ARTICLE

Remembering Roger Ebert.

By InCinemas / 05 Apr 2013 (Friday)

Roger Ebert, the film critic who defined movie reviews died at the age of 70 after a long battle with cancer.

His career spanned more than four decades in both print and on television. Ebert not only had many ‘firsts’ in the history of film critiquing, he helped molded the direction of where it stands today.

Besides his respectable film reviews, Ebert also embraced Twitter (@ebertchicago) with gusto, often tweeting about his honest views on politics.

In 1975 he became the first film critic to win a Pulitzer Prize, for his Sun-Times reviews. His columns were syndicated to more than 200 newspapers in the United States and abroad, and he wrote more than 15 books, many by skillfully recycling his columns. In 2005 he became the first film critic to be honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

On television, he became a household name with his ‘thumbs up, thumbs down’ system of reviewing in the show with Siskel (Ebert’s ‘most hated rival’) originally titled “Opening Soon at a Theater Near You”. Not long after, it evolved into “Siskel and Ebert at the Movies”, was a television hit where the duo would discuss about films and give it a ‘thumbs up’ or ‘thumbs down’ opinion. More often than not, the both would agree on a movie’s worth than disagreed.

When Mr Siskel died of a brain tumor in 1999, aged 53, the show was renamed “Roger Ebert & the Movies” and began rotating co-hosts as a way of auditioning them. Although Richard Roeper, a fellow Sun-Times columnist became the permanent co-host, the show couldn’t retain its former glory. Mr Ebert left the show in 2006 due to his illness and Roeper followed suit in 2008.

(Also Read: Roger Ebert’s Blog)

Many celebrities also mourn the death of this legend. US President Barack Obama who started a family in Chicago made a statement after Ebert’s death was reported.

"Michelle and I are saddened to hear about the passing of Roger Ebert," Obama said. " For a generation of Americans - and especially Chicagoans - Roger was the movies. When he didn't like a film, he was honest; when he did, he was effusive - capturing the unique power of the movies to take us somewhere magical. Even amidst his own battles with cancer, Roger was as productive as he was resilient - continuing to share his passion and perspective with the world. The movies won't be the same without Roger."

Celebrities in the Twitterverse also expressed their sorrow.

"Goodbye Roger Ebert, we had fun. The balcony is closed." -- Steve Martin

"Thanks Mr. Ebert." -- Steve Carell

"R.I.P. Roger Ebert. One of the greats in his field. I'm very sad." -- Albert Brooks

"Sad to hear about the passing of Roger Ebert, he was a grand man & in my opinion the dean of American film critics-he will be sorely missed" -- Larry King

"Thanks to @ebertchicago who turned his thumb up for me and @jayduplass and THE PUFFY CHAIR before anyone knew who we were. RIP." -- Mark Duplass

"Ever a class act, @EbertChicago made me love movies even more." -- Seth Green

"Roger Ebert was an excellent writer, a gifted artist, and as nice a guy as you'll ever meet. Sad he's gone." -- Jimmy Kimmel

Lastly, I leave you with some famous quotes from the man himself, Roger Ebert.

“Your intellect may be confused, but your emotions will never lie to you.” -- Roger Ebert

"So on this day of reflection I say again, thank you for going on this journey with me. I'll see you at the movies." -- Roger Ebert

R.I.P Roger Ebert

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Remembering Roger Ebert.