Garlin, opened this week to good reviews. The film, which also stars Sarah Silverman, Amy Sedaris and Bonnie Hunt, has a hilarious trailer; apparently, it's the only thing we'll get to see in these parts right now, as the movie isn't playing anywhere in Chicago until October 5 (at the Music Box, with Garlin attending the premiere).
A trailer for I Want Someone to Eat Cheese With, starring Jeff Garlin, Sarah Silverman and the City of Chicago. (Thanks, Dubi!)
Did you know that Siskel and Ebert copyrighted their thumbs up/down designation? And did you know that last weekend's airing of At the Movies took place without the use of those iconic thumbs? Turns out there's some kind of dispute between Ebert and the show's owner, and the renewal of the use of the thumbs is still undecided.
The Dark Knight which has been filming in Chicago on and off for the past few months is doing something big. The Brachs Candy factory will be imploded on August the 29th August the 30th between 10:30am and noon. The implosion will be later added digitally into the film for a building explosion. Details here. Update: Note the date and time change. New details here.
Chicago-based Mr. Skin is your number one source for who's naked in what movie; Business POV interviewed the founder, Jim McBride, and discovered it's also a $6 million-a-year moneymaker with 44 employees. (NSFW)
When I saw the Michael Moore dramedy Sicko a few weeks ago, a preview was shown for The King of Kong, a documentary about a fight between two total freakazoids for the top Donkey Kong score in the Guinness Book of World Records. The preview got a lot of laughs, so I think it will be a winner of a film. Ain't it Cool News is sponsoring a free showing of the film on Tuesday, August 21 (tickets are going fast, so get on this pony right quick). Click here for details and to RSVP.
Looking for some movies this weekend? There's a ton to see, and none of it involves a major cineplex. Saturday is another night of Movies in the Park and is Home Movie Day, and Chopin Theatre is hosting a tribute to director Ingmar Bergman on Saturday and Sunday for $7 a show or $20 per day. See Slowdown for details.
Get a shot at your 15 minutes in the new Batman movie, and help out a local non-profit tutoring center at the same time. Just volunteer to be an extra from 6am-6pm Friday, Saturday or Sunday this weekend 8/24-8/26 for the latest Dark Knight flick and 826Chicago gets $50 for each day you're out there. Other bonuses: You get two meals, plus snacks; you get tickets for daily raffles and you get your mug in a big police funeral scene in the movie. If you're game, email mara@826chi.org by noon Friday, Aug. 10th with your full name, day or days you are committing to (Friday, Saturday, Sunday), age, race, if you're male or female and a phone number.
As reader Pat says, "if you have the means, I highly recommend picking one up."
80's mechanical icon Johnny Five is apparently being sold on ebay, and bidding starts at a cool $100,000. A special exo-skeleton, which controls all of the mechanical features, is also included. For an extra dose of nostalgia, check out the previously mentioned, newly available 1988 Siskel and Ebert review.
Our former film critic Gordon McAlpin and his wonderful Multiplex comic got some attention from Boxoffice Magazine.
If you do documentary film work around Chicago, you may want to submit to the Chicago Reporter's John A. McDermott Documentary Short Film Fest. While you're at it, check out the new issue.
Yesterday Roger Ebert announced that a couple decades' worth of video reviews from the Siskel & Ebert (and Ebert & Roeper) movie review programs would be available online to the public this Thursday. Well, the site appears to be live right now! Check it out: everything from Roger's killer take on 1994's North to Siskel's appreciation of Spielberg's Schindler's List. Roger Ebert fans will want to visit the site tomorrow evening, when Roger will answer fans' questions about any subject (submit your question now).
The Chicago Underground Film Festival has updated its Website to include this year's schedule. Loads of interesting-looking films this year, including a documentary about Thax Douglas, a documentary about modern-era roller derby, and Orchard Vale, the debut film by local musician Tim Kinsella. See the CUFF Website for full details and to purchase tickets.
Our own Steve Prokopy is a guest host on the latest episode of the popular local podcast Filmspotting. Adam Kempenaar and I discuss Rescue Dawn, which he reviewed last week, and Sunshine, which he reviews this week. You can download the episode here.
This weekend, the Music Box is being invaded by that other form of moving pictures: TV. The first-ever Chicago TV Pilot Competition showcases comedy television pilots based on ideas from Chicagoans. It even comes with its own commercial, by FoGB Steve Delahoyde.
Starting on Sunday, the Stockyard Institute, AREA Chicago and other organizations will initiate "Pedagogical Factory: Exploring Strategies for an Educated City" at the Hyde Park Art Center. Throughout its run, topics will include "How We Peoples Make a People's Atlas of Chicago," "How We Grow: Self-Education and Urban Farming Gathering" and "How We Brew/Bake/Mead Etc Cottage Expo."
The Chicago Film Critics Association (of which our own Steve at the Movies is a member) is slapping 20th Century Fox with a boycott, claiming the studio is discriminating against some of its member critics from less prominent media — specifically, Internet-based critics. (Thanks, Dee!)
Meet folkstreams.net, a project to preserve documentaries about American roots cultures. There is, of course, a Midwestern section, and at least two Chicago-related films "The Popovich Brothers of South Chicago" and "Grace Earl."
Not willing to drive all the way to 63rd and Harlem for a Squishee? The Methods Reporter has your hook-up.
Michael Phillips takes an informal poll of Chicago Tribune staffers, and the movies they walked out on. Looking over the many reader comments, everybody's a critic.
Green Lantern is hosting a book launch/video screening/reading tonight from 7pm to 9pm at 1511 N Milwaukee, 2nd flr. Josh MacPhee will discuss his new book, Realizing the Impossible: Art Against Authority, our own Anne Elizabeth Moore will do a short reading and discuss the demise of Punk Planet, and Dara Greenwald will present her rotating collection of short videos that make you laugh and cry. It's free; BYOB.
Tom McNamee of the Sun-Times offers his "Top 10 Greatest Chicago Movies." The list is heavy on recent popular flicks, but there are still a couple of out-of-the way movies worth checking out.
Yes, Chicago has a Kwik-E-Mart. One of the city's 7-Eleven locations was turned into the convenience store from "The Simpsons" to hype the new movie. So if you need Squishees, Krusty-O's or a Radioactive Man comic, head on over to 6754 W. 63rd.
If you missed Helvetica (the documentary about the landmark typeface created 50 years ago) when it played this month at the Gene Siskel Film Center, you've got yourself a reprieve: the Reader's film blog reports that the documentary (the highest-grossing film in the Film Center's history!) will be back at the end of September.
Filmmaker Michael Moore stopped by yesterday to promote his new film Sicko and stand in solidarity with Chicago nurses demanding universal health care. Counter-protestors were on hand at the film's Washington, DC, premiere, because Moore is a "controversial, polarizing figure" who thinks one of the wealthiest nations on earth shouldn't let its citizens be financially reamed if they're foolish enough to get sick.
As you know, the new Batman movie, The Dark Knight, is filming around town right now. An alert apartment dweller shot some photos with her phonecam of Batman doing some unsafe stuff on a back deck, revealing to the world the look of the latest costume. HollywoodChicago also has some video of filming in Buena Park.
Chicago 10 is a new documentary by Brett Morgen about the 1968 Democratic National Convention and the Chicago Seven Conspiracy Trial. In an interesting turn, scenes are either computer animations or archival footage set to a modern soundtrack (get a load of the taking of the Logan statue in Grant Park against the Beastie Boys' "Sabotage"). Who says you can't repackage rebellion?
The Facets blog reminds us that today is Roger Ebert's 65th birthday. Happy birthday, Roger, and get well soon.
Student Films Across America is a collection of, you guessed it, short films by students from around the country, including one from Chicago. Head to the Lakeshore Theatre tomorrow night at 7:30pm to see An Open Door by local film student Sean Jourdan and others, all for the same $10 you'd spend watching another lame Hollywood blockbuster.
Word from Kartemquin Films regarding their in progress film: "Kartemquin is currently working on Typeface, a documentary about cultural preservation, rural renewal and graphic design history in the Midwest.To support these efforts, we're holding a benefit on June 15th at the Center for Book and Paper Arts here in Chicago. Toad Hollow Vineyards is providing the bubbly, MJ Catering is bringing the sweets and a number of local artists (including Jay Ryan and Dennis Ichiyama) are donating original works for the silent auction." While the much lauded Helvetica opens the same night at the Siskel, it is a weeklong engagement. So, why not support the locals? Looks good to me.
Did you know that the musical Grease was set in Chicago? The movie version wasn't -- it's in California -- but hey, it makes a good segue to the fact that "Sing-Along Grease hits the Music Box Theatre starting this Friday. The film's songs are subtitled in case you forget the words (as if), and there's a goodie bag and costume contest before the show. Get your tickets now, because the weekend showings are sure to sell out.
Those of you who saw Crispin Glover last November at the Music Box Theatre when he was in town screening his film What Is It? will be interested to know that he's returning to town in a couple weeks to provide live narration for Canadian director Guy Maddin's latest film, Brand Upon The Brain! Alongside Mr. Glover will be an 11-piece orchestra providing music, a team of foley artists providing sound effects, and a castrato providing ... unique singing, I suppose. Tickets are definitely going to go fast for these performances, so go see the Music Box Website for full details and ticket links.
Proving the steel-like endurance and cultural power of teen movies, the 20th anniversary re-release of Dirty Dancing will be shown tonight (and tomorrow) at 7:30pm at the AMC River East 21 (at 322 East Illinois). In addition to the visual treat of mid-career Swayze, you'll also get to see a documentary about the making of the movie, complete with cast interviews. Click here for tickets.
Wonder how Roger Ebert's appearance at the Overlooked Film Festival went? Mark Caro has a report.
Looks like there's a fire taking place at the old Post Office, where the latest installment of the Batman series, The Dark Knight, is being filmed. Note that I didn't say, "Holy ________!" at any point.
Roger Ebert will be attending his ninth annual Overlooked Film Festival, and in today's Sun-Times he's written a new column explaining that he's not going to be hiding his illness when he steps back into the public eye this week.
With all of the hubbub about the Olympics, there's an argument that sports shouldn't get all of the attention. In a city currently alive with Version>07, and soon to have Artropolis going too, art should also be at the forefront. Tribune art critics provide a few conceptions of how art could work with the Olympics.
The $21 billion sale of LaSalle Bank to Bank of America is a relatively small part of one of the largest financial mergers ever by LaSalle's soon-to-be-former parent company. Global implications, yadda yadda. I'm more concerned with speculating how the deal will affect our civic life: will BoA close some superfluous branches, thereby freeing up some storefronts for businesses that are actually useful and enjoyable? Seriously, Chicago is drowning in bank branches. And what's the fate of the LaSalle Bank Cinema, or the only-christened-last-May LaSalle Bank Theatre? "Bank of America Theatre"? Gross.
You may have heard rumors of strange police cars roaming the city...might they be GPD? In any case the Dark Knight crew is filming in a few locations around town, like the old post office in the loop. Thanks Heather! Update: more pictures of the "Gotham National Something" building are popping up. Thanks David!
From the establishment of the Hull House Theater to the World's Columbian Exposition, the Sun Times lists their take on "The 50 Greatest Chicago Moments."
