One Minute Review: Illinois-Made, Award-Winning ‘The Blacklight’ Begins Streaming Oct 1
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The Blacklight is a suspenseful thriller that combines murder and magic with a large dose of the supernatural. It’s also funny as hell. Filmed partially throughout Northern Illinois, the low-budget indie film ran alongside a handful of major studio projects at this year’s Septimius Awards in Amsterdam, where it earned a “Best American Film” nomination. The Blacklight begins streaming on multiple platforms today. The story features a number...
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‘Chucky Chicken’ Creator Michael Cook Talks about Making It Big
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Fourteen years ago, Michael Cook had an inspiration about escaping. The Illinois-based artist, writer and director felt that many Americans, including himself, could make good use out of a break from the stress of daily life. It came in the form of a chicken. Chucky Chicken, to be specific. Today, Chucky Chicken is a lead character in an animated series that has earned more than...
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Bounce Helps Agencies Thrive With New Business Model
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Bounce Sound Studios is the way out of a drag that has been hobbling the post-production industry for decades. Fueled by an inspiration that grew directly within the film and commercial world, the upstart company delivers real-time, sonic expertise over wi-fi connections to locations across the globe. In other words, Bounce Sound Studios is anywhere clients want it to be. “I noticed over the years...
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Black Advertising Titans Team Up for ‘Channels Changers’ Doc
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Channels Changers is a documentary-in-progress about the advent of the African American Ad-Maker. Starting in the mid-1960s, the film celebrates Chicago-based industry leaders and innovators who were largely shut out of mainstream advertising until the Civil Rights Movement opened the doors a little wider. The Ad-Makers themselves — a group that includes Emma Young, Jim Glover, Al Hawkins and Lowell Thompson (pictured at top) —...
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Northwest IL Film Office Represents a Motherlode of Americana
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The resources represented by the Northwest Illinois Film Office include more than 5,000 square miles of virgin prairie, rolling hills, fertile pastures, picturesque farmland, historic towns, First Nation culture and the majestic Mississippi River. It is a motherlode of Americana, but that’s not all. The area is also home to some of the country’s most notable filmmakers. To help sharpen our focus on Northwest Illinois,...
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Battle of the Ad Bands Ready to Rock the Cubby Bear
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The Battle for Hope — an annual Chicago advertising live music competition — returns to the Cubby Bear for its ninth run on May 12. A fundraiser for the Off The Street Club, the oldest boys and girls club in Chicago, this year’s event will feature bands made up of employees from iCrossing, AbelsonTaylor, Epsilon, Edelman and FCB Chicago. An act called Friends From Work...
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New Podcast ‘Our Fighting Spirit’ Aims To Ease Ukraine Suffering
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The new podcast Our Fighting Spirit launched a profound mission during its inaugural episode this week. Besides providing a first-hand account of the situation in Ukraine, the program is helping a Kyiv resident relocate to the United States. “It’s terrifying,” a woman named Oksana tells host Anthony Gigante. “You have to run. You have to hide.” Oksana, a Ukrainian-born New Yorker, interprets the words of...
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Tandem Enhances Clearcover Message
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Tandem got fresh by going old school in a new campaign for Clearcover Car Insurance. Ditching the frivolity overpopulating today’s marketplace, the Chicago production boutique filmed Clearcover personnel explaining the company’s vision and benefits to consumers in a trio of new 30-second commercials. “While other car insurance companies focus on high-priced celebrities and fancy mascots,” founder / CEO Kyle Nakatsuji says in one of the...
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CRC Helps ‘Archetypes’ Earn Three Grammy Noms
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On the 2021 album Archetypes, Chicago Recording Company (CRC) engineer Jonathan Lackey helped transform an ambitious musical vision into a trio of Grammy nominations. Archetypes is a collection of 12 “collaboratively composed” tracks by Brazilian guitarist Sérgio Assad, Chicago avant-garde classical ensemble Third Coast Percussion and Brazilian-American vocalist / multi-instrumentalist Clarice Assad, who is also Sérgio’s daughter. With an array of Latin accents, tricky beats...
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These Films Have Audiences Buzzing at the Black Harvest Film Festival
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The Black Harvest Film Festival shines a stunning spotlight on Black voices from across the country and around the globe, with the month-long festival running through December 2nd at the Gene Siskel Film Center. There is much more ahead for you to enjoy, including the Closing Night screening of Spike Lee’s classic Jungle Fever in 35 mm, the “Made in Chicago” shorts program, and an...
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