Many thanks to Roger Ebert’s favorite reporter covering Ebertfest, Melissa Merli, for a wonderful interview. This is her third year at Ebertfest, where she handled the onstage Q-and-A after “Short Term 12” was shown Thursday afternoon. That movie made her Top 10 list last year. As for Ebertfest, she “absolutely” loves it. “What I love …

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British Pathé, producer of thousands of news footage going back to the days before television, has released 85,000 of them to YouTube so that everyone can access them.  It’s like an online time machine, incomparable treasures of historical figures and events.  According to their blog: Newsreel archive British Pathé has uploaded its entire collection of …

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As several people noted, 1989 was a remarkable year for movies and Ebertfest paid tribute to two of the best, Spike Lee’s “Do the Right Thing” and Oliver Stone’s “Born on the 4th of July.”  Even for those who know the films well, seeing them projected onto the Virginia Theater’s giant screen was revelatory.  “It’s …

Continue reading “Ebertfest Celebrates the 25th Anniversary of Two Classic Films: Spike Lee’s “Do the Right Thing” and Oliver Stone’s “Born on the 4th of July””

Here’s a great quiz from Indiewire on films by woman directors, covering more than 170 films going back to the silent era and covering every category and budget size.

The highlight of the first full day of Ebertfest was the unveiling of a new statue of Roger, at the movies, thumb up. The statue will be installed in front of Roger’s beloved Virginia Theater situated so that visitors can take photos that include its iconic marquee. And the sculpture is expressly designed for selfies …

Continue reading “Statue of Roger Ebert Unveiled at Ebertfest — And We See “Museum Hours” and “Short Term 12””