The life and career of renowned film critic, social commentator and 2009 DGA Honorary Life Membership Award recipient Roger Ebert is recounted in Director Steve James’ new film Life Itself.
Based on Eberts’ memoir of the same name, Life Itself covers his life journey from the University of Illinois to becoming the first film critic ever to win the Pulitzer Prize while working for Chicago Sun Times, then to television where he and Gene Siskel became iconic stars, and finally to what Ebert referred to as “his third act” where he overcame disabilities wrought by cancer to become a major voice on the internet and social media.
Director Steve James conducted interviews with over two dozen people, including lifelong friends, professional colleagues, and filmmakers Ebert championed and befriended such as Errol Morris, Werner Herzog, Gregory Nava, and Martin Scorsese, who is one of the film’s executive producers. According to James, “This movie is a love story really –– Roger’s love for movies, for [his wife] Chaz, and even in his own way, his love for Gene [Siskel]. Ultimately, though, it’s a film about Roger’s love for life itself.”
James discussed the making of the film in a conversation moderated by Director Robert B. Weide (Woody Allen: A Documentary) following the Special Projects Committee’s Documentary Series screening in Los Angeles on October 29. He also participated in another Q&A moderated by Director Alex Gibney (Mr. Dynamite: The Rise of James Brown) following the DGA screening in New York on November 14.
In addition to Life Itself, James’ work includes the feature film Prefontaine; the movies for television Joe and Max and Passing Glory; the feature length documentaries Head Games and Stevie, the International Documentary Association Award-winning mini-series The New Americans; the Emmy® Award-winning documentary The Interrupters; and the DGA Award-nominated documentary At the Death House Door. His Peabody and DGA Award-winning documentary Hoop Dreams was also selected for the Library of Congress National Film Registry.
James has been a member of the DGA since 1995.