Smile Politely. Speak Directly. A Champaign-Urbana Culture Blog

11:45 a.m.: After being absent from the organ yesterday, Warren York is back and all is right again. As I look around and hear the organ’s jaunty tune, I feel a little bittersweet. It’s the last day of Ebertfest and I am extremely cagey from sitting in a movie theater for five days straight, yet this festival is a pinnacle of my year and I always hate to see it end. Warren plays “I’ll Be Seeing You” and I feel a little mushy inside.

11:00 a.m.: Chaz Ebert wastes no time in introducing the director for the first film of the day, the much-anticipated guest, Ang Lee. Mr. Lee is greeted by a chorus of U of I boys who sing the school song in his honor. “I am proud to be a Fighting Illini,” says the award-winning director of such films as Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and Brokeback Mountain.

Director Patricia Riggen sets out moving you to tears from the very first moment in her Under the Same Moon, an independent film that has become something of a hot button issue for paranoid conservatives with too much time on their hands. Given the relatively slow and limited release this film has had (at its height it’s played on 450 screens and has grossed a little over $10 million), it’s likely that this movie could have come and gone with little notice. Pundits, however, have gone out of their way on slow news days to point out that Riggen’s movie gives a decidedly one-sided view of the illegal immigration debate and that she should be ashamed of herself for not dealing with the greater social complexities of this issue.

8:00 a.m.: I arrive at the Illini Union, searching in vain for the Pine Lounge that will hold the panel for “Today’s Writer/Director — It’s Not Just Business, It’s Personal.” It’s serendipitous I get there an hour ahead of time; after I locate the locked-up room and acquire a chai from the Courtyard Café, I run into Joey Pantoliano. Long story short, he ends up buying me a yogurt and we discuss his organization, “No Kidding, Me Too,” and the dour state of indie film distribution over breakfast. He promises to introduce me to Eclipse Award-winning former Sports Illustrated writer William Nack, whom I’ve come to the panel to see. Joey treats me like an old friend and fulfills his promise. I am indebted to him forever.

12:15 p.m.: The doors open even later than yesterday’s seven minute delay. It seems the Powers That Be are weaning us on a shorter diet of festival fun by adding heat to the decathlon. I am parked on a residential street on the opposite side of West Side Park to escape the voracious appetites of the new parking meter rates. Seventy-five cents my ass. There should be special festival parking slips for patrons, because paying $4.50 for six hours for parking in Champaign is a crime. Some of these people I know have gotten here earlier than 10 a.m. to wait in the Fest Pass line just to get in, and the first film doesn’t start until 1 p.m.

5:45 p.m.: I arrive and the line is wrapped around the historic Virginia Theatre down to the light pole at the end of the block. The lawn chairs, laptops and headphones have been broken out by the diehards sitting in the Virginia’s motherly shade. Each one of these people is sporting their festival pass, hanging from a lanyard like a gold medal. Technically, all these people need to do to get a seat is walk in a few minutes before showtime, because the Fest Pass guarantees you a seat to each showing. But oh, no, these people have been waiting in line for at least 45 minutes already, just to be able to grab the best seat once the doors open and the 10th annual Ebertfest kicks off. As this blog will detail, the experience of Ebertfest is a little bit of an endurance test, in some respects, a decathlon.

The actor, writer, and supervising producer of The Office, B.J. Novak, will be performing stand-up comedy for free on the south side of the Illini Union this Friday night at 7:30 p.m. What better way to celebrate a week of working than with someone who perfectly conveys the pain of doing just that in a cubicle? Sponsored by the Illini Union Board, the show is quite possibly the best reason one could ask for to brave campus town on a Friday night.

The 16th annual Artists Against AIDS exhibition and sale kicks off on Friday evening, April 25, at the Orpheum Children's Science Museum. The museum's theatre is transformed into a gallery space displaying a wide variety of media from paintings to wearable art. As always, the event is fully operated by volunteers, and features submissions from over two hundred and fifty local artists. All the work can be purchased and proceeds go directly to the Great Community AIDS Project (GCAP), a local not-for-profit agency providing support services for those affected by HIV/AIDS and their families. GCAP also provides information and education to the community about HIV/AIDS prevention and awareness.

The events will be held Friday, April 25, 6–10 p.m.; Saturday, April 26, 1–10 p.m.; Sunday, April 27, 1–7 p.m.; and Monday, April 28, 1–7 p.m.

Be sure to stop by Ebertfest this weekend, and while you are there, pick up a copy of C-U Confidential, the brainchild of Jason Pankoke. The Virginia will be giving them away for free all weekend long. The magazine is dedicated to exposing the film community that lives and works in the greater C-U area.

