An Interview With Film Critic Roger Ebert, Author of Your Movie Sucks - Page 2

Any obligation is to themselves. Would they rather participate in growing more or less complex?  

When a book is adapted for the screen do you try to read the book prior to seeing the movie? What about reading screenplays? 

I don’t make a point of reading books before their movies because my question should be, how good a movie is it, not how good an adaptation? If I have read the book, that inevitably enters somewhere into the review.  

What is your actual reviewing process like? How many times do you watch a movie before writing your first published review of the movie?  What is the most number of times and which movie gets that honor? (How do you write notes in a dark theater? Every time I try that I can’t read my own handwriting.)

Usually I only have the opportunity to see a movie once. If I saw it at a festival some time ago, I’ll see it again. I take notes, and can sometimes read my handwriting.  

Is it okay for a reviewer to get into what should have been done rather than just sticking with what was done? When is it okay to do that?

It’s okay for a reviewer to get into anything.  

Who are some of your favorite critics and why? And how do you feel about the fact that anyone can write and publish their own reviews on the web these days? Do you view that as a positive trend?  

Pauline Kael, David Bordwell, Stanley Kauffmann, Dwight Macdonald, Manny Farber. I think the web is a great place for film criticism. Writing your own reviews is a good way to deepen your knowledge of the movies.  

What are the funniest, most glaring continuity lapses you can recall?  

In Jaws III (or IV?), Michael Caine swam to a yacht and climbed on board completely dry.  

What about the movie industry do you think lowers the bar?  What trend do you find encouraging?  

Mass openings and short runs, to try to use advertising to blunt word-of-mouth. Encouraging? It costs less to make a movie, and indie films are thriving.  

Thanks to Roger Ebert for the interview and thanks to Chris Copley, Pamela Drew, and others for helping come up with solid questions to ask Roger and thanks to Ana for helping me with this whole project. Stay tuned for part two later in the week.

Article Author: Scott Butki

Scott Butki was a newspaper reporter for more than 10 years before making a career change into education.

He is an in-house media critic, a recovering Tetris addict and a proud uncle.

Visit Scott Butki's author page — Scott Butki's Blog