A couple of weeks ago, I bid a sentimental adieu to At the Movies with Michael Phillips and A.O. Scott, successors to Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert. The show, which underwent a series of title changes, had aired on Disney-ABC Domestic Television since 1986. Roger Ebert just announced that the show will return in January 2011 on PBS -- where it all began with Siskel and Ebert in 1975 at WTTW Chicago. It was first called Opening Soon at a Theater Near You, then it quickly became Sneak Previews, and today it remains highest rated entertainment show in PBS history. Under the title Roger Ebert Presents At the Movies, the show will continue the same old programming format (complete with "thumbs up"/"thumbs down") as co-hosts Christy Lemire of the Associated Press and Elvis Mitchell of National Public Radio review new films together each week. Additionally, Los Angeles blogger and film critic Kim Morgan (a fellow noir aficionado) and San Francisco attorney Omar Moore, who edits The Popcorn Reel, will serve as correspondents. According to Ebert's press release, the show will also "expand into coverage of New Media, special segments on classics, on-demand viewing and genres, and an extended website." Ebert, who will produce the show with his wife Chaz, plans to make appearances on every episode to review classic, overlooked, and new films with the aid of a computer voice. Here are some excerpts from the pilot taped earlier this summer:
I'm looking forward to seeing where the program goes (although I will miss Phillips and Scott) and I'm delighted to see the tradition live on.
