By Anthony Kuzminski
{Photo Credit}
Ten years ago today I was sleeping mid-afternoon (probably catching up from seeing a midnight movie and then going out after that) when my father awoke me to tell me that Gene Siskel had died. I was a bit shocked but as I thought about it, it made sense. The previous nine-months had found Siskel in pain and it showed on his weekly shows with Roger Ebert. When I had read that he was taking a leave a few weeks earlier, I chalked it up to someone taking a well deserved rest, but deep down I knew why he was leaving, I just didn’t want to believe it. Growing up in Chicago, Siskel & Ebert were as infamous as any sports player, skyscraper or deep dish pizza (which apparently both Ebert and Siskel loathed). I was into Siskel & Ebert before I was into movies if that made any sense. As I wrote last year, I’d never miss their show, but saw few of the films they reviewed due to my age. However, as I grew older, they were the barometer for what was good and bad. They set the bar high. A movie could be trashed by everyone under the sun, but if it had the S & E stamp of approval, it didn’t seem to matter. I remember reading an interview with Alicia Silverstone about the disappointing box office performance of Excess Baggage from 1997 and she seemed completely unaware of the scathing reviews, but noted that Siskel & Ebert gave it “Two Thumbs Up” and that was all that mattered. They weren’t always right; in fact, I disagreed with both of them at times. I still can’t believe Siskel only gave Scorsese’s Casino two-and-a-half stars.Just yesterday I had the Reelz channel on and the new version of “At the Movies” was on and I think I threw up in my mouth. Every few weeks I think to myself that I’m holding a grudge against the show for replacing Ebert with two guys who seem unqualified for the job. Within two-minutes, I realize I hold no grudges and am not biased; the show in its current incarnation is downright horrendous. It’s an abomination. Watching it makes me sick to my stomach. Somewhere Gene Siskel is probably turning as well. I never met the man, but after taking film classes with Roger Ebert for the better part of a decade, I had an understanding of their relationship. I was in the class with Ebert when Siskel was alive and after he passed. Before he passed there were little jokes here and there about their relationship, but it was usually over a disagreement on a film. It was never personal. After he died, Ebert was incredibly kind to his legacy, but always truthful. The stories he told were nothing short of hysterical. Siskel was right when he said they could have taken their act to Vegas. I’ll share two of those stories here.
Each film class usually had a theme, until one year where Ebert decided that after thirty years of syllabuses, he would just throw it out the window. So every week was a new adventure. One week he brought in the Errol Morris film, Gates of Heaven. If you have never seen it, you should. Morris is possibly the best documentary filmmaker alive today and he first film is as off-the-chart as one could imagine. Heaven is a film about pet cemeteries. No, that’s not a typo; pet cemeteries. The wondrous documentary looks at the business, the people who pay for the land and the stories about their pets. Some feel that Morris was having fun with these people, almost making fun of them, but he’s not. A documentary filmmaker’s job is to shine a light on the life of the subject, no matter how quirky it may be. The film made both Siskel & Ebert’s Top-Ten list in the year it was released. Now, something S & E never did was take money for speaking engagements. They didn’t believe in the quick cash at the time, however, one convention of businessmen were adamant to have them and they would not go away until the duo agreed to give a talk and show a film at a weekend getaway. Siskel & Ebert agreed to attend, under one condition; they choose the movie and no one knows what it will be until they roll film. Can you see where this is going? Little did these businessmen know what they were getting into, many probably figured they would see The Godfather or for the more seasoned film scholars, Citizen Kane. When film began to roll about a film about pet cemeteries, needless to say, the looks on everyone’s faces was of puzzlement. However, by the end, everyone there was entranced as they began their discussion. The conversations became so passionate that the majority of the men skipped the drinks hour to stay behind and deconstruct the film they had just seen. The moral of the story? Never judge a film by its subject matter, a good film is a good film and they come in all shapes and sizes (well, you know what I mean).
The second story was just funny. We were having a discussion about how certain film stars radiate off the screen but only in the movies and not in real life. Roger Ebert chimed in and said “and then there are certain people that look stunning first thing in the morning, like Cameron Diaz”. Due to the cheers and laughter that immediately followed that statement, Ebert realized the slip of his tongue. After he calmed everyone down and chuckling at himself he went on to explain why he made that comment. He explained that at the Cannes film festival, he always brought a large assortment of reading material with him. He always woke up early and headed down to the pool area to eat his breakfast, enjoy the sun and get some reading done. He went on to explain that one year Cameron Diaz would do laps in the mornings and he commented on how with no make-up or anything, she still turned heads. When he was finished, he had a sly smile and said “have I ever told you about the first time Gene Siskel ever saw Cameron Diaz?” Apparently they were in their normal screening room in Chicago seeing an advance screening of the Jim Carrey film The Mask. When Diaz made her appearance on the screen for the first time, Gene Siskel (who always sat in the last row in the middle seat) shouted out “Oh my God…three-stars no matter what happens the rest of the movie!” For the record, Siskel went on to award The Mask three-and-a-half stars.
Please read Ebert's wonderful piece on his late friend published today at his blog.