Check out Screen Magazine's feature on Chicago native Casey Suchan's well received documentary Rock the Bells. Then check out the film itself Tuesday night. Details in Slowdown.
Today is the 40th anniversary of Roger Ebert being named the film critic of the Sun-Times. He reflects on the date, and his current medical condition, at his Sun-Times website.
R2D2 is roaming the city, and it wants you to visit the "Jedi Shipping and Mailing Master" to vote for your favorite Star Wars stamps.
There's no question that the documentary is enjoying a surge in popularity, and if you're looking for more films, browse the schedule for the Chicago International Documentary Festival. There are films from all over the world (that's the international part), but if you're interested in local stories there are also documentaries about the Illinois Parole Board, Maxwell St., and Public Housing. Look closely at the schedule as in many cases the directors will appear at the screenings.
Want to see a movie tomorrow night? There's an advance screening of Black Book, a WWII period piece set in Nazi-occupied Holland, tomorrow night (Tuesday) at 7pm at Landmark Century Center Cinemas, 2828 N. Clark St., courtesy of Nerve.com and Sony Pictures Classics. It's free, but you have to RSVP here to get in.
If Jennifer Hudson can do it, so can you. "Crazy Neighbors From Hell" is going to be HUGE. Prospective Big Tonies, Uncle Kavorkians, and Black Elvis/James Browns are especially needed. Have acceptance speech ready.
Chicago native Jennifer Hudson won the Academy Award for best supporting actress.
Perhaps inspired by Chicago's Bob Newhart statue, Joliet plans to build a statue of their most famous fictional residents, Jake and Elwood Blues. The statue is part of the city's plans to boost Joliet tourism. There are also plans to build a Route 66 welcome center to entice drivers that are travelling the historic highway that originates in Chicago.
What could be better than being at home, watching a movie on a snowy day? Why, being in the office and trying to outpredict Roger Ebert's Oscar guesses to win a trip to Mexico!
The Gaylord and Dorothy Donnelley Foundation just completed its Chicago Region Arts Scan, a major research report surveying all non-profit arts organizations in the Chicago region in 2006. In addition to being a comprehensive directory, the report provides especially fascinating information pertaining to the growth, location, composition and funding of these organizations.
After being dropped by Tom Cruise and Paula Wagner's production company, Paramount has picked up the film rights to Eric Larson's The Devil in the White City. One hopes that Cruise will still consider playing the part of Victorian serial murderer H.H. Holmes, as the thought of the toothy Scientologist in a handlebar mustache is irresistible.
The current rumor about the next Batman movie, The Dark Knight, is that it's filming in Chicago for 80 days this summer under the secret identity/code name Rory's First Kiss. That's Rory, not Robin, by the way.
Filming for Fred Claus, in which Vince plays Santa's bitter brother, will shut down Wacker Drive between Wabash and Orleans this Friday night from 8-11. The bridges at Wabash, State, Dearborn, LaSalle, Wells and Franklin will also be closed intermittently during that time so that helicopters can get awesome shots of the river. Vaughn previously stopped traffic around town during the summer of 2005 while filming The Break-Up.
Tense Forms, the collaborative multi-disciplinary, project-based workgroup, is holding their 2nd annual Winter Showcase at Subterranean on February the 2nd at 8pm onwards. The showcase features an insane amount of buttons (1000+), a wall of televisions screening all kinds of visual art as well as live music.
After last year's small success in Chicago, we've heard word that the Bicycle Film Festival will be back again. Currently, founding director Brendt Barbur and co are looking for new submissions for the 2007 round of film festivals set to take place in up to 15 cities: "We are looking for films with a strong theme or character of bicycles. This includes all mediums and styles such as animation, experimental, narrative, documentary and music videos." The deadline is February the 17th so you have about a month to get going or fine-tune that piece you've been working on. Details at the site or take a look at the flyer here.
The Chicago Film Critics award winners were announced today. Winning films include The Departed (Best Picture and Best Director), The Queen (Best Original Screenplay and Best Actress) Little Children (Best Supporting Actor) and An Inconvenient Truth (Best Documentary).
Hey, remember how the City decided not to show the trailer for The Nativity Story at the Christkindlmarket back in November? Well, a church group apparently decided it was important to take a stand, so it's now showing on a continuous loop at the fair, although with the sound off. And 32 Baby Jesuses, stolen from nativity scenes around the city, turned up in a St. Symphorosa Church parishoner's yard, sorted by design.
Or fans of Nicholas Cage, Yoshiyuki Tomino, or US drug laws? Just in time for the holidays, you can bid on four very special autographed movie posters and benefit the Chicago International Film Festival. The auction runs until 15 December.
Unaccompanied Minors, a feature film based on a This American Life episode, makes its Chicago premier Sunday, 12/3 at 1pm at the AMC River East 21, 322 E. Illinois St. TAL host Ira Glass will be on hand to talk about how radio translates to the big screen, and director Paul Feig will do a Q&A. Tickets are $5 for adults, $3 for kids 12 and under. More info and ticket purchasing at Chicago Public Radio.
Part of our ongoing "we-wish-Roeper-would-just-go-away" coverage, Rob Federer reports in his Sun Times column today that NPR host Peter Sagal will be filling in for Roger Ebert this week on "Ebert and Roeper At The Movies". A disappointment -- Ebert and Sagal would be a much more entertaining combo than the current setup.
There's room at the Christkindlmarket for a nativity scene (as well as Islamic and Jewish holiday symbols), but not for The Nativity Story. The movie was dropped as a sponsor because the City thought the marketing was "too aggressive."
By way of again plugging the Crispin Glover movie and appearance at the Music Box this weekend, allow me to point you to an interview with the auteur on 848 this morning, and a review of the film by our very own Steve at the Movies.
We were at the Music Box this weekend and noticed that the theater has added a third night to next weekend's screening of Crispin Glover's bizarre film What Is It? Mr. Glover himself will be at the theater to present the film (along with an accompanying slide show dubbed "The Big Slide Show"); if that sounds like your idea of a good time, check out Slowdown for Friday, Saturday or Sunday.
Reeling: the 25th Chicago gay and lesbian film festival kicks off tonight at the Music Box Theater with Eating Out 2, a film being billed as "the world's first ever gay sequel". The festival runs through November 12 at various film venues in the city; see the festival's Website for a complete schedule.
Another week, another couple more Roger Ebert reviews. This week he looks at Sofia Coppola's Marie Antoinette (opening today at lots of theaters around town) and the indie film Man Push Cart (opening today at the Music Box). As always, these films and others are reviewed by our own Steve at the Movies, as well.
It's the big number 10 for the RESFEST group and this year the pioneering film festival is kicking things off at Chicago's Museum of Contemporary Art. This global event offers such visuals as the documentary Rock the Bells from Paris, to graphics and animation in State of the Art showing in Lima, and let's not forget the after- parties rolling in Jakarta. What you can't make it to all these cities? It's ok, Chicago will be screening A Decade of RESFEST: 10 Seminal Short Films so you can catch up on all the past-production and playback.
This Halloween season has plenty to offer the ghoul lurking inside of you. Unusual offerings include KFAR's Spookagogue Synagogue, the Apollo Theater's Haunting History, the Six Corners Monster Film Festival, and Ursula Bielski's Creepy Chicago Hauntings. Check slowdown for additional options.
Roger Ebert writes from his recovery bed on the complications from last June's surgery, his slow rehabilitation, and when he expects to be able to resume movie reviewing. He's also written a review for Stephen Frears' The Queen which should be posted soon at Roger's Website.
The Chicago Short Film Brigade rises from the ashes of the late lamented Prime Shorts Film Festival to "present a wide variety of local and international short films to the public in non-academic, non-festival environments." Screenings start in January and will be quarterly (they're looking for submissions, btw). Andrew Bird is on the Brigade's board, and he's doing a quartet of shows to benefit it. Unfortunately, those shows will be in Dubuque, Cedar Rapids, Minneapolis and Madison -- but what a great excuse for a road trip!
Want a free pair of tickets to a preview screening of The Science of Sleep this Wednesday at 8pm? Be one of the first to email inbox@gapersblock.com and they're yours. UPDATE: We have our winners! Congrats, Nadia and Nicole!
We all know that the Art Institute was a location for Ferris Bueller's Day Off, but did you know that Gerri's Palm Tavern was a location for The Sixth Sense? MovieMappr knows, and it will show you where Gerri's was.
With all of this walking around Chicago, why not take an idiosyncratic video stroll through the city?
Tonight's your last chance to catch a movie at the Esquire Theater on Oak Street. The '30s-era cinema is closing and will be demolished to make way for a planned retail-hotel complex -- because that neighborhood needs another one. The Reader has visitation hours -er, showtimes.
The Toronto International Film Festival started this week, and with Roger Ebert still recuperating from surgery, Jim Emerson (editor-in-chief of Roger's Website) is attenting the festival and writing up dispatches for his Sun-Times blog. If you're missing Ebert's regular commentary on film fest happenings, try checking those out. And speaking of Roger Ebert and film fests, don't forget that the Music Box is showing a series of films taken from Ebert's "Great Movies" columns. This weekend the Great Movie is Ernst Lubitsch's Trouble In Paradise.
Hey, did you know Mike Judge's new film Idiocracy is now playing in Chicago? Local writer guy Nathan Rabin, afraid that the movie will be under-marketed like Judge's classic film Office Space, clues you in to what you're missing.
The Reader's Jonathan Rosenbaum picks 10 neglected science fiction movies for DVDBeaver.com.
With so much Four Eyed Monsters material online in the form of video podcasts, MySpace pages and the like, it's hard to know what'll be left to show on the screen. Still, you and your art school friends can get ideas on how to conduct courtships solely through mixed media (no talking!) as Susan Buice & Arin Crumley's labor of love plays at the Gene Siskel Film Center every Thursday next month. [via]
The Music Box Theatre, which recently got a shiny new website, is known, among other things, for its old-timey organ. As for the man behind that organ, Mark Noller, he's apt to be known for taking his work home with him: the Reader treks out to Noller's house in Manteno (south of Peotone, if that helps) and finds his double-wide doubling for, well, the Music Box.
The Chicago Underground Film Festival kicks off tonight at the Music Box. Don't know how that escaped our calendar.
Wondering when Roger Ebert will be back on the job? Well, it might be a while: the latest gossip is that Ebert had to have at least part of his jaw removed, and that recovery could take months. Spokespeople remain confident that Ebert will return to work at some point. Update: an email from Roger confirming the surgery details.
This terrific movie, a love story between married women, caused a huge controversy in India when it was released there in 1998. You can see it tonight on the roof of Gallery 37. Slowdown has the details.
The Illinois Bureau of Tourism has created a great site cataloging all the films shot in the state, with location listings for some of the top flicks in each region and a map of every major motion picture made in Illinois.
If you're yearning for some travel (video), check out YouTube user Srovetz's atmospheric videos documenting his train and car travel throughout the country. There are too many Chicago related videos to post here, but some train segments include Kansas City to Chicago, Chicago to New Orleans, and Chicago to New York.
