At the Movies with Ebert & Roeper

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At the Movies with Ebert & Roeper
Image:Ebert & Roeper.jpg
Ebert & Roeper opening title since 2005.
Also known as At the Movies (1981–1986)
Siskel & Ebert & the Movies (1986–1989)
Siskel & Ebert (1989–1999)
Roger Ebert & the Movies (1999–2000)
Ebert & Roeper and the Movies (2000–2001)
Ebert & Roeper (2001-2007)
At the Movies with Ebert & Roeper (2007-present)
Genre Talk show
Presented by Roger Ebert
Richard Roeper (2000-present)
Gene Siskel (1986–1999)
Country of origin Image:Flag of the United States.svg United States
Language(s) English
Production
Location(s) Chicago, Illinois
Running time 30 minutes
Broadcast
Original run September 18, 1986 – Present
Chronology
Preceded by Sneak Previews
External links
Official website
IMDb profile
TV.com summary

At the Movies with Ebert & Roeper is a movie review television program featuring film critic Roger Ebert and columnist Richard Roeper, both of the Chicago Sun-Times. It airs in syndication in the United States and on CTV in Canada. It is the successor to Siskel & Ebert co-hosted by Gene Siskel until his death in 1999, after which he was replaced by Roeper. During its run with Siskel and Ebert as hosts, the series (under its various names) was nominated for a primetime Emmy Award seven times, and for Outstanding Information Series, most recently in 1997.

Contents

[edit] Broadcast history

[edit] Ebert with Siskel

Image:AtTheMovies.jpg
Opening title from At the Movies.
Image:Siskel & Ebert.jpg
On-screen graphic from Siskel & Ebert.
See also: Sneak Previews

The show originally starred Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times and Gene Siskel of the Chicago Tribune, representing the two largest papers in Chicago. It began as a PBS program produced at Chicago's WTTW titled Opening Soon at a Theater Near You (1975), later Sneak Previews (1978), and quickly became a hit by public television standards. Eliot Wald (1946-2003) created the show. In 1981, when asked to agree to an unfavorable syndication contract, the pair decided to produce their own program under Tribune Entertainment titled At the Movies. After brief legal action, PBS continued Previews with different hosts. In 1986, the critics moved on once again to Buena Vista Entertainment, the television division of Disney, and changed the title to reflect the common nickname for their show, Siskel & Ebert & the Movies. A brief controversy flared questioning whether the critics would retain their integrity while working for a Hollywood studio. The title of the show was shortened to simply Siskel & Ebert in 1989.

Siskel and Ebert often had notably divergent tastes, and as a result heated arguments and spats added to the series' popularity. Many viewers considered such "fights" to be the highlight of the program.[1] Despite their on-air debates, the critics maintained a mutual respect and friendship off screen, a fact visible in their joint appearances on the talk show circuit, especially on David Letterman's shows. Despite the popularity of their arguments, statistics have shown that Siskel and Ebert only actually disagreed (whether in a positive or negative fashion) about 30% of the time.

In 1998, Gene Siskel was hospitalized for treatment of a brain tumor. For a few weeks, the show was filmed with Siskel on the telephone (from his hospital bed) and Ebert in studio. In February 1999, Siskel announced he was taking a leave of absence for further treatment of the tumor, fully expecting to return. Less than three weeks later, Siskel died from complications of the surgery.

The weekend following Gene Siskel's death, Roger Ebert devoted the entire half hour as a tribute to his memory. On the show were various clips from shows past as well their history together as journalists and then on television. Also, Ebert appeared on ABC's Good Morning America in a tribute to Siskel along with Diane Sawyer, Charles Gibson, Peter Jennings and fellow critic and friend of Siskel, Joel Siegel.

The last show that Siskel and Ebert hosted together aired on January 23, 1999. On that particular show they reviewed: At First Sight, Another Day in Paradise, The Hi-Lo Country, Playing by Heart, and The Theory of Flight.

[edit] Ebert with guests

Image:Roger Ebert & the Movies.jpg
On-screen graphic from Roger Ebert & the Movies.

Ebert continued the show, with the title, Roger Ebert & the Movies, frequently joined by guest critics. The guests were allowed to try out their wits with Roger Ebert and test the possible chemistry. Ebert and Martin Scorsese co-hosted one noteworthy episode about the best films of the 1990s. This format continued through the end of the 1998-1999 season and into 2000 before Ebert named fellow Chicago Sun-Times columnist Richard Roeper as his new permanent co-host.

[edit] Critics substituting for Gene Siskel after his death

[edit] Ebert with Roeper

Image:Ebert & Roeper and the Movies.jpg
On-screen graphic from Ebert & Roeper and the Movies.

The addition of Roeper as permanent co-host led to the show's name being changed on September 10, 2000 to Ebert & Roeper and the Movies, a title that paid homage to the original title of the Siskel & Ebert series after they joined Disney in 1986. The show's name was shortened to the name, Ebert & Roeper in September 2001 and then to At the Movies with Ebert & Roeper in late 2007.

