..Gary Dretzka
..Leonard Klady
..David Poland
..Doug Pratt
..Ray Pride

10 Questions:
Roger Ebert

On the occasion of Roger Ebert being honored by the IFP/NY Gotham Awards, the first Pultizer Prize winner for film criticism agreed to answer MCN's 10 Questions.

	Your enthusiam since your return to weekly criticism is apparent. Does it feel any different after a year off and do you see it changing at all in the future?
I'm writing as much, or more, than ever, and really throwing myself into it. Deprived of the power of speech, I find I can still see, hear and write, and so functioning as a print movie critic is something I can still do as I always did. After another surgery I hope to regain the power of speech, but whatever happens, writing is a joy and a consolation. I am very enthusiastic about what Jim Emerson and I are doing at rogerebert.com.
	You have always been a big supporter of emerging filmmakers. Whose work have you seen lately that is turning you on?
Ramin Bahrani (Man Push Cart) had a film at Toronto titled Chop Shop that amazed me with its power. comparable to Pixote. Eric Byler is someone to keep an eye on after Americanese. Jason Reitman's Juno you want to hug.
	Even as studios are homoginizing "indie film," there seem to be more and more films that seem nearly experimental being made by established filmmakers and/or movie stars. How do you feel about these envelope pushing films from the "Dependents?
I thought Soderbergh's Bubble was a real achievement. Pan's Labyrinth merged total fantasy and total reality. I admired DiCillo's Delirious and its great Buscemi performance. These established filmmakers have not forgotten their indie roots.
	We are about 10 years into the internet revolution - you still have your Compuserve address, as a very early adopter - and about 5 years into cheap hi-def cameras. How do you think the "anyone can film" revolution is going?
Well, it's happening, but celluloid is still the dominant medium. The technology is there but you know what? You still need the talent, the story, the acting.
	Specifically, do you see "mumblecore" as a spin on greats like Casavettes or is it something different?
I don't know what the hell it is, which is part of the charm. It can be anything. There is no longer a dominant model.
	Do you have a special place in your heart for films being made by the over-70 set, like Coppola and Lumet?
God, is Francis over 70? Yes, I guess I do. I really miss Robert Altman. What a great man. Lumet just made one of his best films ever, at 83. I'm going to see Coppola's "Youth" in three days. Film directors may be like orchestra conductors: the work keeps them young. Werner Herzog is 65 and still the most energetic and daring director in the business. Scorsese is 65. No retirement age there.
	Is the state of film criticism as bad or as threatened as some would say?
There are better and worse critics. Always have been. The difference is the internet. Now we all swim in the same sea. Look at the success of Berardinelli or JoBlo, or the Salon and Slate critics. All generated not by marketing but by ability. Look at Jim Emerson. Look at David Bordwell, brilliant academic, brilliant blogger. Look at you, and the other critics at your site -- although was Ray Pride (who I admire) frothing at the mouth when he reviewed Delirious? What DID get into him?
	Your ability to help an indie run for weeks in Chicago is a well-established reality, as it is in NY for the New York Times. Is the notion of films travelling and building support city to city old fashioned? Are we now in a national discussion when films emerge that requires change in distribution?
I have a long piece coming out on Nov. 30 trying to answer this and related questions as posed to me by Tom DiCillo.
	You were a big supporter of increased quality in celluloid projection? Have you given in to the idea of digital projection and what do you see as its stregnths and weaknesses?
It has gotten a lot better. Ideologically, I support celluloid, but the flexibility and cost of digital projection may allow low-overhead indie houses, etc., and I would be foolish not to be supportive. The success of IMAX 3-D with movies like Beowulf is still another reason for someone to take a gamble on the awesome, off-the-map quality of MaxiVision. Those who have seen it know what a movie can look like. It leaps beyond 70mm, everything. And so relatively cheap, especially to theaters ($12-15,000 per screen).
	You have long said that Stanley Kauffman is the critic who can force you to rethink your initial criticism of a film. Is that still true and are there other influences, critics or otherwise, that turn your head now.
Kauffmann still commands my respect. The list is long enough with one name.
	Blu-ray or HD? Are you using the formats and do either or both get your thumb up?
	I've had it with format wars. Just let them decide. I remember when I was playing "video discs" in 1981 with a needle.

November 27, 2007

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