Roger Ebert and Gene Siskel were always known for their brutal honesty when it came to film criticism. But the time they bashed “The Three Amigos” to Chevy Chase’s face once led to an unexpected realization about why people were drawn to their show.
This latest story appears in Matt Singer’s new book “Opposable Thumbs: How Siskel and Ebert Changed Movies Forever.” Ebert and Siskel appeared on the December 12 episode of “The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson” in 1986. Chase was also a guest on the episode to promote his new Christmas comedy, “The Three Amigos.”
During the show, Carson asked the film critics to pick a movie “that is really so bad.” Ebert didn’t hesitate before slamming the very movie Chase was there to promote.
“I can’t really recommend ‘Three Amigos,'” Ebert said at the time, eliciting a round of boos from the audience. “It...
This latest story appears in Matt Singer’s new book “Opposable Thumbs: How Siskel and Ebert Changed Movies Forever.” Ebert and Siskel appeared on the December 12 episode of “The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson” in 1986. Chase was also a guest on the episode to promote his new Christmas comedy, “The Three Amigos.”
During the show, Carson asked the film critics to pick a movie “that is really so bad.” Ebert didn’t hesitate before slamming the very movie Chase was there to promote.
“I can’t really recommend ‘Three Amigos,'” Ebert said at the time, eliciting a round of boos from the audience. “It...
- 10/23/2023
- by Kayla Cobb
- The Wrap
Apologies to André Bazin, Pauline Kael, and Andrew Sarris, but Roger Ebert was unquestionably the most influential film critic of the cinema's first century. In fact, unless the media landscape is drastically altered over the next few years, he may also wind up being the last film critic who ever truly mattered.
I do not mean this as a put-down of my colleagues. If you actually read film criticism nowadays, you know that there's never been a more thrillingly diverse assortment of voices in this too-cluttered arena. Manohla Dargis, Justin Chang, Scott Tobias, Angelica Jade Bastién, and Bilge Ebiri are must-reads in this house, and I could name a few dozen more who are reliably incisive and original in their thinking. I don't have time to read all of the critics I respect, which is both a frustrating and good thing.
But be honest, do you actually read film criticism nowadays?...
I do not mean this as a put-down of my colleagues. If you actually read film criticism nowadays, you know that there's never been a more thrillingly diverse assortment of voices in this too-cluttered arena. Manohla Dargis, Justin Chang, Scott Tobias, Angelica Jade Bastién, and Bilge Ebiri are must-reads in this house, and I could name a few dozen more who are reliably incisive and original in their thinking. I don't have time to read all of the critics I respect, which is both a frustrating and good thing.
But be honest, do you actually read film criticism nowadays?...
- 9/7/2023
- by Jeremy Smith
- Slash Film
Just as suddenly as Paul Thomas Anderson‘s mystery movie dropped its title and released a trailer, it is announcing special sneak preview screenings to be held in Los Angeles and New York. Phantom Thread reunites star Daniel Day-Lewis‘ with Anderson a decade after their award-winning masterpiece There Will be Blood, and carries the additional burden of reportedly being Day-Lewis’ last film […]
The post ‘Phantom Thread’ Trailer Announces Sneak Previews in Los Angeles and New York appeared first on /Film.
The post ‘Phantom Thread’ Trailer Announces Sneak Previews in Los Angeles and New York appeared first on /Film.
- 11/20/2017
- by Hoai-Tran Bui
- Slash Film
It's hard to find a serious critic who admires the "Friday the 13th" series, and it's no surprise: the films are cheap, exploitative and artless, made for the express purpose of titillating a few bucks out of undiscerning moviegoers. But no two critics were more vocal about their hatred for the series than Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert, who made the films a special target of ridicule both separately and in joint attacks on their long-running syndicated series "At the Movies." To celebrate this very special day, below you can find a brief history of the late critical duo's epic anti-"F13" vitriol. 1980: Gene Siskel takes down the original "Friday the 13th" in a famously scathing review for the Chicago Tribune Calling director-producer Sean S. Cunningham "one of the most despicable creatures ever to infest the movie business," Siskel was so outraged by the film that he spoiled the...
- 11/14/2015
- by Chris Eggertsen
- Hitfix
Childhood Memories: ‘Sneak Previews’
When renowned film critic, Roger Ebert, died last year, there was a huge outpouring of appreciation from film lovers around the world. He was an ambassador for cinema who introduced audiences to countless films they might have otherwise missed. Ebert and his long-time partner, Gene Siskel, started reviewing movies on their Chicago PBS affiliate back in 1975. The program was called Sneak Previews, and it laid the foundation for their hugely successful syndicated show, Siskel & Ebert, that was to follow a decade later… read the full article.
Monstervision: The Saturday Drive-In
I Got 88 Seconds and a Wookiee Ain’t One: Cinephilic Musings on the ‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens’ Teaser
I had a plan, I swear. In the days leading up to November 28th, a friend and I had negotiated the logistics of seeing a movie at one of the theatres listed on J.J.’s...
When renowned film critic, Roger Ebert, died last year, there was a huge outpouring of appreciation from film lovers around the world. He was an ambassador for cinema who introduced audiences to countless films they might have otherwise missed. Ebert and his long-time partner, Gene Siskel, started reviewing movies on their Chicago PBS affiliate back in 1975. The program was called Sneak Previews, and it laid the foundation for their hugely successful syndicated show, Siskel & Ebert, that was to follow a decade later… read the full article.
Monstervision: The Saturday Drive-In
I Got 88 Seconds and a Wookiee Ain’t One: Cinephilic Musings on the ‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens’ Teaser
I had a plan, I swear. In the days leading up to November 28th, a friend and I had negotiated the logistics of seeing a movie at one of the theatres listed on J.J.’s...
- 11/30/2014
- by Ricky
- SoundOnSight
When renowned film critic, Roger Ebert, died last year, there was a huge outpouring of appreciation from film lovers around the world. He was an ambassador for cinema who introduced audiences to countless films they might have otherwise missed. Ebert and his long-time partner, Gene Siskel, started reviewing movies on their Chicago PBS affiliate back in 1975. The program was called Sneak Previews, and it laid the foundation for their hugely successful syndicated show, Siskel & Ebert, that was to follow a decade later.
By the time I accidentally discovered Sneak Previews in the early ‘80s, I was already an avid moviegoer. My friends and I went to the theater every Friday night, taking in the latest Hollywood blockbusters (which had already been out about a month by the time it arrived in our microscopic town). We relished every opportunity to be traumatized by R-rated fare. An American Werewolf in London prompted many a sleepless night,...
