Did you know that the show “At the Movies with Ebert & Roeper” is owned by Disney? Well, I didn’t. But apparently, Disney has decided that they want to “take the show in a new direction.”

One that doesn’t involve Ebert. Or Roeper.

It all started when Roeper and Disney were not able to come to an agreement on his new contract. Ebert has been out since his surgery and will be unable to return for the forseeable future, so Disney has decided to revamp the whole thing.

Just recently, it was announced that TCM’s Ben Mankiewicz and Ben Lyons (Jeffrey’s son) will be the new hosts. Ben has the advantage of being young and fresh, while Mankiewicz has the advantage of being a somewhat familiar face. But will viewers stick with the show?

In his years on the show, Roeper has gained enough noteriety to do whatever he wants. And according to the man himself, he intends to “proceed elsewhere” and to “honor the traditions” of the show that Siskel and Ebert created so many years ago.

As for Ebert? While he may never appear on T.v. the way he used to, he remains active behind the scenes of the show and will certainly carry this over to his new project, whatever it may be. The rights to his trademark “thumbs up” still belong to him and Gene’s widow, so they will go with him.

Ebert and Roeper might opt to stay together, although there has been no comment from either party on whether the possible shows each has discussed might be the same one.

While I’m too young to remember much about Siskel and Ebert, I very much enjoyed listening to Ebert and Roeper’s podcast back before Ebert’s health problems tore him away. I found a copy of one of his movie yearbooks on clearance at the bookstore, and I often enjoyed thumbing through it just for his witty, unique take on things.

The Sun-Times has been doing a good job of replacing him. Guest reviewers are often quoted as Ebert by people who don’t notice the difference, and I can’t blame them; the wording and points of view often mimic Ebert’s enough to satisfy his fans.

But there will never be another Roger Ebert. Now rendered unable to speak because of his thyroid cancer and subsequent surgeries, he still writes reviews and makes sure to stay in the public eye to raise awareness of his disease. As silly as it is to say this, I have to give him two great big thumbs up.

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