Ebert and Roeper exit the balcony

[ALIASd]

Posted: Mon., Jul. 21, 2008, 9:13am PT

Richard Roeper exits the balcony

Film critic leaves 'At the Movies'

BY Associated Press
via Variety
July 21, 2008

Chicago Sun-Times columnist Richard Roeper says he is leaving the nationally syndicated show "At the Movies With Ebert & Roeper" after eight seasons.

Roeper said in a statement Sunday that he had failed to agree on a contract extension with Disney-ABC Domestic Television so his last appearance on the show will air the weekend of Aug. 16-17.

"Several months ago, Disney offered to extend my contract, which expires at the conclusion of the 2007-08 season," Roeper said. "I opted to wait. Much transpired after that behind the scenes, but an agreement was never reached, and we are all moving on."

A message seeking comment was left for a spokeswoman for Disney-ABC Domestic Television early Monday.

Roeper said he intends to "proceed elsewhere ... as the co-host of a movie review show that honors the standards established by Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert more than 30 years ago."

"I will be free to share the details on that program in the near future," he said. He also said he wishes Disney "the best of luck with their new show, whatever form it may take."

http://www.variety.com/article/VR111...goryid=13&cs=1

Ebert also cutting ties with ``At the Movies''

CHICAGO - Chicago Sun-Times film critic Roger Ebert says he's cutting ties with the television show he and the late Gene Siskel made famous.

In an e-mail to The Associated Press, Ebert says Disney-ABC Domestic Television has decided to take the show "in a new direction" and he won't be associated with it.

His announcement comes a day after Sun-Times columnist Richard Roeper said he's leaving the nationally syndicated "At The Movies with Ebert & Roeper."

Ebert hasn't been on the air for two years because of health problems that have left him unable to speak. Ebert and Siskel started the program in 1975 with "Sneak Previews" on PBS, with the show later moving to commercial television. Roeper joined the show after Siskel died of a brain tumor in 1999.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/c...,1901792.story

[merlinjones]

I hope they continue the show with Michael Phillips and AO Scott paired - - those two are great critics in the Siskel and Ebert tradition.

[tiggerfan]

Ebert is also gone

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/c...,1901792.story

[Coheteboy]

Sigh. I don't know about you guys but I really do miss seeing what movies get TWO THUMBS UP.

[Roo719]

And, as a former critic myself, these two were both exemplary as authors. The show, I always felt, did not really emphasize their abilities. You cannot merely say a full review of a movie in a 2 minute slot. I did like the show for a brief synopsis of their feelings.

But it is kinda sad to see them go. They could make or break many-a-film, and that says something of their collective power in the entertainment industry.

peace,
Roo

[Coheteboy]

From rogerebert.com:

After 33 years on the air, 23 of them with Disney, the studio has decided to take the program named "Siskel & Ebert" and then "Ebert & Roeper" in a new direction. I will no longer be associated with it.


A June 23, 2005 file photo shows Chicago Sun-Times columnist Richard Roeper, left, and film critic Roger Ebert posing for photographers following a ceremony in which Ebert was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in Los Angeles.
(AP)

(Enlarge Image)
The show was a wonderful experience. It was a great loss to me when surgery in July 2006 made it impossible for me to appear on the air any longer. Although I remained active behind the scenes, I feel that Richard Roeper and several co-hosts, notably Michael Phillips and A.O. Scott, have excelled at carrying on the tradition Gene Siskel and I began in 1975 with "Sneak Previews" on PBS.

Gene and I felt the formula was simplicity itself: Two film critics, sitting across the aisle from each other in a movie balcony, debating the new films of the week. We developed an entirely new concept for TV. Few shows have been on the air so long and remained so popular. We made television history, and established the trademarked catch-phrase "Two thumbs up."

The trademark still belongs to me and Marlene Iglitzen, Gene's widow, and the thumbs will return. We are discussing possibilities, and plan to continue the show's tradition.

-- Roger Ebert

Well... at least the thumbs will return! I'm also glad that Ebert is still writing. I enjoy his reviews a lot.

[MickeyMousePal]

I wonder who's going to take over "At the Movies".

[Hayley B]

That's a shame. I will miss watching the show for some advice. I could never agree with any of there guest critics (including AO Scott. He doesn't come close to my point of view). So, I think I will just have to look else where, to know if something is a good movie or not.

[Rex Dopey24]

thats kinda see to see them go.

[BC_DisneyGeek]

Ebert is my favorite movie reviewer, hands-down, and the show will be missed.

I recall watching them (Siskel & Ebert) give two thumbs up to a Steven Seagal movie (Under Siege) of all things, and realizing something. Movie critics don't always reserve their praise for stuffy movies that don't appeal to the masses. A well-made well-written summer blockbuster was never an automatic thumbs-down.

[sailerm]

Listen to Ebert's commentary on Citizen Kane, and you really get a sense of his real passion for great film making.

[PanTheMan]

Originally Posted by Coheteboy

Sigh. I don't know about you guys but I really do miss seeing what movies get TWO THUMBS UP.

I will miss them

[ALIASd]

Lyons, Mankiewicz to host 'Movies'

New season starts Sept. 6

By Anne Thompson
Variety
July 22, 2008

Disney ABC’s venerable weekly TV review show “At the Movies” confirmed Tuesday that Ben Lyons and Ben Mankiewicz will co-host the next iteration of the series when its 23rd season begins the weekend of Sept. 6. On Monday, Chicago Sun-Times staffers Roger Ebert and Richard Roeperquit the series.

E! Entertainment critic and blogger Ben Lyons reviews films for “E! News,” “The Daily Ten,” and E! Online series “The Lyons Den.” Lyons makes frequent appearances on “Good Morning America,” MTV’s “Your Movie Show,” “MSNBC at the Movies” and “Access Hollywood.”

Lyons co-hosts "Reel Talk" with his father, WNBC film critic Jeffrey Lyons, and has covered various red-carpet events for E! Last year, he hailed “I Am Legend” as “one of the greatest movies ever made.”

Ben Mankiewicz has hosted for Turner Classic Movies for five years, as well as the alternative pop culture radio show “The Young Turks” on Sirius Satellite Radio. Mankiewicz was also a reporter and anchor for WCSC-TV in Charleston, North Carolina and served as the anchor of “The Times,” a daily news magazine at WAMI-TV Miami.

“At the Movies” also plans to introduce a new look and segments to the show in September, including a “Critics Round-Up” during which the co-hosts will engage with other critics via satellite from cities across the country.

Lyons and Mankiewicz are both following in their family’s showbiz traditions. Lyons' father, critic Jeffrey Lyons, is the son of New York Post columnist Leonard Lyons.

Mankiewicz’s grandfather, Herman Mankiewicz, won a screenwriting Oscar for “Citizen Kane.” His great uncle, Joseph Mankiewicz wrote and directed “All About Eve and “A Letter to Three Wives.” His cousin, Tom Mankiewicz, wrote the James Bond movies “The Man with the Golden Gun,” “Live and Let Die” and “Diamonds Are Forever.”

http://www.variety.com/article/VR111...goryid=13&cs=1

[Coheteboy]

I'll go where the thumbs go.

[sailerm]

Tom Mankiewicz was also the uncreditted screen writer for Superman and Superman II (he is given 'Creative Consultant' credit right after the 'writer's' credit)