By the time I accidentally discovered Sneak Previews in the early ‘80s, I was already an avid moviegoer. My friends and I went to the theater every Friday night, taking in the latest Hollywood blockbusters (which had already been out about a month by the time it arrived in our microscopic town). We relished every opportunity to be traumatized by R-rated fare. An American Werewolf in London prompted many a sleepless night,...
- 11/28/2014
- by J.R. Kinnard
- SoundOnSight
It's fair to say that there's not a film critic working now who can go into “Life Itself” without already having some feeling or opinion about Roger Ebert. Like him or not, there's no denying that his was a singularly influential voice, from his Pulitzer-winning writing for the Chicago Sun-Times to his national impact on television alongside fellow Windy City critic Gene Siskel to his active presence as a blogger after cancer robbed him of the ability to speak. As I wrote on the occasion of his death, Ebert's work colored my entire life: I started watching “Sneak Previews” as.
- 7/3/2014
- by Alonso Duralde
- The Wrap
Steve James’s Roger Ebert documentary, Life Itself, is a tender portrait of the late film critic, who managed to put an apparently Brobdingnagian ego to benevolent, ultimately life-affirming ends. James—whose Hoop Dreams was the beneficiary of a fervent campaign by Ebert—cuts back and forth between Ebert’s last days and the story of his rise, first as a daily newspaper critic for the Chicago Sun-Times, then as co-host with Gene Siskel of Sneak Previews (later Siskel & Ebert & the Movies). Friends and colleagues allude to the hugeness, the Chicago-ness of the man—the appetite for food, booze (until he sobered up in 1979), raucous storytelling, and sex. (“He had the worst taste in women … gold-diggers, opportunists, or psychos,” says one old pal.) But that portrait is poignantly at odds with the man who appears on-camera missing much of his lower face, a flap of skin hanging in the approximate...
- 7/3/2014
- by David Edelstein
- Vulture
The first time we hear Roger Ebert talk in Life Itself, a deeply enthralling documentary about the late film critic who changed film criticism, he’s giving a speech (which he did quite often — sometimes, I can testify, when he was just standing in a room with you), and he observes that every one of us is more or less trapped inside the person we are. It is therefore our job, says Ebert, to attempt to understand who other people are; that’s basically the premise of civilization. And that, for Ebert, is where movies come in. Movies, he says,...
- 1/21/2014
- by Owen Gleiberman
- EW - Inside Movies
Like many movie fans, I grew up watching Roger Ebert in the mid-1970′s. Born and raised in Connecticut during the age of only 3 TV channels and the local PBS station, I was a young girl when I first saw on Cptv Ch. 24, ‘Sneak Previews’ with hosts Roger Ebert and Gene Siskel. The way they bantered back and forth about films made me a fan of the cinema and a certified movie geek.
Now comes Life Itself, the documentary based on renowned film critic Roger Ebert’s rollicking memoir of the same name.
It is set to premiere at the Sundance Film Festival on January 19 in Park City, Utah.
In a first, the film will be live streamed simultaneously to Ebert’s fans and supporters who sign up at filmmaker Kartemquin’s Indiegogo campaign. The campaign runs through midnight January 13 at Indiegogo.com.
“Roger was always at the leading edge of technology,...
Now comes Life Itself, the documentary based on renowned film critic Roger Ebert’s rollicking memoir of the same name.
It is set to premiere at the Sundance Film Festival on January 19 in Park City, Utah.
In a first, the film will be live streamed simultaneously to Ebert’s fans and supporters who sign up at filmmaker Kartemquin’s Indiegogo campaign. The campaign runs through midnight January 13 at Indiegogo.com.
“Roger was always at the leading edge of technology,...
- 1/11/2014
- by Michelle McCue
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Chicago – One of the oddest feats of the early millennium was a five year odyssey by endurance athlete Serge Roetheli, who set out to run across five continents – in the equivalent of one marathon a day – with his wife Nicole following along via motorcycle. The film of this journey is “The 25,000 Mile Love Story,” directed by John Davies.
The quest, which is tempered by the fact that Serge and Nicole – who live in Switzerland – took it on partially for charity, is a crazy quilt of extreme conditions, daily camping and gallons of Coca-Cola (which Serge insisted was better than water for running). The adventure is interrupted by disease, accidents and weather conditions, but the tenacity of the athlete and his willing mate does fascinate in an expressive and almost dreamy way.
Endurance: Serge Roetheli Does a Desert Run in ‘The 25,000 Mile Love Story
Photo credit: The25,000MileLoveStory.com
Recently, the...
The quest, which is tempered by the fact that Serge and Nicole – who live in Switzerland – took it on partially for charity, is a crazy quilt of extreme conditions, daily camping and gallons of Coca-Cola (which Serge insisted was better than water for running). The adventure is interrupted by disease, accidents and weather conditions, but the tenacity of the athlete and his willing mate does fascinate in an expressive and almost dreamy way.
Endurance: Serge Roetheli Does a Desert Run in ‘The 25,000 Mile Love Story
Photo credit: The25,000MileLoveStory.com
Recently, the...
- 11/28/2013
- by adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
- HollywoodChicago.com
Ever since the slasher genre took off in the 80s, masked killers hacking up young co-eds has been a horror movie staple. While psychotic killers existed in movies for years (like Peeping Tom and Psycho), it was John Carpenter 1978 thriller Halloween that really popularized the concept and started a chain reaction of copy-cat films. Since then, notable slasher anti-heroes like Michael Myers and Jason Voorhees have become synonymous with horror movies in general. These franchises became extremely popular with the moviegoing audiences, but they were also the target by many various groups (including this classic Sneak Previews episode with Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert bemoaning this “disturbing new trend”) for being too violent. Here at Film School Rejects, we love our horror movies, and we love our slasher films. However, we are also interested in reality, and that got us thinking: Just how realistic are kills in slasher movies? The Answer: They aren’t nearly bloody enough...
- 10/24/2013
- by Kevin Carr
- FilmSchoolRejects.com
Chicago film critic with a worldwide appeal
For 46 years Roger Ebert, who has died aged 70 after suffering from cancer, wrote on films for the Chicago Sun-Times, and did not want to stop. The one thing he welcomed when announcing a "leave of presence" earlier this week was the realisation of a fantasy: "reviewing only the movies I want to review".
His following in the English-speaking world was unrivalled. He and Gene Siskel, his co-host on At the Movies on television, had a street named after them – Siskel and Ebert Way – near the CBS Studios in Chicago where they worked together. In 1975, Ebert became the first film critic to win a Pulitzer prize for criticism.
He has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and received honorary degrees from various institutions of learning. In 2007, Forbes magazine named Ebert "the most powerful pundit in America".
Why all the accolades? As a race,...