If you've got Merge tunnel vision, and thus haven't noticed the fancy ad to the right, or the mentions in Slowdown, allow me: the international Bicycle Film Festival hits Columbia College's Film Row Cinema next weekend, and GB's in cahoots. We're sponsoring a kickoff party next Thursday night; details will be announced early next week. In the meantime, check out the listings and trailers, and grab tickets here before they sell out.
TurnHere is a site that collects short video guides about cities around the world. The Chicago section features some nice clips, including trips through Bronzeville, Wicker Park, Rogers Park, Pilsen and other neighborhoods.
Our film critic, Steve at the Movies, interviews William H. Macy at Ain't It Cool about his new film, Edmond, his time in Chicago working with David Mamet and more. And speaking of Macy, he'll be at select screenings of Edmond at the Siskel Film Center this weekend; get your tickets before they sell out.
Claire Zulkey wants to know about your Notflixing habits, the movies you got from Netflix that sit, unwatched, for months.
The Music Box Theatre, which had a so-so Website for the longest time, has suddenly redesigned its site, and it looks pretty snazzy! Just in time for a particularly exciting weekend of films at the theater: there's the 25th anniversary re-release of Raiders of the Lost Ark, a weekend matinee of Warner Brothers cartoons, some David Lynch short films, and Olivia Newton-John in Xanadu. See you at the movies....
...but only by a week! Director Brendt Barbur's international celebration of movies about cycling is still coming to Chicago, but it'll be from August 11-12 instead of August 4-5, and details are still TBA. (Trailers and more here.)
Tonight marks the start of this year's Chicago Outdoor Film Festival, just in time to coincide with a break in the heat (kind of). Make sure to leave your dog and bring your bike and always be respectful of your neighbors. All the Rebels (with or without causes) check out the details in Slowdown.
Steven Spielberg received a Golden Hugo for lifetime achievement last night at this year's Chicago International Film Festival awards. And who should make a surprise appearance but Tom Cruise! Is it just me, or does it look like he's going to kiss Spielberg in CBS2's video clip?
Tying nicely into the current Fuel question, local artistic group Lucky Pierre is looking for volunteers to eat 24 of the 350+ final meal requests from the executed prisoners on Texas Death Row for a video installation project. The meals will be filmed in Logan Square between 10am and 4pm on Saturday, July 22; email mealvolunteer[at]luckypierre.org to be one of the lucky few. (Thanks, Marie!)
Cinema/Chicago has scheduled its series of free screenings of international films on the same night as Chicago Sister Cities International's film series (which is $15 a show, but includes dinner catered by Fox & Obel). The savvy cinemaphile needn't choose between the two: Cinema/Chicago's movies start at 6 PM in the Cultural Center and Sister Cities' movies start at sundown on the roof of Gallery 37, just across the street.
Did you notice that the City North and Webster Place movie theaters went M.I.A. a couple of weeks ago? Well, they were casualties of the Loews-AMC merger and decisions of various authorities. While cheap night may be gone, Kerasotes bought the two theaters, and they're open again. UPDATE: Reader Meghan writes, "I went to City North 14 on Tuesday and got the usual $5 movie, free popcorn, and free parking. Looks like cheap night's not gone afterall!"
Crain's reports that Robert Redford is considering the site of a closed Fannie May candy factory for an outpost of his new Sundance Cinemas movie theater chain.
If you've been to O'Hare (and even if you haven't), you probably know that Chicago has a slew of sister cities: 25--to be exact--from Accra, Ghana, to Warsaw, Poland (click here for list). To commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Chicago Sister Cities program, Gallery 37 is showing international films on its roof every Wednesday evening through August 30. See Slowdown for details of individual screenings, or click here for a complete schedule.
Have an itch to make a short film? Overnight? That's right, it's time for another Fast Forward Film Festival. This time there's a sci-fi theme: "Three Minutes Into the Future," sponsored by geek webstore Woot.com. Go to Atomix Cafe, 1967 W. Chicago Ave., tomorrow, June 16, to register and get more instructions, then get to work. For the rest of us, there's a show of all the finished films Saturday night. More in this week's TimeOut Chicago.
Steven Spielberg will be the honoree at this year's Chicago International Film Festival summer gala, hosted by Bill Kurtis and featuring film highlights and "tributes by colleagues and friends." Ooh! Harrison? Hanks? Henry Thomas? Maybe you can ask Stevey why Jurassic Park IV is happening, or when we'll finally get Animaniacs on DVD. Tickets start at $315 for Cinema/Chicago members or if you're feeling generous, buy a table for ten of your friends for only $3500. If you haven't just won the Mega Millions, this Friday's evening with David Gordon Green (All the Real Girls) at the Future Filmmakers Festival might be more your speed.
After a last-minute effort to save Aurora's Hi-Lite Drive In, the city council voted yesterday to close the theater and move forward on a proposal to build a subdivision on the land. The main reason for closing down the Hi-Lite, which was Illinois' oldest operating drive-in, was that nobody appeared willing to pony up the $830,000 needed to renovate the place.
Today is a momentous date for cult film fans: the official DVD release date for Beyond the Valley of the Dolls. Roger Ebert, co-author of the screenplay with film director Russ Meyer, offers some thoughts on the production.
Charles and Ray Eames' Powers of Ten has been posted on YouTube. The iconic film shows what you'd see if you started at a one-meter view and then zoomed out one power at a time, then zoomed in the same way. The starting point is a man at a picnic near Soldier Field -- as near as I can tell, this is the exact spot on GoogleMaps. [via]
While watching a beautiful documentary about the historic Uptown Theatre, I was lucky enough to enjoy another one of Chicago's movie houses that has been restored. The Portage Theatre in Portage Park (near Irving and Milwaukee) is a huge movie house originally built in 1920 which seats 1,350 people. Recently re-reopened with a gala opening ceremony, it's been adopted for the two Silent Film Festivals, and it will also be showing some great classic and foreign films in the coming weeks. Call (773) 736-4050 for schedules (website coming).
The most important, scary, and inspirational documentary you are likely to see this year is An Inconvenient Truth. Essentially an expanded version of a presentation that former-Vice President Al Gore has been giving since the late 1980s on the visible perils of global warming, the film also incorporates archival footage of the-man-who-should-be-President's political life gathering support and enlightening citizens around the world on what should be a non-partisan issue. It's not a lecture, but that doesn't stop it from being a must-see eye-opener. The film opens today at the Landmark Century Center Cinema, the AMC River East theatre and at the Evanston Century theatre. (Thanks, Steve)
If you read Lawrence Wright's recent New Yorker article about Syrian filmmakers, you know that Syria is a country with six movie theaters, and state censorship sometimes permits movies to be made but not shown. Starting tomorrow, you can check out a few of those movies, as the Gene Siskel Film Center kicks off a program of Syrian cinema, part of a traveling exhibition organized by ArteEast.
At a committee meeting today in Aurora, the City Countil will begin to decide the fate of the Hi-Lite 30 Drive-In, the oldest operating drive-in in Illinois, which has been scheduled for demolition to make way for housing development. Naturally there are quite a few fans of the drive-in, and they are planning a rally before the meeting to try and sway the council vote. The site OurAurora.com has put together a page with proposals from all sides of the debate, so you can make up your own mind on the issue.
It's well known that Roger Ebert and Gene Siskel hated each other for much of their career as a film reviewing duo. Someone dug up three outtakes of the pair sparring during the filming of promos for their show. The animosity is palpable.
Today the Gene Siskel Film Center kicks off a three-week series, screening "top-quality archival prints of ... films selected for inclusion in the National Film Registry" and lent by the Library of Congress. Click here for a complete schedule; individual films are listed in Slowdown.
Hot on the heels of the Latino Film Festival, Cinema/Chicago, in collaboration with the Global Film Initiative, presents Global Lens 2006, a new week-long program of international films -- for those of us who just can't wait till next October for the Film Festival. The new series starts next Friday, 5 May, and continues through the following Friday. Click here for more information and to buy tickets.
The 22nd Annual Chicago Latino Film Festival started last weekend and runs through Thursday 4 May, with movies playing at the Landmark Century Centre Cinema, the Gene Siskel Film Center, and Facets Cinematheque. Click here for a complete screening schedule.
Andy Warhol shot films that capture everyday activities like sleeping, eating, and looking pretty. Are the results slow paced and boring or titilating and arty? You be the judge. See them tonight at the Museum of Contemporary Art.
It's not quite "with the top down" driving weather, but you could grab some friends (and even your dog) and head out the Cascade Drive-In to watch some cozy flicks from the comfort of your own car. The drive-in is located in nearby West Chicago and they show two first-run movies for just $7.50 (that's $3.75 per movie). Most local drive-ins won't be open for weeks, so you can get a leg up at the Cascade starting Friday night. Looking for other drive-ins, past or present, try this cool resource. Just don't get stranded, OK?
While the thought of lying on a blanket watching a movie outside doesn't sound especially appealing today, with the rain and 40-degree temps, August makes for a much more enjoyable experience. The Outdoor Film Festival in Grant Park is back for its seventh season. The festival features hits from the '50s and '60s, including Rebel Without a Cause, but ends with '80s fav, Ferris Bueller's Day Off.
Watching the Academy Awards tonight? Follow along on as Edward Champion and a vast and varied cast of characters live-blog the pseudo-event on the Oscar 2006 Blog.
Lloyd Kaufman, the man behind Troma Films (The Toxic Avenger, Tromeo & Juliet and Class of Nuke'em High may ring bells), will be appearing at South Union Arts, 1352 S. Union St., tonight at 10pm as part of the Movieside Film Festival. He'll be showing some TromaDance short films as well as clips from Troma's Poultrygeist and his own Make Your Own Damn Movie. Admission is $7. (Thanks, Alan!)
And speaking of Oscar, if you're interested in checking out the Oscar-nominated short films, this weekend the Gene Siskel Film Center continues its annual tradition of screening the nominated films in the short subject categories. The films will be divided up into two separate shows: one will feature the documentary shorts, and one will feature the animated and live-action shorts. See the Film Center Website for a schedule of the programs, which will be screening through March 9.
Fresh Air celebrated Presidents' Day with a review of the recent Criterion Collection release of 1939's Young Mr. Lincoln.
Are you a filmmaker? Do you want to be? The City of Chicago Film Office is looking for locally produced short films (10 minutes or less) to run during the Outdoor Film Festival this summer. Deadline for submission is April 1; click the "Call for Shorts" link on the Film Office website (damn the city's expiring relative links) for more info.
The Chicago Underground Film Festival is once again accepting entries for the 2006 festival (No.13). As always, they're looking for the very best in new film and video work. If you've got a feature, short, narrative, documentary, experimental, animation, music video or some other cinematic genre, submit it. Entry forms and guidelines available now online. The festival takes place August 17-24.
Each October, Facets hosts the Chicago International Children's Film Festival. Ever wonder what kids take away from this exposure to world cinema? Try something along the lines of "do not marry someone you don't know" and "you should never take a former evil king on a long desert hike." Also, "penguins have troubles, too."
The Nation Film Registry, which compiles films to be preserved by the Library of Congress, has announced their picks for 2005, with 1994's Hoop Dreams making the cut. Hoop Dreams was filmed in Chicago over a five-year period and chronicled the NBA dreams of two inner city youths and garnened much praise when it was released for its real depiction of life in the projects, and for its social commentary on class and race, making it a fine choice on the behalf of the NFR for preservation. Here is the most recent (albeit dated) article that details the current lives of the two stars, William Gates and Arthur Agee. (Thanks for the tip, Aaron!)
