Editing Roger Ebert (section)

==Career==
===1967–1974: Early writings ===
[[File:Russ Meyer and Roger Ebert by Roger Ebert.jpg|thumb|right|Ebert (right) with [[Russ Meyer]] in 1970|alt=A black and white photograph of two men in suits. The man on the right is wearing glasses.]]
Ebert's first review for the ''[[Chicago Sun-Times]]'' began: "[[Georges Lautner]]’s ''Galia'' opens and closes with arty shots of the ocean, mother of us all, but in between it’s pretty clear that what is washing ashore is the [[French New Wave]]."<ref>{{cite news| author=Roger Ebert| date=April 7, 1967| title=Gaila| work=[[Chicago Sun Times]]| url=https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/galia-1967}}</ref> He recalls that "Within a day after Zonka gave me the job, I read ''The Immediate Experience'' by [[Robert Warshow]]", from which he gleaned that "the critic has to set aside theory and ideology, theology and politics, and open himself to—well, the immediate experience."<ref name=ImmediateExperience>{{cite book| author=Roger Ebert| title=Life Itself: A Memoir| date=2011| page=154}}</ref> That same year, he met film critic [[Pauline Kael]] for the first time at the [[New York Film Festival]]. After he sent her some of his columns, she told him they were "the best film criticism being done in American newspapers today."<ref name=ChicagoMag /> He recalls her telling him how she worked: "I go into the movie, I watch it, and I ask myself what happened to me."<ref name=ImmediateExperience/> A formative experience was reviewing [[Ingmar Bergman]]'s ''[[Persona (1966 film)|Persona]]'' (1966).<ref>{{cite news| last=Ebert| first=Roger| date=November 7, 1967| title=Persona| work=Chicago Sun-Times| url=https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/great-movie-persona-1966| access-date=April 8, 2024| archive-date=November 16, 2016| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161116124240/http://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/great-movie-persona-1966| url-status=live}}</ref> He told his editor he wasn't sure how to review it when he didn't feel he could explain it. His editor told him he didn't have to explain it, just describe it.<ref>{{cite news| last=Ebert| first=Roger| date=January 7, 2001| title=Great Movies: Persona| work=Chicago Sun-Times| url=https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/great-movie-persona-1966| access-date=April 8, 2024| archive-date=November 16, 2016| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161116124240/http://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/great-movie-persona-1966| url-status=live}}</ref>

He was one of the first critics to champion [[Arthur Penn]]'s ''[[Bonnie and Clyde (film)|Bonnie and Clyde]]'' (1967), calling it "a milestone in the history of American movies, a work of truth and brilliance. It is also pitilessly cruel, filled with sympathy, nauseating, funny, heartbreaking and astonishingly beautiful. If it does not seem that those words should be strung together, perhaps that is because movies do not very often reflect the full range of human life." He concluded: "The fact that the story is set 35 years ago doesn't mean a thing. It had to be set some time. But it was made now and it's about us."<ref>{{Cite news |last=Ebert |first=Roger |date=September 25, 1967 |title=Bonnie and Clyde |work=[[Chicago Sun-Times]] |url=https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/bonnie-and-clyde-1967 |access-date=July 30, 2022 |archive-date=November 11, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171111205357/https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/bonnie-and-clyde-1967 |url-status=live }}</ref> Thirty-one years later, he wrote "When I saw it, I had been a film critic for less than six months, and it was the first masterpiece I had seen on the job. I felt an exhilaration beyond describing. I did not suspect how long it would be between such experiences, but at least I learned that they were possible."<ref>{{Cite news |last=Ebert |first=Roger |date=August 3, 1998 |title=Great Movies: Bonnie and Clyde |work=[[Chicago Sun Times]] |url=https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/great-movie-bonnie-and-clyde-1967 |access-date=February 11, 2023 |archive-date=February 11, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230211222807/https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/great-movie-bonnie-and-clyde-1967 |url-status=live }}</ref> He wrote [[Martin Scorsese]]'s first review, for ''[[Who's That Knocking at My Door]]'' (1967, then titled ''I Call First''), and predicted the young director could become "an American [[Federico Fellini| Fellini]]."<ref name=Who'sThat>{{Cite news |last=Ebert |first=Roger |date=November 17, 1967 |title=I Call First/ Who's That Knocking at My Door? |work=[[Chicago Sun-Times]] |url=https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/i-call-first--whos-that-knocking-at-my-door-1967 |access-date=July 30, 2022 |archive-date=December 27, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201227045136/https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/i-call-first--whos-that-knocking-at-my-door-1967 |url-status=live }}</ref>