[edit] Roeper with guests

Image:At the Movies with Ebert & Roeper.jpg
Current logo from the show's official web site.

In 2004, Ebert was diagnosed with cancer, and underwent radiation treatments for tumors on his thyroid and a salivary gland, while continuing to work. Complications led to an emergency operation in 2006, which interrupted his reviewing schedule. (A few reviews written or taped in advance were released shortly afterward.) For the remainder of the 2006-07 season, the show continued with guest hosts during his recuperation. Although Ebert recovered enough by October 2006 to resume writing published reviews on a limited basis, and he later made a few public appearances, as of August 2007, there was no published estimate of when he might return to the show. The show became available online towards the end of 2006 with access to movie reviews on demand. In June of 2007, the online program updated its archive, making available all movie reviews since 1986. Over the summer of 2007 the show's official name was changed again to At the Movies with Ebert & Roeper, though the show's title graphics continue to use the shortened name.[3] Robert Wilonsky of the Dallas Observer and HDnet.com served as co-host on the show for eight consecutive weeks beginning with the show's 2007-2008 season, but the show has since continued to periodically alter its guest hosts, most commonly Chicago Tribune critic Michael Phillips and A. O. Scott of The New York Times.

[edit] Critics substituting for Roger Ebert, post-surgery

[edit] Review style

The hosts review a number of recently-released and soon-to-be-released movies per episode, taking turns providing a narrative critique interspersed with studio-supplied clips, moving into a back-and-forth debate over the merits. Siskel and Ebert were especially known for sharp criticism that veered close to personally attacking each other, although they insisted this was largely a television act rather than a feud.

The show also recommends films coming on the home video market, including comments on DVD special features.

[edit] Two Thumbs Up

Since 1981 (as a test run, used permanently since Siskel & Ebert incarnation) , they would approve/disapprove the films they reviewed with a "thumbs up" or "thumbs down" as a bottom-line recommendation of whether they thought the movie was worth seeing or not. This system departs from the longstanding tradition of ratings with a number of stars or other symbols. As the show became more influential, studios would proudly advertise when their movie got "two thumbs up." In response, the phrase was trademarked in 1989 to ensure against fraudulent use that would endanger its credibility. The critics frequently qualify their recommendations (e.g. "a mild thumbs up", or "two thumbs way down") in their remarks, but the official rating remains simply positive or negative. Prior to their 1986 move to Disney, the critics approved/disapproved the films they reviewed with a "Yes"/"No" verdict.

On August 20, 2007, Disney pulled the thumbs system from the program during contractual negotiations with Ebert over his involvement with the program. Disney states that Ebert forced the program to do so; [4] Ebert insists that Disney unilaterally and unexpectedly made the decision.[5]

[edit] Wagging Finger of Shame

From 2005 to 2006, the show experimented with a "Wagging Finger of Shame" feature, denoting films which were not made available for a standard advance screening, and therefore could not be given either a "thumbs up" or "thumbs down". Failure to pre-screen a film for reviewers is generally considered an indicator of low confidence by the distributor, apparently believing that negative reviews would harm opening-weekend box office sales. Films so spotlighted included The Amityville Horror, The Fog, In the Mix, Æon Flux, Underworld: Evolution, and Date Movie. This public rebuke was discontinued when Ebert decided the studios were not taking it seriously. Roeper has asserted that too many films (eleven in 2006 by April, compared to two by that date in 2005) are being withheld from critics. [6]

[edit] Special programming

Occasionally, special shows are produced that focus on particular aspects of film or home video. The show gives the hosts a convenient soapbox to feature their opinions on such issues as film colorization, letterboxing, the MPAA film rating system, product placement, independent filmmaking, and social issues. Also, at the end of every year, the two run down their choices of the top 10 films from that year, followed the week later by their rundown of what they consider the 10 worst studio releases from that year.

In addition, when circumstances warrant, the regular episodes sometimes devote a few minutes for the hosts to give their opinions of a current issue or pay tribute to something.


[edit] References

  1. ^ Zoglin, Richard (1987-05-25), ""It Stinks!" "You're Crazy!"", Time, <http://www.time.com/time/printout/0,8816,964411,00.html>
  2. ^ End Of An Era?
  3. ^ Caro, Mark (2007-08-31), Pop Machine: You can copyright thumbs? The Intellectual Property Answer Man knows, <http://featuresblogs.chicagotribune.com/entertainment_popmachine/2007/08/you-can-copyrig.html>. Retrieved on 2007-10-16
  4. ^ Elber, Lynn. "Ebert: No thumbs, up or down, on TV show", Associated Press, 2007-08-24. 
  5. ^ Roger Ebert: Disney's wrong -- I didn't ban thumb reviews
  6. ^ GERMAIN, DAVID. "Studios Shutting Out Movie Critics", ABC News, 2006-04-04. 

[edit] External links

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