Roeper to part ways with 'At the Movies' after 8 years

Illinoisguy1 · 21 Jul 08 :: 14:58

Chicago Sun-Times columnist Richard Roeper announced Sunday he is leaving the nationally syndicated show "At the Movies with Ebert & Roeper" after eight seasons.
In a statement, Roeper said: "Eight years ago this summer, it was my privilege to join Roger Ebert as the new co-host of 'Ebert & Roeper,' the sequel to the iconic movie-review franchise created by Roger and the late Gene Siskel.
"Over the last two seasons, as Roger has bravely coped with his medical issues, I've continued the show with a number of guest co-hosts, from celebrities such as Jay Leno, Harold Ramis and John Mellencamp, to critics such as A.O. Scott of the New York Times and Michael Phillips of the Chicago Tribune. It's never been the same without Roger, but I'm proud of the work we've done, and I'm grateful to all the co-hosts who stepped in — and to the viewers that stayed loyal to the show.
"Several months ago, Disney offered to extend my contract, which expires at the conclusion of the 2007-08 season. I opted to wait. Much transpired after that behind the scenes, but an agreement was never reached, and we are all moving on.
"My last episode of 'At the Movies' will air the weekend of Aug. 16th-17th. I wish Disney the best of luck with their new show, whatever form it may take. In the meantime, it is my intention to proceed elsewhere with my ninth year as the co-host of a movie review show that honors the standards established by Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert more than 30 years ago. I will be free to share the details on that program in the near future."
The show began in 1975 on WTTW-Channel 11, featuring Sun-Times movie critic Ebert and Chicago Tribune critic Siskel. It later became syndicated nationwide. Roeper joined the show in 2000, following Siskel's death in 1999 from a brain tumor.

http://www.suntimes.com/entertainment/t … 08.article

I was kind of wondering when something like this would happen. I only watch the show to see clips of the films and not for their reviews. Also I don't think Ebert would likely return to the show anytime soon, if ever.

TheCentralScrutinizer · 21 Jul 08 :: 15:15

Very sad. The end of an era. But it has been barely watchable since Roger had to leave. As Carol likes to call it, "notEbert and his guest co-host, notEbert". Roeper never impressed me much. And Aisha Tyler was the only guest host I could halfway stand.

Illinoisguy1 · 23 Jul 08 :: 01:48

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 whore 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.

I guess that's one movie review show I won't be watching.

Last edited by Illinoisguy1 (23 Jul 08 :: 01:49)

TheCentralScrutinizer · 23 Jul 08 :: 02:15

You're absolutely right, Illinois. All it'll be is another stop on boring-assed press junkets. Lots of slick graphics and no personality. It'll be like a movies-only version of Entertainment Tonight, hopefully without the gossip. Yawn.

Roger Ebert has been one of my heroes since I was a kid. I started watching Siskel & Ebert on PBS in about 1980 or so. I followed them everywhere the show went, through all the changes. I remember how worried we all were that they'd be giving free passes to Disney movies when BVT became their corporate parent. Nope. Not as far as I ever saw anyway. Gene's death was a terrible blow. But what Ebert has gone through breaks my heart. And his reviews are still the first ones I want to read after I see a movie. I don't always agree with him, but more often than not, I do. That shouldn't matter anyway. He's wonderful writer and I'll always be a fan. The only person ever to win a Pulitzer for a film review...

Editsound · 23 Jul 08 :: 03:22

I started watching them on PBS as well, and I always had a fondness for them, although I am not sure that I agreed that often with them. I think the appeal was that they always seemed to love movies, most critics seem to loose that over time, and become more interested in their own reviews than they are in the movies. Roger and Gene never got to that point. I had pretty much stopped watching after Gene died, so I won't really miss the show, but it does feel strange that the show won't really be there anymore.
But i will still read Roger from time to time, and I do own a book of Roger's reviews (the only book of reviews I have) so that means something. And in the end, Roger wrote screenplays for Russ meyer, which is cool is a very strange way.

