1980s

CHICAGO – Reliving the 1980s is what Topher Grace, ironically known for “That ‘70s Show,” set out to do with the story line for his new film, “Take Me Home Tonight.” Comedian Demetri Martin has a supporting role in that film.

CHICAGO – Rick Springfield, the essential 1980s personality rocker, is serving up his life in a new memoir, “Late Late at Night.” He was in the Chicago area recently greeting admirers and signing his new book at Anderson’s Bookshop in Naperville, Ill.

CHICAGO – Morgan Fairchild was a memorable presence during her early career in various appearances on 1970s and 1980s TV screens. She and also starred in a couple of nighttime soap operas including “Flamingo Road” and “Falcon Crest”.

CHICAGO – Television fans from the early 1980s lost a bit of their era yesterday as Gary Coleman, Arnold Jackson from the NBC sitcom “Diff’rent Strokes,” died of a brain hemorrhage at the age of 42. Coleman is the second of the three siblings on the show to pass away, as Dana Plato, who played his sister Kimberley, took her own life in 1999.

CHICAGO – Halloween is the perfect time to revisit those horror films of youth, lost in the mall theaters or crackling through the VCR in a multiply rented copy. “The House of the Devil” reveres those roots and brings them back to light.

CHICAGO – Discovering young filmmaker talent is one of the most exciting elements of the Chicago International Film Festival. Writer/director Ti West is one of those discoveries, with his horror film premiere, “The House of the Devil.”