Over the weekend the Sun-Times published the top 10 film lists of 2005 by Roger Ebert and Richard Roeper. Not to be outdone, the Tribune published four separate top 10 film lists composed by movie critic Michael Wilmington and other staff reporters; these lists are available in the Trib's 2005 entertainment wrap-up, which also includes best-of lists for theater, TV and DVD. Hopefully this week we'll see year-end lists from the Reader's Jonathan Rosenbaum and Newcity's Ray Pride.
As we get near the end of the year, the Siskel Film Center is offering a chance to see 12 overlooked films from 2005, a list ranging from Terry Gilliam's Brothers Grimm to Gus Van Sant's Last Days to the popular documentary Murderball. Tonight the overlooked film festival starts with a screening of Todd Solondz's Palindromes. See the Film Center's site for a full list of films being screened. (Also check out the other programs the Film Center has going on this month, which include a Marilyon Monroe retrospective and a benefit sneak preview of the film version of Memoirs of a Geisha.)
Chicago Magazine calls Roger Ebert a bigger star than many of his subjects. And, for good measure, gives you that celebrity profile staple: baby pictures!
Ever seen the movie John Q? A Chicago man believes Denzel Washington's role in the 2002 film was stolen straight out of a screenplay he wrote years before, about his own experience paying for a child's medical care. He's filed suit against New Line Cinema.
The latest crop of Fast Forward Film Festival shorts will be screened this Saturday at 8pm at Open End Gallery, but there's still time to join in the action! This round's theme is "about your weird childhood" -- sign up for just $20 at Atomix Cafe, 1957 W. Chicago Ave., and then create a three-or-so minute flick in just 24 hours. More info here.
I've been waiting for the Adelphi Theater up in Rogers Park to have its "grand re-opening coming soon," as promised by the marquee, for a couple years now. Now I know why the wait's been so long: a developer plans to tear it down for more condos. There is, of course, an organization fighting to preserve the 1917 theater.
Reeling starts later this week, kicking off Thursday night at the Music Box with German film Summer Storm. The 24th installment of Chicago's festival of GLBT cinema runs through the 12th with screenings at several venues around town; tickets are already available. For previews of select opening week features, check out the Windy City Times run-down.
This time, check out movie listings and times matched to the theater's location at MashMap. The fly-over effect is pretty slick.
Tonight is the first installment of UChicago's retrospective of Kartemquin Films, a series they're calling "Truth in Motion." Kartemquin got its start in Chicago in the mid-1960s and has gone on to produce such documentaries as Hoop Dreams and its latest, a twenty year chronicle of artist Leon Golub. Over the next few weeks, U of C's Human Rights Program will present themed groups of excerpts and shorts by Kartemquin, culminating in a master class and a panel that will discuss documentary film in the US. All events are free and open to the public; look for reminders in Slowdown.
The winners of the 2005 Chicago International Film Festival, which closes tonight, have been announced. Best film? My Nikofor.
Next week the high-profile Chicago International Film Festival kicks off, but this weekend you can sample much shorter works in the Chicago International REEL Shorts Festival. Plenty of short films for all tastes, including a kids-friendly program at noon on Saturday. For full details see Slowdown.
Tonight, DOC Films will be showing A Streetcar Named Desire as a Hurricane Katrina relief benefit. Not only are all proceeds going to the Red Cross, but the University of Chicago is matching all donations made tonight. Sweet, no? Details in Slowdown.
Roger Ebert occasionally spits out a review that is as caustic as it is funny. His review of Jenny McCarthy's latest, Dirty Love, is fantastic. "This movie is an affront to cheese. Also to breasts. Jenny McCarthy has a technologically splendid bosom that should, in my opinion, be put to a better use than being vomited upon." Check out Sun-Times review for the full story.
It's that time again: Time for another Flashback Weekend HorrorFest! This weekend-long horror movie marathon will feature celebrities, bands and a horror merchandise fleamarket at the soon-to-be-sold Hi-Lite 30 Drive-In in Aurora. This may be the last time you get to see this historic theater in operation, so pack some food and water, get a change of clothes, pay your $20 for tickets, check your Slowdown (September 24 and 25) and settle in for some surely wicked films.
Okay, they won't be starting up until September 26th, but I'm already excited about Doc Film's Fall lineup. This quarter, they truly do have everything a young academic could hope for in a film society: Jonathan Rosenbaum speaking about Jean Luc Godard, a film adaptation of a Tanizaki novel, Barbara Stanwyck, and robots. The fun starts soon at 1212 E 59th Street, and remember--don't sit in the back row unless you want to be next to high schoolers making out.
A new DVD about the Columbian Exposition comes out tomorrow. EXPO: Magic of the White City tells the story of the 1893 World's Fair, narrated by Gene Wilder.
Sometime earlier this year, the owner of a replica Bluesmobile broke into the long-shuttered Dixie Square Mall and sort of reenacted the famous chase sequence from Blues Brothers on the 25th anniversary of the film's release. [via the comments in this Chicagoist post] Interestingly, and completely unrelated, there's also a documentary being filmed about Dixie Square.
On Saturday the South Side Home Movie Project hosts its Kick-Off Screening Party. The Project's goal is to create alternative historical records by showing and preserving home movies shot by South Side residents. Today's party runs from 3-5pm at the Little Black Pearl Art & Design Center, 1060 E. 47th St. The free screening will be followed by a reception. Sounds like an interesting way to learn more about South Side history and, if you are a South Sider, to learn how to make it yourself.
Earlier this week, we mentioned both the Chicago Underground Film Festival and locally-shot documentary Burn to Shine 02. Funny, then, that it took music blog Radio Free Chicago to point out the connection: the CUFF is screening that very film on Sunday night at 10.
It's time once again for the annual Chicago Underground Film Festival, a festival that has been showcasing great independent films and video for 12 years. This year's festival happens in Lakeview's classic movie palace the Music Box, and kicks off this Thursday evening with the Midwest premiere of the movie Firecracker. This year's festival will feature many film premieres, and the one I'm most looking forward to is a sneak preview of the Minutemen documentary We Jam Econo, which will also play at the Siskel Film Center at the end of this month. See the CUFF site for a complete schedule and ticket purchase.
Last month, Andrew posted a heads-up about Home Movie Day, sponsored by the Chicago Film Archives. Well, if you've been remiss in sorting through your (or your parents') closet or attic, time's running out: the event takes place Saturday at the Chicago Cultural Center (see Slowdown). Today's Washington Post runs a brief interview with one of HMD's founders, who points out how important these personally shot films are for documenting cultural history. To that end, even if you aren't ready for this weekend's festival, the Film Archives is always interested in donations; get more details here.
Salon reports (if you'll wait through the ad) on the predicament a children's movie called Duma is in: Warner Brothers didn't want to release it, but Roger Ebert saw it and raved, so now it's seeing limited release here in Chicago. Based on how the movie does here, it may finally be released nationally. Read an interview with the director in this week's TimeOut. (Thanks, Ray)
Although this weekend's heat is supposed to be horrific,
Well, not necessarily funny -- they could be banal, creepy, sentimental... whatever they're like, as long as they're on film, not video, you've got a month to dig them out and bring them with you to Chicago's Home Movie Day celebration on August 13 at the Cultural Center. The Chicago Film Archives has more details.
Today is the start of the 6th annual Outdoor Film Festival in Grant Park. This year's film list has been selected by Roger Ebert, who also gets his own official day in Chicago today. Roger Ebert Day will be marked by placing a commemorative plaque in the sidewalk of the Chicago Theater -- just across the street from the Gene Siskel Film Center.
The LaSalle Bank Cinema, 4901 W. Irving Park, shows The Power and the Glory tonight correction, tomorrow night at 8pm. The 1933 film tells the life story of a railroad tycoon in out-of-sequence episodes, a structure that was a big influence on Citizen Kane, which came out eight years later. Also on the bill is Reducing Creme, a Willie Whopper cartoon. Tickets are $5 for adults and $3 for seniors and children. Call 312/904-9442 for more info.
The Siskel Film Center begins a month-long Stanley Kubrick retrospective tonight with a screening of his 1955 film Killer's Kiss. Over the course of July, moviegoers will have a chance to see such classics as The Killing, Spartacus, Paths of Glory, 2001: A Space Odyssey, Barry Lyndon, The Shining, and even Steven Spielberg's AI: Artificial Intelligence, which was a project Kubrick was working on at the time of his death. Looks like it'll be another banner month at the Film Center.
Get ready for another look at Chicago's famous mob scene: Brian De Palma has agreed to direct a prequel to his classic, The Untouchables. The new movie will focus not on the G-men out to stop the mob, but rather on Al Capone's rise to power. No word on who will star, nor on whether it will acually be filmed here. We can only hope.
The 2,288th star on Hollywood's Walk of Fame was dedicated yesterday, and it honors film critic Roger Ebert. The star was the first one given to a film critic (another first for Ebert; in 1975, he became the first critic to win the Pulitzer Prize).
In preparation for tomorrow's release of Bewitched, the RedEye talks to several local witches about their representation on screen. Of them, Heathen Carolyn Reyes offers the most amusing response. Because her belief system is "practical," she doesn't put much faith in the nose-twitching business. Instead, she offers the following love spell: "'Take a shower, brush your teeth.'" Works for me. (I wonder, though, what sort of magic she might offer Nora Ephron for such dismal reviews. Ouch.)
The Sun-Times salutes one of the greatest Chicago films, The Blues Brothers, on the occasion of the film's 25th anniversary. All this week they'll be writing about the Chicago locales used in the making of the film, and how things have changed since 1980.
As we've noted a few times before, the restarted Batman franchise, Batman Begins has extensive shots of Chicago as Gotham. I saw it last night and was amazed at how much of Chicago was actually used. A fun game of spot the bridge, "Which part of Lower Wacker was that?" and "What rooftop building is that?" ensued post-movie. The el however has been replaced by a much slicker monorail system which I doubt the CTA will ever be. Also, I agree with Ebert, this is the Batman I've been waiting for.
Roger Ebert is pretty predictable in his tastes if you pay attention, but Slashdot member sielwolf has stumbled across an amusing correlation between a movie's proximity to Chicago and Ebert's star rating.
Tonight at the Music Box Theatre, they begin a two-week long salute to director Alfred Hitchcock, starting with screenings of Psycho tonight and tomorrow, and continuing with Rear Window, Shadow of A Doubt, Rope, and ending with a week-long screening of a 70mm print of Vertigo. The first four titles will be screening for only a day or two, so film fans will definitely want to check out the Music Box schedule for full details.
If you've been watching the "Nightclubbing" series at the Siskel Film Center, you've seen rare early performances by Blondie, the Talking Heads, the Dead Boys, the Dead Kennedys, Suicide, the Go-Go's, Kid Creole and the Coconuts, and many more. If you haven't been watching these weekly screenings of early 1980s footage recorded at NYC clubs like CBGB's and the Danceteria, you've got one final chance this week, as the Film Center presents a greatest hits show, with directors Emily Armstrong and Pat Ivers showing up in person at one screening. See Slowdown for details.
