Movie critic Roger Ebert prepares to write a memoir
The first of 1,282 comments on summed it up well: 鈥淢r. Ebert, you may be a 'movie critic,' but you're also a very good writer / essayist.鈥�
We鈥檝e seen plenty of evidence of that in Ebert鈥檚 striking blog entries and even an engaging Twitter feed in the years since he lost his voice and a portion of his jaw to cancer. Hopefully we鈥檒l see even more now that he鈥檚 working on a memoir slated for publication next year.
A piece in , where Ebert has written for decades, said (the book 鈥渨ill cover everything from his battle with thyroid cancer to his friendship with Gene Siskel, his fellow critic and "Siskel and Ebert at the Movies" co-host who died in 1999.鈥� Ebert didn鈥檛 give up details, confirming that he鈥檚 writing the book but telling the writer 鈥淚 subscribe to the old theatrical maxim: Don't leave it in rehearsal."
Ebert was once best known as a thumbs-up-thumbs-down TV film critic, but he was a writer long before he was a personality, reviewing movies long enough in its original 1967 release.
Online, he鈥檚 still considering movie releases from "Iron Man" to Cannes, but also eloquently takes on the bigger topics of his own life 鈥� and life in general. As said, he has 鈥渞aised the bar for the level of poignancy, thoughtfulness and critique one can achieve on the Web.鈥�
He鈥檚 talked about, about , and, in one of my favorite pieces, about , which is 鈥渢he loss of dining, not the loss of food,鈥� he wrote.
鈥淭he food and drink I can do without easily. The jokes, gossip, laughs, arguments and shared memories I miss. Sentences beginning with the words, 'Remember that time?' I ran in crowds where anyone was likely to break out in a poetry recitation at any time. Me too. But not me anymore. So yes, it's sad. Maybe that's why I enjoy this blog. You don't realize it, but we're at dinner right now.鈥�
If 2011 seems too long to wait for a full book, check out from Chris Jones of Esquire magazine. It鈥檚 a perceptive read that might make you long for a biography as well as an autobiography 鈥� or even, perhaps, an adaptation on film.
Rebekah Denn blogs at .
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