Podcast

CHICAGO – 50 years ago today (June 27th, 2020), a young activist got together with a group of marchers – with no permit – and showed the City of Chicago the actual faces of gay liberation. Gary G. Chichester, board member of the Chicago LGBT Hall of Fame, was part of that first gay pride march … and 50 years later he remembers the freedom and history of that magic day.

CHICAGO – The April “Mainframe Comic Con” … an entire online Comic Con, including guests, artists, exhibitors and even cosplay … was a huge success. So the team decided to do it again. Mainframe Comic Con 2.0 will take place on this upcoming Saturday and Sunday, May 30th and 31st, 2020.

CHICAGO – With film/TV production and stages still shut down for the most part, what are actors doing to fill the void? For Laura Ann Parry, it’s been a chance to sharpen her craft, to do “new normal” auditioning and focus on what projects are upcoming. The Chicago character actor considers it part of the overall journey.

CHICAGO – David Dasmalchian is a comic book culture hero, in a sense. The kind, expressive and enigmatic actor (“Ant-Man”) will lend his considerable credentials as a self-professed “comic book nerd” to the exciting Mainframe Comic Con (MCC), the entirely online comic book convention taking place on April 25th and 26th, 2020.

CHICAGO – With large gatherings becoming unlikely in 2020, how will the comic book legion celebrate their heroes? “Mainframe Comic Con” has the solution. Their idea is to put an entire Comic Con – guests, artists, exhibitors and even cosplay – all online.

CHICAGO – Reviving a film from local cinema treasure Michael Glover Smith is always welcome at any time, but especially now. The Gene Siskel Film Center is enhancing their “From Your Sofa” download-from-home film series with Smith’s seminal release, “Mercury in Retrograde” through April 23rd.

CHICAGO – In 1973, director Norman Jewison fashioned a radical film version of the rock opera/Broadway show “Jesus Christ Superstar,” and the cinematic innovations plus stellar cast equaled a timeless movie musical classic. Josh Mostel portrayed King Herod and Barry Dennen was Pontius Pilate in the iconic film.

CHICAGO – Time travel “what ifs” and cruise ships has never been so close to our current reality, and it’s present in the unique film “Same Boat,” directed by Chris Roberti and co-written by Roberti with Josh Itzkowitz. The VOD release for the film is Tuesday, April 7th.

CHICAGO – The nationwide release of the locally produced “Saint Frances” was in full swing before the pandemic occurrence, and now there is an opportunity to see it through VOD (click link below). The triumphant feature debut of director Alex Thompson, and co-written by Thompson and Kelly O’Sullivan (who is also the lead actor), is a mature and intuitive emotional journey.

CHICAGO – The Windy City is on the move, as new creative energy in the film development arena has emerged to expand the network of possibilities.