Ebert co-wrote the screenplay for [[Russ Meyer]]'s ''[[Beyond the Valley of the Dolls]]'' (1970) and sometimes joked about being responsible for it. It was poorly received on its release yet has become a [[cult film]].<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/beyond-the-valley-of-the-dolls-1980 |title=Beyond the Valley of the Dolls |work=[[Chicago Sun-Times]] |first=Roger |last=Ebert |access-date=September 3, 2012 |date=January 1, 1970 |archive-date=December 30, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181230054847/https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/beyond-the-valley-of-the-dolls-1980 |url-status=live }}</ref> Ebert and Meyer also made ''[[Up! (1976 film)|Up!]]'' (1976), ''[[Beneath the Valley of the Ultra-Vixens]]'' (1979) and other films, and were involved in the ill-fated [[Sex Pistols]] film ''[[Who Killed Bambi? (unfinished film)|Who Killed Bambi?]]'' In April 2010, Ebert posted his screenplay of ''Who Killed Bambi?'', also known as ''Anarchy in the UK'', on his blog.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://blogs.suntimes.com/ebert/2010/04/who_killed_bambi_-_a_screenpla.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100429015727/http://blogs.suntimes.com/ebert/2010/04/who_killed_bambi_-_a_screenpla.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=April 29, 2010 |last=Ebert |first=Roger |title='Who Killed Bambi?'&nbsp;– A screenplay |website=[[Chicago Sun-Times]] |date=April 25, 2010 }}</ref>

Beginning in 1968, Ebert worked for the [[University of Chicago]] as an adjunct lecturer, teaching a night class on film at the [[Graham School of Continuing Liberal and Professional Studies]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://news.uchicago.edu/article/2013/04/05/roger-ebert-x-70-film-critic-and-longtime-graham-school-lecturer-1942-2013 |title=Roger Ebert, X'70, film critic and longtime Graham School lecturer, 1942–2013 |date=April 5, 2013 |access-date=December 26, 2016 |website=UChicagoNews |publisher=[[University of Chicago]] |location=Chicago, Illinois |archive-date=December 27, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161227130527/https://news.uchicago.edu/article/2013/04/05/roger-ebert-x-70-film-critic-and-longtime-graham-school-lecturer-1942-2013 |url-status=live }}</ref>

=== 1975–1999: Stardom with ''Siskel & Ebert'' ===
[[File:Gene Siskel at the 61st Academy Awards cropped.jpg|alt=Color photo of a man in a tuxedo.|thumb|left|upright|Co-host [[Gene Siskel]] at the [[1989 Academy Awards]]]]
In 1975, Ebert received the [[Pulitzer Prize for Criticism]].<ref name="Salt Lake Tribune death" /> In the aftermath of his win, he was offered jobs at ''[[The New York Times]]'' and ''[[The Washington Post]]'', but he declined them both, as he did not wish to leave Chicago.{{sfn|Singer|2023|p=28}} That same year, he and [[Gene Siskel]] of the ''[[Chicago Tribune]]'' began co-hosting a weekly film-review television show, ''Opening Soon at a Theater Near You'',<ref name=NYTObit/> later ''[[Sneak Previews]]'', which was locally produced by the Chicago [[public broadcasting]] station [[WTTW]].<ref name="s&e mbc">{{cite web|url=http://www.museum.tv/eotvsection.php?entrycode=siskelandeb|title=Siskel and Ebert|website=[[Museum of Broadcast Communications]]|first=Joel|last=Steinberg|access-date=June 17, 2022|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101204224136/http://museum.tv/eotvsection.php?entrycode=siskelandeb|archive-date=December 4, 2010}}</ref> The series was later picked up for national syndication on [[PBS]].<ref name="s&e mbc"/> The duo became well known for their "thumbs up/thumbs down" reviews.<ref name="s&e mbc"/><ref>{{cite magazine |url=http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20129634,00.html |last=Gliatto |first=Tom |title=Despite the Loss of Film-Critic Buddy Gene Siskel, Roger Ebert Gives Life a Thumbs-Up |magazine=[[People (magazine)|People]] |date=November 1, 1999 |access-date=April 20, 2010 |archive-date=February 5, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090205021101/http://people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20129634,00.html |url-status=live }}</ref> They trademarked the phrase "Two Thumbs Up."<ref name="s&e mbc"/><ref name=Statement />

