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April 03, 2007
Ebert Speaks
We're about three weeks away from the launch of the ninth annual Ebertfest (aka The Overlooked Film Festival) and Roger is setting the stage for his participation, which will really be his first public appearance since he went into the hospital last June.
I have been attending Ebertfest from the beginning (I’ve missed one) and it has always been a joy and an adventure. For an event out where the only urban is the name Urbana, Roger & Co have made it surprisingly hip. Unlike many of my big city friends, Roger has managed to promote things like 70mm (and even Todd AO-Vision), silents (traditionally with The Alloy Orchestra, though this year with members of the Champaign-Urbana Symphony), edgy films for kids including foreign language films which have been well attended and embraced by kids, and films that would catch with the indiests from Paul Cox films to Man Push Cart to An Autumn Tale (finally bought for domestic after Ebert programmed it for this fest), and others.
This year is VERY Roger, with fighting word Gattaca to open, Come Early Morning co-starring fest fave and pal Scott Wilson, Chicago director Andy Davis’ kids film Holes, both a new-ish Paul Cox flick and a 30-year-old Werner Herzog classic on Saturday (here’s hoping the terrific Rescue Dawn is not overlooked when MGM finally releases it) and closer Beyond The Valley of The Dolls, the screenplay of which Roger wrote.
We also have a look at Senegal in Moolaade, two big Paramount releases that got lost (The Weatherman & Perfume), a classic Fellini (La Dolce Vita), and a couple of mostly overlooked non-fiction films (Searching For The Wrong-Eyed Jesus and Freddie Mercury, The Untold Story). Besides Cox, Herzog, Davis, and Wilson, Sony Classics’ Michael Barker returns to Urbana-Champaign once again to pay homage, David Bordwell is in from Wisconsin, actors Alan Rickman and Gil Bellows, actress/director Joey Lauren Adams, producer and partner in the late, great Jersey Films Michael Shamberg, are all coming, along with many others.
The Overlooked is one of the parts of Ebert’s legacy in which civilians can easily participate (if they can get past the sold out shows). We’ll see what shape Roger is in… and we’ll deal with it. A very proud man may feel a little humbled by not being 100%. But I’m sure that all of us who will be in attendance will pray that he is as thrilled as we are to participate in this visceral way in his love of movies. We will be celebrating, I found out today, his fortieth anniversary as a professional film critic. Happy anniversary, Roger.
Posted by poland at April 3, 2007 03:54 PM
Comments
I knew he had written reviews of Night of the Living Dead (thumbs down) and The Wild Bunch (thumbs way up) but I didn't realize it had been forty years for him, that's pretty astounding. Here's hoping he continues to recover quickly.
Posted by: jeffmcm ![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://www.mcnblogs.com/thehotblog/nav-commenters.gif)
at April 3, 2007 05:13 PM
Agreed. Here's to a safe recovery. Sadly missed.
Posted by: bipedalist at April 3, 2007 06:16 PM
I've been very fortunate to see nearly all of Ousmane Sembene's movies, great choice in Moolaadé.
Hope RE is feeling better.
Posted by: Lota at April 3, 2007 06:51 PM
I had the pleasure of meeting him (bumping into him, to be honest) while I lived in Chicago. He was on his way out of the theater and I was on my way in. I gurgled up the typical "Wow, you're just great" and off the top of my head asked him what I should see. "Gattaca" was his reply. I hope is doing well and thank him for the recommendation.
Posted by: bmcintire at April 3, 2007 07:10 PM
Get well, Roger!
And SEARCHING FOR THE WRONG-EYED JESUS is a great choice. Definitely worth chasing down.
Posted by: Jeremy Smith at April 3, 2007 07:13 PM
Glad to hear Mr. Ebert is doing well, he has been sorely missed. I just saw Come Early Morning the other day and I was not such a big fan of it. I wanted to like it, but I just felt it didn't really say anything. At least, not anything terribly interesting.
Gattaca, however, is a brilliant movie and I applaud him for keeping active the discussion that goes hand in hand with viewing that one.
Posted by: Noah at April 3, 2007 07:58 PM
How can Holes, a movie that made over $50 million (and far more than I expected) be considered "Overlooked"? Great choices otherwise and best of wishes to Roger's healing. (Of course, I'll probably regret that as soon as he unleashes his first quote for some studio pap... but he's a critical icon and we need him to get better and return.)
Posted by: EDouglas at April 4, 2007 05:56 AM
God bless ya, Rog.
You are an icon to a generation of film lovers.
Posted by: Nicol D at April 4, 2007 07:35 AM
Doug, how many people even mention Holes today? It is actually a great movie. But, yeah, nobody ever talks about it.
However, La Dolce Vita is about as overlooked as Paris Hilton's vagina.
(get well, Rog)
Posted by: KamikazeCamelV2.0 at April 6, 2007 05:29 AM
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