Late October, 2016
This was a 'bathroom read' and I had been chipping away at it since early summer. Reaffirms the fact that not only did Roger have impeccable taste in films, but he was also a terrific writer.
The book was released in 1984, so it's pretty dated, and some of the 'stars' were unknown to me. But a visit to wikipedia and I was onboard.
My favorite entries dealt with John Belushi. Ebert had an uncanny ability to describe both the man, and his crippling addiction. Early in his career, Ebert also suffered from alcoholism. After reading his treatment of Belushi, I found WIRED, his biography by Bob Woodward, in the collection, and I read this one with renewed interest.
The title of the book is taken from the song, 'As Time Goes By'. This piece of music is associated with the classic film, CASABLANCA.
The actors from RUMBLEFISH (Matt Dillon, Diane Lane, Vincent Spano) are nearly unknown, at the time and barely out of childhood.
David Bowie is treated as an 'actor'. His interview took place after he disbanded the Spiders From Mars Band and he claimed that he had left the music industry.
Kirk Douglas struck Ebert as extremely intelligent.
Jerry Lewis said that you can tell a crazy person by watching his eyes.
Charles Bronson was a coal miner.
Brook Shields is a child actor.
Woody Allen actually did prefer the big city of NY and hated the country.
Clint Eastwood sounds sane.
Most of the entries were written for magazines and seemed to be 'just long enough'. The impression created was indelible.
I'd read (watch, see, or taste) read anything by Roger Ebert.
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