When one thinks of modern day film criticism, a singular name comes to mind: Roger Ebert. Ebert has made reviewing movies fun and fresh by bringing his classy perspective to the public through the newspaper and television. ShoWest has noticed his important role in the film industry and will honor him this year with a “career achievement in film journalism” award. The critic will be honored with a luncheon the last day of the exhibition, on April 2.
THR reports that ShoWest’s co-managing director, Mitch Neuhauser, gushes “With over 40 years devoted to providing movie-going audiences with reviews and incredible insight into the film world, Roger Ebert has been a standout critic respected by audiences, peers and movie industry insiders alike.” He goes on to explain that "If it weren't for Roger Ebert -- who has always had the foresight to champion the cause of relatively unknown and budding filmmakers and talent -- the world of motion pictures as we know it today wouldn't be as rich, diverse and enriching as it is." Regardless of whether or not this bold statement is true, Ebert definitely deserves this award.
Ebert started writing his movie column for the Chicago Sun-Times back in 1967. He still writes the column and also stars in his second television show based on his film reviews, At the Movies With Ebert & Roeper. In 1975 the critic won the Pulitzer Prize for criticism and in 2003 he was bestowed a lifetime achievement award from the American Society of Cinematographers. He also holds an honorary lifetime membership in the DGA (Directors Guild of America).
In case you don’t know what ShoWest is, it is a trade show for the movie industry held yearly in Las Vegas. And, if you don’t know who Roger Ebert is, you have probably been living under a rock, or just don’t care for film criticism. If you do care about film criticism and you want to get to know Ebert’s perspective a little bit better, check out his list of film critic commandments here.
