Ebert, Roeper cutting ties with `At the Movies'

I'm glad they are putting this dog down. It was such a great idea when there were two qualified reviewers reviewing films in an uncompromised fashion, but when it became a commercial venture (produced and distributed by a film company, for cryin' out loud!), the taint was there, and it spread. Year by year the show became less about the films and more about the show. The clips became slightly more than what you would find in the trailers themselves. The hosts would have to compliment obvious stinkers through clenched teeth.

I'm no huge fan of Roeper, but I do believe in another venue he can work to get his soul back. Michael Phillips does have some good instincts, you can see it in his writing. There could never be somebody to fill in Ebert's shoes as long as Ebert himself exists, even if only as a "presence" on the show.

On the other hand, if a film critic has reached such lofty position...then why do we not have anybody out there with his "cred"? Surely after 35+ years of his work out there for all to see, there's at least ONE respected filmologist capable of being the next-gen Ebert? Isn't that really the true legacy of an icon?

 

Man! Wish I would have known about this before! Wonder if it will be up much longer...

At least there are no Rex Reed/Bill Harris reviews!

 

:thumbsdn:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080722/ap_en_ot/tv_at_the_movies;_ylt=AvXdxXcJ1EDYXiE9dPsB1wC2GL8C

 

I personally stopped watching when Siskel passed on.

I thought Ebert was always too negative.

 

"Sneak Previews" (Siskel and Ebert's original show) also carried on with new hosts after they left it. I'd forgotten it continued so long -- until 1996, with Jeffrey Lyons and first Neal Gabler and then the dreaded Michael Medved.

 

I remember the Medved - Lyons days. Didn't care for them then, and I was pretty young, and I don't care for them now. Seem to remember Rex Reed being tied to the show at some point, also.

 

Was Rex Reed on a third such show?

I still remember his review of The Last Temptation of Christ: "This movie proves that nobody looks good in sandals."

 

Weren't you, like, ten, when he died?

 

I like all of these film critics although I often don't agree with any of them. When I see a consenus recommendation among several critics, I am pretty sure I will like the film. I will set up a season pass to record the new hosts and I expect to like that program.

Chris

 

Roger co-owns it with Gene Siskel's wife.

"The trademark still belongs to me and Marlene Iglitzen, Gene's widow, and the `thumbs' will return," he wrote Monday. "We are discussing possibilities, and plan to continue the show's tradition."
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http://www.deadlinehollywooddaily.com/contract-disputes-end-ebert-roeper-show/

Contract Disputes End Ebert-Roeper Duo: Claim To Fame Of New Hosts Is Nepotism

UPDATE: Ugh. The retooled Ebert & Roeper show premiering September 6th will be co-hosted by Ben & Ben -- a Generation Why duo who only got the gig due to nepotism. Ben Lyons is the nobody son of Jeffrey Lyons, the film critic world's biggest hack and quote wh*re with zero credibility, while Ben Mankiewicz is the slacker host on Turner Classic Movies, whose only claim to fame is that he's a watered-down member of the famous film family. Now, there's a working definition of the death of film criticism for you.

It's not really a surprise that Disney-ABC Domestic Television finally decided to take At The Movies "in a new direction". Except for the old Siskel & Ebert show, there's never been a successful talk show about film on TV. Because people would rather watch movies than hear others yakking about them. Plus, the Internet provides so much more resource material to moviegoers that TV soundbites just don't cut it anymore. And now even amateur bloggers consider themselves qualified film critics, while the quality film reviewers find their print forums disappearing. It's also been a while since a "Thumbs Up" meant anything to the movie biz when studios can buy Web raves with a bribe or two. Ebert has fought various health challenges, Roeper plans to co-host another review show, and At The Movies as we knew it is kaput in mid-August. Sadly, I expect the next incarnation will involve more hairspray and toadying than criticism.

Ben M. is OK on Turner, but what will he be like as a film critic?

:thumbsdn:

 

Who's to say what the qualifications of any of these guys are? Most of them have never even spent any time on a film set.

