critic

While we wait for Roger Ebert to convalesce and hopefully return to what he does best, I'd like to direct you to this ninety-minute interview with the film critic from 2005, created for the Archive of American Television.

If you've watched any of the Archive of American Television's interviews before, you know they're pretty much just straight interviews with not a lot of editing, but that's what makes them so interesting. Ebert talks about his work both in print and on television, and of course his long-time partner, the late Gene Siskel.

I don't read a lot of film reviews, but when I do, Ebert's is one of only a handful I'll actively seek out. I think he does what so many reviewers fail to do, which is understand what the filmmakers were trying to accomplish, and then critique their ability to see that vision through to the final product.

[via Mark Evanier]

While recovering in the hospital from cancer surgery, the syndicated Ebert and Roeper has had a different guest host on every week to fill in for Ebert while he recovers. Now that it's been revealed that Ebert is actually going to be spending more time in the hospital than he initially thought, even more hosts have been lined up to keep the show going as he convalesces. The guests, which will appear on the show until the end of September, include Aisha Tyler, Fred Willard, television writer John Ridley, entertainment reporter Toni Senecal, and Chicago Tribune movie critic Michael Phillips. It is still uncertain when Ebert will be able to return to work, but I hope it's sooner rather than later. Having guest critics on is fun and all, but I do miss Roger.