Joe Arce

CHICAGO – As the leaves begin to crunch beneath our feet, the Fall 2023 Chicago Humanities Festival – ongoing since September – will kick into gear in October with an amazing line-up of celebrity and talkback events. For a complete list and guide to the Festival, click CHICAGO HUMANITIES.

CHICAGO – Idina Menzel is an icon of the Great White Way and is appropriately nicknamed “Queen of Broadway.” She and her sister Cara have released their new children’s book “Proud Mouse,” a veiled story of their sisterhood. Photographer Joe Arce of HollywoodChicago.com got Exclusive Portraits of both at a recent book signing.

CHICAGO – One of the finest genre filmmakers from Chicagoland is releasing her latest horror epic. Writer/director Jennifer Reeder has created “Perpetrator,” her fourth feature film, and it will have a run at select theaters, including Chicago’s Music Box Theatre (LINK HERE) as well as streaming on SHUDDER beginning September 1st.

SAN MARCOS, Calif – There was an Alan Arkin for every generation. Post World War Two adults may have seen him at Chicago’s “The Second City.” Baby Boomers remember his films “Wait Until Dark” and “The Russians Are Coming, The Russians are Coming” and Gen X saw him in “The In-Laws” (“Serpentine, Shel”), “Glengarry Glen Ross” and his Oscar winning turn in “Little Miss Sunshine.” He even did a Netflix series, “The Kominsky Method.” For every generation, for every form of acting, there was Alan Arkin. He passed away on June 29th, 2023, at the age of 89.

CHICAGO – Stacey Abrams, the activist from Georgia, has created power in an old fashioned way … by actually getting out the vote. Her efforts had Georgia … a southern state … show up for Joe Biden in 2020, and her influence produced two Democratic Senators to represent Georgia going forward. She appeared at the Chicago Humanities Festival on June 1, 2023.

CHICAGO – Sharing his travels was the aim of actor Andrew McCarthy, and he was able to do with this son, as chronicled in his new book “Walking with Sam: A Father, a Son, and Five Hundred Miles Across Spain.” Photographer Joe Arce crossed his path and took Exclusive Portraits for HollywoodChicago.com.

Previous | Image 1 of 9 | Next

Comedian and lead actor Sebastian Maniscalco of ‘About My Father.’

CHICAGO – The Windy City was abuzz with Red Carpet bliss as the multi-star cast and director of the new film “About My Father” walked before the Chicago premiere of the film on May 6th, 2023. Hot stand-up comic Sebastian Maniscalco is the leading man, with his father Salvo portrayed by the legendary Robert De Niro.

CHICAGO – Everyday is a Winding Road, as pop-rocker Sheryl Crow once reminded us. But one of her recent days included the announcement that Ms. Crow was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, Ohio. The new class will be inducted on November 3rd, 2023.

CHICAGO – This past January, U.S. Congress California Representative Katie Porter (Democrat, 47th District) announced her intention to run for the U.S. Senate. The populist for the people, who famously takes down unprepared corporate overlords with her profound financial knowledge (symbolically often illustrated with a white board), also appeared at the Spring Chicago Humanities Festival on April 29th for her book “I Swear: Politics is Messier Than My Minivan.” Photographer Joe Arce of HollywoodChicago.com took these Exclusive Portraits.

CHICAGO –Rainn Wilson is best known of course in his magnificent interpretation as Dwight Schrute on TV’s ‘The Office,’ but his foray into spirituality is why he is appearing at the Chicago Humanities Festival on Friday, April 21st, 2023, promoting his new book, “Soul Boom: Why We Need Spiritual Revolution.” For tickets and more info, click