Fans of the cinema will be interested in the upcoming Out of the Vault Festival next week, put on by the new Chicago Film Archive. The festival (and the organization) features educational, industrial and experimental films made in the Midwest. It's at the Chicago Cultural Center, so it's free -- what's more to love?
In 1982, three friends decided to remake Raiders of the Lost Ark shot by shot. Seven years and $5,000 later, they finished it, and now you can see the product of their work. Raiders of the Lost Ark, the Adaptation will make its Chicago premiere this Friday at 8:30pm at Columbia's Film Row Cinema as part of the Future Filmmakers Festival. The filmmakers Chris Strompolos and Eric Zala will be in attendance. Tickets are $20/$10 students.
It's a busy weekend for movie-goers (Todd Solondz's Palindromes, the movie version of Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, and the return of Heaven's Gate), but I did want to highlight an excellent-sounding series starting at the Film Center: every Sunday in May, they'll be showing a different episode from the New York cable TV show "Nightclubbing", which aired through the 1970s and 1980s and showed performance footage from local clubs like CBGB's and the Danceteria. You'll get to see footage of Blondie, the Dead Boys, Iggy Pop, the Dead Kennedys, Teenage Jesus & the Jerks (with Lydia Lunch), Kid Creole and the Coconuts, and quite a few more. Keep your eye on Slowdown for the scoop.
The movie Stranger Than Fiction, directed by Marc Forster and starring Wil Ferrell, begins shooting in Chicago April 25, and they're holding an open casting call for paid extras at Smartbar, 3730 N. Clark, next Tuesday from 8pm to 11pm. People with tattoos and piercings and of any ethnicity are encouraged to show up with a recent color photograph -- it doesn't have to be a professional headshot. You do have to be 21 or older, but it's otherwise free.
Last week, Sun-Times movie critic Roger Ebert announced his choices for this year's Overlooked Film Festival, held in Urbana-Champaign and featuring screenings of films that Ebert has chosen because they or the film genres they represent have been overlooked. Twelve films will be screened during the festival's five days, from the restored version of Jacques Tati's Playtime (a film not overlooked by the MCA, as a clip from Playtime is part of the museum's current exhibition Universal Experience) to the 1999 Bollywood epic Taal. Tickets for the festival go on sale April 1.
Tonight at Facets you can catch a screening of the documentary Hamburger America, which profiles 8 different American restaurants that serve hamburgers, from Louis' Lunch in New Haven, CT (which bills itself as the first place to serve a hamburger in America) to the Billy Goat Tavern's cheezborger. The director, George Motz, will be at the 7:00 screening for Q&A after the film, and then the audience is invited to the Billy Goat at 430 N. Michigan for burgers.
Along with the EU Film Festival at the Film Center, another European film fest kicks off tonight: the 6th annual Irish Film Festival, which plays at the Beverly Arts Center and the Society for Arts. The festival kicks off tonight with the film Adam & Paul, and runs through Sunday, March 13. See the festival's Website for a complete schedule of films and events, and to purchase tickets.
Independent filmmaker Jem Cohen will be screening his full length feature, Chain, at the MCP tonight. The film is being shown in conjunction with the Manufactured Self exhibition and is screening for one night only! Jem Cohen will be there in person to introduce the film and for discussion after the screening. He is best known for his documentary Instrument, a portrait of the band Fugazi, shot over ten years. For a review of the film and an interview with the director go here. The screening is free and starts at 7pm.
The Siskel Film Center begins its 8th annual European Film Festival tonight, which runs through March 24. All 25 nations of the EU are represented in the film selections, and among them are many sneak previews of talked-about films that will be officially screening in the US in later months. Check out the Film Center's site for more information on the festival and a full schedule.
Got an opinion on what films are going to win Oscars this year? You can test your predictive powers in the Sun-Times' annual Outguess Ebert contest. If you enter and correctly pick more Oscar winners than The Big E, you could win valuable prizes. See the Sun-Times site for details. But hurry; you only have until February 25th to enter.
"Topic he adores but won't discuss at a party: Darwinism. I really believe Darwin and his followers more or less have accounted for much of what we see when we open our eyes each day. I think that is miraculous, but my wife says I bore people with it." 28 Questions with Sun-Times film critic Roger Ebert. [via Kottke]
The Siskel Film Center is going to be running a very cool double-bill for the next week: Richard Linklater's Before Sunrise and Before Sunset. If you missed one (or both) of these films when they originally ran in the theaters, here's your chance to see their story in one long afternoon or evening. Check the Film Center's calendar for showtimes. And if romance isn't your cup of cinematic tea, just wait a couple of weeks when the Film Center repeats this double-bill idea with Quentin Tarantino's Kill Bill films.
Do you like bad movies? Not bad in a good way, I don't even bad in a so bad it's funny way. I just mean bad in "I can't believe people got paid to make this film" kind of way. If so then you'll definitely want to head over to B-Fest. I'm pretty sure that most of the films should have a C or D rating, but somebody's gotta enjoy this stuff since it sold out last year. Yeah, you can get your tickets online.
Roger Ebert has published his annual list of the best films of the year. His pick for #1 is Clint Eastwood's Million Dollar Baby (currently playing at River East 21). Don't miss his worst of 2004 list, at the bottom of the article, for a flashback to films you almost forgot about. (Oh yeah, remember White Chicks?)
Today's "Rattle & Reel" Movie Matinee for parents/caretakers and babies at the Landmark Century is Vera Drake. Great movie, jaw-dropping performance by Imelda Staunton, but the idea of sitting next to a baby during a movie about abortion seems weirder than watching a porn with your parents. Anyway, the show starts at 11:00 AM. Tickets are $7.50 for grown-ups, but the little ones are free.
From the collective mind of the folks at Res Magazine, Resfest 2004 hits town this weekend. Setting up shop Friday through Sunday at the Museum of Contemporary Art, the production is self-described as a "global touring festival exploring the dynamic interplay of film, art, music, design, and technology." This year's lineup features work from Sexy Beast director Jonathan Glazer, British video artists Shynola, audio terrorists EBN, and more. Tickets are available through the Resfest website and the MCA; more information on the specific schedule has been posted in Slowdown.
Not into the whole unwrapping presents/tinsel/eggnog thing? There's a ton of movies opening on Christmas Day. Plan a movie marathon and don't look up until the mistletoe is gone. Among the films in theatres opening on (or just before) Dec. 25 are: Wes Anderson's latest, The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, Fat Albert, Meet the Fockers, The Phantom of the Opera, Darkness and more. Check the Reader for listings.
Two new musical documentaries begin showing tonight at the Siskel Film Center. There's Moog, an appreciation of musician and inventor Robert Moog. (You know, the Moog synthesizer guy.) And there's also a documentary about Christian rock music, Why Should the Devil Have All the Good Music? (This film was recently seen at this year's Chicago Underground Film Festival.) The directors of this film, Heather Whinna and Vickie Hunter, will be at the Film Center for audience discussion after tonight's screening. And if that isn't enough music for you, tonight's Film Center schedule also includes a screening of that hard-hitting look at the Hollywood music scene, Beyond the Valley of the Dolls. So now all you fans of The Carrie Nations have something to do tonight!
Cinema Treasures is a site devoted to movie theater preservation and awareness. There are 365 theaters listed for Chicago, 796 for Illinois. [via Coudal]
A very unusual Peter Sellers/Blake Edwards film at the Siskel Film Center tonight. The Party has Sellers playing an Indian actor who inadvertently destroys a film version of "Gunga Din" (Sellers' filmed death scene at the beginning of the movie is hilarious), and then is accidentally invited to a party at the producer's house. Some very funny sight gags in the film, mostly centering around Sellers trying to be inconspicuous at a party at which he doesn't know any of the attendees. The film is being shown as part of the Film Center's American Film Comedy series, and will be screened again next Tuesday with an accompanying lecture.
Hollywood isn't the only movie-making capital that's taken an interest in Chicago. Suburbanite Aleeza Ali stars in Ho Jata Hai Pyar, a "clean love story" from Bollywood to be released this December. (In India, that is. We'll have to wait a bit longer for the state-side release.)
This weekend marks the start of the 23rd Annual Lesbian and Gay International Film Festival which runs through November 11. Featuring films, ranging from zany comedies to psychological thrillers, being shown at the Music Box, the Landmark Century, and Chicago Filmakers Theatres, the centerpiece screening this year is a Russian film You I Love on Sunday. As the second oldest film festival of its kind in the world, this great fest is certainly a powerful reason to head to the movies this week. Tickets range from $6 to $9 per screening.
Schubas has just announced an addition to their election-night programming. "A Night of Apocalyptic Possibilities" will now kick off at 6pm with the premiere screening of "pARTicipation," a documentary filmed during August's Interchange music-and-voter-registration festival, featuring performances by Andrew Bird, Bobby Conn, Tortoise, the M's and more. That's still followed by a screening of "Fahrenheit 9/11" at 7:30 and live band karaoke at 10, and it's still all free.
If you're looking for some cinema time with your kids that doesn't insult your intelligence, check out the Chicago Children's Film Festival, over the next ten days. The festival kicks off tonight with a gala event featuring LeVar Burton (yup, from Reading Rainbow!) and most tickets are cheaper than going to a regular movie (just $8 for adults, $6 for kids). Films are being shown at Facets, the Vittum Theatre, and Burnham Plaza until October 31 and range from a new clay animated mockumentary by the makers of "Chicken Run", to several created by children in Chicago. There are also workshops, a tribute to Shel Silverstein, and an awards presentation. Plus, read Kid Reviews of the films.
Ocular Loci is a resource with a great list of film and video screenings in Chicago, regularly updated. They also have a partial list of venues, theaters and festivals that show films, not movies.
Doc Films, one the oldest student-run film groups in the nation, has just announced another packed Autumn lineup. Operating out of Ida Noyes Hall at the University of Chicago, Doc traditionally creates a theme for each day of the week, with more esoteric cinema showing Sunday through Thursday. This season is no exception, featuring work from Kenji Mizoguchi and Jim Jarmusch, as well as up-and-coming Nordic filmmakers. They also frequently hold special events that are worth looking out for; Errol Morris, Ang Lee, Woody Allen, Kevin Spacey, and Roger Ebert have all participated in recent screenings.
Roger Ebert is finally getting the respect he deserves -- with a website of his own. RogerEbert.com is loaded with prety much everything he's ever written, and gives readers the opportunity to rate films themselves. Is it me, though, or does that photo make Roger's face look even more square?
Well-regarded by cinephiles, academics and filmmakers alike, Jonathan Rosenbaum (film critic for the Chicago Reader) recently released his latest book, Essential Cinema. Published in April through Johns Hopkins Press, it follows a similar direction to the one he traced with Movie Wars, this time pairing a selection of long-form reviews with an analysis of how Hollywood is effectively deteriorating the concept of film canons. Does Roeper even know what that word means?
Outfoxed, the anti-FoxNews film that became a DVD hit thanks to a push from MoveOn.org, gets a theatrical release in Chicago today. It's playing at the Loews Esquire on Oak Street, which also still has F9/11. You can make it a Republican-hating double feature! Get tix at Fandango, if you like.