In 1982, they moved from PBS to launch a similar [[Broadcast syndication|syndicated]] commercial television show, ''[[At the Movies (1982 TV program)|At the Movies With Gene Siskel & Roger Ebert]]''.<ref name="s&e mbc"/> In 1986, they again moved the show to new ownership, creating ''[[At the Movies (1986 TV program)|Siskel & Ebert & the Movies]]'' through [[Disney-ABC Domestic Television|Buena Vista Television]], part of the [[Walt Disney Company]].<ref name="s&e mbc"/> Ebert and Siskel made many appearances on late night talk shows, appearing on ''[[The Late Show with David Letterman]]'' sixteen times and ''[[The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson]]'' fifteen times. They also appeared together on ''[[The Oprah Winfrey Show]]'', ''[[The Arsenio Hall Show]]'', ''[[The Howard Stern Show]]'', ''[[The Tonight Show with Jay Leno]]'' and ''[[Late Night with Conan O'Brien]]''.

Siskel and Ebert were sometimes accused of trivializing film criticism. [[Richard Corliss]], in ''[[Film Comment]]'', called the show "a sitcom (with its own noodling, toodling theme song) starring two guys who live in a movie theater and argue all the time".<ref>{{Cite news |last=Corliss |first=Richard |date=March–April 1990 |title=All Thumbs: Or, Is There a Future For Film Criticism? |work=[[Film Comment]] |url=https://www.filmcomment.com/article/richard-corliss-all-thumbs-or-is-there-a-future-for-film-criticism/}}</ref> Ebert responded that "I am the first to agree with Corliss that the Siskel and Ebert program is not in-depth film criticism" but that "When we have an opinion about a movie, that opinion may light a bulb above the head of an ambitious youth who then understands that people can make up their own minds about movies." He also noted that they did "theme shows" condemning [[film colorization| colorization]] and showing the virtues of [[letterboxing (filming)|letterboxing]]. He argued that "good criticism is commonplace these days. ''Film Comment'' itself is healthier and more widely distributed than ever before. ''[[Film Quarterly]]'' is, too; it even abandoned eons of tradition to increase its page size. And then look at ''[[Cineaste (magazine)| Cinéaste]]'' and [[American Film (magazine)|''American Film'']] and the specialist film magazines (you may not read ''[[Fangoria]]'', but if you did, you would be amazed at the erudition its writers bring to the horror and special effects genres.)"<ref>{{Cite news |last=Ebert |first=Roger |title=All Stars: Or, Is There a Cure For Criticism? |work=[[Film Comment]]| date=May–June 1990 |url=https://www.filmcomment.com/article/roger-ebert-richard-corliss-cure-for-criticism-of-film-criticism/}}</ref> Corliss wrote that "I do think the program has other merits, and said so in a sentence of my original article that didn't make it into type: 'Sometimes the show does good: in spotlighting foreign and independent films, and in raising issues like censorship and colorization.' The stars' recent excoriation of the MPAA's X rating was salutary to the max."<ref>{{cite news| last=Corliss| first=Richard| title=Then Again| date=May–June 1990| work=Film Comment| url= https://www.filmcomment.com/article/richard-corliss-roger-ebert-cure-for-criticism-of-film-criticism/}}</ref>