For 46 years Roger Ebert, who has died aged 70 after suffering from cancer, wrote on films for the Chicago Sun-Times, and did not want to stop. The one thing he welcomed when announcing a "leave of presence" earlier this week was the realisation of a fantasy: "reviewing only the movies I want to review".
His following in the English-speaking world was unrivalled. He and Gene Siskel, his co-host on At the Movies on television, had a street named after them – Siskel and Ebert Way – near the CBS Studios in Chicago where they worked together. In 1975, Ebert became the first film critic to win a Pulitzer prize for criticism.
He has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and received honorary degrees from various institutions of learning. In 2007, Forbes magazine named Ebert "the most powerful pundit in America".
Why all the accolades? As a race,...
- 4/5/2013
- by Ronald Bergan
- The Guardian - Film News
I grew up in Kansas City and Dallas in the seventies and eighties. To put it mildly, these were not film towns. They had precious few art-house theaters. Roger Ebert’s review show with Gene Siskel, which ran on PBS and then in syndication under various titles, was my gateway into cinematic worlds I might not have otherwise explored, and that road led to my becoming a film and TV critic. Siskel and Ebert had as much to do with stoking my interest in films and film criticism as anyone I knew personally. Maybe more.The duo became quite powerful fairly early in their show’s run — when it was on PBS in the late-seventies and called Coming to a Theater Near You and then Sneak Previews — and they consistently used their power for good. Their tastes were catholic-with-a-small-c, and in any given episode of a show, their selection of...
- 4/5/2013
- by Matt Zoller Seitz
- Vulture
If it seems like a friend has died, that's because Roger Ebert made us feel like we knew him. He was a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist whose columns read like letters from a pal. He sat next to Gene Siskel on Sneak Previews and At the Movies, but it felt like he was just on the other end of our couches. He democratized film criticism, fought passionately for better movies and showed us what living - and dying - with grace really meant. If that's not a friend, then maybe I'm unclear on the definition. Related: Chaz Ebert: Roger Smiled...
- 4/5/2013
- by Alynda Wheat
- PEOPLE.com
Prolific film critic Roger Ebert has passed away at the age of 70. For a number of years Ebert had been battling cancer, and had undergone surgery that had taken away his ability to speak, but not his will to remain a vibrant and influential voice about cinema.
Along with his television balcony partner Gene Siskel, Roger Ebert was likely the most important force in educating the average person about the good and bad of filmmaking. If you want to read about Roger's background as a newspaper film critic, there's no better place today than the obituary in the Chicago Sun-Times, his publishing home these past 46 years. But for the purposes of this article on this site, my thoughts shared will be the personal ones that I have for Roger Ebert.
I have no doubt that one of the many tiny seeds that led to me creating Coming Attractions happened when...
Along with his television balcony partner Gene Siskel, Roger Ebert was likely the most important force in educating the average person about the good and bad of filmmaking. If you want to read about Roger's background as a newspaper film critic, there's no better place today than the obituary in the Chicago Sun-Times, his publishing home these past 46 years. But for the purposes of this article on this site, my thoughts shared will be the personal ones that I have for Roger Ebert.
I have no doubt that one of the many tiny seeds that led to me creating Coming Attractions happened when...
- 4/5/2013
- by Patrick Sauriol
- Corona's Coming Attractions
I don't remember the first time I watched Roger Ebert and Gene Siskel review movies on their groundbreaking PBS series "Sneak Previews," but I must have been an early fan. Upon hearing Thursday's news of Ebert's untimely death at age 70 from cancer, a family friend reminded me on Facebook that in 1975, the year the show went on the air, I told her that when I grew up, I wanted to review movies just like Siskel and Ebert. In 1975, I was eight years old. It's no exaggeration, then, to say...
- 4/5/2013
- by Alonso Duralde
- The Wrap
The balcony is closed. Roger Ebert, a well-respected film critic and advocate, has died at the age of 70 following a long battle with cancer. He wrote for the Chicago Sun-Times for 46 years and critiqued movies on television for more than three decades.
He was initially paired with Gene Siskel until his friend and nemesis died following a battle with brain cancer in 1999. They hosted various incarnations of essentially the same film critique program -- Opening Soon at a Theater Near You, Sneak Previews, At the Movies, Siskel & Ebert At the Movies, and finally Siskel & Ebert.
Following Siskel's death, Ebert continued on with substitute co-hosts before settling on Richard Roeper for the television series Ebert & Roeper & the Movies. Although his name remained in the title, Ebert didn't appear on the show after mid-2006, following post-surgical complications related to...
He was initially paired with Gene Siskel until his friend and nemesis died following a battle with brain cancer in 1999. They hosted various incarnations of essentially the same film critique program -- Opening Soon at a Theater Near You, Sneak Previews, At the Movies, Siskel & Ebert At the Movies, and finally Siskel & Ebert.
Following Siskel's death, Ebert continued on with substitute co-hosts before settling on Richard Roeper for the television series Ebert & Roeper & the Movies. Although his name remained in the title, Ebert didn't appear on the show after mid-2006, following post-surgical complications related to...
- 4/5/2013
- by TVSeriesFinale.com
- TVSeriesFinale.com
For anyone who grew up in the late ’70s, ’80s, or ’90s watching Roger Ebert spar on television with his partner-in-thumbship, Gene Siskel, the rudely boisterous and antic sound of two grown men not just talking about movies but arguing about them came to seem as essential a part of the American movie landscape as popcorn or starships. If you’re a movie buff, it’s hard to imagine that both these men are gone now; their shows, and our memories of them, remain so alive. Back when Ebert and Siskel were major TV stars, I was often asked, especially...
- 4/5/2013
- by Owen Gleiberman
- EW - Inside Movies
Pulitzer Prizer winner Ebert died earlier today at the age of 70 Probably the best known movie critic in the United States, Roger Ebert passed away on Thursday in Chicago, Illinois, following a decade-long battle against cancer. Ebert, who was 70, had announced the recurrence of his illness in a tweet two days ago. (Pictured above: An Ebert closeup, as found on his Twitter account.) The renowned critic was best known alongside Gene Siskel for their "two thumbs up" routine, which was watched by millions on the nationally syndicated television show At the Movies (previously known as Sneak Previews and later as Siskel & Ebert [and the movies]). But populism or no, Ebert was a well-regarded and quite influential movie pundit. He began writing for the Chicago Sun-Times in 1967; eight years later, he became the very first film reviewer to take home a Pulitzer Prize for Criticism. (That particular Pulitzer branch had been set up in...
- 4/4/2013
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
A great film critic and a champion of filmmakers has died.
On Thursday the Chicago Sun-Times reported, “It is with heavy hearts that we report our legendary film critic Roger Ebert has passed away at the age of 70.”
