What do you do when you don't have the Ebert and you don't have the Roeper of At the Movies With Ebert and Roeper?

CNN reports that Richard Roeper, the Gene Siskel replacement who has been co-hosting the show since 2000, has declined an offer to renew his contract. After 8 seasons, he's heading on and his last stint on the show will air August 16-17. Roeper says that Disney offered to extend his contract, and he "opted to wait. Much transpired after that behind the scenes, but an agreement was never reached, and we are all moving on." For Richard, that means going to new reviewing pastures. He says that he will be co-hosting another reviewing show, and "will be free to share the details on that program in the near future."

With both of the hosts gone, what happens now? A show with recognizable celebs and guest hosts? Nothing? According to a statement from Roger Ebert, the era is over: "After 33 years on the air, 23 of them with Disney, the studio has decided to take the program named Siskel & Ebert and then Ebert & Roeper in a new direction. I will no longer be associated with it."

It's not entirely shocking news, but it does feel sad. That being said, Roeper isn't the only one with some future plans. Check out the statement after the jump and see for yourself.

Boy, Roger Ebert sure hasn't lost a bit of his sense of humor over the past couple years of medical trials and travails. Today on his blog, er, journal, Ebert gets around to writing a review of the Canadian film Young People F*cking, which he headlines with "Ok, here's your f***ing review." I almost spit my iced coffee all over my laptop screen when I saw this entry because, while I'm sure Roger is perfectly capable of spewing out the f-word on appropriate occasions, he's just ... well, he's simply not the sort of guy one imagines going around randomly dropping the f-bomb.

The filmmakers, no doubt, will be thrilled that Ebert reviewed their film, and more so that he quite liked it. He points out the title could be something of a distractor from a film that's he calls "good-humored, thoughtful, observant." My favorite part of his review, though, is where he notes: "With an admirable sense of symmetry, Gero follows these four couples (and a threesome) through six stages of f***ing, which he identifies as prelude, foreplay, sex, interlude, orgasm and afterglow. That seems like a pretty comprehensive list, omitting only Sending Out for Chinese."

It's hard to say which event in midtown Manhattan on Thursday night was cooler: New German Cinema legend Werner Herzog in conversation with director Jonathan Demme at the Times Center, or the two crazed climbers who attempted to scale the New York Times building right next door just a few hours earlier. In some ways, the two occurrences worked together: It was later announced that one of the climbers did it in order to raise awareness about global warming, a relevant issue for anyone interested in Herzog's latest film, the remarkable Antarctica odyssey Encounters at the End of the World. Like most of Herzog's documentary work, it's a brilliant amalgam of gorgeous imagery and Herzog's personal philosophies. Not a scientist himself, he spends time in their company down south, seeking to understand their behavior ("Is this a big moment?" he asks when they nonchalantly announce the discovery of a new bacterium).

Demme, admitting that he and Herzog had just met earlier in the evening, opened the conversation by reading an effusive letter to Herzog written by Roger Ebert after the critic discovered that the director dedicated Encounters to him. Herzog seemed displeased that Ebert printed the letter ("Those things should stay between two men") but had only praise for his friend. "I salute him, a good soldier of cinema," he said. "We have very few left."

Ever the astute observer, both of movies and of real life, Roger Ebert posted on his shiny new blog today a great post wondering what Hillary and Bill: The Movie might look like. Ebert talks about great political movies of the past, especially noting two of my own faves, Barry Levinson's Wag the Dog and Warren Beatty's fantastic Bulworth (two of the best political movies ever made). He ponders what a movie -- a narrative, not a documentary -- following the private moments of Hillary and Bill Clinton, during the last days of this seemingly endless primary campaign, might look like. Ebert writes:

Yet there must have been private moments of despair. The two realists, as able as anyone to read the trends, must have spoken privately about their shrinking options. And on Tuesday night, as Hillary's double-digit lead in Indiana dwindled to very small single digits, there must have come a time when one of them said, "We've lost this thing."

What were those moments like? What kept them going between themselves? Did they encourage one another, or was there an unspoken pact not to voice the unspeakable? Was there blame when Bill had one of his unwise moments? Did their shared past, of success and scandal, enter into it, or were they absorbed in this moment?

In answering those questions, there you would find the movie.

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Count me among the ranks of drooling Dark City fanboys. The original DVD is a prized possession of mine -- aside from being a good transfer of a great film, it also features one of the best commentary tracks I've ever heard (thanks Rog!). There had been whispers of a Director's Cut DVD as early as 2005 and as late as three weeks ago. Now, courtesy of Ropeofsilicon, we have hard facts.

The new disc will hit on July 29th, in both standard and Blu-Ray formats. The new cut isn't just a "little longer," as previously reported, but 15 minutes longer -- 111 minutes instead of 96. And you can see the beautiful new cover art below the fold. No official word on the other rumored additions Scott talked about earlier in the month -- a new score, new special effects, new interviews, a possible theatrical re-release -- but since those had come from co-writer David S. Goyer, we can assume that they're forthcoming (except the theatrical re-release, which seems like wishful thinking). Warner Bros. did say that the DVD will include "new special features."