In 1996, [[W. W. Norton & Company]] asked Ebert to edit an anthology of film writing. This resulted in ''Roger Ebert's Book of Film: From Tolstoy to Tarantino, the Finest Writing From a Century of Film''. The selections are eclectic, ranging from [[Louise Brooks]]'s autobiography to [[David Thomson (film critic)| David Thomson]]'s novel ''Suspects''.<ref>{{cite news| work=[[Publishers Weekly]]| title=Roger Ebert's Book of Film: Fromm Tolstoy to Tarantino, the Finest Writing From a Century of Film| url=https://www.publishersweekly.com/9780393040005}}</ref> Ebert "wrote to Nigel Wade, then the editor of the ''Chicago Sun-Times'', and proposed a biweekly series of longer articles great movies of the past. He gave his blessing ... Every other week I have revisited a great movie, and the response has been encouraging."<ref>{{cite book| last=Ebert| first=Roger| title=The Great Movies| date=2002| page=xvii}}</ref> The first film he wrote about for the series was [[Casablanca (film)|''Casablanca'']] (1942).<ref>{{cite news| author=Roger Ebert| title=Great Movies: Casablanca| date=September 15, 1996| url=https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/great-movie-casablanca-1942}}</ref> A hundred of these essays were published as ''The Great Movies'' (2002); he released two more volumes, and a fourth was published posthumously. In 1999, Ebert founded The Overlooked Film Festival (later [[Ebertfest]]), in his hometown, [[Champaign, Illinois]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ebertfest.com/about.html |title=About EbertFest |website=[[Ebertfest: Roger Ebert's Film Festival|Roger Ebert's Film Festival]] |access-date=January 2, 2017 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161229103019/http://www.ebertfest.com/about.html |archive-date=December 29, 2016 }}</ref>

