Today In The Culture, October 6, 2022: Alliance Of Film Festivals Founded | Maestro Christian Thielemann Comes to Chicago | Chicago Karaoke Competition
Breast Cancer Awareness Month cupcakes from Goddess & Grocer
ART
Cleveland’s Maltz Museum Gets $2 Million Gift
Cleveland’s Maltz Museum has announced a $2 million gift from Lois Goodman, naming its special exhibition gallery the Henry and Lois Goodman Gallery. “Together, the Museum and Mrs. Goodman aspire to continue its longstanding tradition of bringing world-class exhibitions to Cleveland audiences as it has done for the last seventeen years, exploring Jewish and universal stories of courage and resilience,” the museum writes in a release. More on the Maltz Museum here.
DESIGN
A New Gang Project In San Francisco
Writes San Francisco Chronicle urban design critic John King, Jeanne Gang’s newest project “is nothing like her twisty white Mira tower” in that city. “‘It’s really just the structure that will be the aesthetic,’ says the ever-inventive Chicago architect: ‘We wanted something natural and unpretentious.'”
Forty-Two Collisions For Long Grove Covered Bridge
Downtown Long Grove’s iconic covered bridge was struck for the forty-second time since it reopened on August 14, 2020, reports the Lake County News Sun (via the Tribune). “There does not appear to be structural damage,” Deputy Chief Christopher Covelli told the paper. “The village is having their structural engineer respond to ensure that is the case. It is imperative that operators of any truck or large-style vehicle be cognizant when crossing any bridge.”
DINING & DRINKING
Cupcakes For A Cause
The Goddess and Grocer has brought back its annual promotion to raise awareness and funds for Breast Cancer Awareness Month. “Boobies For A Cause Cupcakes” are $5 for a two-pack of “mini-boobies in various skin tones to celebrate all women; $2 from each sale will be donated to the Lynn Sage Foundation.” At all G&G locations, including Fulton Market, Bucktown, River North, Gold Coast and O’Hare Terminal 5.
Trailering Trotter
Rebecca Halpern’s Charlie Trotter documentary, “Love, Charlie,” opens this month in theaters, and Eater Chicago has the trailer.
DCASE Sets Chicago Karaoke Competition
“‘Chicago Sings Karaoke’ showcases the city’s immense pool of talented, amateur singers and a passion for karaoke that permeates through every neighborhood,” the Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events announces. The citywide singing competition is open to city residents twenty-one and older. The monthlong contest kicks off on October 9 and “will be an opportunity for amateur singers to showcase their musical chops in eighteen neighborhood venues—in the hopes of being crowned Chicago’s Karaoke Champion.” “Karaoke is a much-loved tradition in every Chicago neighborhood, and every night of the week you can find remarkable performances in the unlikeliest of places,” said the mayor. “Karaoke gives everyone and every community the chance to shine in the spotlight, and we are offering that spotlight to talented performers who wouldn’t normally have that opportunity. And you haven’t lived until you’ve heard me cover some Chaka Khan.” Details on how to compete here.
FILM & TELEVISION
Chicago Alliance Of Film Festivals Founded
Over forty film organizations and festivals have pledged as members of the Chicago Alliance Of Film Festivals, an initiative which FACETS is administering. CAFF is supported by the Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events to unify the filmmaking community and bring awareness and economic vitality to the city as affiliated groups look to share resources to expand audiences and expertise. The mission is to build the landscape of Chicago-based film festivals, venues, film schools and industry creatives, enrich local communities, and enhance the cultural and economic vitality of the area. “With Chicago being a world-class city of culture as both a hub of arts production and tourism, this initiative shines a light on the importance and interdependence of its film and television community that also includes film venues and festivals, and academic institutions that teach the craft and its history,” says DCASE commissioner Erin Harkey in a release. “All of these sectors combined will be all the more effective to stimulate economic growth and enhance the education and entertainment that this city has to offer to residents and visitors alike.”