Don't forget, tonight's the opening night for the Chicago Underground Film Festival. Tonight's film is The Manson Family, a drama about the Tate-LaBianca killings. Showtime is at 8:00 at the 3 Penny (2424 N. Lincoln), tickets are $7, and there'll be a reception and opening night party afterwards.
Odd Obsession, Chicago's newest supplier for obscure/hard-to-find movie addicts, opens today Friday. It's located at 1659 N. Halsted, a quick stroll from the North & Clybourn Red Line, and it's open from noon to midnight, Tuesday through Sunday (no new memberships after 9 pm, though). There are two membership rates available — a free one and a paid one, which comes with some perks, so check out the site for details.
The cover story of this week's Newcity is a profile of Chicago filmmakers Heather Whinna and Vickie Hunter, whose first film (a documentary about Christian rock groups called Why Should The Devil Have All The Good Music?) will be screened at the 2004 Chicago Underground Film Festival, which starts on Wednesday, August 18 (tickets for CUFF are now available!).
The new Batmobile cruises Chicago [you'll need QuickTime for the video clip]. The car rounds the corner of Wells and Adams, provoking awe and wonder in the fellow holding the camera. Don't be thrown by the "GPD" police cruisers - though labeled for Gotham, they're in Chicago.
The Silent Summer 2004 Film Festival is underway at the Gateway Theatre, hosted by the The Silent Film Society of Chicago. This Friday, come out to see The Iron Horse, John Ford's silent Western epic from 1924. The film will be accompanied by a live orchestra. Other films in the festival are accompanied by live organ music. Check out the Silent Film Society of Chicago website for more information about the festival and other silent film events around the city.
Deadline, the documentary that examines Illinois Governor George Ryan's decision to grant blanket clemency to all Death Row inmates in Illinois, airs tonight on "Dateline NBC" at 7:00. The film's Website has a list of follow-up programs that will run on MSNBC and NBC, discussing the issues behind the film and offering viewers to respond to the movie.
The Sun-Times reports that filming on the next Batman film ("which is tentatively titled The Intimidation Game but will be known as Batman Begins when it hits theaters") continues in Chicago. The film-makers apparently love Lower Wacker Drive so much that they rewrote the script to have more screen time devoted to Batman traversing its twisty depths (something that John Landis did 24 years ago). Chicago will be featured prominently in several other upcoming films, including Ocean's 12, a remake of The Amityville Horror (I'm scared already), and the next Harold Ramis movie, Ice Harvest.
One of the most technically innovative and influential films ever, Orson Welles’ 1941 masterpiece Citizen Kane is in town for the next week, to the Music Box’s Weekend Matinee Series (Saturday, July 31, and Sunday, August 1, at 11:30 am) as well as 600 N. Michigan’s Loews Classic Film Series (Thurdsay, August 5, at 7:00 pm). See what all the fuss is about the way it was meant to be seen: with movie theater popcorn.
Do we have horror movie fans in the house? Then you'll definitely want to check out Flashback Weekend (aka Horro'Rama Drive-In and Convention), which happens this weekend at the Holiday Inn O'Hare in Rosemont. Loads of horror movie celebrities of varying degrees of fame, plenty of memorabilia dealers and activities, and my favorite part: an actual drive-in screen (or "walk-in," as it won't be in a parking lot) set up outside the hotel, which will be showing buckets of horror movies late into the evenings. The convention starts Friday night, and runs through Sunday night; check the Website for a full schedule and complete information.
A film crew shooting scenes for the new Batman movie arrived yesterday, and shooting begins this weekend on Lower Wacker Drive. An office worker in the West Loop passed this email on to superherohype.com, detailing when to catch the filming -- be prepared to stay up late or get up early. Really early.
If by interactive, you mean throwing a fake wad of cash at a screen while people are stripping on a giant screen, then I'm there. Or you can 'dress up' as your favorite character and win prizes. The cult and campy favorite, Showgirls will be playing at one of the city's finest independent film venues, the Landmark Century for one night only, Tuesday July 27. The one-time screening is to celebrate the release of the DVD 'VIP Edition' (comes with such highlights as "Pin the Pasties on the Showgirl" game with pasties and blindfold, Showgirls party games and a lap-dance tutorial featuring the world-famous girls of Scores) and tickets are free — download them at www.mgm.com/showgirls.
Odd Obsession is a new, soon-to-open video store/gallery "by cinephiles for cinephiles," specializing in hard-to-find films for rent -- similar to Facets, but perhaps a little more obscure. They're currently asking for recommendations of what to stock, as well as soliciting artists interested in showing works in the store. Contact info's on the site. (Thanks, Kelly.)
Today begins registration for the fifteenth Fast Forward Film Festival, for which teams are given a topic and twenty-one hours to make a three-minute movie. The films will be shown Saturday, August 14. Entry into the festival is limited to 24 teams, with a registration fee of $20. Register at Atomix, 1957 W. Chicago.
The Sun-Times reports that one of Mayor Daley's long-term projects, that of bringing a movie studio to Chicago, may be coming to fruition. Eleven acres of land on the West Side will be sold to Central Studios LLC, which is planning to construct stage and office space on the property.
Speaking of production companies with the word "light" in their names, Coudal Partners is hosting the weblog of Scott Smith, one of the three finalists in Project Greenlight, the screenwriting/directing contest started by Ben Affleck and Matt Damon. Smith flies out to Hollywood tomorrow, and he's taking us along for the ride.
DePaul University believes its students can learn best through direct experience. So it launched an independent film studio, Bluelight Productions, to give students in its new Digital Cinema Program a playground in which to create. Bluelight's first production, a 30-minute film called "Last Call," is shooting now in Chicago, Long Grove and Elk Grove Village. [Via The Backer]
It's never to late to get an education and the previously noted ChicagoFilm.com has summer school for budding and aspiring filmmakers. While the sessions have already started, there are quite a few workshops and courses left to go before summer's out: The Chicago Filmmakers Coop Series and indie film center Facets' own Film School. Also of note is the Michigan Ave Apple Store's FREE Digital Movies presentations during the week in the theater and their paid Studio Series.
It's quite a banner year for film history. Not only is it the 50th anniversary of the original Godzilla movie, but it's also the 70th anniversary of the Three Stooges starting as a solo act (following their apprenticeship to vaudevillian Ted Healy). Both of these important dates in film history have celebratory film openings tonight. The original unedited version of Godzilla starts playing tonight at the Music Box, and a Three Stooges "70th Annivoisary" program starts at the Siskel Film Center. Fine cinematic fare for the kid in us all.
The Music Box's Orson Welles Weekend Matinee Series starts rolling on June 19 & 20 at 11:30am with The Magnificent Ambersons, one of the few instances I can say that I've read the novel yet not seen the movie -- no film lover should miss seeing this on the big screen. His follow-up to Citizen Kane, Welle's adaptation of Booth Tarkington's Pulitzer Prize-winning 1918 novel, tells the story of a bratty rich kid who eventually gets the comeuppance he deserves against the backdrop of a rapidly changing, late 19th century America. While widely considered "mutilated" by studio cuts, my dad says it was still really good.
If the rain keeps up, this won't be the weekend to do it, but Cascade Drive-in in West Chicago awaits you and your car. Unlike the B-movie fare of old, Cascade shows first-run flicks -- this week it's Shrek 2 and The Day After Tomorrow. And here's a list of all the drive-in theaters in Illinois.
Veteran Chicago actress Irma P. Hall was awarded the special jury prize at Cannes this weekend for her performance in the Coen brothers' The Ladykillers. She won in a tie with Apichatpong Weerasethakul, director of the first Thai film to compete at the festival. Hall was unable to attend as she continues to recover from a January car accident here.
If you're all geared up to see Jim Jarmusch's new film "Coffee and Cigarettes," but you've spent all your cash on...well...coffee and cigarettes, you can enter to win tickets from WBEZ. Seventy-five lucky folks will get passes (for you and a friend), but you have to enter before Tuesday, May 25. The film will be screened at the Landmark Century Cinema on May 27. Who can resist a film whose cast includes Steven Wright, Bill Murray, Iggy Pop, and the White Stripes?
Earlier this year, local filmmaker (and Z Film Festival organizer) Usama Alshaibi and his wife Kristie returned to his birthplace in Iraq to film a documentary. The result is "Back to Baghdad," currently in the editing process. The Alshaibis are blogging about the making of the film at IraqiPassport.com.
After a sold-out screening at the Chicago International Documentary Festival, H.H. Holmes: America's First Serial Killer is now available on DVD. The feature was written, directed, and produced by local filmmaker John Borowski, who spent three years on the film. For more on H.H. Holmes, check out "The Murder Castle of H.H. Holmes," an excerpt from Troy Taylor's Haunted Chicago book. Or, visit the official website for Erik Larson's best-selling book about Holmes and Chicago's Columbian Exposition of 1893, The Devil in the White City.
Summer must really be close; the City's Office of Special Events has just released the line-up for the 2004 Outdoor Film Festival. This year sees a collection of classics from stars who died last year (Peck, Hepburn), stars who would be 100 years old had they been alive (Grant) and stars who are, according to the city, "larger than life" (Brando). In honor of the Mouse's 75th birthday, they'll be showing a Mickey comic short before each film. Come early, come often, just come without your chair.
Local film curator Xan Aranda brings the successful Prime Shorts film show to an end tomorrow evening at The Hideout. In her words: "Producing and curating this show has been the greatest! But we can't go steady anymore, Prime Shorts and me... It was a hot sweaty love affair that now needs to give way to other shiny objects and tempting projects." And: "With the promise of there being no uber-depressing dog-murder claymation, I hope you can make it to the swan song, the final sprint, the last (scheduled) Prime Shorts." If you've missed engagements at The Hideout and the Gene Siskel Film Center, then this is your last chance.
Award winning documentary,The Corporation, will be showing at the Cultural Center this Wednesday at 6 as part of the Version Fest. The documentary, based on Joel Bakan's book "The Corporation: The Pathological Pursuit of Profit and Power", examines the nature of the corporate institution. It features interviews with Noam Chomsky, Naomi Klein, Howard Zinn and Michael Moore and many others. Check out the trailer here.
The 20th Annual Chicago Latino Film Festival continues through this weekend at locations around the city. Over 50 films from 20 different countries are featured in this year's event. Check out the official website for more information on locations, showtimes, and tickets.
Splitpillow has announced that teams wishing to participate in this year's Challenge 2.0 can now do so. What's The Challenge, you ask? It's a weekend of improvisational filmmaking, a madcap three days of filming, editing and production, culminating in a screening of the results at the Biograph Theater on June 3. Deadline for early (read: cheap) entry is May 1 -- check the site for more details.
The 9th annual Chicago Asian American Showcase kicks off tonight at 5pm at the Gene Siskel Film Center with a gallery exhibit and reception. Stick around to watch a series of Asian-American films, and check the schedule to for more events. (Thanks Carly.)
Tonight's the starting night of yet another Chicago film festival, the Chicago International Documentary Film Festival. The 11-day event kicks off with a screening of the film Marina, a look at the life of the Afghani actress who played the lead in the recent film Osama. See the CIDFF Website for more info, and a complete schedule of the films playing through April 11.
