Inescapable pop culture phenomenon Twilight and its marketing machine has triggered an onslaught of inspired looks for salivating tweens, teens and maybe even adults. Hot Topic and Nordstrom have both issued collections (see samples from Nordstrom’s above) of shirts, charm necklaces, cardboard figures and lunchboxes emblazoned with Edward and Bella’s faces and phrases like “Bet you can’t read my mind.” Despite my personal Twilight obsession, I can’t get behind anyone (be they 13 or 30) wearing these clothes. I can, however, understand the appeal of some of the actors’ onscreen looks, such as Bella’s cozy parka, Edward and Jasper’s sleek jackets and aspects of Alice’s bohemian, vintage-inspired layers (bell sleeves paired with cropped vests and such). Want to get your own Twilight look, without buying the cash-in collections? Check out G-Star for similar men’s styles, our vintage store round up for Alice’s look, and find the exact replica of Bella’s parka by Jack BB Dakota at fredflare.com.

With the recent economic downtown, major public programs in music, art, and culture around the country risk funding cuts. The TOC blog recently reported, then confirmed the death of the Chicago Outdoor Film Festival. With Chicago City Council meeting this week to decipher the city’s budget for 2010, Chicagoans are wondering, what else is going to get cut?

The thought of not having Movies in the Park, or free concerts at Pritzker Pavilion in Millennium Park next summer is nothing short of heartbreaking. Besides adding to Chicago’s rich cultural diversity, these programs also create jobs and contribute to Chicago’s increasingly tourist-friendly climate. As a preemptive measure the Friends of Chicago Music have started an online petition against cuts to Chicago music, arts, and cultural programs. The petition currently has 750 but they are aiming for a 1000. You too can sign the Save Chicago Music petition.

But, do not run to the picket line just yet. The Department of Cultural Affairs, which takes care of programming at Millennium Park, among other things, received its budget hearing yesterday. As Chicago Sun Times reporter Fran Spielman reported, the Aldermen mostly argued over preferential seating at Millennium Park. But no budget decisions have been made, yet.

Today, I spoke to the Department of Cultural Affairs assistant commissioner Kimberly Costello and she pointed out that all City of Chicago programs, not just cultural programs, are receiving budget reductions. Each department has yet to determine, however, how it will redistribute its budget. In the DCA’s case, no major programs–like SummerDance or the World Music Festival–will be cut entirely, Costello made sure to add. That’s good news—but it doesn’t mean we won’t see some scaling back in 2010.

Twilight: New Moon will be slipping onto the night sky and area theaters this month and turning every vampire fan into a howling maniac. We’ve begun collecting New Moon events so you can plan your lugubriously romantic month of bloodlust and make-believe accordingly.

November 9
Twilight Saga: New Moon cast tour – Fox Valley Mall, Hot Topic
Cast members Ashley Greene “Alice” and Kellan Lutz “Emmett” stop by Fox Valley on a 15-city tour which also features live performances from bands on the movie soundtrack (Death Cab for Cutie, Anya Marina, Sea Wolf, and Band of Skulls are all possibilities), and a question and answer forum with some cast members. Visit hottopic.com for more details.

November 19–22
Classic Cinemas’ Charlestowne 18 Cinema Theatre New Moon welcoming party
This movie theater’s premiere event features prize drawings (posters, photos and books signed by the Twilight stars, T-shirts and Bella’s bracelet) every two hours. Free goodie bags for the first 100 fans at the event. Patrons are invited to dress and compete in a Twilight costume contest held every day.

November 20
Hilton Chicago/Indian Lakes Resort New Moon Package
Twilight obsessives pony up for the V.I.P. treatment with an an exclusive screening and meet-and-greet with actress Ashley Greene from the movie via the Hilton Chicago. There’s a Hilton’s All-Access Package ($259) with luxury overnight accommodations for up to four people, four tickets to Bella’s Birthday Ball (6–8pm), transport by Windy City Limousine, private meet-and-greet and four tickets to a private New Moon screening. And there’s a Movie Madness Package ($199) that skips the meet-and-greet. For reservations, call: 630-529-0200

We will update this page as more New Moon events are announced.

Late breaking film news: the doc Youssou N’Dour: I Bring What I Love is screening tonight at the I.C.E. Chatham 14 at 7pm as part of the ongoing Black World Cinema series. Then it gets a weeklong run. Tickets tonight are just $5, but for the rest of the run you’ll pay $9.50 for adults, $6.50 for children and seniors. Check out my review here.