On Tuesday, Mr. Ebert blogged that he had suffered a recurrence of cancer following a hip fracture suffered in December, and would be taking “a leave of presence.” In the blog essay, Ebert wrote “I am not going away. My intent is to continue to write selected reviews but to leave the rest to a talented team of writers hand-picked and greatly admired by me.”
Read the Sun-Times’ story here as well as the NY Times’ here.
Chaz Ebert issued the following statement Thursday about the passing of her husband, Roger Ebert:
“I am devastated by the loss of my love, Roger — my husband, my friend, my confidante and oh-so-brilliant partner of over 20 years.
On Thursday the Chicago Sun-Times reported, “It is with heavy hearts that we report our legendary film critic Roger Ebert has passed away at the age of 70.”
On Tuesday, Mr. Ebert blogged that he had suffered a recurrence of cancer following a hip fracture suffered in December, and would be taking “a leave of presence.” In the blog essay, Ebert wrote “I am not going away. My intent is to continue to write selected reviews but to leave the rest to a talented team of writers hand-picked and greatly admired by me.”
Read the Sun-Times’ story here as well as the NY Times’ here.
Chaz Ebert issued the following statement Thursday about the passing of her husband, Roger Ebert:
“I am devastated by the loss of my love, Roger — my husband, my friend, my confidante and oh-so-brilliant partner of over 20 years.
- 4/4/2013
- by Movie Geeks
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Chicago – The Chicago Sun-Times has reported that Roger Ebert, beloved and influential film critic at the Chicago Sun-Times, has died today at age 70, of complications due to cancer. Ebert is an icon of film criticism, having won the Pulitzer Prize and creating the popularity of television film critique via the many incarnations of his shows “Sneak Previews” and “At the Movies.”
Ebert was born in Urbana, Illinois, to Walter H. and Annabelle Ebert in 1942. He moved to Chicago in 1966, after graduating from the University of Illnois at Urbana-Champaign. Intending to do graduate work at the University of Chicago, he also took a job at the Chicago Sun-Times, and was named their film critic in 1967.
Roger Ebert, Film Critic, 1942-2013.
Photo credit: Chicago Sun-Times
After taking a year off from his Sun-Times job in 1969 to write the screenplay for Russ Meyer’s cult classic “Beyond the Valley of the Dolls,” Ebert...
Ebert was born in Urbana, Illinois, to Walter H. and Annabelle Ebert in 1942. He moved to Chicago in 1966, after graduating from the University of Illnois at Urbana-Champaign. Intending to do graduate work at the University of Chicago, he also took a job at the Chicago Sun-Times, and was named their film critic in 1967.
Roger Ebert, Film Critic, 1942-2013.
Photo credit: Chicago Sun-Times
After taking a year off from his Sun-Times job in 1969 to write the screenplay for Russ Meyer’s cult classic “Beyond the Valley of the Dolls,” Ebert...
- 4/4/2013
- by adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
- HollywoodChicago.com
Chicago – On Thursday, April 4, 2013, the film industry lost a titan as Roger Ebert succumbed to his long battle with cancer. Far more than just an icon in the film industry, the first film critic to ever win a Pulitzer Prize became so much more than a writer to those who knew him, worked with him, and felt inspired by his unimaginable courage and incredible way with words. Everyone who was inspired by him (which is pretty much everyone who’s ever written a movie review) is shaken to the core today but encouraged by the lasting lessons he taught us all. The movie theater is a little darker tonight.
To many, Roger Ebert will be most remembered as the man who invented, with Gene Siskel, the “thumbs up, thumbs down” way of viewing film but that was only a small part of his legacy. At a time when film critics...
To many, Roger Ebert will be most remembered as the man who invented, with Gene Siskel, the “thumbs up, thumbs down” way of viewing film but that was only a small part of his legacy. At a time when film critics...
- 4/4/2013
- by adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
- HollywoodChicago.com
It’s a sad day for film buffs as legendary critic, Roger Ebert, has passed away at the age of 70. Only yesterday Ebert had announced that his cancer had returned and he would be taking time off to treat it. Ebert leaves behind a legacy that includes being touted as the “most powerful pundit in America”, not to mention his popular film criticism television series, Siskel & Ebert.
Ebert was born and raised in Urbana, Illinois, where his interest in film and in journalism merged at an early age. He attended the University of Chicago and in 1967 started professionally reviewing films for the Chicago Sun-Times. In 1975, he and Chicago Tribune film critic Gene Siskel started a local weekly film review show called Sneak Previews that would later become the nationally syndicated Siskel & Ebert:
In 2002, he was diagnosed with papillary thyroid cancer and in 2006 he had to undergo surgery to remove part of his jaw bone.
Ebert was born and raised in Urbana, Illinois, where his interest in film and in journalism merged at an early age. He attended the University of Chicago and in 1967 started professionally reviewing films for the Chicago Sun-Times. In 1975, he and Chicago Tribune film critic Gene Siskel started a local weekly film review show called Sneak Previews that would later become the nationally syndicated Siskel & Ebert:
In 2002, he was diagnosed with papillary thyroid cancer and in 2006 he had to undergo surgery to remove part of his jaw bone.
- 4/4/2013
- by Meghan O'Keefe
- TheFabLife - Movies
Film critic Roger Ebert has died at the age of 70 of complications from cancer. The Pultizer Prize winning film critic for the Chicago Sun-Times had recently posted on his journal that he was taking a leave of absence due to treatment from a hip fracture. Subsequent evaluations revealed that the pain was a result from a return of cancer. Ebert's battle with thyroid cancer began in 2002. In 2006, he lost part of his lower jaw and ability to verbally speak. A true fan of movies, Ebert became the Sun-Times' film critic in 1967 and later launched a popular TV show with Gene Siskel called Sneak Previews at Chicago's public broadcasting station Wttw. The pair moved on to a syndicated show called At the Movies with Siskel & Ebert in 1982 and then created Siskel &...
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- 4/4/2013
- by affiliates@fandango.com
- Fandango
Roger Ebert — whose At the Movies brought his legendary brand of film critique to viewers’ TV screens for over 30 years — died Thursday in Chicago after a lengthy battle with cancer.
On Tuesday, Ebert wrote an online column telling readers he was taking “a leave of presence” from his hectic schedule of writing some 300 reviews per year for the Chicago Sun-Times after learning that a “painful fracture” he suffered in December had turned out to be cancer. “I’ll be able at last to do what I’ve always fantasized about doing: reviewing only the movies I want to review,” he...
On Tuesday, Ebert wrote an online column telling readers he was taking “a leave of presence” from his hectic schedule of writing some 300 reviews per year for the Chicago Sun-Times after learning that a “painful fracture” he suffered in December had turned out to be cancer. “I’ll be able at last to do what I’ve always fantasized about doing: reviewing only the movies I want to review,” he...