"This Old Cub" is a documentary of Cubs great Ron Santo' battle with diabetes, specifically his recent leg amputation. Directed by Santo's son, Jeff, this is a must-see for any die-hard Cubs fan. It opens in several local theaters tomorrow; check the Reader listing tonight for show times.
There's a new web mag for the city's film industry, just in time for the resurgence of filmmaking here: ChicagoFilm.com. This isn't some dry trade journal, though -- features like a profile of the Fast Forward Film Festival and recordings of Spike Lee's recent talk at DePaul make it interesting for anyone interested in movies.
It's been discussed here previously, but ReelChicago.com reports filming on the latest Batman will begin in July and continue through August. Cast includes Christian Bale in the lead role, with support from Liam Neeson, Katie Holmes and Michael Caine, to name a few. This isn't the first big budget coming our way, thanks to Brenda Sexton's hard work leading the Illinois Film Office. So far this year, producers of four major films - The Weatherman, Ocean's 12, Batman, and Ice Harvest - have sealed deals to film in Chicago.
Back by popular demand are two of the main programs from the sold out Movieside Anniversary show! Jim Jarmusch's Favorite Shorts and Melvin Goes to Dinner (directed by Bob Odenkirk from Mr. Show) will both be screening at Heaven Gallery this Friday March 5 and Saturday March 6 at 8pm. If you missed either program, or just want to see it all again, it's well worth checking out. It's only $7, one admission for both! Visit the Movieside website for more details.
The Tribune has a report on theaters in Chicago and the suburbs that are offering matinees for parents of newborn babies. The parents get to take their child along to a movie without worrying that they're bothering other patrons, and the theater gets to sell tickets during weekday afternoons, normally a slow time for movie business. Everybody wins!
Roger Ebert has his Oscar predictions up at the Sun-Times Website. If you think you can correctly guess more Oscar winners than he can, you can enter the Outguess Ebert contest, to possibly win a trip to Mexico. To refresh your memory, here's the list of Oscar nominees.
Michael Caine gave a little boost to our city the other day. He is set to play Alfred, Batman's faithful servant, in the next Batman movie, "Batman: Intimidation". Over talks with online magazine 15 Minutes, Caine mentioned exterior shots of the film will be set in Chicago. The director quickly cautioned this is not a done deal, but if it all works out, Gotham will be Chicago.
I probably shouldn't be telling you this, since it'll just attract competition for me, but if you're looking for that breakout role, consider filling out an application to be an extra on The Weather Man, a new Cage/Caine/Verbinski movie filming in Chicago over the spring. The movie, oddly, doesn't seem to be about local weather superstar Tom Skilling or the '70s radical group, but rather just another melodramatic Hollywood rehash. Still: $100 bucks a day and a chance to be in smelling distance of celebrities!
Famed Japanese anime director Rintaro/Taro Rin (you know him from such anime as Metropolis) will present a free lecture at the Japanese Information Center from 6 - 8pm today with a reception after. A must for fans of anime. More info.
Spurred by a question in our most recent Fuel discussion, a quick search revealed a list of movies filmed in Chicago. There is more where that came from featuring movies with Chicagoans and movies that are intrinsically about Chicago. The All Movie Guide also offers a list of everyone involved in film who was born in Chicago (strangely, Winnetka native Chris O'Donnell is on the list, but the Evanstonian Cusaks and Wilmette-ian Bill Murray are not).
There's still time to sign up for the Fast Forward Film Fest no. 12 "Out of Context"! Participants in the fest will be given 21 hours to make a three minute film using scenes and/or clips taken from well known or unknown films and TV programs. Register your group at Atomix Cafe (1957 W. Chicago). Groups can be any size and there's room for 30 groups. The registration fee is $20. Participants will be meeting at Atomix January 30 at 7:30 for their topic assignment. The deadline to complete the movie is 5pm the next day (January 31). A public screening of the submissions and awards ceremony will be taking place at Open End Gallery (2000 W Fulton) at 8pm January 31. If you have any questions please call 773.263.7057.
Don't have anything to do Friday and Saturday? Perfect: Go to the 21st annual B-Fest, a marathon session of bad movies. Imagine a marathon Mystery Science Theater 3000 session: "McCormick Auditorium at 6pm Friday and the horrors don't stop until ". Tickets are $10 per day or $20 for the whole shebang -- buy the overnight tix in advance from the box office in the Norris Univ. Center and save $5. Reserve yours in advance (yes, they do sell out) by emailing tor@b-fest.com.
If the Oscars at the MSI (and Bill Murray's Golden Globe win) have you jazzed for the red carpet, mark your calendar for Oscar night. The Gene Siskel Film Center is hosting Chicago's only official, AMPAS-sanctioned Oscar party. The soiree, featuring complimentary cocktails and buffet, silent auctions, and a red carpet with—no kidding—a Joan Rivers impersonator, benefits the Siskel Center and the Chicago Academy for the Arts; tickets are, ahem, accordingly priced. Oscar nominations will be announced Tuesday morning.
Chicago! The local firm R. S. Owens & Company manufactures the statuettes every year, and this year you can check them out before they're given to the recipients. An exhibition of the statuettes that will be used in this year's awards ceremony is currently going on at the Museum of Science and Industry. Check it out before February 18th, when the statuettes are packed up and shipped off to Los Angeles.
Yesterday the Chicago Film Critics Association announced their best of 2003 list. Big winners: LOTR: Return of the King and Lost In Translation, which got 3 awards each.
On Tuesday Mel Gibson sneaked into South Barrington to screen The Passion of Christ, his controversial new film about the death of Jesus. A hand-picked crowd of 4,300 people -- most of them Christian pastors -- loved the film.
Attention film-makers! The Chicago Underground Film Festival is now taking entries for this year's festival. They're looking for films that 'dissent radically in form, technique, or content from the "indie" mainstream.' The deadline for application is May 1, so you've got less than 4 months to get your indie self together!
A major Hollywood group is still looking to transform a mountain of debris into a West Side movie studio complex. With no major studio located off either the East or West coasts, it's only natural to pursue the opportunity on Chicago's West Side. However, Ald. Michael Chandler (24th) is getting tired of waiting. ''This is like the last shot. If it's not alive, we need to move on. We can put a Home Depot or a Wal-Mart in there. We need to do something else that's going to generate traffic and create jobs for our people and we need to do it quick,'' Chandler said.
Today is the first day of registration for the next Fast Forward Film Festival. Teams will be given a topic on January 30th, and have 24 hours to complete a five minute film, to be screened on the 31st at the Open End Gallery. Sign-up is $20, at Atomix; teams can be any size.
You recall a couple years ago an Italian-American group picked a fight with The Sopranos for perpetuating the stereotype that all Italians are in the mafia? Well, now the Italic Institute of America is up in arms about Shark Tale, a new Dreamworks animated feature starring several sharks with names like Don Lino, Vinny and Luca -- voiced by Robert DiNiro, Martin Scorsese and other Italian-American Hollywood types. Read their complaint here.
Looking for another movie to see, now that you've already seen Return of the King at the midnight showing? Try Jim Sheridan's In America, which has been getting fairly good reviews across the country (and is currently playing at Chicago's Pipers Alley, among other places). The Sun-Times' Richard Roeper likes it so much, in fact, that he's offering to refund your ticket price if you don't like the film. Act quickly: the offer is only for the first 100 people who respond.
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King debuts tonight at midnight. If you haven't gotten your tickets by now, you're probably out of luck, but here's a list of theaters showing the film. Metromix has a round-up of LOTR coverage, and serious fans may be interested in joining the Chicago Fellowship.
The Trib reports that the Chicago Film Critics board is resuming its annual awards voting, after the awards were suspended to protest a recent decision by the MPAA to end the practice of sending out tapes and DVDs of Oscar-eligible films to critics. [Trib. login: gapers/gapers]
Facets Multimedia, the city's best video store for independent and foreign films, kicks off its 7th annual Festival of French Cinema tonight. The Sun-Times has a brief overview of some of the 12 films being shown.
In 1959, musicologist Alan Lomax recorded folk songs by inmates in Mississippi's prisons and work gangs. Four decades later, one of those songs, "Po' Lazarus," was selected for the "O Brother, Where Art Thou" soundtrack. When the album became a best-seller, its producers spent more than a year searching for the singer of "Po' Lazarus." They finally found him living in a rundown Chicago apartment. He had never heard of the movie and had forgotten Lomax's visit. They gave him a $20,000 check, the first of several royalty payments, and paid for his first plane trip, to L.A. for the 2002 Grammy Awards. The singer, James Carter, died last week at the age of 77. [Trib. login: gapers/gapers]
My soft spots for Frank Capra and for group singing intersect each year with the Music Box's Christmas double feature and sing-a-long, Dec. 19-24. Tickets are on sale now. Per tradition, the movies are "White Christmas" and "It's a Wonderful Life," and each showing is preceding by a round of Christmas carols, led by Santa Claus himself. Related: This will be the last Christmas for Music Box managers Chris Carlo and Robert Chane, who after 20 years have handed the reins to their landlord, who promises to maintain the theater's format and physical layout.
The Globe and Mail reports that the debut novel of Chicago-based visual artist Audrey Niffenegger, The Time Traveler's Wife, is set for a film treatment, by none other than Jennifer Aniston and Brad Pitt, in connection with New Line Cinema. Niffenegger, 40, makes her career as a printmaker. She shows her work regularly, and balances her art with her work teaching for the master of fine art program at the Center for Book and Paper Arts at Columbia College in Chicago. Certainly not a bad result for a debut novel!
The Gene Siskel Film Center is hosting an Arab Film Series. The series took a lot of doing to get together, including the hard work of a lot of highly placed cultural attache types, but attendance is threatening to be low, and emails circulating around the academic/arts community are urging people to come on out. So if you're interested in the art behind America's favorite Global Hotspot, be sure to check it out.
Today the feds charged nine people, seven of them union projectionists from Chicago, with a wave of arson and assault at theaters across the country. In a twist befitting any bad heist movie, the arsonists are accused of leaving calling cards: CD covers from the band Chicago, "just so the notion of the city of Chicago would be planted in the minds of the theater owners," according to U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald. The conflict between movie theaters and projectionists has been simmering for years, and the union has a history of violence and crime that goes back to the '20s and continued into the '90s. [Trib. login: gapers/gapers]
Reeling 2003, the annual Chicago gay and lesbian film festival, is under way! Opening night was last night, and the festival runs through Thursday, November 13. Check the Website for a calendar of films, and check with the always-dependable Chicago Reader for synopses and mini-reviews of the films.
Cineme 2003, otherwise known as the first annual Chicago International Animation Film Festival, kicks off tonight, but the real action goes down this weekend, with showings of award-winning animated films Friday, Saturday and Sunda, primarily at the Biograph Theater. Covering everything from web animation to Bill Plimpton to contemporary Anime, this should be a visual feast.
The Chicago Film Critics Association, which does its own little awards ceremony every year, has announced that it is suspending its competitive awards this year in protest of the MPAA's decision to ban distribution of screener films to Academy members. The CFCA will still give out its honorary awards (which go to local productions and companies) and will still hold its annual bash.
