"Although the show's producers and the show's titles changed over the years moving from "Coming Soon To a Theater Near You,' and "Sneak Previews" at public television to "Siskel & Ebert At the Movies" at Tribune Entertainment, landing in wide syndication at Disney's Buena Vista Television, and later known simply as "Siskel & Ebert," the film duo Roger and Gene flowed easily with each stage of their evolution."
"Their cheerful (and sometimes not-so-cheerful) banter invited us to gather communally and find out how we were more alike than different. They became beloved national symbols because their passion for the movies was both authentic and infectious. They convinced us that movies were more than entertainment; they were an "Empathy Machine" that allowed us a peek into the lives of people of different races, ages, genders, ethnicities, socio-economic statuses, and/or religions."
DCASE and the Chicago History Museum are collaborating to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Roger Ebert and Gene Siskel's movie review show with a month-long November series. The celebration begins Wednesday, November 5, at the Chicago Cultural Center's Claudia Cassidy Theater, with most screenings and talks at 7 pm and a special program on Saturday, November 22 starting at 2 pm. The show began when producer Thea Flaum asked Roger and Gene to discuss films on a WTTW set and later evolved through multiple titles and syndication. The duo's passionate, sometimes combative banter fostered communal viewing and framed films as an "Empathy Machine." The series opens with Kasi Lemmons' Eve's Bayou, starring Samuel L. Jackson, Jurnee Smollett, Lynn Whitfield, and Meagan Good.
Read at Roger Ebert
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]