Now I expect this behaviour from Kayne West – an egotistical rapper who thinks the world is his playground and also his punching bag. West was arrested today at LAX after he and a bodyguard attack TMZ photographers and smashed their cameras (Although unrelated to the story at hand, got here to watch the video of Kayne in attack mode).

But did I expect to hear that New York Post film critic Lou Lumenick would attack his physically crippled peer Roger Ebert at a screening yesterday during the Toronto International Film Festival? No, not until I read the following story in the Chicago Sun-Times. Personally, I find the incident in question, as I hope you do, completely absurd and hilarious, even despite the fact that Ebert followed up the original story (wherever it was first published) with this post on his blog, saying, “a fellow critic whacked me with a rolled-up program or a festival binder or something. It has been blown out of proportion. It is of little interest.” Read the following article and let me know what you think.

Ebert confirms fellow critic hit him at Toronto Film Festival
By Phil Rosenthal | Tribune media columnist
4:56 PM CDT, September 11, 2008
Though Pulitzer Prize-winning Chicago Sun-Times film critic Roger Ebert no longer spars over movies with fellow critics on TV, it turns out the 66-year-old reviewer whose speaking voice has been lost to the effects of cancer treatment still has to defend himself from other reviewers — physically, if not verbally.
By e-mail Thursdsay, Ebert corroborated a New York Daily News report that New York Post film reviewer Lou Lumenick whacked the venerated Chicago critic with a binder during a screening last week at the Toronto Film Festival.
Lumenick reportedly was annoyed by being tapped on the shoulder by whomever was sitting behind him, so he got up, turned around and took a swing. Only afterward did Lumenick apparently realize he had hit Ebert, who had simply been trying to silently request Lumenick shift in his seat so as to not to block his view.
“[Lumenick] hit him so hard everybody could hear it,” a source told the Daily News. “Everyone freaked out and turned around.”
Lumenick did not respond to an e-mailed Tribune request for additional details.
Ebert wrote in a story posted to suntimes.com that the incident “has been blown out of proportion [and] is of little interest.” But he also noted his wife, Chaz, who did not witness what happened, was taken aback when she learned of it.
“Her reaction when she heard: ‘I’ll get a no-neck guy from the West Side to break his knees,’” he recalled. “Just rhetorical, I trust.”

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According to IMDB, “Phoebe in Wonderland” is “The fantastical tale of a little girl who won’t – or can’t – follow the rules. Confounded by her clashes with the rule-obsessed world around her, Phoebe seeks enlightenment from her unconventional drama teacher, even as her brilliant but anguished mother looks to Phoebe herself for inspiration.”

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“Substantial amounts of film, video and media arts remain “stuck on the shelf,” inaccessible to large segments of the public. Sometimes this is due to rights-clearance issues, but more often it is because of the high cost to convert to digital formats that would allow for broad circulation. Even media that is available for distribution can be difficult to find because it is held and catalogued in many places, and in less than ideal databases.”

Through a collaboration with Amazon.com, Reframe.com offers these movies for purchase in a digital format. The broader implication here is that independent film is catching up to its big budget counterpart. While high priced actors and large studio special effects may be out of reach of the indies, widespread distribution is not. Another great feature of the site includes collections, movie lists, and commentary on the selected titles by industry professionals.

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“The Foot First Way” stars Danny Mcbride of “Hot Rod” and was actually completed in 2006. After a very limited release way back when, it is now making its way back to theaters. Ruffly, the film follows McBride as tae kwon do instructor who hits rock bottom and goes in search of his idol, a B movie star. You don’t get much of that from the trailer, but you do get the overall comedic feel of this low budget indie opening this week.

Also opening this week:

“Saving Grace”, “Stuck”, and “Bigger, Stronger, Faster”

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Those of you not willing to stay up late for fifteen seconds of spliced content from a ninety-minute film, can come to this site tomorrow, where I will do my best to have the trailer posted.

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This USA Today piece from a few days ago outlines how a rise in corn prices will affect the emptiness of your wallet this summer blockbuster season. And while movie theaters have to battle dangerous movie pirates to protect their 40 percent profit margin on concessions, we will probably be seeing a rise in price of every food item as well; from the 65 ounce Pepsi to the dusty box of Milk Duds that has been screaming to be purchased.

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His first post relays a story of an encounter with science fiction writer Arthur C. Clark when Ebert was a highschooler in Illinois. He goes on to detail a moment later in life when the two met once again, this time due to the release of Clarke’s “2001: A Space Odyssey”. Name dropping and insight ensue, and my excitement builds for what could be, and hopefully will be, many more posts from Ebert. I can only imagine the multitude of actors, directors, writers, and random celebrities, that Ebert has met. As he is never one to pull any punches, I am sure any further stories will be a must read. This all ran through my mind until I read his next post, which could have been titled “A Dose of Reality”.

Ebert mentions that he is actually writing these posts on a legal pad, in his hospital bed. In addition, he states that he will not be attending the days festivities. Now this is bad news for those hopeful Eberfest attendees, but it also puts a hamper on the future of this great blog, before it barely even started. I, as well as many others who read his blog today I am sure, hope that Ebert will be well enough to attend his festival in the coming days, and that he will continue to write daily from the encyclopedia of film knowledge he keeps under the noggin.

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