Roger Ebert presents At the Movies
September 10, 2010 12:42 PM Subscribe
Roger Ebert is returning to television: "'This is the rebirth of a dream,' said Ebert, who partnered in recent years with Richard Roeper before cancer robbed him of the ability to speak. He said he will act as co-producer and employ a computer voice to appear on every episode with segments titled Roger's Office devoted to classic, overlooked and new films." (Ebert, previously on MeFi.)
Obi-Wan Kenobe.
posted by swift at 12:51 PM on September 10, 2010 [3 favorites]
posted by swift at 12:51 PM on September 10, 2010 [3 favorites]
Roger tweeted this earlier today and when I saw it all I could think was "this guy's the Energizer Bunny" because nothing seems to stop him.
That computer voice was covered in this post.
posted by tommasz at 1:00 PM on September 10, 2010 [1 favorite]
That computer voice was covered in this post.
posted by tommasz at 1:00 PM on September 10, 2010 [1 favorite]
Yeah but Elvis Mitchell and Christy Lemire are like the most boring, agreeable people ever. They're just too nice, they take the Siskel & Ebert working class jabs and replace it with the bland cordiality of an MBA night class.
Also, the Ebert voice doesn't sound like him and perhaps it is just familiarity, but I found the Stephen Hawking robot voice much easier to listen to. Him just going away at his laptop is sort of strange, but maybe they'll figure that out. In any case, his conversational style doesn't fit well with a voice synthesizer, he needs to be a bit more succinct and realize the limitations of the medium. Hawking undoubtedly has more practice in this regard, it would be interesting to see how his style evolves as he becomes more comfortable with the format.
posted by geoff. at 1:03 PM on September 10, 2010
Also, the Ebert voice doesn't sound like him and perhaps it is just familiarity, but I found the Stephen Hawking robot voice much easier to listen to. Him just going away at his laptop is sort of strange, but maybe they'll figure that out. In any case, his conversational style doesn't fit well with a voice synthesizer, he needs to be a bit more succinct and realize the limitations of the medium. Hawking undoubtedly has more practice in this regard, it would be interesting to see how his style evolves as he becomes more comfortable with the format.
posted by geoff. at 1:03 PM on September 10, 2010
I think Elvis Mitchell is a great choice. He's smart as a whip and a really nice guy to boot. I've seen him do extended interviews and Q&As where he let his sarcastic side out, so he won't be all goodness and light.
posted by vibrotronica at 1:08 PM on September 10, 2010
posted by vibrotronica at 1:08 PM on September 10, 2010
Ebert's amazing. I Like the Elvis Mitchell choice too. Good work all around.
posted by blucevalo at 1:10 PM on September 10, 2010
posted by blucevalo at 1:10 PM on September 10, 2010
I like Elvis Mitchell too. It's OK to have an agreeable personality if you're willing to engage conversationally.
The show's not really my thing (maybe b/c it seems like mainstream popular movies have gone ▼), but it's a welcome development.
posted by mrgrimm at 1:17 PM on September 10, 2010
The show's not really my thing (maybe b/c it seems like mainstream popular movies have gone ▼), but it's a welcome development.
posted by mrgrimm at 1:17 PM on September 10, 2010
Mainstream popular movies have gone gay?
posted by Senor Cardgage at 1:24 PM on September 10, 2010 [2 favorites]
posted by Senor Cardgage at 1:24 PM on September 10, 2010 [2 favorites]
It's kind of an upside-down pear... ?
posted by seanmpuckett at 1:26 PM on September 10, 2010
posted by seanmpuckett at 1:26 PM on September 10, 2010
Thumbs Up. Way Up.
posted by mreleganza at 1:28 PM on September 10, 2010
posted by mreleganza at 1:28 PM on September 10, 2010
Because fuck you throat cancer.
posted by dry white toast at 1:30 PM on September 10, 2010 [16 favorites]
posted by dry white toast at 1:30 PM on September 10, 2010 [16 favorites]
Does this mean he'll be doing more tweets or less? He certainly is more than generous with his Twittering.
posted by Slack-a-gogo at 1:37 PM on September 10, 2010
posted by Slack-a-gogo at 1:37 PM on September 10, 2010
Also, the Ebert voice doesn't sound like him and perhaps it is just familiarity ... In any case, his conversational style doesn't fit well with a voice synthesizer
Actually, his conversational style was pretty stilted and formulaic to begin with, so it was ripe to be electronically copied. When I heard his new voice I initially had trouble hearing how it sounded like the original Ebert, but after a minute it clicked. I recommend giving it another listen. I like it.