In May 1998, Siskel took a leave of absence from the show to undergo brain surgery. He returned to the show, although viewers noticed a change in his physical appearance. Despite appearing sluggish and tired, Siskel continued reviewing films with Ebert and would appear on ''Late Show with David Letterman''. In February 1999, Siskel died of a brain tumor.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://newspapers.com/clip/58107353/in-tribute-legendary-film-reviewer/|title=In tribute: Legendary film reviewer leaves thumbprint on a nation of moviegoers|date=March 27, 1999|work=[[The Star Press]]|access-date=June 17, 2022|via=Newspapers.com|archive-date=May 5, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220505132306/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/58107353/in-tribute-legendary-film-reviewer/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=February 21, 1999 |title=Gene Siskel, Half of a Famed Movie-Review Team, Dies at 53 |work=[[The New York Times]] |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1999/02/21/nyregion/gene-siskel-half-of-a-famed-movie-review-team-dies-at-53.html |access-date=June 17, 2022 |archive-date=September 4, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210904210034/https://www.nytimes.com/1999/02/21/nyregion/gene-siskel-half-of-a-famed-movie-review-team-dies-at-53.html |url-status=live }}</ref> The producers renamed the show ''Roger Ebert & the Movies'' and used rotating co-hosts including [[Martin Scorsese]],<ref name=Scorsese>{{Cite web|last=Ebert & Scorsese|title=Best films of the 90s|date=February 27, 2000|url=http://www.rogerebert.com/rogers-journal/ebert-and-scorsese-best-films-of-the-1990s|access-date=June 17, 2022|archive-date=August 28, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180828102353/https://www.rogerebert.com/rogers-journal/ebert-and-scorsese-best-films-of-the-1990s|url-status=live}}</ref>[[Janet Maslin]]<ref>{{cite web|last=Perrone|first=Pierre|title=Obituary: Gene Siskel|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/obituary-gene-siskel-1072625.html|website=[[The Independent]] |date=February 23, 1999|access-date=June 17, 2022|archive-date=August 11, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190811003221/https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/obituary-gene-siskel-1072625.html|url-status=live}}</ref> and [[A.O. Scott]].<ref name=Scott>{{cite news| last=Scott| first=A.O.| title=Roger Ebert, The Critic Behind The Thumb| newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|pages=Arts & Leisure, 1, 22|date=April 13, 2008|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/13/13scot.html?ex=1365652800&en=f8c0d5eab2237088&ei=5124&partner=permalink&exprod=permalink|access-date=June 17, 2022}}</ref> Ebert wrote of his late colleague: "For the first five years that we knew one another, Gene Siskel and I hardly spoke. Then it seemed like we never stopped." He wrote of Siskel's work ethic, of how quickly he returned to work after surgery: "Someone else might have taken a leave of absence then and there, but Gene worked as long as he could. Being a film critic was important to him. He liked to refer to his job as 'the national dream beat,' and say that in reviewing movies he was covering what people hoped for, dreamed about, and feared."<ref>{{Cite news |last=Ebert |first=Roger |date=February 22, 1999 |title=Farewell, my friend |work=[[Chicago Sun-Times]] |url=https://www.rogerebert.com/interviews/farewell-my-friend |access-date=October 22, 2023 |archive-date=September 29, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230929043129/https://www.rogerebert.com/interviews/farewell-my-friend |url-status=live }}</ref> Ebert recalled, "Whenever he interviewed someone for his newspaper or for television, Gene Siskel liked to end with the same question: 'What do you know for sure?' OK Gene, what do I know for sure about you? You were one of the smartest, funniest, quickest men I've ever known and one of the best reporters...I  know for sure that seeing a truly great movie made you so happy that you'd tell me a week later your spirits were still high."<ref>{{cite web| title=Siskel & Ebert: Remembering Gene Siskel| website=[[YouTube]]| date=February 27, 1999| url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PvlTSxhWGqY}}</ref> Ten years after Siskel's death, Ebert blogged about his colleague: "We once spoke with Disney and CBS about a sitcom to be titled ''Best Enemies''. It would be about two movie critics joined in a love/hate relationship. It never went anywhere, but we both believed it was a good idea. Maybe the problem was that no one else could possibly understand how meaningless was the hate, how deep was the love."<ref>{{Cite web |last=Ebert |first=Roger |date=February 17, 2009 |title=Remembering Gene |url=https://www.rogerebert.com/roger-ebert/remembering-gene |access-date=October 22, 2023 |archive-date=February 7, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130207203819/http://blogs.suntimes.com/ebert/2009/02/i_remember_gene.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

=== 2000–2006: ''Ebert & Roeper'' ===
In September 2000, ''Chicago Sun-Times'' columnist [[Richard Roeper]] became the permanent co-host and the show was renamed ''At the Movies with Ebert & Roeper'' and later ''Ebert & Roeper''.<ref name=NYTObit/><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/88631117/tampa-bay-times/ |title=Columnist to become foil to Roger Ebert |work=[[Tampa Bay Times]] |date=July 14, 2000 |access-date=May 18, 2022 |via=Newspapers.com |archive-date=May 18, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220518173243/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/88631117/tampa-bay-times/ |url-status=live }}</ref> In 2000, Ebert interviewed President [[Bill Clinton]] about movies at [[The White House]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://siskelebert.org/?p=7506 |title=The Bill Clinton Interview 2000 |website=siskelebert.org |access-date=July 17, 2020 |archive-date=July 12, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200712032728/https://siskelebert.org/?p=7506 |url-status=live }}</ref>

In 2002, Ebert was diagnosed with cancer of the salivary glands. In 2006, cancer surgery resulted in his losing his ability to eat and speak. In 2007, prior to his Overlooked Film Festival, he posted a picture of his new condition. Paraphrasing a line from ''[[Raging Bull]]'' (1980), he wrote, "I ain’t a pretty boy no more. (Not that I ever was. The original appeal of ''Siskel & Ebert'' was that we didn’t look like we belonged on TV.)" He added that he would not miss the festival: "At least, not being able to speak, I am spared the need to explain why every film is 'overlooked', or why I wrote ''Beyond the Valley of the Dolls''."<ref>{{cite web |title=Roger Ebert: I ain't a pretty boy no more and so what? |date=April 24, 2007 |url=https://signalvnoise.com/posts/391-roger-ebert-i-aint-a-pretty-boy-no-more-and-so-what}}</ref>

