Scorsese To Produce Roger Ebert’s Memoir Documentary

Roger Ebert has been the undisputed king of film critics for decades, and is the first in his profession to be awarded a Pulitzer prize. Now, the author of SCORSESE BY EBERT, will become the subject of the text as opposed to the analyst, as Steve James (THE INTERRUPTERS) and Steven Zaillian (SCHINDLER’S LIST) have agreed to make a documentary based on Ebert’s memoir, which is entitled LIFE ITSELF. Martin Scorsese, who shares a long-standing mutual respect with Ebert, has been confirmed as the executive producer for the project.

The confirmation came from Ebert himself, who tweeted the news, before explaining in more detail:

‘This dropped out of the blue. They say they have a good idea for an approach. I believe Steve James’ HOOP DREAMS is one of the greatest documentaries ever made, and my hopes for this are so high. I never thought of my book as a doc. I’m keeping hands off any involvement, such as with the screenplay, because I don’t want to be a third wheel. Whatever they do I will be fascinated.’

The prospect of a film about the life of a film critic is a rare and intriguing one, and it seems like the responsibilities are being put in appropriate hands; James and Ebert are fellow Chicagoans, and Scorsese shares a strict Catholic upbringing with Ebert, of which Scorsese writes about in the foreword to SCORSESE BY EBERT:

‘It did establish an emotional contact point between us, a shared sub-aesthetic understanding, that enabled him to see, and appreciate, things in my movies that were perhaps not so obvious to other reviewers.’

Not only is Ebert’s professional career documentary-worthy, but he has shown great endurance when overcoming personal challenges too. From 2002 he battled relentlessly against papillary thyroid cancer, but fell victim to various other serious health problems as well, which brought him to within an inch of death. He can no longer speak due to this catastrophic turn of events, and uses a device that utilises text-to-speech software.

More details about this potentially momentous documentary will follow as soon as they are available.

Source: IndieWire