Roger Ebert, a movie critic whose sharp wit and depth of knowledge delighted millions of readers and viewers, has died of cancer at the age of 70. Ebert, who reviewed films for the Chicago Sun-Times for 46 years and on TV for 31 years, was America’s most prominent and influential critic. He had been in poor health for years, battling cancers of the thyroid and salivary gland. He lost part of his lower jaw in 2006, and with it the ability to speak or eat. That calamity that would have driven other men from the public eye, but Ebert refused to hide, instead forging what became a new chapter in his career. His chronicle of his devastating illness won him a new generation of admirers, and his positive attitude never waned or became tinged with bitterness. Always tech-savvy – he was an early investor in Google – Ebert let the Internet be his voice, and his website, rogerebert (dot) com, had millions of fans. His Twitter feeds had 827,000 followers, a remarkable achievement for a man whose peer group, on the whole, doesn’t even use the social network. Even more remarkable? Ebert was both widely popular and professionally respected. He had a Pulitzer Prize and a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. He was the first critic to achieve either, and the same year Ebert won the Pulitzer, 1975, he also launched his television program with Gene Siskel. As a tandem, Siskel and Ebert reviewed as many as 285 films a year and their program became nearly as influential as the movies themselves. Two thumbs up.
Roger Ebert , Pulitzer Prize winning movie critic for the Chicago Sun-Times , died today at the age of 70. Ebert spent more than 45 prolific years punditing for the newspaper, in time growing more famous than many of the films he reviewed. He popularized thumbs-up or thumbs-down judgments on his televised show with the late Gene Siskel , then continued on with Richard Roeper . He also shared a common interest in amazingly pneumatic knockers with boobie connoisseur Russ Meyer , and penned Beyond the Valley of the Dolls (1970), Up! (1976), and Beneath the Valley of the Ultra-Vixens (1979) for the legendary director. Roger Ebert, mighty wielder of the pen, has left the building. He will be missed.
After earning a spot in the mag’s 2013 Freshman issue, the Las Vegas rapper only sees big things coming. By Nadeska Alexis XXL ‘s May/June 2013 cover Photo: XXL
After earning a spot in the mag’s 2013 Freshman issue, the Las Vegas rapper only sees big things coming. By Nadeska Alexis XXL ‘s May/June 2013 cover Photo: XXL
Film critic’s death comes just two days after announcing his cancer had returned. By Kevin P. Sullivan Roger Ebert and Gene Siskel in 1994 Photo: Ron Galella, Ltd./ WireImage
Film critic’s death comes just two days after announcing his cancer had returned. By Kevin P. Sullivan Roger Ebert and Gene Siskel in 1994 Photo: Ron Galella, Ltd./ WireImage
There are Top 10s galore this time of the year, but no doubt Ben Affleck is taking a bit of extra notice on this one. Uber critic Roger Ebert gave Argo his choice for the Best of 2012. He called the year “one of the best recent years in cinema,” noting that he wrote over 300 reviews over the year, which is a personal record. He also noted that it was “unusually difficult” to leave out films in the top ten. Picking Argo , Ebert noted that the feature had the “classic values of a Hollywood thriller” and noted the story, based on true events, “reveals surprises about a story we all lived through. It is told with classic comedy and tension.” Oscar power-house Lincoln placed third on Ebert’s list after Ang Lee’s Life of Pi . He called Daniel Day-Lewis’ performance “powerful,” while describing Pi as a “miraculous achievement.” Also making the list was Sundance winner Beasts of the Southern Wild and perhaps surprisingly considering the momentum of the Oscar race, End of Watch Oslo, August 31 and A Simple Life . Notables not making the cut in the top ten at least include Zero Dark Thirty , Django Unchained , Les Misérables and Silver Linings Playbook . Ebert has long taken a course of his own. You can see his comments on his Top 10 here . Roger Ebert’s Top 10: 1. Argo by Ben Affleck 2. Life Of Pi by Ang Lee 3. Lincoln by Steven Spielberg 4. End Of Watch by David Ayer 5. Arbitrage by Nicholas Jarecki 6. Flight by Robert Zemeckis 7. The Sessions by Ben Lewin 8. Beasts of the Southern Wild by Benh Zeitlin 9. Oslo, August 31st by Joachim Trier 10. A Simple Life by Ann Hui
A few weeks ago Chicago SKINema fans got a chance to interact with screen siren Sybil Danning when Mr. Skin presented Chained Heat (1983) at the Music Box Theatre . Don’t worry if you missed it, because we’ve got the footage of the skinfamous Austrian sexbomb’s follow up Q&A. The highlights include Sybil calling out Linda Blair on not being proud of her nude debut, why Chained Heat is better than Star Wars (hint: boobs), and what she shares in common with both Elvira and Ronald Reagan . Plus, what it was like to work with Roger Corman , Wendy O’Williams , and the best advice she got from her 5-time co-star Christopher Lee . She even describes a dinner out with Sun Times critic Roger Ebert who later wrote a glowing review . Surprise, surprise. See the video after the jump!