 

I am only a film fan without any qualifications either and a couple of young guys with an interest in film might be great. I like Ben M. and know nothing about Ben L. so I am optimistic.

Chris

 

Rex Reed took over the reigns of the Siskel & Ebert At The Movies show.

Citing contractual problems with Tribune Entertainment, in 1986, Siskel and Ebert departed At the Movies for Buena Vista Television, a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company, and created a new series entitled Siskel and Ebert and the Movies. The order of the names was decided by the flip of a coin and the show title was eventually shortened to Siskel and Ebert. Ebert also suggested the Romanesque thumbs up-thumbs down rating system which has since become a distinctive Siskel-Ebert trademark. Their former show, At the Movies, acquired Rex Reed and Bill Harris as hosts, and added news of show business to the format. Harris left the series in 1988 end was replaced by Dixie Whatley, former co-host on Entertainment Tonight, and the series continued into 1990.

 

This has to be a unique example of...well, I'm not sure what to call it. But these guys had a show (Sneak Previews) and they quit, moved to another venue, started a new show (At The Movies), and Sneak Previews continued with new hosts. A few years later, they quit At The Movies, went with another studio, and started the Siskel & Ebert show. And both Sneak Previews and At The Movies were still on at that point, right? (Though both have since gone off the air.) Of course, after Siskel's death, the Siskel & Ebert show changed to Roger Ebert & The Movies (though it continued to be called Siskel & Ebert for several months after Siskel's death), and then Ebert & Roeper & The Movies, and then At The Movies With Ebert & Roeper (now that the original At The Movies is long-kaput). So now they're "leaving" this latest incarnation, which guess what, will continue with new hosts. Are there any parallels to this?

 

I remember the first time I saw Lyons and Gabler doing Sneak Previews...I thought it was some sort of an April Fools gag, and these two were playing their sons.

I have no real problem with young blood, as long as there is some semblance of context and education involved. The whole "movie review" thing has really gotten overblown in the last few generations, IMHO...wasn't it really always about giving the viewer enough to determine if the theater admission would be worth it, and if there were perhaps a better choice for a night out playing at another theater?

 

Am I the only one who likes Roeper?

 

Yes.

 

Nope, i like him.

 

Indeed. My recollection is that Siskel and Ebert's tenures on their three shows ran like this:
Sneak Previews: 1975-1982
At the Movies: 1982-1986
Siskel and Ebert and the Movies: 1986 to 1999.

When they left Sneak Previews (on PBS) they were replaced by Lyons and Gabler. The show lasted until 1996.

When they left At the Movies they were replaced by Rex Reed and Bill Harris. That show only lasted until 1990, and was as awful as one might imagine.

Have the ratings been down for Ebert and Roeper? Is that what is prompting this change? I think a big part of what made Siskel and Ebert successful was the unique chemistry the two of them had. To be successful in syndication that many years is impressive, and something no similar show has been able to match (I suspect that if Sneak Previews had had to compete in syndication rather than being a PBS show, the Lyons/Gabler version would have folded as quickly as the Reed/Harris At the Movies did).

 

I like him, he seems a decent guy, but he didnt mix as well with Ebert. Or maybe he just never had the chance to grow into the role by the time Roger had to leave.

Well, I think with both Siskel & Ebert, you had two guys who appreciated film but weren't stuffy. Look at the guest critics with Roeper, that one guy was way up his butt in pretentiousness and serious movies.

 

Nah, I like him.

 

Replacements will be Ben Lyons and Ben Mankliewicz.{LA Times}

I like Mankliewicz. Don't know much about Lyons.

 

That was a bit of sleeper that film damn it was so well written in classic sense of old golden oldies a classic and the ending WOW!

I’ve seen plenty of the shows on youtube and its kinder entertaining to watch as they bicker over the film a kinder heads and tails.

 

Maybe it's just me, but I thought the first installment of the Lyons/Mankiewicz At The Movies resembled an infomercial.

 

It sucks, ugly set, it reminded me of a Dentist office. I won't watch this again, it's just dreck. :thumbsdn: