A Quick, Emotional Post

To call Roger Ebert an idol for me is almost an understatement. I've loved movies since before I can even remember, but it was only when I discovered "Ebert & Roeper" that I feel my true passion for film ignited. I still remember waking up every Saturday morning and writing down any film they gave a "thumbs up" to for future reference. Later, I obsessively watched dozens of their archive reviews, as well as full episodes of "Siskel & Ebert." I even did a project on Ebert for my freshmen year journalism class in high school. Ebert, in my opinion, is a true genius when it comes to analyzing and critiquing films and, more importantly, an incredible human being. When he was first diagnosed with cancer I was deeply saddened and, years later, I sat on my couch with my family, a huge smile on my face, watching him talk to Oprah about fighting the illness. When it comes to naming major influences in my life, I don't like to arbitrarily throw out names, but I feel confident in naming Ebert on my life as a journalist, a film lover and even a human being.

Having just read Ebert's recent blog post about how his cancer has returned and that he is taking a "leave of presence", I am overcome with a variety of emotions. I'm, obviously, very upset. It's always difficult to see anyone, let alone someone you consider a personal hero, dealing with cancer. I'm also deeply moved by Ebert's optimism in the face of this disease, both from when it originally appeared in 2006 up to now. I tend to try to leave personal feelings out of this post, unless it involves my thoughts on a film or recent film news. But it's because of Roger Ebert that I started writing about movies in the first place, so it only felt right to put what I was feeling up on this page. So, I just want to say that I'm thinking about and praying for Roger Ebert- a great critic and a great man.