Roger Ebert reviving "At the Movies" on public TV

Roger Ebert reviving "At the Movies" on public TV

Elvis Mitchell is a great choice.  He's funny, charming, smart and very personable on The Treatment every week.  Time to set the Tivo...

Roger Ebert reviving "At the Movies" on public TV

RUETERS.COM

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - Legendary film critic and Twitter master Roger Ebert said he is reviving his classic half-hour review program "At the Movies" on the public broadcasting channel PBS.

Titled "Roger Ebert Presents At the Movies," the show will be hosted by Christy Lemire, film critic of The Associated Press, and Elvis Mitchell of National Public Radio.

Ebert noted that the series, whose long-running syndicated version was recently canceled, was returning to its public station birthplace.

The new program will launch on WTTW Chicago, just like the original incarnation of "At the Movies" (titled "Opening Soon at a Theater Near You") did in 1975.

"At the Movies" will bring back Ebert's copyrighted "Thumbs Up/Thumbs Down" rating device, which was removed from the syndicated program after Ebert left the show following a battle with cancer that left him unable to speak.

"This is the rebirth of a dream," Ebert wrote in a statement. "I believe that by returning to its public roots, our new show will win better and more consistent time slots in more markets.

"American television is swamped by mindless gossip about celebrities, and I'm happy this show will continue to tell viewers honestly if the critics think a new movie is worth seeing."

Ebert will act as co-producer along with his wife, Chaz Ebert. The show will debut in January. Ebert will employ a computer voice to appear on episodes under a segment titled "Roger's Office." He says he will not debate the two co-hosts. "They'll be awarding the Thumbs, and you can't have three Thumbs."

I'm looking forward to this, and I hope all the PBS stations pick it up immediately.

Second that.  I'll be there. 

Full announcement and a video sampler at http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/

Crap, I had no idea someone beat me to this news. Have no idea why I'm perplexed when it comes to which category to put to some piece of news in on this site. Maybe, I need a cat scan, or something.

Anyhow, seriously looking forward to this. I just wish Roger could talk, hell, for that matter, I wish Gene Siskel was still alive and they were still doing their show. Always thought Roger was the more informed one when it came to film. Their show was a staple of my youth, and, man, ALL those PBS channels better be picking this up.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Michael Reuben 

I'm looking forward to this, and I hope all the PBS stations pick it up immediately.

Yes indeed!

Crawdaddy

http://former.imdb.com/news/ni4257103/

This link is probably redundant, but I wanted to get in here somewhere. 

Very cool and very much looking forward to the new show!

Excellent news!  I was so depressed when the show ended last month.

Wait. . .you mean it's not normal to have three thumbs?

Fantastic news!  And wonderfully appropriate that the show is returning to public TV.

After watching the sampler, it reminded me of an old adage. The one that states "you can't go home again". I've never been big on review shows, but Ebert and Siskel had a kind of rapport that none of these later people have.

Has there been an announced start date for this show?

Peace,

We now have a date of January 21.

http://newsfeed.time.com/2010/12/15/roger-eberts-welcome-return-to-reviewing-movies-on-tv/

Peace,

DM

So, he's gonna be on the Armed Forces Network? I don't think I even get that channel.

Hopefully a station or two in Florida will join the list. :(

^ I hope the same thing about the Pacific Northwest.  As far as I can tell, not a single station in Oregon or Washington.

I just emailed the Director of Programming at my local PBS affiliate and cc'd the General Manager to request Ebert's show.  I'm in Florida too and my station is not on the list.  I'll let you know if I get a reply.

Peace,

DM

Just let it be this kind of good...

I love the old.. the real old.. so many movies I've discovered watching old episodes of Ebert & Siskel..

Thanks matt!

Lots of old shows get rerun, I know I'd tune into these religiously.

This guy has almost EVERY episode of Ebert & Siskel going back to the 1970s, and he's upping them all.. a few have linked them, it is brilliant, and I've found watching "Best of 198x" series a bunch of films I have nearly forgotten about that I have gone back and enjoyed.

http://www.youtube.com/user/gradepoint

I should add:   anything prior to 1986, which was destroyed (literally, declared destroyed by the TV network in Chicago, prior to Buena Vista) has been released of all copyright holds, so it's free for him to do whatever; and since Buena Vista twitter and those on the programming have also linked his shows for their feedback, I view it as "authorized" as all parties have linked to him, defeating their ability to say they knew and attempted to shut him down.. more then that, as a news media program, not an entertainment program, it falls under different protection standards and so, fair use policies are very different.  I just say that to point out before we think anything otherwise.   I was very glad to find this linked a few months ago from a studio who pointed to it in a retro ad, and since others use it as a reference, I think it's worth the mention :)

I watched S&E religiously from the mid 80s through the late 90s.

Thanks for the heads up, Ill have to check out some of those vids.

Edit: Thinking about it, I think the show where they reviewed Aliens, might be the one that got me watching them.

More info is up about the show's hosts and contributors Ebert's blog:

http://blogs.suntimes.com/ebert/2011/01/ebert_presents_at_the_movies.html

Still no updates on the station list. . .

Where is this station list and is Massachusetts getting it?

As far as I can tell, the posted list is still the one dated from the middle of December, at which time Ebert posted that new stations were being added all the time.  So who knows. . .