Chicago area organizations behind the effort include Access Contemporary Music, Americas Media Initiative NFP, Arts + Public Life, Black Alphabet NFP, Chicago Film Critics Association, Chicago Film Office, Chicago Filmmakers, Chicago Irish Film Festival, Chicago Made Shorts, Chicago Palestine Film Festival, Chicago Park District, Chicago ReelAbilities Film Festival, Chicago South Asian Film Festival, Chicago Southland International Film Festival, Chicago Underground NFP, Cinema/Chicago & Chicago International Film Festival, the Davis Theater, Elevated Films Chicago, FACETS and the Chicago International Children’s Film Festival, Full Spectrum Features, Gene Siskel Film Center, GoLucky Studios, Gorton Community Center, Governors State University, Illinois Film Office, (In)Justice For All Film Festival International, Instituto Cervantes of Chicago, International Latino Cultural Center of Chicago, Kartemquin Films, The Lake County Film Festival, the Logan Theatre, Midwest Film Festival, Mosaic World Film Festival, the Music Box Theatre, Nebula Creatives L3C, One Earth Collective, One Earth Film Festival, Onion City Experimental Film + Video Festival, Open SpaceArts / Pride Film Fest, Open Television (OTV), Percolator Films, Pivot Arts, Reeling: The Chicago LGBTQ + International Film Festival and Sophia’s Choice / Asian Pop-Up Cinema. More here.
“South Side” Shoot Contributes Leftover Food To Needy
Diallo Riddle, a co-creator of HBO’s “South Side,” talks to the Sun-Times about the production’s contribution to a program the mayor’s office has begun to collect leftover food from film shoots. “I’m a father and have three growing boys. And I work on film shoots that have 150 people with cast and crew. In both worlds, you always have to have more food than you think you might need,” Riddle tells the paper. “The second I heard about it I was like ‘Hell yes! Let’s not waste anything.’ This is a no-brainer,” he said. “There’s nothing worse than feeling like you’re wasting something that somebody else needs.” “Showrunners made six food donations this summer from four different film locations that totaled 160 meals,” according to Replate, a nonprofit that collects leftovers from businesses and distributes to nonprofits that can distribute the food.
Marvel “Ironheart” Sets Chicago Shoot
“When ‘Ironheart’ was announced by Marvel Studios… the series was expected to film primarily in Atlanta and Chicago,” reports Screen magazine. “With much of Marvel’s production already headquartered in Georgia, the bulk of the series has filmed” there so far. The franchise component, it turns out, will shoot briefly in Illinois. “The highly anticipated series will begin filming on or near October 24, and will be in production through the end of the month.”
It’s Chicago Film Archives’ “Home Movie Day”
At the Trib, Christopher Borrelli looks at October 8’s “Home Movie Day” via Chicago Film Archives: “Once a year Chicago Film Archives gathers up a handful of its favorite home movies and, more importantly, invites anyone to show whatever 8mm, Super 8 or 16mm films they might have in their attics, garages and basements. It’s called Chicago Home Movie Day, and it’s held at the Chicago History Museum… It’s free and open to the public, who can bring in a home movie or just watch whatever randomness wanders in. Because home movies tend to be silent, there is a live piano accompaniment, and for the owners of the home movies, tips on how to preserve films. In keeping with the homey vibe, there are also free peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.”
MEDIA
ABC7 Anchor-Reporter Alan Krashesky Retiring
“ABC7 Chicago’s veteran anchor-reporter Alan Krashesky, anchor of the station’s top-rated newscasts at 5, 6 and 10pm and reporter covering major stories locally and around the globe, has announced his retirement,” reports ABC7. “On Tuesday, November 22, Krashesky will anchor his final newscasts.”
Musk-Have Twitter
With Elon Musk’s $44 billion-deal to take over Twitter back on, stiff losses are seen ahead. Reports Reuters: “While Musk will provide much of $44 billion by selling down his stake in electric vehicle maker Tesla Inc and by leaning on equity financing from large investors, major banks have committed to provide $12.5 billion. They include Morgan Stanley, Bank of America Corp and Barclays Plc… As in any large acquisition, banks would look to sell the debt to get it off their books. But investors have lost their appetite for riskier debt such as leveraged loans, spooked by rapid interest rate hikes around the world, fears of recession and market volatility driven by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.” Writes Casey Newton at Platformer: “As usual, the latest twist in the Musk saga landed hardest on Twitter’s employees. Many of them were forty-five minutes into a three-hour 2023 planning session… when news of Musk’s latest antics hit the timeline… In the company’s #stonks Slack channel, one employee was similarly suspicious of Musk’s letter, according to screenshots… ‘I don’t understand why Elon would need to propose the deal again… The original one still stands. Just write the check, bro.’ Another employee summarized the mood by saying that employees generally have a low opinion of Musk, and whatever is going to happen next they would rather he and Twitter get on with it already.”
