Roger Ebert (Doesn’t) Speak:
I was real sad when I read this NY Times article which says that even though film critic Roger Ebert has returned to work after a series of cancer-related surgeries, he is still unable to speak and thus will not be returning to his TV show, "Ebert and Roeper at the Movies", anytime soon.
Which breaks my heart because I tune in every Saturday hoping he will be.
Roger Ebert is one of the major reasons I am a writer. At 12, my best friend gave me the 1985 edition of Ebert’s Video Companion and it split my world open. Not only did I get a hand-held glimpse into the richness of cinema’s history but understood there was a way to write about culture as a member of the audience, not an expert. That an opinion, expressed plainly and intelligently, was just as valuable as a series of fancy degrees or back-cupboard references designed to baffle rather than illuminate.
It’s a philosophy I’ve tried to apply to my own work. I start reviewing movies at 15, did some professionally, then took my enthusiasm to books. Nearly 20 years now, I’ve tried to apply the Lessons of Ebert–simple, dignified, smart and fun. The minute your writing seems like a trudge instead of a dance, leave the floor.
On April 1, Ebert reported he was returning to work at the Chicago Sun-Times, where he’d worked for the last 40 years. Which means I’ll be able to read his writing again. Since that’s where it all started for me, it’s more than enough. For me and the next 12 year-old for more to say that "that movie sucked!"