Friday Clips #4

Some clips of interest to get you through a Friday that feels like a Monday!

---

The Simpsons do Breaking Bad in this neato couch gag:
Scrubs star Zach Braff pleading for your cash to help him get his follow-up to Garden State off the ground (naturally not everyone is over the moon about this Kickstarter trend post-Veronica Mars; I for one won't be contributing): The guerilla filmmaking competition known as 48 Hours is back for another year, with new sponsor Rialto Channel, and their new promo is pure brilliance:
This will likely be the most uplifting vid you'll see all week... Tilda Swinton leading a dance-off at EbertFest to honour the late film critic Roger Ebert:

Ebertuaries

When Roger Ebert passed away last Thursday, I don't think I quite anticipated the extent of emotional outpouring that resulted. Obviously the presence of social media these days does have a way of magnifying things, and Ebert was the possibly most well-known film critic ever, but the wide-reaching grief at the news of his death drove home one point: he meant a heck of lot to a lot of people. Neither Donald Richie nor Andrew Sarris, similarly respected giants in film writing who died in the past year, received this much attention.

Ebert was the rare critic who could cut through all the oft-perceived academic high-brow-ness of film writing and make it accessible to everyone. His conversational style, his unmistakable voice (both in writing and speaking) - which I can still hear, and will miss hearing - was often imitated but never bettered. He could preach movies, but not dumb it down, and as someone who reviews films, this is one thing I try to do, and I can tell you, it's not as easy as Ebert makes it seem to be.

Here's a collection of heartfelt online tributes to the man:

What Did Roger Ebert Mean To You? - AV Club Q&A
Roger Ebert was a Superman - Thompson on Hollywood
A Mentor to the End - Variety's Scott Foundas
Roger Ebert Through The Years - clips
Remembering the Roger I Knew - Suntimes blogger Jim Emerson on his colleague
Roger Ebert, my mentor - Monica Eng, Chicago Tribune reporter

Siskel & Ebert Play a Video Game

Film critics Roger Ebert and the late Gene Siskel challenging each other in a Sega motion-controlled boxing video game. Amazingly, this was back in 1993 - not 1986, which it looks like. Hilarious and bizarre.

Essential Ebert

Roger Ebert is regarded as one of the greatest cinema critics of our time. His work, especially with long time writing and reviewing partner Gene Siskel, is renowned for being unapologetic opinions and having a joyous sense of humour. Many movie-goers highly respect his views and base much of their attendance on his words. Most will recognise his "thumbs up, thumbs down" approach to reviewing, that has become his personal trademark and and a catch-cry of many critics since.

Early last decade he was diagnosed with cancer and continues to battle illness through his life - to the point where he had his bottom jaw removed (see picture), meaning he could not speak which almost crippled his career.

Esquire magazine paid tribute to him this week in this fascinating, insightful and highly touching glimpse into his professional and personal life: http://tiny.cc/82bCK