Roger Ebert and PBS: A new movie review show in January!

[CaliforniaPeggy]

By Yvonne Villarreal, Los Angeles Times

September 11, 2010

Film world: prepare for the war of the thumbs (again).

Roger Ebert announced Friday on his Chicago Sun-Times blog that "At the Movies" would return to PBS stations in January.

Produced by Ebert and his wife, Chaz, the weekly half-hour film review program — revamped as "Roger Ebert Presents At the Movies" — will continue the format first made famous by Ebert and the late Gene Siskel three decades ago, this time with film critics Christy Lemire of the Associated Press and Elvis Mitchell of NPR debating and issuing thumbs up or thumbs down reviews from red movie theater seats.

~snip~

"At the Movies" has gone through several revisions and name changes over the years. Before Phillips and Scott, the show was anchored by two young hosts, Ben Lyons of " E! Entertainment" and Ben Mankiewicz, a former co-host of the "Young Turks" radio program on Air America; the two took over the slot once filled by Ebert and Richard Roeper, both writers at the Chicago Sun-Times. Roeper had stepped in after the death of Siskel in 1999.

The decision to bring back the show, Ebert said, is an attempt to shift the lens back to cinematic content.

"Most movie coverage on TV is celeb-driven gossip and chatter," Ebert, 68, said in an e-mail to The Times. "It's obsessed with box-office numbers. It's always upbeat. The critics are often not qualified. Despite all the programming out there, there's nothing really like it on TV."

~snip~

The evolution of "At the Movies" can be traced back to the 1970s-era program, "Opening Soon at a Theater Near You" and then "Sneak Previews," shown on the Chicago PBS affiliate WTTW, where conservative reviewer Siskel, of the Chicago Tribune, along with his brash co-host Ebert, of the Chicago Sun-Times, presented viewers passionate debates over the latest cinematic offerings.

"This is the rebirth of a dream," Ebert said in a separate statement.


The rest at the link:
http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/la-et-0911-roger-ebert-20100911,0,3565340.story

[saltpoint]

1. Recommended.

[ProudToBeBlueInRhody]

2. I was really hoping for Roeper and Michael Phillips

I figured they would come back with Ebert as the producer, but no such luck.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

3. I have no idea why Ebert didn't tap Roeper again...

I personally didn't think he was all that great. Perhaps he was busy with other projects?

I'm not acquainted with the two people he's tapped for this iteration...Time will tell how they work out.

[mucifer]

4. I appreciate that he is going for diversity after decades of 2 white guys duking it out.

Ebert's blog entry on his new show. He will be doing a segment on the show each week.

http://blogs.suntimes.com/ebert/pages-for-twitter/roger-ebert-presents-at-the-moe.html

[CaliforniaPeggy]

5. That could very well be his point.

I mainly care that whoever does the show knows what he/she is talking about.

[mucifer]

6. Actually, Ebert wasn't that good on tv when he started. It took time.

Someone gave him a chance and he's now giving others a chance.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

7. And thank you for the link!

I was fascinated to see an extensive review of the show itself.

I cannot wait!

[orleans]

14. roeper is under contract and is on wls radio doing a co-host afternoon

talk gig. (with a little neocon. ugh.)

[CaliforniaPeggy]

15. Thanks for the info...

I had no idea.

[exboyfil]

8. Some of my best memories

was watching the show in the early 1980s with my dad. They are classics, and I wish they had been preserved. I can still remember my dad ranting about My Dinner with Andre. He was definitely a Death Wish/Dirty Hairy kind of guy. I think he hated Ebert with a passion that would be hard to express, but we watched every week. If I got to see those shows again my memories of my departed dad would come flooding back.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

9. I hear you about memories...

At the end of the season, this year, the departing hosts did a retrospective on all the shows, going back to the beginning...

I was in tears by the end of it.

Those shows that you remember may still exist someplace. I'd try googling the name to see if they do...

My condolences on your dad...

[Jkid]

10. Well I'll be damned, something on PBS other than...

pledge breaks and stale old britcoms. I hope it airs during prime time.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

11. How about that?

I expect it will air in prime time...

The old shows did.

[BigBearJohn]

12. I'm happy for Ebert.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

13. As am I...

His voice has been marginalized for far too long.

[FirstTimeVoterAt37]

16. Ebert's an interesting guy to me, movie-wise

I never ever EVER agree with his take on film. Never have, it might have happened twice by accident. But I've never questioned his credentials and intelligence on the matter. It's REALLY nice to find someone you can disagree with in genuine good faith. Damn, that's way harder than it should be.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

18. Interesting that you've never agreed with him.

Normally, people turn off programs when they disagree with the host. I think it's admirable that you haven't. Heh, you must be a liberal!

Really, I agree with your points. Maybe the new hosts will give you more food for thought?

[unblock]

17. two thumbs up!

i remember "sneak previews", it was absolutely great. you got two quite different opinions. some people usually agreed with siskel, some with ebert, but when they both agreed, you know it was a quality movie. plus, notwithstanding the simplistic "thumbs up/down" offical metric, you got some very good insight as to how strongly they felt about it.

oddly enough, that's the earliest show i remember that featured real contention -- they WANTED to have disagreement and seemed disappointed when they actually agreed. the fireworks were entertaining. fine enough for movie reviews, but i think this might have been where the sunday morning political shows got some of their production ideas. sad indeed if those producers draw a horrible conclusion from a great format for movie entertainment.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

19. We've watched it from the earliest days...

And I agree, contention, intelligent contention can be so illuminating. It can shed light on aspects of the movie that you might not have considered.

Two thumbs up, indeed, lol!

Thanks for playing!