MUSIC
Barenboim Takes Break
Former Chicago Symphony Orchestra music director Daniel Barenboim is taking a break from performing, reports the BBC. The seventy-nine-year-old pianist and conductor has been diagnosed with “a serious neurological condition.” Posted Barenboim on Twitter, “My health has deteriorated over the last months.” He added that he must “focus on my physical well-being… the announcement comes with ‘a combination of pride and sadness.’ I have lived all my life in and through music, and I will continue to do so as long as my health allows.”
Maestro Christian Thielemann Comes To Chicago
A long drought on American appearances will end on October 20 for Christian Thielemann, when he takes the stage of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra for the first time since 1995, leading Bruckner’s Eighth Symphony. “It will be good for him,” Riccardo Muti, CSO music director, who extended the invitation, tells the New York Times. “And it will be good for the orchestra.” At the end of the last century, “Thielemann, now sixty-three and one of the world’s most acclaimed maestros—as well as one of the most divisive and drama-prone—appeared regularly with American orchestras and opera companies…. For a period he appeared almost every year with the New York Philharmonic and led Strauss, another specialty, at the Metropolitan Opera.” But around the turn of the century, “his schedule began filling up in Europe, where he became a cultural celebrity in the tradition of his mentor, Herbert von Karajan—and, for better and worse, a symbol of the grand Austro-German artistic lineage Karajan embodied. With that celebrity came second-guessing by critics, tumultuous departures from positions, even accusations of antisemitism… Thielemann suddenly seems like a free agent again, raising the possibility of a more extensive return to the United States—and the possibility that he could be a long-shot candidate for a permanent American position. It has not escaped notice that Chicago, the orchestra he chose to come back to first, is searching for a replacement for Muti, who steps down at the end of this season.”
STAGE
Nonstop Touring Is The New “Cancelled”: Louis CK Adds Milwaukee Before Chicago Dates
Louis CK’s tour lands in Milwaukee in December, the Pabst Theater Group announces in a release, prior to the comic’s upcoming Chicago Theatre engagement in January. “This event will be a phone-free experience,” the release advises in a lengthy, non-comic passage. “Use of cellphones, smart watches, smart accessories, cameras or recording devices will not be permitted in the performance space. Anyone seen using a cell phone during the performance will be escorted out of the venue… Louis CK owns all rights to the content and materials, including any jokes and sketches (the ‘Materials’), delivered during his performance. The Materials may not be copied, translated, transmitted, displayed, distributed, or reproduced verbatim (the ‘Use’), in whole or in part, in any form, media, or technology now known or later developed, without the express prior written consent of Louis CK. Any Use of the Materials without the express prior written consent of Louis CK is strictly prohibited and shall be subject to all available legal remedies, whether in equity or at law, at the cost of anyone who violates this prohibition.”
BoHo Theatre Seeks Executive Director
Sana Selemon has announced she will be stepping down from her position as BoHo Theatre’s executive director in March of 2023. Sana first performed with the company in 2018 in BoHo’s production of “110 In The Shade,” as well as the 2019 production of “Big Fish.” Selemon became a company member before taking over as executive director in August of 2020. BoHo’s board of directors and company members have begun a search for her replacement. Details here.
Tyson Foods Corporate Leaving Chicago, Downers Grove, For Arkansas
“Meat processor Tyson Foods will move its corporate employees based in Chicago and Downers Grove to its Springdale, Arkansas, world headquarters,” reports the Trib. “The Tyson consolidation adds to a recent string of corporate departures from Chicago, including the headquarters of Citadel, Boeing and Caterpillar this year.”