===2007–2013: ''RogerEbert.com''===
Ebert ended his association with ''At The Movies'' in July 2008,<ref name=Statement>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/22/arts/22arts-EBERTANDROEP_BRF.html |title=Ebert and Roeper No Longer at the Movies |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=July 22, 2008 |access-date=August 30, 2013 |first=Julie |last=Bloom |archive-date=November 28, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181128004935/https://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/22/arts/22arts-EBERTANDROEP_BRF.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name=Jones>{{cite web| title=Roger Ebert: The Essential Man| author=Chris Jones| date=February 16, 2010| work=[[Esquire (magazine)| Esquire]] | url=https://www.esquire.com/news-politics/a6945/roger-ebert-0310/}}</ref> after Disney indicated it wished to take the program in a new direction. As of 2007, his reviews were [[print syndication|syndicated]] to more than 200 newspapers in the United States and abroad.<ref name="Corliss2007">{{cite magazine |url=http://content.time.com/time/arts/article/0,8599,1636520,00.html |title=Thumbs Up for Roger Ebert |last=Corliss |first=Richard |author-link=Richard Corliss |date=June 23, 2007 |magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] |access-date=January 2, 2017 |archive-date=January 3, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170103165323/http://content.time.com/time/arts/article/0,8599,1636520,00.html |url-status=live }}</ref> His ''[[RogerEbert.com]]'' website, launched in 2002 and originally underwritten by the ''Chicago Sun-Times'',<ref name=Guernica>{{cite magazine |last=Miller |first=Quenton |title=Roger Ebert, Wikipedia Editor |url=https://www.guernicamag.com/roger-ebert-wikipedia-editor/ |magazine=[[Guernica (magazine)|Guernica]] |date=February 23, 2017 |access-date=May 20, 2021 |archive-date=April 26, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220426010832/https://www.guernicamag.com/roger-ebert-wikipedia-editor/ |url-status=live }}</ref> remains online as an archive of his published writings and reviews while also hosting new material written by a group of critics who were selected by Ebert before his death. Even as he used TV (and later the Internet) to share his reviews, Ebert continued to write for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' until he died.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LQKhAwAAQBAJ&q=write+for+the+Chicago+Sun-Times+until+he+died+in+2013&pg=PA101 |title=Obituaries in the Performing Arts, 2013 |first=Harris M. III |last=Lentz |date=May 16, 2014 |publisher=[[McFarland (publisher)|McFarland]] |location=Jefferson, North Carolina |isbn=9780786476657 |language=en |access-date=November 2, 2020 |archive-date=May 6, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240506050940/https://books.google.com/books?id=LQKhAwAAQBAJ&q=write+for+the+Chicago+Sun-Times+until+he+died+in+2013&pg=PA101 |url-status=live }}</ref>{{Circular reference|date=May 2025}} On February 18, 2009, Ebert reported that he and Roeper would soon announce a new movie-review program,<ref name=NewShow>{{cite news |url=http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/section?category=ANSWERMAN |title=Roger Ebert. "By the time we get to Phoenix, he'll be laughing" February 18, 2009 |work=Chicago Sun-Times |date=October 13, 2004 |access-date=July 24, 2011 |archive-date=April 5, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130405095701/http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/section?category=ANSWERMAN |url-status=dead }}</ref> and reiterated this plan after Disney announced that the program's last episode would air in August 2010.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://blogs.suntimes.com/ebert/2010/03/see_you_at_the_movies.html|title=See you at the movies|date=March 25, 2010|first=Roger|last=Ebert|work=Roger Ebert's Journal|accessdate=June 22, 2022|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20100326033808/http://blogs.suntimes.com/ebert/2010/03/see_you_at_the_movies.html|archivedate=March 26, 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://newsblogs.chicagotribune.com/towerticker/2010/03/disneyabc-to-cancel-at-the-movies-siskel-and-eberts-old-show.html|title=Tower Ticker: Disney-ABC cancels 'At the Movies,' Siskel and Ebert's old show|work=[[Chicago Tribune]]|date=March 24, 2010|first=Phil|last=Rosenthal|accessdate=July 29, 2022|archive-date=July 3, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220703092520/https://newsblogs.chicagotribune.com/towerticker/2010/03/disneyabc-to-cancel-at-the-movies-siskel-and-eberts-old-show.html|url-status=live}}</ref> In 2008, having lost his voice, he turned to blogging to express himself.<ref name=Jones/> Peter Debruge writes that "Ebert was one of the first writers to recognize the potential of discussing film online."<ref name=Variety>{{cite magazine |last=Debruge |first=Peter |date=April 4, 2013 |url=https://variety.com/2013/film/opinion/roger-ebert-dead-variety-critic-tribute-1200333350/ |title=Variety's Peter Debruge Remembers Roger Ebert: A Champion Among Men |magazine=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]] |access-date=April 29, 2020 |archive-date=August 6, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200806184552/https://variety.com/2013/film/opinion/roger-ebert-dead-variety-critic-tribute-1200333350/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