- 4/4/2013
- by Michael Slezak
- TVLine.com
Roger Ebert, the Pulitzer Prize-winning film critic whose famous thumbs-up or thumbs-down verdict helped make him the most famous reviewer in America, died Thursday of complications from cancer, according to the Chicago Sun-Times, where he wrote for 46 years. He was 70.
Ebert had been battling thyroid cancer since 2002, but never gave up his aisle-seat post or his love of cinema, publishing more than 300 reviews last year alone despite his inability to speak without the help of a voice machine due to an operation that removed his lower jaw. On Wednesday, he announced that his cancer had returned and that he would be taking “a leave of presence”. Readers hoped that it was merely another temporary set-back and that Ebert would return to share his trusted opinions. Sadly, it was not to be.
Ebert became the film critic for the Chicago Sun-Times in 1967, where he quickly demonstrated his deep knowledge of film history and his appreciation for a new generation of movie stars that were redefining and reinvigorating Hollywood. At that time, movie critics tended to fall into two categories: slightly mothball-scented old timers like Bosley Crowther at The New York Times or hip, intellectual bomb throwers like Pauline Kael. Ebert quickly staked his claim in that fertile middle ground — he was smart but not pretentious. A populist who called ‘em like he saw ‘em.
Ebert achieved an unlikely national fame when, in 1975, he and Chicago Tribune critic Gene Siskel launched the PBS show Sneak Previews. That same year, he was also recognized with a Pulitzer Prize for his work at the Sun-Times (clearly, the Pulitzer committee didn’t hold his screenwriting collaboration with softcore auteur Russ Meyer on 1970′s Beyond the Valley of the Dolls against him). Still, it was his on-air exposure that vaulted him to becoming the most famous movie critic in America.
Ebert had been battling thyroid cancer since 2002, but never gave up his aisle-seat post or his love of cinema, publishing more than 300 reviews last year alone despite his inability to speak without the help of a voice machine due to an operation that removed his lower jaw. On Wednesday, he announced that his cancer had returned and that he would be taking “a leave of presence”. Readers hoped that it was merely another temporary set-back and that Ebert would return to share his trusted opinions. Sadly, it was not to be.
Ebert became the film critic for the Chicago Sun-Times in 1967, where he quickly demonstrated his deep knowledge of film history and his appreciation for a new generation of movie stars that were redefining and reinvigorating Hollywood. At that time, movie critics tended to fall into two categories: slightly mothball-scented old timers like Bosley Crowther at The New York Times or hip, intellectual bomb throwers like Pauline Kael. Ebert quickly staked his claim in that fertile middle ground — he was smart but not pretentious. A populist who called ‘em like he saw ‘em.
Ebert achieved an unlikely national fame when, in 1975, he and Chicago Tribune critic Gene Siskel launched the PBS show Sneak Previews. That same year, he was also recognized with a Pulitzer Prize for his work at the Sun-Times (clearly, the Pulitzer committee didn’t hold his screenwriting collaboration with softcore auteur Russ Meyer on 1970′s Beyond the Valley of the Dolls against him). Still, it was his on-air exposure that vaulted him to becoming the most famous movie critic in America.
- 4/4/2013
- by Chris Nashawaty
- EW - Inside Movies
Some of you (hopefully) may have noticed my recent profile on the late, great Robert Mitchum. In the course of researching the piece, I came across the fun tidbit that Mitchum had been a favorite of film critic Roger Ebert.
The mind rarely works in linear fashion, and I suspect mine may even be more chaotic than most. That item pinballed around the ol’ noggin, and, somewhere in all that bouncing here and there, triggered a bit of nostalgia. Probably because I was working on the piece during Oscar week, the mention of Ebert reminded me that there had been a time when this would’ve been the point in the year I’d be looking forward to the annual “If We Gave Out the Oscars” (or something like that) show done by Ebert along with his on-screen partner of nearly two dozen years, fellow film critic Gene Siskel.
That...
The mind rarely works in linear fashion, and I suspect mine may even be more chaotic than most. That item pinballed around the ol’ noggin, and, somewhere in all that bouncing here and there, triggered a bit of nostalgia. Probably because I was working on the piece during Oscar week, the mention of Ebert reminded me that there had been a time when this would’ve been the point in the year I’d be looking forward to the annual “If We Gave Out the Oscars” (or something like that) show done by Ebert along with his on-screen partner of nearly two dozen years, fellow film critic Gene Siskel.
That...
- 4/4/2013
- by Bill Mesce
- SoundOnSight
The first Chicago bar I drank in was the Old Town Ale House. That bar was destroyed by fire in the 1960s, the customers hosed off, and the Ale House moved directly across the street to its present location, where it has been named Chicago's Best Dive Bar by the Chicago Tribune.
I was taken to the Ale House by Tom Devries, my fellow college editor from the Roosevelt Torch. It was early on a snowy Sunday afternoon. I remember us walking down to Barbara's Bookstore to get our copies of the legendary New York Herald-Tribune Sunday edition. Pogo. Judith Crist. Tom Wolfe. Jimmy Breslin. I remember peanut shells on the floor and a projector grinding through 16mm prints of Charlie Chaplin shorts. I remember my first taste of dark Löwenbräu beer. The Ale House was cool even then.
I returned to the North Avenue drinking scene on New Year's Eve...
I was taken to the Ale House by Tom Devries, my fellow college editor from the Roosevelt Torch. It was early on a snowy Sunday afternoon. I remember us walking down to Barbara's Bookstore to get our copies of the legendary New York Herald-Tribune Sunday edition. Pogo. Judith Crist. Tom Wolfe. Jimmy Breslin. I remember peanut shells on the floor and a projector grinding through 16mm prints of Charlie Chaplin shorts. I remember my first taste of dark Löwenbräu beer. The Ale House was cool even then.
I returned to the North Avenue drinking scene on New Year's Eve...
- 2/18/2013
- by Roger Ebert
- blogs.suntimes.com/ebert
“Slasher movies.” When you read those words just now, you either made a face like you just found cat poop in your cereal, or you felt a warm wave of nostalgia. If you fondly remember the old mom & pop video store down the street, or even if you're just an '80s horror kid at heart, I'm guessing you're probably smiling. It's Ok, I totally feel ya. I'm not sure what it is about the sleazy, low-rent look and feel of slasher movies from that era, not to mention their nearly endless repetition of the same old formula, but I still get a big kick out of them – even the ones that I know are crap on a cracker. Hey, I went to film school, damn it. I acknowledge that cinema can be one of the highest art forms ever invented. But my memory of those carefree summer nights spent...
