Roger Ebert Speaks

There's no doubt that Roger Ebert is the most famous and popularly influential film critic in America today.  Syndicated in over 200 newspapers, author of more than 15 books, and the co-host of two popular movie review shows with now deceased colleague and friend, Gene Siskel, Ebert is also the first film critic to win a Pultizer Prize for Criticism.  Sometimes Ebert is criticized for being too lenient on movies, but defends himself, I think rightly, for judging pictures based on merits within their genre and the expectations of their intended audience.

Ebert has been fighting thyroid cancer since 2002, and over the course of his treatment and a series of surgeries, he's lost his lower jaw and the ability to speak, drink, or eat.  It is strange and sad to think of a man who became most famous for his never-ending stream of chatter on movies will never speak out loud again, but to see Ebert's recent appearance on Oprah or to read this revealing interview in Esquire, he seems a truly happy man.

Reading the interview, I found the description of his unbridled excitment and enthusiasm for films to be both endearing and moving, not to mention his determination to continue communcating with fans and his loved ones, and his general outlook on life.  I also liked that he's not presented as a saintly sage with important life lessons.  He's still a person.

Moment where I geek out: I once got an email from Roger Ebert!  During my senior year of college, I wrote to Ebert in response to column he wrote about The Shawshank Redemption, wherein he mentioned that women don't usually like prison dramas.  I told him I'd happened to love that movie, and asked if he'd heard any advance word about The Green Mile, which, like Shawshank, was directed by Frank Darabont and based on a story by Stephen King, and was about to be released.  So either Ebert himself, or an assistant who signed RE at the bottom, responded with a nice message and told me he hadn't heard anything about it yet.  The email was maybe two sentences long, but I thought it was awesome nonetheless.