TheCentralScrutinizer · 23 Jul 08 :: 03:36

Oh yeah, I mean who else can say, "I have Pulitzer and I wrote Beyond The Valley Of The Dolls AND Beneath The Valley Of The Ultra Vixens?"

Illinoisguy1 · 21 Sep 08 :: 18:16

Out of curiosity I am watching this right now on ABC (Channel 7) and it isn't too bad actually.

The beginning has some splashy graphics. But it's still very similar to the old one as well. So far I'm liking Ben Lyons much more than the other guy.

They sit in big comfy chairs with posters of the films being reviewed on either side with a little table in between the chairs. Behind them are vertical yellow lights from the floor to the ceiling. In other words, a much simpler set than the old show.

Not watching it for their reviews, but for the extended clips from the movies.

Illinoisguy1 · 06 Aug 09 :: 01:01

Well they didn't last long.

http://newsblogs.chicagotribune.com/tow … -out.html?

Two Bens lose their jobs
Chicago Tribune's Michael Phillips, N.Y. Times' A.O. Scott take over 'At the Movies'; Ben Lyons, Ben Mankiewicz out

A year after its extreme makeover of "At the Movies" went over like "Land of the Lost," Disney's ABC Media Productions said Wednesday it is overhauling the Chicago-based syndicated TV program yet again in hopes of reconnecting with its respected past.
Gone are Ben Lyons of E! Entertainment Television and Ben Mankiewicz of Turner Classic Movies, the cable hosts Disney chose last summer to front what it called "the next generation of the series," in favor of a return to dueling newspaper film critics, Michael Phillips of the Chicago Tribune and A.O. Scott of the New York Times.
Both Phillips and Scott filled in for Pulitzer Prize winner Roger Ebert opposite fellow Chicago Sun-Times columnist Richard Roeper in the earlier incarnation of the program, which traces its roots to Chicago public broadcaster WTTW-Ch. 11 in 1975, when Ebert was first paired on-air with Gene Siskel, the late Chicago Tribune reviewer.
The new pair will make its debut when the series begins its new season Sept. 5 on ABC-owned WLS-Ch. 7, where the show is produced for syndication by Disney-ABC Domestic Televison.
"We are thrilled that A.O. Scott and Michael Phillips will be lending their well-respected and influential voices to At the Movies," Brian Frons, who oversees ABC Media Productions as president of daytime for the Disney-ABC Television Group, said in a statement. "They are regarded by millions of people as authorities in film criticism and will take the series back to its roots of one-on-one film debate that was established when the show first began with Roger Ebert and Gene Siskel."
Ebert and Roeper split with Disney last summer as their old show underwent several changes. Some such as a new theme song and set were minor. Others, such as the hiring of Lyons and Mankiewicz and including the input of other critics, were major. Very little of it seemed to gain a foothold, particularly with those who had been drawn to the original show.
Siskel and Ebert and later Roeper and his counterparts engaged viewers by talking about films -- both big and small, domestic and international -- in a sophisticated way that allowed them to share both their obvious love of movies as well as for spirited, well-considered debate.
Mankiewicz would escape much of the criticism directed at the revamped "At the Movies," most of which targeted Lyons, whose inability to articulate his opinions undercut his cinematic knowledge and critical skills.
Too often Lyons sounded as though he were dictating a blurb for an ad, rather than giving serious counsel as to whether a consumer should buy a ticket, rent a DVD or skip a film altogether.
"We tried something new last season and we think the world of Ben Lyons and Ben Mankiewicz," Frons said. "They did everything we asked of them and they have been complete professionals. However, we've decided to return the show to its original essence – two traditional film critics discussing current motion picture and DVD releases. We thank them for their hard work and dedication this past year and wish them nothing but the best on all of their future endeavors."
Phillips has been the Chicago Tribune's film critic since 2006. He has written for about entertainment and the arts for the Los Angeles Times, San Diego Union-Tribune, St. Paul Pioneer Press, Dallas Times-Herald and the Twin Cities weekly City Pages, and also covered movies for Minnesota Public Radio, WGN-AM and MSNBC.
"I can't wait to mix it up with Tony, who's one of the sharpest critical voices in the nation," Phillips said. "To co-host a show with such an extraordinary legacy is a privilege and an opportunity. I know we're both humbled by that legacy, and we're eager to get people thinking--really thinking--about movies and to guide cinema lovers in the right direction. And perhaps some unexpected directions."
Scott has been a film critic at the New York Times for nearly 10 years and been a frequent guest on PBS' "Charlie Rose," NPR's "Talk of the Nation" and other radio and television programs. Before joining the Times, Scott was the Sunday book critic at Newsday and a freelance contributor to dozens of publications, including the New Yorker, Wall Street Journal and The New York Review of Books and Slate.
"I'm overjoyed and honored to be joining 'At the Movies,' and especially excited to be working with my colleague Michael Phillips, one of the most intelligent and wittiest critics around," Scott said in the announcement. "This show, with its long history and rich tradition, stands for the idea that there is a place on television for vigorous argument and independent thinking about movies."
Whether the new team has the same kind of chemistry that Ebert shared with Roeper and can engage in the show's old brand of lively give-and-take will be among the challenges in regaining the show's standing.
Siskel and Ebert were anything but polished themselves when they made their WTTW debut, but that may have been part of their charm. The pair went national on public TV in 1978, moved to commercial syndication with Chicago Tribune parent Tribune Co. in 1982 and then to Disney in 1986. Siskel died in 1999 and Roeper was named his successor the following year.
Ebert had to leave the program in 2006 because of health issues that have robbed him of his voice, but his name and imprimatur remained with the program until the split with Disney last summer.
A sign of trouble had surfaced a few months earlier as the show dropped its use of "thumbs up" and "thumbs down" as shorthand for a recommendation or rejection of a film. Ebert and Siskel's estate owned the trademark on the thumbs.
"At the Movies" will continue to employ the "see it," "skip it," or "rent it" ratings system it adopted at that time.
"I loved working on this show, every moment of it," Mankiewicz said through Disney. "It was an honor to continue a broadcast legacy not merely started by Roger Ebert and Gene Siskel, but created by them. No doubt the show is in good hands."