His final television series, ''[[Ebert Presents: At the Movies]]'', premiered on January 21, 2011, with Ebert contributing a review voiced by [[Bill Kurtis]] in a brief segment called "Roger's Office,"<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.deseretnews.com/article/700101980/Roger-Ebert-returns-with-new-PBS-review-show.html |title=Roger Ebert returns with new PBS review show |first=Caryn |last=Rousseau |agency=[[Associated Press]] |work=[[Deseret News]] |date=January 19, 2010 |access-date=January 20, 2011 |archive-date=January 22, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110122013235/http://www.deseretnews.com/article/700101980/Roger-Ebert-returns-with-new-PBS-review-show.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> as well as traditional film reviews in the ''At the Movies'' format by [[Christy Lemire]] and [[Ignatiy Vishnevetsky]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/2011/01/23/ebert-presents-at-the-movies-a-work-in-progress/|work=[[Chicago Tribune]]|title='Ebert Presents At the Movies' a work in progress|date=January 23, 2011|access-date=June 17, 2022|first=Phil|last=Rosenthal|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110125023903/http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2011-01-23/business/ct-biz-0123-phil-20110123_1_sun-times-ebert-tribune-s-siskel-roger-ebert|archive-date=January 25, 2011}}</ref> The program lasted one season, before being cancelled due to funding constraints.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://blogs.suntimes.com/ebert/2011/11/so_long_for_awhile.html|title=So long for awhile|date=November 30, 2011|work=[[Chicago Sun-Times]]|first=Roger|last=Ebert|access-date=June 17, 2022|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111203034611/http://blogs.suntimes.com/ebert/2011/11/so_long_for_awhile.html|archive-date=December 3, 2011}}</ref><ref name=NYTObit/>

