Film News

CHICAGO – The Asian Pop-Up Cinema (APUC) series has established a foothold in the Chicago film scene through the last three years and now five seasons. For Spring 2018, Season 6 will open on March 13th with a U.S. Premiere from Japan, “Colors of Wind,” featuring an appearance by hot lead Japanese actor, Yuki Furukawa (click here for details). The series will then unspool 14 more films through May 16th, all facilitated and curated by the Founder of APUC, veteran film programmer Sophia Wong Boccio.

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Actor Tom Lenk on the Red Carpet at ‘a Night with the Oscar.’

CHICAGO – It was super finery and ultimate glam at the Park West in Chicago’s Lincoln Park neighborhood on Academy Awards night, March 4th, 2018, where “a Night with Oscar” took place. The event, which was a benefit for Center on Halsted and presented by Comcast/NBCUniversal, combined food, drink, Red Carpet and Oscar viewing revelry with information about the support that Center on Halsted provides for the LGBTQ+ community in Chicago. The event was co-hosted by variety of local notables, including Lee Ann Trotter, who covers entertainment for the local NBC5 news.

CHICAGO – Short films, in a society increasingly becoming attention challenged, are getting a new lease as an essential film showcase. The Midwest Independent Film Festival will highlight a “Midwest Shorts Program” for their second 2018 event on March 6th. 13 films are part of the line-up, including a World Premiere, a Festival Premiere, Two Chicago Premieres and a 2017 Sundance Film Festival Selection. For more information, including line-ups and tickets, click here.

CHICAGO – Even though Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway appeared once again to present the Best Picture at the 90th Academy Awards – as they did last year – the correct film was announced, and it was the romantic fantasy “The Shape of Water” that won the 2018 Best Picture on March 4, 2018.

CHICAGO – Time to fill out the Oscar prediction ballots! The 90th Academy Awards are on Sunday, March 4th, 2018, and HC film critics Patrick McDonald, Michael “Spike” Walters and Jon Lennon Espino are ready to add their prognosticating powers to all the major categories, plus three wild cards. Let the predicting begin.

CHICAGO – Glamour, glitz, fun and the Academy Awards will be an event at the Park West in Chicago, as Comcast/NBCUniversal Presents “a Night with Oscar” on Sunday, March 4th, 2018, a benefit for Center on Halsted. The Academy Awards Viewing Party will feature a Live Red Carpet Arrival with Special Guests, Silent Auction/Raffle, Best Dressed Competition, and a full Open Bar/Buffet. For more information and link to tickets, click here.

CHICAGO – The actor John Mahoney, the son of Chicago that came here from England, died on February 4th, 2018 at his home in nearby Oak Park. He was 77. He had a varied career of stage and screen roles, but he is best remembered as Dad Martin Crane to sons Niles and “Frasier,” on that long running series.

CHICAGO – In the last seven years, the work of Iranian director Asghar Farhadi has emerged internationally. His Oscar-winning film “A Separation” (2011) and “The Salesman” (2016) has launched his set-in-Iran films to a wider audience. The Gene Siskel Film Center in Chicago has been highlighting the country’s cinema for years, and they present the 28th Festival of Films from Iran through March 1st, 2018.

CHICAGO – First Tuesdays are back in Chicago. The Midwest Independent Film Festival will kick off their 2018 (and 14th) season at 6pm on Tuesday, February 6th, with the comedy “Cold War,” directed by J. Wilder Knoschak and Stirling McLaughlin. The film will be preceded by a Producer’s Panel, which will spotlight “The Post Production Process.” For more information, including tickets purchasing, click here.

CHICAGO – Opinions are like certain orifices, everybody has one. The contributors to HollywoodChicago.com – Patrick McDonald, Jon Lennon Espino and Spike Walters – are no strangers to opinions on the film scene, so why not offer judgement on the most overrated and worst films of the year 2017.