Director Alex Proyas, meanwhile, is back in the sci-fi saddle, working on the intriguing-sounding Knowing with Nicolas Cage. A movie of Dark City's caliber is unlikely, to put it mildly, but we can dream.

I said goodbye to Urbana Sunday, after a fun-filled time at the 10th annual Ebertfest. Saturday's schedule was packed with a marvelously diverse slate of films, starting off with Ang Lee's Hulk. Now, I am admittedly not a comic geek, and I like smart, artsy films, which is probably why I'm in the minority in enjoying Lee's take on the Hulk story.

I've never understood the hate for this film; there are some great shots in the film and it's artistically beautiful. Plus, I like how Lee explores the father-son and anger issues underlying the origin story in the film. The audience at Ebertfest, at least, was very enthusiastic in their response to Lee's film; it may well have been the most positive audiene reception he's had for Hulk since its inception.

Here are a few pics from the fest, more after the jump ...

I missed out on the first film of yesterday's slate, Shotgun Stories by Jeff Nichols, because I wanted to get my first dispatch up before I left the hotel for the day. By the time I made it over to the Virginia Theater and found parking (a feat almost as difficult as finding parking in New York City -- okay, not quite, but it is a bit of a challenge) the screening had started already.

Fortunately, I've seen the film already on a screener, and though I would have liked to have seen it on a big screen, I can tell you that this tale of brothers in rural Arkansas coming to terms with the death of their abusive father is an excellent little indie film, and very deserving of the Independent Spirit Award it won earlier this year. Hanging out outside the theater throughout the day, I kept hearing fest folks talking about this film and how much they loved it, and I'm glad Roger added it to this year's program.

I arrived in lovely Urbana, Illinois late Wednesday night after being grounded by a thunderstorm and missing my connection in Chicago, but all is well now that I'm here for this lovely little fest. The heart and soul of Ebertfest, of course, is Roger Ebert, who is sadly absent this year due to fracturing his hip while doing physical therapy trying to get strong enough to be here.

Roger has written on his own blog about his sadness at not being able to be here to enjoy the films he programmed and to see his many friends. Those of us who are here for the fest feel his absence. Last year, he sat in the back row of the Virginia Theater, ensconced in the recliner brought in for him, where he sat flanked by his nurse on one side and wife Chaz on the other, and his warmth and enthusiasm radiated through the stately theater. This year, the chair sits empty, and though he is here in spirit, that gentle, humble presence and ever-ready smile are keenly missed, though everyone here, of course, is more concerned about his health than anything else.

Roger Ebert is, by far, the most recognized name in film criticism. He started writing about film for the Chigaco Sun-Times the year before I was born, won the Pulitzer the year I turned eight, and he's been at it prolifically ever since. The man sees more movies and writes more reviews than just about anyone I know, and he's barely let the past year-and-a-half or so of illness and rehabilitation put a dent in his workload.

Monday, with typically little fanfare, Ebert took on even more work, this time in the form of a blog added to his website. He's calling it "Roger Ebert's Journal," and his first entry is about leading a delegation of the Urbana High School Science Fiction Club to a speech by Sir Arthur C. Clarke at the University of Illinois. (Can't you just picture him as the leader of a sci-fi club? I can.) Ebert shares a little slice of movie history in the post, talking about the Cinenamia CD-ROM (kind of a precursor to IMDb), of which Clarke was apparently quite fond.

The best part for Ebert's fans is that, in addition to being able to read more of his excellent writings, he's left comments open on the blog. So pop on over there, read his inaugural post, and give him a warm shout-out in the comments. Welcome, Roger, to the fast-paced world of film blogging. We at Cinematical give you our warmest welcome, and we'll be keeping an eye on your journal to see what you're writing about, in between churning out all those reviews.

Roger Ebert's January announcement that he was going in for another major surgery began a long and disquieting silence. As the reviews he had written in advance started to run out, with no updates on his health and more and more of the content on his website being contributed by its steadfast editor Jim Emerson, some people began to worry that something was very seriously wrong. March saw the announcement that Ebert would reappear for his annual Overlooked Film Festival in Urbana-Champaign, but there was still no word from the man himself.

Yesterday, much to my relief, a typically funny and self-deprecating message from Roger appeared on his site and in the Sun-Times. It confirms his planned appearance at Ebertfest in late April, and, better yet, announces that he will return to reviewing movies shortly afterward. The bad news is that the surgery didn't restore his ability to speak, which will for the moment preclude Ebert's return to his TV show where Richard Roeper has been valiantly trying to hold down the fort. (Is anyone still watching?) That aside, though, the dispatch is overwhelmingly good news.