Roger Ebert on Ego | Blank on Blank | PBS Digital Studios

"I have innate confidence that I am right. Partially out of conviction and partially as a pose." - Roger Ebert in 1990

This episode contains excerpts of Lawrence Grobel's extended interviews with Roger Ebert and Gene Siskel in 1990. The famous duo worked side-by-side from 1975 until Siskel’s death in 1999, co-hosting the acclaimed, nationally syndicated show Siskel & Ebert. They remained together despite–or perhaps because of–their famously tumultuous relationship.

We focused on the ideas of ego and cultural taste that bubbled up throughout the interviews with Roger Ebert. They are essential to both creatives and the people who critique them. Was Ebert a genius? A blowhard? You be the judge.

CHOICE QUOTES
"My favorite love scenes in movies don’t involve passion, they involve nobility or sacrifice"
"Who wants to live in the present? It’s such a limiting period compared to the past"
"What makes people interesting is the spirit that shines through"

Get more Roger Ebert including his powerful story of finding his voice after losing the ability to speak, a choice list of his wicked one-line reviews, plus his screenplay that became an X-rated cult classic:
blankonblank.org/interviews/roger-ebert-on-love-ego-movies-criticism-filmmaking

Subscribe for new episodes every other Tuesday (it's free):
www.youtube.com/subscription_center?add_user=blankonblank

Executive Producer: David Gerlach
Animator: Patrick Smith
Audio Producer: Amy Drozdowska
Colorist: Diana Tantillo

Music You Heard
“Please Listen Carefully” Jahzzar
“On Things Invisible To The Eye (Act II)” Lloyd Rodgers

Music from APM
“It’s That Rag Again” by Terry Day
“The Entertainer” performed by David Graham Farnon
“Romantic Moment” by Harry Lubin

Photos You Saw
Kevin Horan
C. Art Shay
Kartemquin Films / Life Itself

Watch our previous episodes:

Ayn Rand on Love & Happiness
www.youtube.com/watch?v=mQVrMzWtqgU

Joni Mitchell on Illusions
www.youtube.com/watch?v=gDu36PgFwWs

John Coltrane on Giant Steps
www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZF0EvYd_Bgw

Ray Bradbury on Madmen
www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ciQoov55fM

Dolly Parton on Getting Dirty
www.youtube.com/watch?v=2RJPc9DXnys

Lou Reed on Guns & Ammo
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jcd9BS2Ty_M

BB King on The Blues
www.youtube.com/watch?v=-tIphqWYu_s

Elliott Smith on Freaks
www.youtube.com/watch?v=pAP3sYaaBv4

Robin Williams on Masks
www.youtube.com/watch?v=2PHGmIAv4Dc

Wayne Coyne on Living with Death
www.youtube.com/watch?v=OJXU7f0hI30

Maya Angelou on Con Men
www.youtube.com/watch?v=VybIJEA41yk

Bette Davis on The Sexes
www.youtube.com/watch?v=RNnTUyrxzWY

Michael Jackson on Godliness
www.youtube.com/watch?v=YoCa3Po7M_8

Jimi Hendrix on The Experience
www.youtube.com/watch?v=nK2lfs_uiwk

Meryl Streep on Beauty
www.youtube.com/watch?v=OG_T5dwnJuM

Philip Seymour Hoffman on Happiness
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Osn8rjkPyYM

David Bowie on Stardust
youtu.be/lFIDXXDsxAo

Gene Wilder on The Truth
www.youtube.com/watch?v=8PUW2POEjX4

John Lennon on Love
youtu.be/DmvmnYEy9NY

Johnny Cash on The Gospel
youtu.be/ALGi0tcFCcw

Heath Ledger on Role Playing
youtu.be/qDRUzbAa6lI

Tupac on Life and Death
www.youtube.com/watch?v=6x2FqX2YZws

Kurt Cobain on Identity
youtu.be/C1Z2BkZaOQc

Janis Joplin on Rejection
www.youtube.com/watch?v=VdF4b1_LQnQ

Barry White on Making Love
www.youtube.com/watch?v=SmJIlqjYGkw

Maurice Sendak on Being a Kid
www.youtube.com/watch?v=KvtgqJTVVhE

Carol Burnett on Finding Home
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Aixlc1DJZiE

Grace Kelly on JFK
www.youtube.com/watch?v=K5EOuppHoTM

Farrah Fawcett on Stiletto Power
youtu.be/8Eskff0RUQ8

Beastie Boys on Being Stupid
www.youtube.com/watch?v=E4mx2P...

David Foster Wallace on Ambition
www.youtube.com/watch?v=w5R8gd...

Wilt Chamberlain on Tall Tales
www.youtube.com/watch?v=zxLiVn...

Larry King on Getting Seduced
www.youtube.com/watch?v=1yD8Pz...

Jim Morrison on Why Fat is Beautiful
www.youtube.com/watch?v=BhszZ5...

Help us caption & translate this video!

amara.org/v/Q8FT/