- 1/25/2013
- by Gregory Burkart
- FEARnet
Roger Ebert is getting two thumbs up from the Sundance Institute. The journalist and critic will be presented with the Vanguard Leadership Award in recognition of his advocacy of indie cinema by the organization's president and founder Robert Redford. The award presentation is set to take place at the third annual Celebrate Sundance Institute benefit on June 5, 2013 in Los Angeles, an event chaired by Institute Trustee Lyn Lear and her husband, Norman. Since 1967, Ebert has written a film review column for the Chicago Sun-Times -- his reviews were syndicated in more than 200 newspapers worldwide as of 2010. He co-hosted "Sneak Previews," "At the Movies with Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert" and "Siskel and Ebert and The Movies" for a combined 23 years with Gene Siskel. The pair secured multiple Emmy Award nominations. Ebert's written more than 15 books and since 1999 has hosted the annual Roger Ebert's Film Festival in...
- 9/20/2012
- by Alison Willmore
- Indiewire
By Ryan Gowland
Not every film critic is going to get a movie based on their life story, but not every film critic has the renown of Roger Ebert, whose 2011 memoir Life Itself has been optioned to become a documentary from "Hoop Dreams" and "The Interrupters" director Steve James and executive producers Steven Zaillian ("American Gangster" and "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo" scribe) and some guy named Martin Scorsese.
Ebert himself broke the news on his Twitter (via The Film Stage), then explained how the project came together to CriticWire.
"This dropped out of the blue," explained Ebert. "They say they have a good idea for an approach. I believe Steve James' 'Hoop Dreams' is one of the greatest documentaries ever made, and my hopes for this are so high. I never thought of my book as a doc. I'm keeping hands off any involvement, such as with the screenplay,...
Not every film critic is going to get a movie based on their life story, but not every film critic has the renown of Roger Ebert, whose 2011 memoir Life Itself has been optioned to become a documentary from "Hoop Dreams" and "The Interrupters" director Steve James and executive producers Steven Zaillian ("American Gangster" and "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo" scribe) and some guy named Martin Scorsese.
Ebert himself broke the news on his Twitter (via The Film Stage), then explained how the project came together to CriticWire.
"This dropped out of the blue," explained Ebert. "They say they have a good idea for an approach. I believe Steve James' 'Hoop Dreams' is one of the greatest documentaries ever made, and my hopes for this are so high. I never thought of my book as a doc. I'm keeping hands off any involvement, such as with the screenplay,...
- 9/7/2012
- by MTV Movies Team
- MTV Movies Blog
The Cabin in the Woods
Written by Drew Goddard and Joss Whedon
Directed by Drew Goddard
2011, USA, imdb
Do you like scary movies? – Scream
Yes. God help me, yes I do.
The first time that I saw horror films deconstructed, it wasn’t by Wes Craven and Kevin Williamson in Scream, it was by Roger Ebert and Gene Siskel in their infamous late October 1980 “Women in Danger” Sneak Previews special. Horror fans (especially those old enough to remember the episode) have a love/hate/hate relationship with the episode. On one hand, in 1980, while not as famous as they were to become, Ebert and Siskel were already the most popular film critics in the world, and while they were not fans of the slasher genre, Ebert and Siskel at least took the films seriously enough to criticize them.
On the other hand, for many horror fans that criticism – especially by Siskel – was just so mean.
Written by Drew Goddard and Joss Whedon
Directed by Drew Goddard
2011, USA, imdb
Do you like scary movies? – Scream
Yes. God help me, yes I do.
The first time that I saw horror films deconstructed, it wasn’t by Wes Craven and Kevin Williamson in Scream, it was by Roger Ebert and Gene Siskel in their infamous late October 1980 “Women in Danger” Sneak Previews special. Horror fans (especially those old enough to remember the episode) have a love/hate/hate relationship with the episode. On one hand, in 1980, while not as famous as they were to become, Ebert and Siskel were already the most popular film critics in the world, and while they were not fans of the slasher genre, Ebert and Siskel at least took the films seriously enough to criticize them.
On the other hand, for many horror fans that criticism – especially by Siskel – was just so mean.
- 4/14/2012
- by Michael Ryan
- SoundOnSight
Roger and I thank you for joining us as we talked about the movies each week this past year. We have enjoyed producing Ebert Presents At The Movies and hope to continue sometime in 2012. This week we produced our last show.
It is the Best and Worst Movies of 2011 and begins airing Friday night, December 30, at 8:30 pm on Wttw, Channel 11 in Chicago, and all during the weekend and next week on public television stations across the nation. (Check local listings to find out what time it comes on in your town.)
In January of this year we brought back the show that Thea Flaum and Roger and Gene Siskel started 35 years ago at Wttw. Roger made the decision to bring it back to public television after it had been broadcast successfully at Tribune Entertainment and Disney Buena Vista Television for years.
We were fortunate to find two smart and...
It is the Best and Worst Movies of 2011 and begins airing Friday night, December 30, at 8:30 pm on Wttw, Channel 11 in Chicago, and all during the weekend and next week on public television stations across the nation. (Check local listings to find out what time it comes on in your town.)
In January of this year we brought back the show that Thea Flaum and Roger and Gene Siskel started 35 years ago at Wttw. Roger made the decision to bring it back to public television after it had been broadcast successfully at Tribune Entertainment and Disney Buena Vista Television for years.
We were fortunate to find two smart and...
- 12/30/2011
- by Roger Ebert
- blogs.suntimes.com/ebert
The film criticism show Ebert Presents: At the Movies will go on hiatus at the end of December, according to a blog post published Wednesday by Roger Ebert. The public TV program was produced and nearly entirely financed by the Chicago Sun-Times film critic and his wife, Chaz Ebert, and was intended to be a continuation of the various review shows hosted by Ebert and the late Gene Siskel, such as Sneak Previews, At the Movies, and Siskel & Ebert. But the Eberts said they can no longer afford to foot the bill and are now searching for new sponsors.
“We...
“We...
- 12/2/2011
- by John Young
- EW - Inside TV
Unless we find an angel, our television program will go off the air at the end of its current season. There. I've said it. Usually in television, people use evasive language. Not me. We'll be gone. I want to be honest about why this is. We can't afford to finance it any longer.
Before I go into details, let me say that by any fair measure, "Ebert Presents At The Movies" has been a great success. The program has a coverage of more than 90% of the country, and all of the top 50 markets. Our ratings place us among the top shows on public television, and compare to the ratings of cable news. And we have loyal and vocal followers. Whenever our show is pre-empted for any reason we get immediate e-mails, calls and letters from viewers looking for it. We have also had cordial relations with the programmers and station managers across the country.
