In case you missed it, like I did, film critic Roger Ebert has a new program that debuted earlier this year called EBERT PRESENTS: AT THE MOVIES. But after decades of thumbing his… thumb at one movie or another, it looks like he might have to pack it in and stick to print.
On his Chicago Tribune blog, Ebert says that the show, which is currently in 50 markets across the country, will have to end if he can’t find funding.
On the one hand, I feel very sorry for the man who brought us BEYOND THE VALLEY OF THE DOLLS. He’s had a rough few years. But on the other hand, I think this is an idea whose time has, unfortunately and inevitably, come.
Think back to the original AT THE MOVIES. I remember it fondly as a quaint show in which two seemingly well-respected movie buffs sat back and applied their years of film history knowledge and experience into one of the easiest and oldest grading systems known to man… one that served the Romans as well as Hollywood moguls everywhere. A thumbs-up or a thumbs-down. They didn’t always agree, but their camaraderie made it all work so well.
Now fast forward to today with the Internet and a television audience that thinks Snooki is not only a celebrity but a role model (whether anyone would admit it or not, a whole bunch of people wish they could BE Snooki). Is there any room on the dial for such an institution? Probably not in the old model.
For my two cents, maybe Mr. Ebert should take his proteges on the web and make some content in the sparkly medium of Podcasting! Because we could all use the competition.