TheCentralScrutinizer · 06 Aug 09 :: 01:34

I saw that and the headline was great. It said At The Movies Drops Hosts, Brings In Grown-Ups. And it had a pic of the Bens with FIRED stamped on it in red. I laughed my ass off.

Illinoisguy1 · 06 Aug 09 :: 01:45

I didn't like Ben Mankiewicz at all. He just seemed conceited and full of himself.

I liked Ben Lyons a tad more. He seemed more friendly. But I do tend to agree that Lyons tended to do reviews in "sound-bites' that could easily be used in critics quotes for a movie ad.

But I don't like that Michael Phillipps guy either.

And I have no clue who that other guy is at all.

Why is it that I think the time for this show is quickly coming to an end. They should just finally pull the curtain down on this show.

TheCentralScrutinizer · 06 Aug 09 :: 02:02

Lyons is actually a nice guy. Mankiewicz is a douche.

A.O. Scott is syndicated to newspapers all over the US, including the Atlanta Journal. I've read his reviews before, but he never struck me as anything special. I don't know the other guy either.

Illinoisguy1 · 06 Aug 09 :: 02:24

Just do an image search on google, search his name and include Chicago Tribune.

He has curly hair, a goatee and wears glasses. He kind of looks nerdy.

TheCentralScrutinizer · 06 Aug 09 :: 03:36

Yeah, I saw a picture of him today, but I still don't know him from anywhere.

therealshell · 06 Aug 09 :: 04:06

TheCentralScrutinizer wrote:

Yeah, I saw a picture of him today, but I still don't know him from anywhere.

Bring back Siskel & Ebert. They were the best :applause:

TheCentralScrutinizer · 06 Aug 09 :: 04:16

Yeah, they'll never be equaled. I loved that show starting on PBS when I was a kid.

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#1 21 Jul 08 :: 14:58

Roeper to part ways with 'At the Movies' after 8 years

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