Roger Ebert is set to host his 10th annual film festival and among the subjects to be viewed at Champaign’s Virginia Theatre will be a big green monster, a serial killer, underworld thugs and a mad housewife. At first glance, one might think that the Central Illinoisan critic is focusing on B-Movies or pulp-fiction fodder. Upon closer inspection, however, the slate of films to be shown is, as usual, an eclectic collection that casts a wide net over the world of cinema, covering a variety of genres and formats that are often neglected by the average filmgoer and movie exhibitors.

When someone says that there is a new film based on the Holocaust that you just have to see, most potential viewers equate this with their reaction to having to eat their broccoli as a kid — yeah, it might be good for me, but it’s far from pleasant. Stefan Ruzowitzky’s The Counterfeiters contains all of the troupes we’ve come to expect from films of this sort. It does focus on a group of persecuted Jews in a concentration camp, it does effectively recreate the inhumane treatment inflicted upon these prisoners and it does remind us of the dehumanizing effect this had on both the prisoners and its captives. And at the center of it all, is a charismatic anti-hero and contains a compelling human story that poses intriguing moral questions regarding personal safety versus sacrificing oneself for a larger cause.

Four months ago, before he won the Pulitzer Prize in fiction for his novel The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, Junot Díaz was hanging out in my hotel room in Key West. There were a number of us there — younger, aspiring writers, lounging on the teal sofa-bed and leaning against the Formica bar, listening to Díaz tell the story about a reading with V.S. Naipaul in Australia. (“Yo, that cat hates black people,” Díaz said of the former Nobel Prize winner, who had refused to read directly after Díaz and a Russian writer, and would only come on stage after the audience had left and tickets were collected a second time.)

But nothing comes close to the shot in the arm the bard's "Comedy of Errors," a tale of mixed-up identities, received when playwrights Jordan Allen-Dutton, Jason Catalano, GQ, and Erik Weiner flipped the script and birthed "The Bomb-itty of Errors," a hip-hop adaptation.

Anna Peters is usually the one behind the camera. The photo on the right is a part of her collection and it is how she is seen by others when taking photographs. But starting tomorrow, you will get to see a part of Peters that isn't always on display: her art. Art Coop will be hosting a show displaying her paintings, photographs, sculpture and installation, including other artists Maria Verdos-Petrou and Ryan Michael Fraser.

And now Smile Politely brings you a little more of Peters:

Consumed by: Constantly trying to stay on top of project deadlines while also being able to make time for my own work and sleep.

It’s the return of the world’s best buttered popcorn! That’s right — grab your car keys, it’s drive-in season once again in Gibson City, and that means the scent of summer is on the wind. About a forty minute drive away from Champaign and well worth the trip, the Harvest Moon is a twin drive-in movie theater on the outskirts of Gibson City on Route 47 South. In a time when over 80 percent of the nation’s movie-going public have only faceless multiplexes to house their films, the drive-in is not only a dwindling rarity in America, but a necessary novelty. Those who have never experienced a drive-in movie are cheating themselves from a wealth of memories.

Did you know Americans throw out enough iron and steel to supply all the nation’s automakers on a continuous basis? Here at Mack's Twin City Recycling, you can always find a tire or forty. They have a self-serve auto parts yard on site. And next time you think about throwing away unwanted metal, bring in your scraps and they'll pay you.

Champaign-Urbana knows a thing or two about healthy writing scenes. After all, the University of Illinois is home to one of the nation’s oldest and most prestigious creative writing programs as well as one of the nation’s leading journalism schools. A top-shelf literary magazine is housed here Ninth Letter and a recent National Book Award winner lives here (Richard Powers) and one of America’s most esteemed poets teaches here (Brigit Pegeen Kelly) and an authorial authority on U.S. media hosts a local radio show here every week (Bob McChesney) and — and the list could go on for pages.

But C-U isn’t the only writers’ haven in this neck of the woods. Tonight at 6:30 p.m. the Rantoul Public Library will host a local author panel discussion featuring nine area writers and a representative from Mahomet’s Mayhaven Press.

The Central Illinois Chapter of the National Society of Arts and Letters will re-establish a local public space by hosting a student art show. Decades ago, Robeson's held an annual show at their store in Champaign and this year, the NSAL committee, headed by Dale Steffensen, a self-proclaimed art enthusiast, hopes to pick up where Robeson's fine tradition left off.

Sometimes the cornfields can get you down. I have many antidotes (several involving vodka and olives), but when my liver needs a break and my soul longs for tranquility, C-U provides me a surprising sanctuary: Japan House.

Located in the University Arboretum at the south end of campus, in Urbana, and boasting an aura marked by Japanese tea, people strolling and rock gardens, Japan House offers all comers an oasis of calm in the midst of our bustling Midwestern burg. This weekend, Japan House puts all its charms on display during its Spring Open House.

