Showbiz Sandbox 188: Remembering Roger – Personal Recollections of the World’s Most Famous Film Critic
April 8, 2013
The death of film critic Roger Ebert last week after a lengthy and public battle with cancer was followed by an endless stream of heartfelt appreciations. Arguably one of the most recognized and influential movie critics in the world, few were aware of Ebert’s generosity, especially when it came to fellow critics and journalists.
David Poland of Movie City News and Anne Thompson of Indiewire join our hosts in discussing a few of the personal memories each has of Ebert from spending time with him over the years. For instance, did you know filmmaker Michael Moore credits Ebert with helping spread the word about the his first movie? Or that Ebert was an early investor in a little web startup named Google?
Meanwhile, late night television dominated the entertainment news last week as NBC officially announced they would not be renewing Jay Leno’s contract as host of the “Tonight Show” in order to bring in the younger Jimmy Fallon. The move has been widely hailed as a boneheaded attempt to win ratings in key demos as competition increases, but in the end Jon Stewart’s “The Daily Show” might still bring in more viewers.
Of course, we also cover the week’s top entertainment headlines including Pixar’s “Finding Nemo” sequel, “American Idol’s” declining ratings and why take-down notices issued by movie studios are actually helping pirates, not hindering them.
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GI Joe Opens Big Worldwide
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/box-office-report-gi-joe-431934
GI Joe Has Biggest International Debut Of Year To Date
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/foreign-box-office-gi-joe-431937
Jack The Giant Slayer could lose $140 million for Warner Bros, Legendary
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/jack-giant-slayer-could-lose-432584
Saying Goodbye To Roger Ebert: Episode One
http://moviecitynews.com/2013/04/saying-goodbye-to-roger-ebert-episode-one/
Why Roger Ebert Was Unique
http://blogs.indiewire.com/thompsononhollywood/roger-ebert-obits-memories-web-reactions
Roger Ebert’s Final Cartoon Captions
http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/cartoonists/2013/04/roger-eberts-caption-contest-entries.html
TBS Renews Conan Through 2015
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/tbs-renews-conan-2015-431984
Jimmy Fallon Takes over In Spring 2014
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/official-jimmy-fallon-replace-jay-432682
Leno’s Ratings Rise But Colbert Wins Quarter
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/tv-ratings-jay-leno-rises-433020
Amazon Acquires GoodReads for Undisclosed Price
http://www.digitalbookworld.com/2013/amazon-acquires-goodreads/?et_mid=609918&rid=234987077
American Idol Demos Hit All-Time Low
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/tv-ratings-american-idol-drops-431722
Voice’s Ratings Music To NBC’s Ears
http://www.adweek.com/news/television/voice-music-nbc-s-ears-148163
Amazon, AOL Kick The Tires On Hulu
http://money.msn.com/top-stocks/post.aspx?post=4cb824b6-dafc-4d89-be5d-1bfe3dfad02e
Olivier Nominations Announced For 2013
http://variety.com/2013/legit/international/national-chichester-lead-olivier-noms-race-1200328774/
Transformers 4 Filming In China
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/transformers-4-film-china-star-432311
Disney Shuts Down Gaming Division of LucasArts
http://www.gameinformer.com/b/news/archive/2013/04/03/disney-closes-game-publisher-lucasarts.aspx
Disney Planning More Layoffs
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/disney-planning-layoffs-report-433155
Are the French Preparing An Ebook Revolution?
http://www.pbs.org/mediashift/2013/03/are-the-french-preparing-an-e-book-revolution-mais-oui084.html
Studios Send Take-Down Notices About Take-Down Notices
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-22039048
Prana Poised To Acquire Rhythm & Hues
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/prana-poised-acquire-rhythm-hues-431695
Netflix Snaps Up Wachowski SciFi Series
http://www.adweek.com/news/technology/netflix-snaps-wachowskis-sci-fi-series-148180
“Finding Nemo” Sequel Titled “Finding Dory,” Due 2015
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/finding-dory-pixars-finding-nemo-432329
Aereo’s Court Victory and What It Means For The TV Business
http://gigaom.com/2013/04/01/the-genie-is-out-of-the-bottle-aereos-court-victory-and-what-it-means-for-the-tv-business/
Why Aereo Matters to Retrans Negotiations Immediately: Leverage, Leverage and Leverage
http://www.btigresearch.com/2013/04/02/why-aereo-matters-to-retrans-negotiations-immediately-leverage-leverage-and-leverage/#ixzz2PqOlHuQM
Broadcasters Worry About ‘Zero TV’ Homes
http://news.yahoo.com/broadcasters-worry-zero-tv-homes-154357101–finance.html
Deluxe To Close Doors On Australian Film Lab As “The Industry Has Moved On”
http://if.com.au/2013/04/04/article/Deluxe-to-close-doors-on-Australian-film-lab-as-the-industry-has-moved-on/KFRFAUASKY
Peter Jackson’s Park Road Post Production Lab Set To Close In June
http://if.com.au/2013/03/25/article/Peter-Jacksons-Park-Road-Post-Production-lab-set-to-close-in-June/UHOYMEODSF.html
James Gardiner’s CineTechGeek YouTube Channel
http://www.youtube.com/user/cinetechgeek?feature=watch
I grew up watching Siskel & Ebert, attended his film festival EbertFest in Champaign, Illinois a number of times and bumped into Ebert and his wife Chazz at Cannes. The last time I sat next to him at a screening, his assistant was helping Roger write on a pad tell me he was glad to hear I’d be back at EbertFest that year. And I’ll always remember his hilariously frank review of “Date With An Angel” where he said sure the film was awful, but my gosh Emmanuelle Beart is beautiful! He’ll be missed. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1A7HOj_q9p8