By now you’ve probably heard that both Roger Ebert and Richard Roeper are leaving “At the Movies with Ebert and Roeper.” Roger hasn’t been on the show in two years due to bad health but now he’s officially gone for good. And Richard is leaving because he couldn’t agree with Disney (which owns the show) on a new contract and the direction of the show.
Ben Lyons, from the “E!” network and Ben Mankiewicz, from “Turner Classic Movies” will be the new hosts of the show. Michael Phillips, who was hosting with Richard since Roger left, is also gone.
I’m really going to miss those guys. I’ll check-out the two Ben’s but it won’t be the same. The good news is that, in an article on Reuters.com, Richard says he’ll soon be hosting a new film review show that “honors the standards established by Siskel and Ebert more than 30 years ago.” And Roger says on his website that he’ll also be part of this new show. I can’t wait!
Ebert and Gene Siskel’s widow own the rights to the “two thumbs-up” catchphrase so they can’t use that on the new “At the Movies” show, which will be called simply “At the Movies”, and not “Ben and Ben” or “Lyons and Mankiewicz.” And they better not say “the balcony is closed.” That wouldn’t be right.