Illini Insider, July 6, 2023
Jul. 6—Welcome to "Illini Insider," your regular dose of University of Illinois news from beat writer Luke Taylor. Fresh out of college himself, he's always looking for story tips, photo ideas and social media mentions. Email him at ltaylor@news-gazette.com and he'll give chase.
If you missed a movie in theaters this spring but still want to catch it on a big screen, check out the Illini Union's Summer Films on the Quad.
Jason "J.B." Bailey, assistant director of programs at the union, says sticking around for the showings after making announcements is just a perk of the job.
The films are picked out by students on the Illini Union Board, usually with the idea of offering them before they hit streaming services.
The board gets public viewing rights from Swank Motion Pictures, which serves as a liaison between film studios and schools, libraries, cruise ships and even correctional facilities.
Sometimes, the UI administration has to intervene in movie decisions.
"A few years ago, I had a student who really pushed the envelope and wanted to show '50 Shades of Grey,'" Bailey said.
The deal is that movies on the big outdoor screen need to be family-friendly to avoid upsetting anyone out on campus in the evening.
More explicit content can be shown in screenings in the Pine Lounge during the school year, but summer films tend to stick to the PG-13 rating.
"If we do show something that's rated R, it's just for language," Bailey said.
It must be going pretty well: When Bailey started his job in 2016, the films were only monthly. Now, there's a movie night every Thursday with an average of 300 people in attendance this summer.
Previous showings have drawn bigger numbers — "Black Panther" packed the quad with 2,000 moviegoers, but "Raya and the Last Dragon" shattered records, with 5,000 in attendance.
"Raya" was the first movie to be shown on the Quad after a pandemic hiatus and set the tone for the rest of that summer with very high attendance at every showing.
Films start at 9 p.m. and are free to watch. The Quad Shop in the union stays open until 10, offering snacks and drinks.
Tonight's show is "Renfield," a vampire comedy with Nicolas Cage as Dracula.