Also in Thursday afternoon’s round-up of news briefs, upcoming New York Film Festival debut Frances Ha gets a buyer. The Rome Film Festival will debut a new section with a film by a quartet of auteurs. Any Day Now and Alex Gibney ‘s The Last Gladiators heads to theaters. And Focus Features welcomes a new executive vice president. Steven Spielberg’s Lincoln To Close AFI Fest The world premiere of the forthcoming film will close the AFI Fest November 8th at Grauman’s Chinese Theater. Starring Daniel Day-Lewis, Sally Field, Tommy Lee Jones, David Strathairn and Joseph Gordon-Levitt, the drama focuses on the tumultuous final months in office of the 16th President of the United States. DreamWorks Pictures/Twentieth Century Fox title (in association with Participant Media) will open in limited release November 9th and go wide November 16th. The 26th AFI Fest will take place November 1 – 8 in Los Angeles. For the fourth year, AFI Fest will off free tickets for all its screenings, though only package holders will be able to reserve seats for the Lincoln closing night gala. Robert Redford to Fete Roger Ebert The Sundance Institute founder will honor film critic Roger Ebert with the Vanguard Leadership Award in “recognition of his advocacy of independent cinema.”The award presentation will take place at the third annual ‘Celebrate Sundance Institute’ benefit, chaired by Institute Trustee Lyn Lear and her husband, Norman, on June 5, 2013 in Los Angeles. “Among the many things I admire about Roger Ebert is how he has long supported freedom of artistic expression,” said Redford in a statement. “When I started Sundance in 1980, and when few would support us, Roger was there. This was one of the ways he communicated his forward-thinking outlook. He was one of the first to support our artists. His influence and reach is as meaningful as his personal passion for cinema, and he certainly deserves this award.” Noah Baumbach and Greta Gerwig’s Frances Ha Heads to Theaters in the Americas Ahead of its U.S. premiere at the New York Film Festival, IFC Films picked up rights to the Telluride/Toronto debut Frances Ha , starring Greta Gerwig. The film centers on Frances, a New Yorke dance apprentice without her own apartment. She splits with her best friend Sophie, but throws herself into her dreams even as her possibilities dwindle. The film is a modern-comic fable that explores New York friendships, class, ambition, failure and redemption. Arianna Bocco negotiated the deal for Frances Ha from UTA on behalf of the filmmakers. Rome Film Festival to Debut Centro Histórico by European Auteurs The world premiere of the collaboration by Aki Kaurismäki, Pedro Costa, Victor Erice and Manoel de Oliveira will open the Cinema XXI, the new section of the festival that spotlights “new trends and new languages in international cinema.” The film explores the stories for modern-day Guimarães, the founding city of Portugal. Any Day Now Heads to North American Theaters Based on a true story and starring Alan Cumming and Garret Dillahunt, the film is set in the late 1970s about a mentally handicapped teen who is abandoned and is taken in by a gay couple. Music Box Films acquired the title and plans a release this December. Louis Phillips Joins Focus Features Phillips joins the specialty distributor as Executive Vice President, Physical Production. Based in the company’s West Coast office, he’ll oversee physical production and post-production on all in-house film productions and outside acquisitions. Alex Gibney’s The Last Gladiators Heads to U.S. & Canadian Theaters Oscar-winning director Alex Gibney’s The Last Gladiators , which explores “the goon,” Ice Hockey’s players who have only one mission: to protect the star players at any price. Phase 4 Films which picked up rights to the documentary, will roll out the film in Canada in October, followed by a U.S. release in early 2013. Phase 4’s Larry Greenberg and Sam Posner with Josh Braun from Submarine and Anne Atkinson from Pryor Cashman LLP on behalf of the filmmakers.