Song and dance and razzle-dazzle. That’s what Hugh Jackman brought to the hosting of the Oscars. We’ll have none of that! The Academy has announced that Steve Martin will take his third turn as host of the Oscars, but this time he’ll have a little help from Alec Baldwin. Please, try to contain your wild enthusiasm. Read more »

Connoisseurs of the elusive so-bad-it’s-good genre: We have a new candidate. I don’t make that claim lightly, least of all when it means picking on a no-budget film that, as the more tactful Roger Ebert notes, is so obviously heartfelt in its intentions. Still, it’s not often one sees a Vietnam movie cast with actors who resemble extras from Baywatch. Or a Vietnam film that sometimes appears to have been shot in someone’s backyard (even though it was actually Vietnam). Or a military movie of any stripe that features a special appearance by Faye Dunaway (above) as an angry major. Less pathological but far, far more ambitious than the recent cult phenomenon The Room, 21 and a Wakeup (see review) offers all of the above and more.

Here’s a sampling. The film is set on a military base, but every character looks coiffed for the dance floor. Almost nothing about the set design suggests the early ’70s. Tom Sizemore—one of several other celebrities to appear inexplicably in bit parts—shows up to head-butt a girl. The main character—a star American surgeon played by Amy Acker—speaks perfect Vietnamese, though the subtitles briefly forget to turn off when she switches back to English. In the operating room, a nurse played by The Wonder Years‘ Danica McKellar summarily decides she’s got what it takes to be a doctor—though that epiphany doesn’t work out so well for her patient. A closing montage tells us what happened to all the major characters, noting that one of them “went on to become the top orthopedist for the NFL.” (I’m not sure how that reads, but it plays like something out of Animal House.)

Due to space constraints in my review, I didn’t mention the fact that the director is a Vietnam veteran. His clear sincerity only adds to the fascination (and makes me feel guilty about slagging his film in this way). 21 and a Wakeup appears to have to have been created through a perfect storm of passion, good intentions and tone-deafness. The film is getting a Chicago-area-only release beginning today. In the name of midnight movies everywhere, keep it in theaters.

Yes, the city’s budget problems are severe. We reported last week that the Outdoor Film Festival was not on the city’s 2010 calendar of special events due to budget cuts and therefore likely to be nixed. Reelchicago.com confirms that the Outdoor Film Festival is a goner. Even the huge success of the Duck Soup Groucho nose-and-glasses event couldn’t keep away hard times. Reelchicago.com reporter Chris Shogren-Thompson notes that while the fest has always had corporate sponsors, they never covered the full bill. Of course, for a successful event like this, I’d argue that the city should embrace the idea that some things they offer to citizens that aren’t vital services are nonetheless worth doing without turning to corporate funding. I’m of the mind that a government ought to fund things like the arts without asking whether the events can pay for themselves through a bunch of freakin’ corporate logos plastered over everything. But I know some people might view outdoor screenings of films as a luxury when we can’t even get the damned streets properly repaired. Either way, R.I.P. Outdoor Film Fest.

Recently, I pitched a story for our features section about the Muvico high-end movie theater that was slated to be one of the key businesses in the Block 37 project. I’d envisioned a walk-through of the theaters in the last stages of construction—a ‘hard hat’ story, which, with good pictures, can make a fun read. About two months ago, noting that Block 37 seemed to be moving along, I sent an email to Muvico’s public relations and media folks, pitching the idea. Deafening silence followed, but I’ve been too busy to follow up.

Now I don’t need to; not gonna happen. Chicago Breaking News reports that Muvico actually pulled out of the Block 37 project in June, a fact revealed in court filings submitted this week. Muvico’s pullout was a big factor in the current serious financial problems the project faces. Last week, Bank of America started foreclosure proceedings on the whole project, because developer Joseph Freed and Associates was delinquent on payments. So, for all the folks who were thinking that the city was going to get another movie theater in the heart of the Loop, think again. For now, no dice.

I created a Flickchart account a couple of months ago, and I’m loath to even think about how many hours I’ve spent clicking away on this site, ranking the various film matchups. So, of course, the next logical step is for me to share my addiction with you, so we can all waste our time together.

Read more »

I should apologize to the Chicago film festival: After I predicted that last night’s surprise screening would be something completely uninteresting, it turned out to be Terry Gilliam’s The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, featuring Heath Ledger’s final, uncompleted performance. The movie is slated for limited release on December 25. I saw it at Cannes and really didn’t care for it—it’s less aggressively off-putting than Gilliam’s last miasma, Tideland, but just as undisciplined—but I have to admit that that’s a pretty decent surprise. Good job, festival. I’ll try not to mention RocknRolla again.