In 2011, he published his memoir, ''Life Itself'', in which he describes his childhood, his career, his struggles with alcoholism and cancer, his loves and friendships.<ref name=NPR/> On March 7, 2013, Ebert published his last Great Movies essay, for ''[[The Ballad of Narayama (1958 film)|The Ballad of Narayama]]'' (1958).<ref>{{cite news| author=Roger Ebert| title=The elderly are left on a mountain to die| date=March 7, 2013| url=https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/great-movie-the-ballad-of-narayama-1958}}</ref> The last review Ebert published during his lifetime was for [[The Host (2013 film)|''The Host'']], on March 27, 2013.<ref>{{cite web| url=https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/the-host-2013| title=Don't listen to inner voices from other planets| work=[[Chicago Sun-Times]]| date=March 27, 2013| first=Roger|last=Ebert| accessdate=June 22, 2022|via=[[RogerEbert.com]]|archive-date=June 22, 2022| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220622133900/https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/the-host-2013|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Sperling |first=Nicole |date=April 4, 2013 |title=Roger Ebert's last review: A lukewarm assessment of 'The Host' |url=https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/la-xpm-2013-apr-04-la-et-mn-roger-eberts-last-review-the-host-20130404-story.html |access-date=January 1, 2022 |newspaper=[[Los Angeles Times]] |language=en-US |archive-date=January 1, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220101105436/https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/la-xpm-2013-apr-04-la-et-mn-roger-eberts-last-review-the-host-20130404-story.html |url-status=live }}</ref> The last review Ebert filed, published posthumously on April 6, 2013, was for ''[[To the Wonder]]''.<ref>{{cite web |author=Ebert, Roger |url=http://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/to-the-wonder-2013 |date=April 6, 2013 |publisher=[[RogerEbert.com]] |title=To the Wonder (2013) |access-date=April 24, 2013 |archive-date=May 13, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130513215811/http://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/to-the-wonder-2013 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news| title=Roger Ebert's last thumbs up: Terrence Malick's 'To The Wonder'| author=Mark Olson| date=April 9, 2013| work=[[Los Angeles Times]]| url=https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/la-xpm-2013-apr-09-la-et-mn-roger-ebert-last-review-to-the-wonder-20130409-story.html}}</ref> In July 2013, a previously unpublished review of ''[[Computer Chess (film)|Computer Chess]]'' appeared on ''RogerEbert.com''.<ref>{{cite web |author=Ebert, Roger |url=http://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/computer-chess-2013 |date=July 18, 2013 |publisher=[[RogerEbert.com]] |title=Computer Chess (2013) |access-date=July 20, 2013 |archive-date=July 21, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130721034138/http://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/computer-chess-2013 |url-status=live }}</ref> The review had been written in March but had remained unpublished until the film's wide-release date.<ref name="compslate">{{cite web |author=Shetty, Sharan |url=http://www.slate.com/blogs/browbeat/2013/07/18/roger_ebert_reviews_computer_chess.html| date=July 18, 2013| work=[[Slate (magazine)| Slate]]| title=A New Review From Roger Ebert| access-date=July 20, 2013| archive-date=July 20, 2013| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130720225127/http://www.slate.com/blogs/browbeat/2013/07/18/roger_ebert_reviews_computer_chess.html| url-status=live }}</ref> [[Matt Zoller Seitz]], the editor of ''RogerEbert.com'', confirmed that there were other unpublished reviews that would eventually be posted.<ref name="compslate" /> A second review, for ''[[The Spectacular Now]]'', was published in August 2013.<ref>{{cite web |author=Ebert, Roger |url=http://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/the-spectacular-now-2013 |date=August 2, 2013 |publisher=[[RogerEbert.com]] |title=The Spectacular Now (2013) |access-date=October 6, 2013 |archive-date=November 28, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131128064048/http://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/the-spectacular-now-2013 |url-status=live }}</ref>

In his last blog entry, posted two days before his death, Ebert wrote that his cancer had returned and he was taking "a leave of presence."<ref>{{cite news| title=Announcing a 'Leave of Presence,' Ebert Says He's Reducing His Workload| date=April 3, 2013| author=[[Dave Itzkoff]]| work=[[The New York Times]]}}</ref> "What in the world is a leave of presence? It means I am not going away. My intent is to continue to write selected reviews but to leave the rest to a talented team of writers handpicked and greatly admired by me. What’s more, I’ll be able at last to do what I’ve always fantasized about doing: reviewing only the movies I want to review." He signed off, "So on this day of reflection I say again, thank you for going on this journey with me. I’ll see you at the movies."<ref>{{cite web| author=Roger Ebert| title=A Leave of Presence| date=April 2, 2013| publisher=RogerEbert.com| url=https://www.rogerebert.com/roger-ebert/a-leave-of-presence}}</ref>