A wide-ranging article in the USA Today covers everything from the studios that once dotted the Northside, gangsters, Siskel and Ebert, film festivals, Doc Films, new theatres, and famous movies made in Chicago. It's a hodge-podge of an article, but contains some interesting stuff.
I'm sure none of you have forgotten that the last installment of the Matrix trilogy opens tomorrow. I noted in the trailer during a brief oncoming train shot that its destination read "Loop" and the sign was sort of brown. It was in the subway though; I suppose in the Matrix, the Brown Line runs underground...
Crains Chicago Business reports this week that Chris Carlo and Robert Chaney are negotiating to sell the Music Box movie theatre to to building owner William G. Schopf. Luckily, Schopf says he has no current plans to close the theatre.
The Chicago International Children's Film Festival, which opens tomorrow night with a gala featuring Jane Seymour and Maggie Daley, is the only children's film festival recognized by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences as an Oscar qualifying festival. Take a look at the schedule.
Alloy Orchestra, called "the best in the world at accompanying silent films" by Roger Ebert, is accompanying a screening of the 1922 vampire classic Nosferatu. Chicago Cultural Center, 78 E. Washington Street, October 22, 8 p.m.
There's still time to register at Atomix for the next Fast Forward Film Festival. Participating teams are assigned a topic for a 3-minute video on Friday night, with the completed result to be screened on Saturday at 8pm. I participated in the last festival, and it was a blast. A hectic whirlwind, but a great time. Even if you don't sign up, it's fun to view the final results, see how well people dealt with time constraints. DVDs with a "best of" compilation from the previous 9 contests will be for sale afterwards. Open End Gallery, Saturday October 18, 8pm, 2000 W Fulton, $5, BYOB.
Roger Ebert has posted his personal pick for the screening to see in this year's Chicago International Film Festival: tonight's showing of the 1932 silent film I Was Born, But... Considered one of the best films of Japanese director Yasujiro Ozu, it will be accompanied by a benshi, which is a person giving a running translation/commentary during the film. Those of you who like your cinematic experiences unique might wish to check it out. Music Box Theatre (3733 N. Southport), 6:30PM.
AMC River East 21 is the only Chicago theater screening the extended editions of the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy. Dec. 5-11 will be "The Fellowship of the Ring." Dec. 12-15 will be "The Two Towers." On Dec. 16, the entire trilogy will be shown in a movie marathon, one day ahead of the national release of "The Return of the King." Tickets go on sale this Thursday.
The 39th annual Chicago International Film Festival is under way. Two weeks of films from all over the world, showing at the Music Box Theatre and Landmark's Century Centre. Check the CIFF site for a complete schedule. If you're wondering what to check out, check out these best-of articles by Metromix, Newcity's film critic Ray Pride, and this essay by the Reader's Jonathan Rosenbaum.
Oh. My. God. UIUC is having a two day conference on the Shaw brothers. How unbelievably cool is that? Sir Run Run and his brother are the people who are responsible for producing the 800 million 'bad martial arts films' that you watched on the Sunday Afternoon Cinema growing up. The Shaw brothers revolutioned Asian cinema, played a vital part in forming the Hong Kong cinema scene, and began the revolution that put Wu Shu on screen that eventually led to Bruce Lee, Jackie Chan, or Let Li (not to mention the Wu Tang Clan). 'Bout time they got some academic attention.
A Mr. JL Moss wrote a humorous essay concerning why quintessential teen film Ferris Bueller's Day Off has serious timeline problems. The film shot in Chicago by Brat Pack director John Hughes (stop all the Home Alone's and Beethoven's for the love of all that is good!) is of course a classic Chicago institution. I wonder if someone could live the movie for a day... [via Kottke]
The movie version of the Pulitzer prize-winning play "Proof" is going to be shot on the University of Chicago campus (and other locations around Hyde Park) next month. Keep your eyes peeled for Gwyneth Paltrow, Anthony Hopkins, or Jake Gyllenhaal running around Chicago sometime soon.
Underworld opened in Chicago this weekend to generally snarky reviews. My favorite has got to be from The Village Voice which begins with the words "Worst Don Delilo adaptation, ever." Personally, I'm intrigued - Kate Beckinsale in a cat suit chasing the Bobby Thomson homer or werewolves painting abandoned bombers in the desert. What more could you want?
Almost six months ago 750 people were arrested during an anti-war protest that took place downtown. Jon Groot, Seth Skundrick, and Linda and Blake Beckstrom have created a documentary which encompasses thirty different personal stories. All the proceeds of Where We Stood: Chicago's Resistance to the U.S. War on Iraq will benefit the Chicago Chapter of the National Lawyers Guild and Peace Pledge-Chicago. (Reservations are recommended.)
Sure, you could worry about the rain, or how your friends and neighbors are dealing with the heat, but wouldn't it be better to head out to Grant Park for a screening of Hitchcock's Rear Window, starring Jimmy Stewart and Grace Kelly, the staggeringly beautiful Princess of Monaco?
The 10th Annual Chicago Underground Film Festival runs August 27 through September 2 at the Landmark Century Center Cinema, 2828 N. Clark. This year's highlights include "Scrabylon" (about -- no shit -- the "cutthroat world of tournament Scrabble"); documentaries on Rockets Redglare, Tribe 8, and feminist porn; "Value-Added Cinema," a 45-minute montage of product placement shots from 70 films; NewCity film critic Ray Pride's piece on the antiwar protest that shut down Lake Shore Drive; plus all the odd, experimental, and non-commercial stuff you just won't see anywhere else.
As I am sure you are all aware, the Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers DVD comes out on Tuesday, August 26th. Can't wait! Can't wait! But what you may not be aware of is that I have seen the movie 10 times and know every line by heart (even the stuff in Elvish). I am one sick puppy.
Looking for a film festival that's not just a film festival? Looking for "a cabaret type atmosphere filled with musical acts, performance art, dance, puppetry, clowns...where gypsy palm readers can mingle with video mixers, film noir actors can meet cinematographers, capoeira dancers with naked tuba players"? (Who isn't?) Well, Knuckleface, get your ass over to the sixth annual Undershorts Film Festival, which hits the Congress Theater, 2135 N. Milwaukee, on Friday, July 26 at 7pm.
The free Chicago Outdoor Film Festival in Grant Park begins next Tuesday with "It Happened One Night." Chicago Magazine's Morsels column tells us Cyrano's Bistro & Wine Bar is offering three different five-course French picnic baskets for $28 for those heading to the movie. Bon appetit et voir!
If you are not planning on attending the bash of the century, then one of your other options is the opening night of the Chicago Short Comedy Video and Film Festival. The annual festival this year features debut comedy shorts by local filmmakers, including several Second City alumni, as well as the trailer for the upcoming film "Bad Meat," starring Chevy Chase. Friday, July 18 at 8:00 p.m. and 10:00 p.m. at the Biograph Theater - 2433 N. Lincoln Ave. $10.
When cartoonist Heather McAdams and her fella Chris Ligon (former owner of Record Roundup) moved to Delaware two years ago, they took their quirky music-and-film shows with them. But Friday they are back for a one-night stand of cartoons, stag films, bad-movie trailers, and music shorts, featuring live tunes from Robbie Fulks and Kelly Hogan. Yee-haw, y'all! Tonight at 9 at Fitzgerald's, 6615 Roosevelt, in sunny Berwyn.
The city's Film Office lists current television and film productions, for those of you who want to show up in the background on TV or movies. If you'd rather just watch, you can also peruse a list of film festivals. (You could also take a look at the Illinois Film Office.)
Facets Cinematheque has brought the African Diaspora Film Festival to Chicago for the first time after being shown for the last decade in New York City. An engaging array of films with interesting titles, the Chicago Reader has the lowdown as well as recommended viewing. Runs June 20 - 26.
Nine filmmakers each have one week each to contribute 10 minutes to a 90 minute feature-length digital movie: that's the Exquisite Corpse-like formula for "The Cliffhanger," a new project from Split Pillow, an organization fostering "development of emerging motion picture artists in the Chicagoland area." Production begins in mid-July.
This Friday, Evanston Art Center will be showing the animated favorite Shrek -- as well as other video shorts by EAC video art students and faculty -- on an outdoor screen starting shortly after dusk. Bring a blanket and a snack (and perhaps a few bucks for a donation -- it is a non-profit, after all) and enjoy some great film under the stars! They'll be showing two more films in July and August -- for address and more info click on
Years before The Animatrix hit screens, Chicago had its own Animatrix Network, an anime and manga fan club going strong since 1995. (Maybe the Wachowski brothers were members once upon a time?)
Academy and Emmy-award winning filmmakers, Sonia Slutsky and Nigel Noble, are filming a tour of Blueband Productions' Drag Kings. You'll be able to see Carlos Las Vegas, Johnny Kat, Pat Riarch, Christopher Noel, and Luster perform at Stargaze (5419 N. Clark St.) tonight for $6. It's a small price to pay to possibly be part of a crowd shot in a future award winning movie. If you liked Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, you'll want to be a part of this.
Starting Friday, May 23, Matthew Barney's Cremaster series of sculptural films is showing at the Landmark Century theater. The quickly-becoming legendary film sequence is outlined on the Guggenheim's site; I'm thrilled that Chicago is one of the cities with screenings.
For those not partaking of this weekend's super-blockbuster (see Headlights), the Gene Siskel Film Center will be showing its antithesis: "Nina Simone, Love Sorceress," a documentary of one of the famous singer's concerts in 1976. The realness of Simone's ferocity is the sure antidote to computer generated mayhem. Showtimes are Sunday, 5/18, at 5pm and Thursday, 5/22, at 8pm. Admission $8.
The Fast Forward Film Festival is an event that gives groups of filmmakers (videomakers) 24 hours to produce a three-minute video based on a set topic. The topics are distributed at 7:30 Friday night (tonight), and the screening of the finished products is Saturday, May 17, at open-end Gallery, 2000 West Fulton, 8pm. Admission is five bucks. I'll be participating this time around as cast/crew for a friend who does film, should be a good time.
Hell yes I secured tickets for the 10:30 showing of the Matrix Reloaded tomorrow night. Gotsta get mine. Got Matrix?
The Headlights section of the Block is a bit confused. Metromix tells us that nothing could be more Chicago than The Matrix. "There's a phone on Wells and Lake" says Morpheus to Neo...
The 19th annual Israel Film Festival has an interesting yet small selection of films playing at the Esquire downtown and in Highland Park. Worth taking in to see what creative vision is coming out from that part of the world. Began 05/11, runs though 05/15. More info here.
Tonight's Chicago Community Cinema event will feature a demonstration of DNA, the latest editing technology from Avid, as well as the usual screenings of locally-made short films. The event is upstairs at Excalibur; doors open at 6:00.
More Columbia (my, my aren't they busy), as part of their conference taking place at the moment, "Dignity Without Borders: Arts, Media and Human Rights", the Chicago Anarchist Film Festival took place this past May 2-4. Revolutionists should not have missed it. However, the Human Rights Film Festival is balancing that all out starting today, May 5-7.
It'd be pretty easy to miss Roger Ebert's Overlooked Film Festival (April 23-27), since it's running down in Champaign-Urbana instead of Chicago. Why? Ebert went to U of I.
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