Before I go into details, let me say that by any fair measure, "Ebert Presents At The Movies" has been a great success. The program has a coverage of more than 90% of the country, and all of the top 50 markets. Our ratings place us among the top shows on public television, and compare to the ratings of cable news. And we have loyal and vocal followers. Whenever our show is pre-empted for any reason we get immediate e-mails, calls and letters from viewers looking for it. We have also had cordial relations with the programmers and station managers across the country.
- 11/7/2011
- by Roger Ebert
- blogs.suntimes.com/ebert
Writing on his Chicago Sun-Times blog Sunday night, film critic Roger Ebert warned that his public TV show, Ebert Presents At the Movies, will end after the current season if it doesn't secure new financial backing. Starting with Sneak Previews in 1975, and ending with Siskel & Ebert in 1999, Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert evolved from two Chicago newspaper film critics to cultural icons, with their trademark Roman emperor-style thumbs up/down system of rendering a verdict on a film. And, of course, the potential highlight of any given tete-a-tete was the chance that we the viewers would witness an impassioned argument between the two cinephiles, making the show not only informative, but entertaining as well. Siskel passed away in 1999, but the show continued in various incarnations, with several name changes and dozens of replacement hosts along the way, the current version being hosted by Christy Lemire of the [...]...
- 11/7/2011
- Nerve
As you could probably expect, even before I started working for Cinema Blend I was a total movie fanatic. It was a rare weekend that I wasn't throwing down cash to see a new release with a bunch of my friends. Viewing movies as a critic, however, is a totally different beast. When I see new movies, where I see to movies, and with whom I see new movies has changed in a fairly major way. But don't just take my word for it: let Roger Ebert and Gene Siskel take you back to 1980 as they prepare for a screening of Harold Becker's The Black Marble. As a part of a new segment on Ebert Presents At The Movies, Christy Lemire and Ignatiy Vishnevetsky have dug up some footage from an episode of Sneak Previews With Roger Ebert and Gene Siskel in which the pair of Chicago critics had...
- 8/12/2011
- cinemablend.com
It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. Gene Siskel and I fought like cats and dogs, and we made some good television.
During those early years for "Sneak Previews" our favorite occupation was dreaming up "special editions" which were sort of like the "think pieces" we wrote for our papers.
I hadn't seen those shows for years, but it turns out they were safely slumbering in the vaults of Wttw/Chicago, our public television station. Starting Friday, we're going to be airing the best of those old shows on "Ebert Presents At The Movies."
Our favorite special edition was titled "Going to the Movies with a Critic." The idea was to follow the process of reviewing a single movie from beginning to end. The show opens with Gene and me receiving a call from John Iltis, then (and now) a Chicago movie publicist. It was...
During those early years for "Sneak Previews" our favorite occupation was dreaming up "special editions" which were sort of like the "think pieces" we wrote for our papers.
I hadn't seen those shows for years, but it turns out they were safely slumbering in the vaults of Wttw/Chicago, our public television station. Starting Friday, we're going to be airing the best of those old shows on "Ebert Presents At The Movies."
Our favorite special edition was titled "Going to the Movies with a Critic." The idea was to follow the process of reviewing a single movie from beginning to end. The show opens with Gene and me receiving a call from John Iltis, then (and now) a Chicago movie publicist. It was...
- 8/8/2011
- by Roger Ebert
- blogs.suntimes.com/ebert
There have been many efforts to preserve movies and film history but few to record the history of movie reviews. The days when movie critics Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert would spar over a thumbs up or thumbs down rating may be gone but a new site is making an effort to preserve the duo's works. The stated goal of SiskelandEbert.org is "to rebuild each of the Siskel and Ebert series as comprehensively as possible. As such, our website serves as a repository for people to donate copies from their Siskel and Ebert collection, expressly for this purpose."
Apparently, the producers of the duo's early programs -- Opening Soon... At a Theater Near You, Sneak Previews, and Tribune's version of At the Movies --- didn't save masters of these shows. So, unless collectors or those associated with the programs have private copies, they are gone forever.
Apparently, the producers of the duo's early programs -- Opening Soon... At a Theater Near You, Sneak Previews, and Tribune's version of At the Movies --- didn't save masters of these shows. So, unless collectors or those associated with the programs have private copies, they are gone forever.
- 3/7/2011
- by TVSeriesFinale.com
- TVSeriesFinale.com
Over the past year and change, Roger Ebert [1] has written a new chapter in his more than forty-year career as a major film critic. Now some of the earliest days of that career are online thanks to the Library of Congress and SiskelandEbert.org [2], which presents raw tape archives of the early episodes of Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert's film review shows that aired for decades, starting in 1975. I grew up watching Sneak Previews, the second incarnation of their show, and this archive isn't just a time capsule, but a reminder of some of my first exposure to film criticism of any kind. I think the show was the first exposure to film criticism that a great many people had, and it is a reminder of a time when getting detailed info on films was a much more difficult process than turning to an IMDb app on your phone.
- 2/17/2011
- by Russ Fischer
- Slash Film
I've told this story before but it's absolutely true: while most kids my age stayed up past their bedtime to secretly watch R-rated movies, I stayed up to watch "Siskel & Ebert." It was one of my favorite shows, and for years it was only on Sundays at midnight. So I'd kiss my parents goodnight, turn off the lights, and lie awake for an hour until the show came on. Then I'd turn my television, lower the volume to one above mute, and pray Gene and Roger didn't yell too loudly and get me caught.
I love reading criticism and I still love watching old "Siskel & Ebert" reviews. The full run of their Disney-syndicated show was available on that series' website until it was cancelled last year, and a good amount of material has shown up on YouTube over the years. But now two "Siskel & Ebert" fanatics who put my own...
I love reading criticism and I still love watching old "Siskel & Ebert" reviews. The full run of their Disney-syndicated show was available on that series' website until it was cancelled last year, and a good amount of material has shown up on YouTube over the years. But now two "Siskel & Ebert" fanatics who put my own...
- 2/17/2011
- by Matt Singer
- ifc.com
Chicago – The balcony is officially open and back in business at Wttw Chicago, the same network where Roger Ebert and Gene Siskel hosted “Sneak Previews” roughly 35 years ago. On Friday, Jan. 21 at 8:30pm Cst, public television stations nationwide will premiere “Roger Ebert Presents At the Movies,” the latest reinvention of the celebrated TV series championing the art of film criticism.
Christy Lemire of The Associated Press and Ignatiy Vishnevetsky of Mubi.com will serve as co-hosts of the program, which is executive produced by Ebert and his wife Chaz, and directed by “Siskel & Ebert” veteran Don Dupree. The hosts will be joined each week by an alternating group of contributing critics offering their own distinctive segments on cinema. Kim Morgan of Sunset Gun, Omar Moore of The Popcorn Reel, Kartina Richardson of Mirrorfilm.org, Jeff Greenfield of CBS, Nell Minow of Beliefnet.com, and David Poland of Movie City...
