Famed Chicago Film Critic Roger Ebert Announces New Weekly Movie Review Show on Public TV

Submitted by HollywoodChicago.com on September 10, 2010 - 3:14pm

CHICAGO – “Roger Ebert Presents at the Movies,” which is a weekly, 30-minute film review program, was announced on Friday by producers Chaz Ebert and Roger Ebert. The program continues its 35-year run of a show first co-hosted by Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert and later by Roger Ebert and Richard Roeper and others at Buena Vista Television/Disney.

Roger Ebert and Gene Siskel at the movies.
Image credit: Chicago Sun Times

The show will return to its birthplace of WTTW Chicago. It will serve as the station for its launch nationally on public TV. The show began as “Coming Soon to a Theatre Near You” and later became “SneakPreviews” where it became the highest-rated entertainment show in PBS history.

The Eberts said the show will air weekly beginning in Jan. 2011. In addition to reviewing new movies, the show will expand into coverage of new media, special segments and an extended Web site. It will use the copyrighted “Thumbs Up/Thumbs Down”® format made famous by Siskel and Ebert.

The program’s principal co-host will be Christy Lemire (a film critic at The Associated Press). She will be joined by contributing critic Elvis Mitchell of National Public Radio. Lemire has been reviewing films for the AP since 1999 and became the first full-time film critic in the news organization’s history in 2004. She is a Los Angeles native with a mother who loved Fellini and a father who loved Bogart. Mitchell is a former film critic for the New York Times and a contributor to NPR.

“This is the rebirth of a dream,” said Roger Ebert, who partnered in recent years with Richard Roeper. He said he will act as a co-producer and employ a computer voice to appear on every episode. Segments will be titled “Roger’s Office” with points of view and reviews devoted to the classics, the overlooked and new films. He will not debate with the two co-hosts. “They’ll be awarding the Thumbs and you can’t have three Thumbs,” Ebert said.

Occasional contributors will be Kim Morgan of Los Angeles and Omar Moore of San Francisco. Both are respected and popular film bloggers. Morgan specializes in her love of film noir and classic cinema at http://www.sunsetgun.com and writes for MSN and the Huffington Post. Moore (an attorney) publishes reviews, essays and video essays on his site at http://www.popcornreel.com. He is also a member of the San Francisco Film Critics Circle. Lemire, Mitchell and Morgan were guest co-hosts after the death of Siskel.

The program will be produced by Chaz Ebert: an attorney who for 20 years has been vice president of The Ebert Company.

“A contract has been signed between WTTW and Ebert Productions LLC. The show will be distributed by WTTW National Productions to the nation’s public broadcasting stations by American Public Television (APT), according to Frances J. Harth. He’s the vice president of program development and syndication for WTTW. He added: “We’re pleased to welcome the show back home.” Underwriters and sponsorships are being handled by Valenti Advertising Design Ideas of Chicago.

A pilot of the new program with all of the critics was taped in early summer under the aegis of Tribeca Flashpoint Media Arts Academy of Chicago, which is a school specializing in new technology. The pilot was directed by Scott Dummler of Chicago’s Luminair, which is a full-service video production house, on a set designed by Mary Margaret Bartley.

“In addition to reviews of new movies debated by Christy and Elvis,” Ebert said, “the pilot included a segment with Kim discussing a classic film noir, Omar discussing the growing role of the Internet in the success of indie films, a segment with Christy and Kim discussing new women directors and a segment where I review a new indie documentary.”

“The pilot won a warm reception,” Chaz Ebert said. “Marlene Iglitzen (Gene Siskel’s widow and our dear friend) was on the set when the pilot was taped. She said Gene would be proud that the format he helped create is still working as one of the longest-running in television history.”

Though it will be distributed nationally, the show will be shot in Chicago. “Mayor Daley and the Chicago City Council gave formal recognition to our show over the years. Gov. Quinn also formally recognized Roger for his film efforts in Illinois,” Chaz Ebert said.

She added: “That appreciation from the community means something. We are happy to be able to continue to produce the show in Chicago. We are in the process of scouting a location in the city to shoot the show. We are happy to report that there are many full-service studios with professional staffs to choose from. This is truly exciting.”

With a salute to Michael Phillips and A.O. Scott (hosts of the final season of the Disney-produced show) and another to Richard Roeper (a co-host for eight years), Roger Ebert added: “I believe that by returning to its public TV roots, our new show will win better and more consistent time slots in more markets. American television is swamped by mindless gossip about celebrities. I’m happy this show will continue to tell viewers honestly if the critics think a new movie is worth seeing.”

Ebert went on to say that with the support and added content of a multimedia Web site associated with the show, “Roger Ebert Presents at the Movies” will be extended beyond the TV marketplace to take film reviews and features into a new and robust arena. Given that Roger Ebert’s current site at http://www.rogerebert.com enjoys nearly 10 million hits monthly, the new Web site is anticipated to launch with popularity. It will be available on multiple digital platforms.

Legal services for Ebert Productions LLC are being handled by Eliot Ephraim of Ephraim & Associates in Chicago and Anita First of Anita First Law Corporation in Los Angeles.