Today’s Observer carries a completely delightful Q&A with the one film critic to rule them all, Roger Ebert. It’s really worth reading even if you think films and film criticism is a futile waste of time; here’s a man who’s stared death squarely in the jaw and come out the experience with an optimistic and philosophical outlook on life. I love the plain-speaking simplicity of this answer, when asked how he dealt with the throat cancer that robbed him of his ability to speak:
…How have you got through? What is your secret?
I had no choice. Facts are facts. You can’t brood. It would drive you nuts.
I also love that he seems refreshingly upbeat about the future of journalism. “This is a new golden age for film criticism” is not something you often hear from the old guard, who generally seem suspicious and hostile towards blogging, and the anti-elitist, anything goes model it allows for.
And La Dolce Vita is his desert island film. Amazing. I’m almost reading to forgive him for giving The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor three stars out of four.
The Nuge. 