posted by John Cohen at 2:14 PM on September 10, 2010
Actually, his conversational style was pretty stilted and formulaic to begin with, so it was ripe to be electronically copied. When I heard his new voice I initially had trouble hearing how it sounded like the original Ebert, but after a minute it clicked. I recommend giving it another listen. I like it.
posted by John Cohen at 2:14 PM on September 10, 2010
Awesome! Looking forward to the new show.
posted by Kevin Street at 2:29 PM on September 10, 2010
posted by Kevin Street at 2:29 PM on September 10, 2010
Roger is awesome. Sure, we disagree on the video games can't be art thing, but his domain is film and it's there he will rule.
I love that Kim Morgan is getting a bigger stage with the new show. If you feat Elvis Mitchell and Christie Lemire are too nice, Morgan is real. I really like her and her style.
This man is such a hard worker, but I doubt he thinks of it as work. I mean, the moment a notable filmmaker passes, he is there with a 10,000 word tribute that evening for the next edition. Remarkable.
And that's not even getting into how great I think he is for not letting his health problems define him. The man's always loved technology (I dug his Yahoo! Internet Life column years ago) and now he's embraced it further to get back what he lost.
(And if you haven't read "Your Movie Sucks" and "I Hated, Hated, Hated, Hated this Movie", you're missing out!)
posted by inturnaround at 2:32 PM on September 10, 2010
I love that Kim Morgan is getting a bigger stage with the new show. If you feat Elvis Mitchell and Christie Lemire are too nice, Morgan is real. I really like her and her style.
This man is such a hard worker, but I doubt he thinks of it as work. I mean, the moment a notable filmmaker passes, he is there with a 10,000 word tribute that evening for the next edition. Remarkable.
And that's not even getting into how great I think he is for not letting his health problems define him. The man's always loved technology (I dug his Yahoo! Internet Life column years ago) and now he's embraced it further to get back what he lost.
(And if you haven't read "Your Movie Sucks" and "I Hated, Hated, Hated, Hated this Movie", you're missing out!)
posted by inturnaround at 2:32 PM on September 10, 2010
The voice in the preview for the new show was not the recreation of Ebert's speaking voice. It's just one of the default voices that come with MacOS. I guess the recreated one wasn't ready for the show.
posted by zsazsa at 3:00 PM on September 10, 2010
posted by zsazsa at 3:00 PM on September 10, 2010
Sigh. I hear him better when I read him.
posted by Trochanter at 4:40 PM on September 10, 2010
posted by Trochanter at 4:40 PM on September 10, 2010
Yeah, the voice in the video in the link from the FPP is totally not the Roger Ebert voice that was developed from his extensive video appearances which was detailed in a previous FPP. I hope they use his new "voice". It was shockingly Ebert, so much that when I closed my eyes I could really see him talking.
I'm curious to see how this comes back together. I think that the PBS show will have less of a commercial feel, more honest film criticism. I got frustrated when it moved into syndication because over the years it felt more and more like it was pandering and being used as a marketing tool.
Good for Ebert for putting this together. I hope it does well.
posted by hippybear at 6:33 AM on September 11, 2010
I'm curious to see how this comes back together. I think that the PBS show will have less of a commercial feel, more honest film criticism. I got frustrated when it moved into syndication because over the years it felt more and more like it was pandering and being used as a marketing tool.
Good for Ebert for putting this together. I hope it does well.
posted by hippybear at 6:33 AM on September 11, 2010
Sigh. I hear him better when I read him.
wow, you must have those reading ears that the T.V. ads depict
posted by clavdivs at 9:13 AM on September 11, 2010
wow, you must have those reading ears that the T.V. ads depict
posted by clavdivs at 9:13 AM on September 11, 2010
Good news, everyone! I've invented a device that lets you read everything Roger Ebert writes in my voice.
posted by Trochanter at 5:58 PM on September 11, 2010
posted by Trochanter at 5:58 PM on September 11, 2010
Good news, everyone! I've invented a device that lets you read everything Roger Ebert writes in my voice.
(...if the speaker is Professor Hubert J. Farnsworth, that is.)
posted by LooseFilter at 8:13 PM on September 11, 2010
(...if the speaker is Professor Hubert J. Farnsworth, that is.)
posted by LooseFilter at 8:13 PM on September 11, 2010
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Has there ever been another example of someone losing their voice and becoming much more well-spoken?
posted by Senor Cardgage at 12:44 PM on September 10, 2010 [5 favorites]