Christy Lemire of The Associated Press and Ignatiy Vishnevetsky of Mubi.com will serve as co-hosts of the program, which is executive produced by Ebert and his wife Chaz, and directed by “Siskel & Ebert” veteran Don Dupree. The hosts will be joined each week by an alternating group of contributing critics offering their own distinctive segments on cinema. Kim Morgan of Sunset Gun, Omar Moore of The Popcorn Reel, Kartina Richardson of Mirrorfilm.org, Jeff Greenfield of CBS, Nell Minow of Beliefnet.com, and David Poland of Movie City...
- 1/21/2011
- by adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
- HollywoodChicago.com
Ignatiy Vishnevetsky has joined the cast of "Ebert Presents At the Movies." Vishnevetsky will accompany the also new co-host Christy Lemire on the new weekly program.
The show will debut on Jan. 21 across the country.
"Ebert Presents At the Movies" will be produced in Chicago at Wttw, where the late Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert began taping the legendary "Sneak Previews" some 35 years ago.
Fans of the original show, "Sneak Previews," will see that in addition to acting as co-producer, Ebert will also host a special segment each week.
The show will debut on Jan. 21 across the country.
"Ebert Presents At the Movies" will be produced in Chicago at Wttw, where the late Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert began taping the legendary "Sneak Previews" some 35 years ago.
Fans of the original show, "Sneak Previews," will see that in addition to acting as co-producer, Ebert will also host a special segment each week.
- 1/5/2011
- icelebz.com
Ignatiy Vishnevetsky has joined the cast of "Ebert Presents At the Movies." Vishnevetsky will accompany the also new co-host Christy Lemire on the new weekly program.
The show will debut on Jan. 21 across the country.
"Ebert Presents At the Movies" will be produced in Chicago at Wttw, where the late Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert began taping the legendary "Sneak Previews" some 35 years ago.
Fans of the original show, "Sneak Previews," will see that in addition to acting as co-producer, Ebert will also host a special segment each week.
The show will debut on Jan. 21 across the country.
"Ebert Presents At the Movies" will be produced in Chicago at Wttw, where the late Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert began taping the legendary "Sneak Previews" some 35 years ago.
Fans of the original show, "Sneak Previews," will see that in addition to acting as co-producer, Ebert will also host a special segment each week.
- 1/5/2011
- icelebz.com
Christy Lemire of The Associated Press and Ignatiy Vishnevetsky of Mubi.com will be the co-hosts of "Ebert Presents at the Movies." The two experienced and respected critics will also introduce special segments featuring other contributors and the Pulitzer Prize-winning critic Roger Ebert.
The new weekly program debuts Jan. 21 on public television stations in 48 of the top 50 markets, representing more than 90% national coverage. It will be produced in Chicago at Wttw, where Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert began taping "Sneak Previews" some 35 years ago.
"It was pretty emotional for me, walking down the same corridors, into the same studios, even meeting some of the same camera operators, editors and stagehands we worked with," Ebert said.
The executive producer of the program will be his wife, Chaz. The director will be Don Dupree, who logged 15 years as director of "Siskel & Ebert" and "Ebert & Roeper." Ebert will be a co-producer and host a weekly segment.
The new weekly program debuts Jan. 21 on public television stations in 48 of the top 50 markets, representing more than 90% national coverage. It will be produced in Chicago at Wttw, where Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert began taping "Sneak Previews" some 35 years ago.
"It was pretty emotional for me, walking down the same corridors, into the same studios, even meeting some of the same camera operators, editors and stagehands we worked with," Ebert said.
The executive producer of the program will be his wife, Chaz. The director will be Don Dupree, who logged 15 years as director of "Siskel & Ebert" and "Ebert & Roeper." Ebert will be a co-producer and host a weekly segment.
- 1/4/2011
- by Roger Ebert
- blogs.suntimes.com/ebert
Roger Ebert announced earlier this week that he will be producing a new version of At the Movies, the PBS and later syndicated film criticism series he and Gene Siskel pioneered in the 1970s. From the press release: "Roger Ebert Presents At the Movies," a weekly half-hour film review program, was announced today by its producers, Chaz and Roger Ebert. The program continues the 35-year-old run of a reviewing format first introduced by Gene Siskel and Ebert and later by Ebert and Richard Roeper. It will return to its birthplace, launching nationally on public television with presenting station Wttw Chicago, where it began in 1975 as "Opening Soon at a Theater Near You" and then in 1976 as "Sneak Previews," became the highest rated entertainment show in PBS history. The original format moved into syndication as "At the Movies" in 1982 with Tribune Entertainment and a quarter-century with Buena Vista Television.
- 9/16/2010
- by MaryAnn Johanson
- www.flickfilosopher.com
The day Roger Ebert discovered his thumb changed cinema forever. And now the veteran Chicago Sun-Times film critic is making hand gestures again — this time with the middle digit — at the folks at Disney-abc Domestic TV who canceled production on his long-running syndicated film review show At The Movies. Ebert announced today that he was bringing the series back to life less than a month after the series’ supposedly final episode aired Aug. 14. The new Roger Ebert Presents At the Movies will start airing next January on public television, and will be taped out of Chicago’s Wttw affiliate. That...
- 9/10/2010
- by Benjamin Svetkey
- EW.com - PopWatch
Roger Ebert hasn't let the loss of his voice keep him from speaking: The wildly popular film critic has given two thumbs up to a revival of his long-time movie review show. "This is the rebirth of a dream," Ebert said of the new show, Roger Ebert Presents At the Movies, which originated in another form 35 years ago as Coming Soon to a Theatre Near You with co-host Gene Siskel, and will start airing in January. The feisty Ebert will share his strong views with audiences using a computer voice in segments called Roger's Office. However, his days of employing...
- 9/10/2010
- by Sara Hammel
- PEOPLE.com
Following Disney-abc Domestic TV's recent cancellation of the syndicated At the Movies after a 24-year run, veteran movie critic Roger Ebert just announced he will be launching a new weekly half-hour film review show, Roger Ebert Presents At the Movies, on PBS in January. It will be hosted by Christy Lemire, film critic of The Associated Press, and Elvis Mitchell of NPR. "This is the rebirth of a dream," Ebert wrote on his blog. "I believe that by returning to its public roots, our new show will win better and more consistent time slots in more markets." A decade before it became syndicated, Ebert and the late Gene Siskel launched their review show on PBS' Chicago station Wttw in 1975 as Opening Soon at a Theater Near You and then in 1976 as Sneak Previews, becoming the highest rated entertainment show in PBS history. At the Movies will bring back Ebert's...
- 9/10/2010
- by NELLIE ANDREEVA
- Deadline TV
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