REEL PRO Archives · | Reel Chicago - At the intersection of Chicago Advertising, Entertainment, Media and Production

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The Wachowskis auction memorabilia from The Matrix, Cloud Atlas and more

By Reel Chicago May 4, 2022

The Wachowskis will auction their collection of memorabilia, props, concept art, costumes, awards and souvenirs from their signature films such as The Matrix, Cloud Atlas, The ...

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INTERVIEW: Chicago’s own Jane Lynch at home in the directors chair

By Barbara Roche Apr 21, 2022

Jane Lynch accepted a new challenge by jumping into the directors chair and joining a growing list of talented actresses who appear in front of, and behind the camera. What...

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Bob Odenkirk opens up about life, death, and reinventing himself

By Reel Chicago Mar 3, 2022

Chicagoland native, Emmy-winning writer, Golden Globe-nominated actor, comedian, director, producer, and Second City alum Bob Odenkirk returned to Chicago to promote his book a...

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Ashley Rice joins Cinespace as President and co-managing partner

By Barbara Roche Mar 3, 2022

Cinespace Studios has appointed Ashley Rice as president and co-managing partner. Rice joins Cinespace from Legendary Television where she managed operations, including pro...

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Chicago’s Emmy-Nominated TV Platform OTV launches Fellowship Program

By Reel Chicago Jan 7, 2022

Queer-led, intersectional television platform Open Television (OTV) continues to provide a pipeline to Hollywood for emerging television producers, writers, directors with the ...

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Directors Steve Conry & Christian Schultz find the heart of Electric Forest

By Reel Chicago Jan 6, 2022

Directors Steve Conry and Christian Schultz recently released this heart felt documentary that celebrates the 10 year anniversary of world famous music festival, Electric Fores...

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Keanu Reeves to film miniseries The Devil in the White City in Chicago

By Reel Chicago Jan 4, 2022

Keanu Reeves (The Matrix, John Wick) is reportedly in talks to star in his first official television role ever in the miniseries The Devil in the White City. According to D...

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‘The Now’ series filmed in Illinois with star-studded cast now on Roku

By Barbara Roche Dec 22, 2021

The series The Now has every ingredient for success. The dark comedy is the creation of Academy Award winners Peter Farrelly and Bobby Farrelly and is packed with talent. They ...

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Lana Wachowski explains why now is the right time to return to The Matrix

By Reel Chicago Dec 10, 2021

We are only a couple of weeks away from the opening of the fourth, and long-awaited chapter, to The Matrix, the groundbreaking 1999 film that redefined a genre. That trilogy ca...

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Mark Gross takes the Highdive into creating spots for Super Bowl LVI

By Colin Costello Nov 30, 2021

We are now less than 100 days away from Super Bowl LVI. Seventy-five to be exact. While the first quarter of the Big Game has yet to be played, ad agencies, across the country,...

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IATSE ratifies new contract by narrow margin

By Reel Chicago Nov 15, 2021

Members of The International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE) ratified the union’s new contract with studios. Narrowly. How narrowly? FULL STORY HER...

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Interview: catching up with director Layne Marie Williams

By Reel Chicago Nov 2, 2021

Layne Marie Williams has joined the director roster at production company turned creative agency Pink Hippo. For full story and intimate interview with Layne Marie VISIT H...

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Yolonda Ross on shaving her head for The Chi & $100k breast cancer donation

By Reel Chicago Oct 15, 2021

Yolonda Ross, star of the ground-breaking Showtime series The Chi, announced with Rhonda Feinberg, a special donation of $100,000, funded by The Joseph and Bessie Feinberg Foun...

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Chicago’s love/hate relationship with major film productions

By Joia DaVida and Barbara Roche Oct 8, 2021

Chicago's disenchantment with filmmaking, and how Cinespace Chicago Film Studios, the largest film studio in the U.S. partners with their neighbors. The film industry has st...

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Filmmaking in Chicago is ‘significantly up’ with record breaking production

By Reel Chicago Oct 6, 2021

At the September 30th Committee on Budget and Government Operations meeting Retiring Cultural Affairs and Special Events Commissioner Mark Kelly said filmmaking is “significa...

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Interview: writer and director of ‘Ghostwriter’ beautifully filmed in Chicago

By Joia DaVida Oct 1, 2021

Ghostwriter is a beautifully filmed black and white Indie film, about a bartender who, as a once published writer, has struggled for years with his second novel, and how he hel...

REEL PRO - AUDIO

Home Studios: Choosing the right interface

By Dave Kresl Sep 7, 2021

So now we have talked about microphones and set up a small home studio space. But if the microphone doesn’t have a headphone jack, what do you do? That means ...

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Editor Ariana DeSimone of Optimus teams with Chance the Rapper

By Megan Penn Aug 12, 2021

After walking away with three Grammys for his 2016 record, Coloring Book, Chicago artist Chance the Rapper set out to perform a concert like no other. The private concert was ...

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Entering the festival circuit? Here’s some smaller film festivals we love

By Reel Chicago Aug 6, 2021

Our friends at KitSplit put together a list of some of the smaller film festivals that we love, with a focus on those that have deadlines coming up. In doing their res...

REEL PRO - AUDIO

Home Studios: Choosing an XLR mic

By Dave Kresl Jul 2, 2021

After a year into the pandemic, actors, narrators, and voiceovers are using their home studios more than ever for auditions and production. The main component of a home studio ...