Big Grove Tavern floor manager and movie lover, Brian Hageland, sends in photos of suspected Irish film star, Jamie Dornan.
East-Central Illinois is not the most popular place for Hollywood’s elite, or even B-rated elite. Don’t count us out yet though, we’ve had a couple of shining beacons of stardom born of our corn: REO Speedwagon, Ludacris, and even Fall Out Boy is said to have done a show in Mahomet before making it big. There is one name we are all proud of the most, Roger Ebert.
For those who do not know, Roger Ebert was a critically acclaimed movie critic, and with his four-star ranking system, we relied on him to tell us what was relatively good. His writing earned him the Pulitzer Prize for Criticism in 1975, the first movie critic to do so. He sadly passed away in 2013, but his legacy still resonates with Champaign’s Ebert Fest.
Ebert helped put this together in 1999 to celebrate films that had not received as much love from the public as he felt they deserved. This year in April from the 20th to the 23rd, the fest comes back from a two-year hiatus. Enjoy a myriad of films you’ve probably never seen, with special guests from these films; special guests like Guillermo del Toro, or rumored guest Steve Buscemi. Visit their website for an updated movie schedule and guest list: http://www.ebertfest.com/.
Now it is theorized that Irish actor Jamie Dornan may be joining this group of guests for Ebert Fest. Brain Hageland, being the cinephile he is, is well aware of Ebert Fest. Being a manager at Big Grove Tavern, a downtown Champaign restaurant that usually feeds the Fest’s special guests, he is on the lookout for talent; like a meerkat for hyaenas. On one rainy Wednesday lunch, he snapped these picks of who he recognized as Jamie Dornan from 50 Shades of Grey.
Brian tells his story, “I didn’t think it was really him, but as he ordered his façade of an American accent slipped when I told him we didn’t have any Guinness on tap. I think he took the pandemic real easy too because he seemed softer around the edges than I remembered on screen, also a bit shorter.” It’s my job as a journalist to provide the truth, and after seeing the images he presented, I have to say, Jamie Dornan is here in Champaign Illinois. I will add that maybe the sweatshirt he was wearing was just baggy and comfortable for the weather and that he looked very much to be of average height, over five foot nine in those sweet converses.
Nowadays, movies are streamed without appreciation for the craft. If you consider yourself a connoisseur of film, and perhaps want to see some celebrities in person, get yourself a ticket today.
