Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert photo in Gene Siskel Film Center in Chicago. (Image: Karen Pilling (CC), via Flickr)
Pulitzer-winning film critic Roger Ebert has announced that his show Ebert Presents: At the Movies will take a break at the end of December.
According to Ebert’s Wednesday post on the Chicago Sun-Times blog, the film criticism public TV program, produced and mainly funded by the critic and wife Chaz, will go on hiatus.
The show intended to gain vigor from the several review shows hosted by Ebert and his late colleague Gene Siskel, namely Sneak Previews, At the Movies, and Siskel & Ebert.
Ebert, the first film critic to win a Pulitzer Prize for Criticism, said he and Chaz no longer have enough funds to continue and are currently looking for new sponsors to extend the program.
“We’ve spoken to the top executives of several channels and film distributors, charitable foundations, web delivery services, potential corporate sponsors, and crowd-funding sources,” said Ebert.
“We are still talking with them, but the time crunch has intervened. It is a complicated process, and so we are going on hiatus while we sort it out,” he added.
Associated Press’ Christy Lemire and Ignatiy Vishnevetsky of Mubi.com host Ebert Presents: At the Movies.