Remote-Droppers and Jeff Bridges: Nick Digilio on His Book About 40 Years Reviewing Movies | Interviews | Roger Ebert

"Nick Digilio has been a movie critic for 40 years, for many of those years on WGN radio, now with a popular podcast and hosting screenings in Chicago. And I've been talking to him about movies for 25 of those years. I still remember our first conversation, which included a discussion of "Donnie Darko" and the mid-century Hollywood director Douglas Sirk. He usually interviews me, but in honor of his new book, 40 Years, 40 Films, we switched, and I got to interview him."

"The films he covers range from widely seen Oscar winners and blockbusters to underseen indies, often tending toward the disturbing (he loves horror, psychological to blood-spattered), but with some comedies and even one about a cute little pig and another about a gentle little post-apocalyptic gardening robot, from "Blue Velvet" to "Barton Fink" to "Dune: Part Two." There are films from Spike Lee, Paul Thomas Anderson, Peter Jackson, Alfonso Cuarón, Alexander Payne, Christopher Nolan, and Clint Eastwood. He discusses his favorite actor, Jeff Bridges, in "Fearless," and tells us about his all-time favorite movie, "Magnolia.""

"Roy was a special person, a rarity. He was a really genuine, sweet, caring man. And you don't find that in the entertainment world or the business that I've been in for years. And he embraced me at a very young age. I was just this goofy kid who would call his radio show and ask him, "Why did you like"

Nick Digilio has been a movie critic for four decades, working on WGN radio, hosting screenings in Chicago, and producing a popular podcast. The project presents one favorite film for each year since the start of his reviewing career and lists additional favorite films from each year. Selections span Oscar winners and blockbusters to underseen indies, with a notable preference for horror alongside comedies and quirky titles. The list includes films by Spike Lee, Paul Thomas Anderson, Peter Jackson, Alfonso Cuarón, Alexander Payne, Christopher Nolan, and Clint Eastwood. Jeff Bridges is highlighted for Fearless, Magnolia is named an all-time favorite, and conversations address mentor Roy Leonard, the shift from terrestrial radio to podcasting, and how live theater work and sobriety reshaped cinematic perspectives.

Read at Roger Ebert