Produced by the Illini Union Board with an ensemble of 28 students and the despite it's absurd name, the award-winning play, Urinetown: The Musical is well worth the watch. It is a satirical comedy-musical about a community's struggle during a 20-year drought. Here in Urinetown, water consumption is curbed by a single capitalist company, Urine Good Hands, who takes away the town's potty privileges; private bathrooms are banned and citizens are forced use and pay for the public facilities provided. The conflict, however, brought upon this town leads to a revolution. Now this notion isn't completely ridiculous, seeing as how some places in Europe require a small fee to use public restrooms. Urinetown's creator and lyricist, Greg Kotis, was actually inspired by this concept while traveling in Europe and having to pay-per-pee.

Three performances of Urinetown: The Musical will run at 7:30 p.m. on April 11 and 12, and a Saturday matinee at 2 p.m. at Assembly Hall, 1800 S. First St. in Champaign. Tickets are on sale through Illini Union Ticket Central and Assembly Hall Box Office. They range in price from $13-$17 and a $3 discount is available for those with a valid UIUC Student ID.

In a day and age in which so many films are as disposable as yesterday’s newspaper, Cristian Mungui’s 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days is a work that haunts you long after its final credits roll on the shattered lives of its two young protagonists. Set in Romania in the late 1980s, it examines the crushing effect of living under a Communist regime, focusing on two women who finds themselves gradually sucked into a situation, in over their heads and compromising their values in ways they never contemplated. While Mungui puts the issue of abortion front and center, the movie also speaks to the oppression of being forced to live with antiquated notions and the inability to free yourself from a society in which opportunities to start a new life are nothing more than a sham.

Both in and out of the office, Damian Duffy and John Jennings have an unbridled passion for graphic novels. One might call them fanatics, but really, they're professionals. Coming this Saturday, April 12, the two gentlemen will be at the Urbana Free Library, 210 W. Green St. in Urbana, for the library's Big Read series from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m.




Interviewed separately, their answers are oddly similar in style and content. And perhaps that's why they have decided to collaborate on a number of works, including their newest graphic novel, which...well, I'll let you read for yourself.

And now, without further ado, Smile Politely would like to introduce you to Duffy and Jennings, for the longest "Consumed by Creativity" we will possibly ever run.

Every Wednesday night, for $15 per family or $5 per person, Skateland in Savoy hosts "Family Night." Traditional skates can be rented for an additional $2 or you may opt for speed and inline skates for $4. They also have meal specials available during Family Night at the snack bar. Skating from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. will most likely wear your kids out and make them fall asleep like babies again, just make sure the kids don't load up on too many of the sweets they sell. You can thank Skateland later.

"An Artistic Discovery: The 2008 Congressional Art Competition" is currently on display at The High School of Saint Thomas More, 3901 N. Mattis Ave. in Champaign, and it's almost coming to a close. Students from thirteen high schools in Illinois' 15th Congressional District have entered this year's competition which allows students to display their artwork locally, but also gives them an opportunity to be recognized on a national level for their artistry.

Central High School will present Jonathan Larson's Tony and Pulitzer-prize winning Broadway musical, RENT, tonight, April 9, at 7:30 p.m. RENT is a modern day rock opera inspired by Puccini's classic opera "La Bohème." It follows a year in the lives of seven friends barely making ends meet with their Bohemian lifestyles in New York City's East Village.

Located in unincorporated Rising, Illinois, and on Rising Rd. — the Rising Farmers Grain Company elevator is most impressive considering it's history and place in Illinois' grain processing game. It endures even though it is an old wooden elevator and their man lift still functions by rope. Plus, it's completely farmer owned. The elevator produces 30,000 to 34,000 bushels of grain annually and they are the smallest co-op left in the state, with three locations across Illinois.

According to Dwight from TV’s The Office, rules are what separate humans from animals. In 1925, a new book of rules was enforced upon professional football, and the sport was changed forever. The gridiron was tamed, groomed, and all the fun was lost in the complicated intricacies of right and wrong. Leatherheads, George Clooney’s new film about the sport’s wakeup to the cold bath of regimentation, proves that rules are for idiots like Dwight.

For one hour, this Saturday, April 5, nine dancers and three musicians will take to the rink at Skateland in Savoy, and embark on a live musical exploration and improvise their physical movement. According to their website, they will "share the impulses and intersections of a journey to free joy of the body, mind, and spirit." Brought to fruition by University of Illinois Dance major and BFA Dance candidate, Kinsey McCartor, "Precision Not Required" is a site specific group thesis performance. Outside of dancing, Cosmology, a new musical trio assembled by local trumpeter, Christopher Moors, will also perform and improvise.

