Roger Joseph Ebert was an American film critic, film historian, journalist, essayist, screenwriter, and author. He was a film critic for the Chicago Sun-Times from 1967 until his death in 2013. Ebert was known for his intimate, Midwestern writing voice and critical views informed by values of populism and humanism. Writing in a prose style intended to be entertaining and direct, he made sophisticated cinematic and analytical ideas more accessible to non-specialist audiences. Ebert frequently endorsed foreign and independent films he believed would be appreciated by mainstream viewers, which often resulted in such films receiving greater exposure. In 1975, Ebert became the first film critic to win the Pulitzer Prize for Criticism. Neil Steinberg of the Chicago Sun-Times said Ebert "was without question the nation's most prominent and influential film critic," and Kenneth Turan of the Los Angeles Times called him "the best-known film critic in America."
The Big Red One is a 1980 American epic war film written and directed by Samuel Fuller, and starring Lee Marvin alongside an ensemble supporting cast, including Mark Hamill, Robert Carradine, Siegfried Rauch, Bobby Di Cicco, and Kelly Ward.
Suellyn Lyon was an American actress who is most famous today for playing Vladimir Nabokov's Lolita in Stanley Kubrick's 1962 film adaptation of Nabokov's eponymous novel, for which she was awarded a Golden Globe.
Eugene Kal Siskel was an American film critic and journalist for the Chicago Tribune. He is best known for co-hosting various movie review television series with colleague Roger Ebert.
Joseph Anthony Mantegna is an American actor. He has starred in the CBS television series Criminal Minds since 2007 as FBI Supervisory Special Agent David Rossi. He has voiced the recurring role of mob boss Fat Tony on the animated series The Simpsons, beginning with the 1991 episode "Bart the Murderer", as well as The Simpsons Movie (2007).
Uncle Nino is a 2003 American film directed by Robert Shallcross, produced by David James, and starring Joe Mantegna, Anne Archer, Pierrino Mascarino, Trevor Morgan, and Gia Mantegna.
Richard Roma is a fictional character from David Mamet's 1983 play Glengarry Glen Ross and its 1992 film adaptation. Roma has been portrayed by a range of actors, including Joe Mantegna, Al Pacino and Liev Schreiber, although the role was originated by Jack Shepherd.
At the Movies is an American movie review television program produced by Disney–ABC Domestic Television in which two film critics share their opinions of newly released films. Its original hosts were Roger Ebert and Gene Siskel, the former hosts of Sneak Previews on PBS (1975–1982) and a similarly titled syndicated series (1982–1986). Following Siskel's death in 1999, Ebert worked with various guest critics until choosing Chicago Sun-Times colleague Richard Roeper as his regular partner in 2000.
Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert, collectively known as Siskel & Ebert, were American film critics known for their partnership on television lasting from 1975 to Siskel's death in 1999.
Heist is a 2001 American heist film written and directed by David Mamet and starring Gene Hackman, Danny DeVito and Delroy Lindo, with Rebecca Pidgeon, Ricky Jay and Sam Rockwell in supporting roles.
Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot is a 1992 American buddy cop action comedy directed by Roger Spottiswoode and starring Sylvester Stallone and Estelle Getty. The film was released in the United States on February 21, 1992. The film received highly negative reviews upon release but grossed $70.6 million worldwide.
Thank God It's Friday is a 1978 American musical-comedy film directed by Robert Klane and produced by Motown Productions and Casablanca FilmWorks for Columbia Pictures. Produced at the height of the disco craze, the film features The Commodores performing "Too Hot ta Trot", and Donna Summer performing "Last Dance", which won the Academy Award for Best Original Song in 1978. The film features an early performance by Jeff Goldblum and the first major screen appearance by Debra Winger. The film also features Terri Nunn, who later achieved fame in the 1980s new wave group Berlin. This was one of several Columbia Pictures films in which the studio's "Torch Lady" came to life in the opening credits, showing off her moves for a few seconds before the start of the film.
House of Games is a 1987 American neo-noir heist thriller film directed by David Mamet, his directorial debut. He also wrote the screenplay, based on a story he co-wrote with Jonathan Katz. The film's cast includes Lindsay Crouse, Joe Mantegna, Ricky Jay, and J. T. Walsh.
Andrew Davis is an American film director, producer, writer, and cinematographer who is known for directing a number of successful action thrillers including Code of Silence, Above the Law, Under Siege, and The Fugitive.
Sneak Previews is an American film review show that ran for over two decades on Public Broadcasting Service (PBS). It was created by WTTW, a PBS member station in Chicago, Illinois. It premiered on November 26, 1975 as a monthly local-only show called Opening Soon...at a Theater Near You and was renamed in 1977 to Sneak Previews and it became a biweekly show in 1978 airing nationally on PBS. It grew to prominence with a review-conversation-banter format between opinionated film critics, notably for a time, Roger Ebert and Gene Siskel. By 1980, it was a weekly series airing on over 180 stations, and it was the highest rated weekly entertainment series in the history of public broadcasting. The show's final broadcast was on October 4, 1996.
Body of Evidence is a 1993 erotic thriller film directed by Uli Edel, written by Brad Mirman, and starring Madonna and Willem Dafoe, with Joe Mantegna, Anne Archer, Julianne Moore, and Jürgen Prochnow in supporting roles.
Queens Logic is a 1991 American ensemble coming-of-age comedy-drama film from Seven Arts Pictures starring Kevin Bacon, Linda Fiorentino, Joe Mantegna, Jamie Lee Curtis, John Malkovich, Ken Olin, Chloe Webb and Tom Waits. It was directed by Steve Rash.
Medusa Challenger (1977) is a dramatic short film that was Joe Mantegna’s first film. The film has been honored with numerous film festival awards and critical accolades. The film is in the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art in New York, the American Film Institute Collection in Washington, D.C., and the Chicago Film Archives. The film is one of the few American films widely seen (legally) in the People’s Republic of China.
Lakeboat is a 2000 American drama film, adapted by David Mamet from his 1970 play of the same name, directed by Joe Mantegna and starring Charles Durning, Peter Falk, Denis Leary and Andy García.
Mad Dogs & Englishmen is a 1971 American documentary film of Joe Cocker's 1970 U.S. tour, directed by Pierre Adidge, starring Cocker and Leon Russell. The film was released on March 29, 1971, by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.
