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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I have always thought of the Olympic opening ceremonies as a little overdramatic and dare I say cheesy. Well thanks to a 300 million dollar budget and the artistic vision of renowned Chinese film director Zhang Yimou, 2008′s Bejing ceremonies were legendary – despite the frequent flood warnings and technical difficulties interrupting the broadcast thanks to my local NBC affiliate. But don’t listen to me, check out the commentary of film critic Roger Ebert on his blog here
In an insightful review, Ebert gives his take on “Certainly the most expensive theatrical spectacle in history,” which such poignant statements as, “The closest sight I have seen to Friday night’s spectacle, and I mean this objectively, not with disrespect, is the sight of all those Germans marching wave upon wave before Hitler in “Triumph of the Will.”

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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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Not being that familiar with the greater Chicago area, I didn’t know this festival existed until I did a little research, but it sounds like a truly unique event. The festival is held in Champaign Illinois, where Ebert grew up, hosted by the University of Illinois, from which Ebert graduated, and has all its viewings at the Virginia Theater, where Ebert saw movies as a kid. Once called the “Overlooked Film Festival”, the films shown are not submitted, but entirerly hand picked by Ebert himself. Best part yet, each showing is followed by a discussion with Ebert and various people associated with the particular film. This years scheduled films run the gambit from 1927′s “Underworld”, don’t act like you know anything about this, to truly, truly, unsung modern films like “Hulk” and “The Cell”. It is this wild selection that really makes me want to hear the post film discussions. If you want to see the full schedule, or if you live in the area and want to get more information on the event go here.

Also, check out this vintage picture of the Virginia Theater where the showings are going to take place

Side note: I don’t know what it is, but I have loved old theaters ever since seeing “Matinee” as a kid. As well as balconies in said theaters. I love balconies.

Oh, and there is this little thing called the Tribeca Film Festival also starting tomorrow, but you can get much more plentiful information at just about every movie site in existence, so no need for redundancy here.CVirgin

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