Revisiting movies genres from yesteryear is harder than it looks. Sometimes you cast the film just right, get the look of the period down to a tee and even manage to recreate the story elements as well. And yet, it all falls flat. (See this week’s Leatherheads for an example…on second thought, don’t.) Other times, all the pieces fall together, in a seemingly effortless manner, and filmgoers are transported back in time and treated to a dose of movie magic from Hollywood’s Golden Age. Miss Pettigrew Lives For a Day is such a film, a light-hearted romp that could have easily been a vehicle for Carole Lombard, Greer Garson, and Ronald Coleman had it been made in the ‘30s, when the film is set. Fortunately, three modern actors capture the nuances needed to pull off a film of this sort, never winking at the camera over the script’s dated notions, yet injecting the material with a sense of sincerity that makes it worthwhile.

Tonight between 7 p.m. and 11 p.m., Krannert Art Museum will be hosting its bi-annual ARTzilla event to celebrate the opening of its newest exhibition, "Landscapes of Experience and Imagination: Explorations by Midwest Latina/Latino Artists." A wide variety of media will be on display from six artists exploring the theme of landscapes as a metaphor for the human experience. The collective artwork reflects upon the artists' self-identities and their personal insights to the Latin presence in the United States.

The artists will also present a gallery talk to commence the festivities, and performances by the UI Latin Jazz Ensemble and Miami-based artist Kiki Valdes, an on-site live performance painter, are scheduled to perform at 8:30 p.m.

Amanda Paulson gives the viewer barely enough information in her imagery to define a specific time or place: it is almost ghostly and the majority of her work encompasses everyday scenes with strikingly banal tendencies. And yet, they are anything but bland. Next week, her newest exhibition, "Seeing the Unseen" runs at the Independent Media Center. It is a collection of paintings and collages for her BFA Thesis Show that re-examine the quietness of our Midwestern landscape and lifestyle, and asks us to be attentive to the visual commonalities in our all too familiar world. With her show about to open and only a few more weeks left of school (as if she wasn't busy enough), she answered questions for Smile Politely:

Consumed by: Arranging and re-arranging stuff. I'm obsessed — in my studio, in my paintings, in my room, in my relationships - everything must be just right!

The radical movements of 1968 eventually collapsed beneath the weight of two competing forces; the politically radical and the socially radical. Some tried LSD, some tried SDS. Some turned to Eastern spirituality as a form of transcendence, and others turned to the decidedly visceral militancy of the Black Panthers, and the Weather Underground.

And while the art of the former, in the form of acid rock and psychedelic graffiti, came to define the era, the art incorporating more of the latter faction is often unjustly ignored. One could easily make the argument that literary achievements such as the Black Arts movement presented a much more significant, resonant, and ultimately radical contribution to American culture.

Downtown Champaign, with its two movie theatres and its many bars, restaurants and cafés seems to be a perfect locale for small film festivals: movie buffs can watch a film and then talk about it over espresso at Café Aroma or chocolate martinis at Kofusion or burgers at the Esquire.

Ebertfest may be the best example of how well suited downtown Champaign is to the small festival. Each year at the end of April, the area from Westside Park to the train tracks is filled with film industry types, movie fans and Roger Ebert groupies (they’re the wildest bunch), wandering about, wearing oversized laminated passes and talking about whether the film they’ve just watched is justifiably “overlooked.”

Yet if Ebertfest is a small festival (which surely it is compared to Cannes, Sundance or even Chicago), the upcoming Latin American Film Festival, celebrating its second year, might best be described as a micro-festival. There are only five films total, showing twice an evening (three on Saturday) from April 4–10.

Play every note loud — especially the wrong ones.
– Dizzy Gillespie

Poet Patrick Rosal visits Author’s Corner at the Illini Union Bookstore today as a guest artist in the University of Illinois’s Carr Reading Series.

Look at his website, though, and you may not be sure whether “poet” is a label big enough for Rosal. He’s authored books of poems, sure, but he’s also an essayist, a teacher, a voiceover artist, a performer and guy who really — I mean, seriously — likes music.

In the early going of Jesus Christ Superstar, Judas Iscariot works himself to a boil. He’s come to recognize that the entire messianic enterprise that he’s hitched his star to isn’t necessarily a surefire success. In fact, it’s beginning to look like Jesus and his entire band of apostles might be on the verge of disbandment — even destruction — at the hands of the Roman power machine. Judas is scared. After Jesus ignores several of his pleas, Judas bellows, “All your followers are blind/Too much heaven on their minds/It was beautiful but now it’s sour/Yes it’s all gone sour.”

But to say that Judas and Jesus had merely an antagonistic relationship is to ignore the complexity of their friendship, says Matt Fear, who’s directing the Champaign-Urbana Theatre Company’s production of Jesus Christ Superstar at Champaign’s Virginia Theatre Thursday through Sunday.