Life Itself

Life Itself is a 2014 American biographical documentary film about Chicago film critic Roger Ebert, directed by Steve James and produced by Zak Piper, James and Garrett Basch. The film is based on Ebert's 2011 memoir of the same name. It premiered at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival and was an official selection at the 67th Cannes Film Festival. The 41st Telluride Film Festival hosted a special screening of the film on August 28, 2014. Magnolia Pictures released the film theatrically in the United States and simultaneously via video on demand platforms on July 4, 2014. On December 2, 2014, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced that the film was 1 of 15 films shortlisted in the Documentary Feature category for the 87th Academy Awards, but it was not nominated. It was also nominated for two News & Documentary Emmy Awards, winning the award for Outstanding Editing: Documentary & Long-Form. Structure The film makes use of footage and interviews with American film critic Roger Ebert during the final months of his life interspersed with interviews of his friends, colleagues, and family including: Chaz Ebert (his wife), Martin Scorsese, Werner Herzog, Errol Morris, A.O. Scott, Jonathan Rosenbaum, Ramin Bahrani, Gregory Nava, Richard Corliss, and Ava DuVernay, among others. Voice actor Stephen Stanton impersonates Ebert and reads his writings. The film features clips from Ebert's popular television show with Gene Siskel, including outtakes, and their many appearances on shows like The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson and Late Night with David Letterman. The film also explores the relationship between Siskel and Ebert, Roger's friendship with Russ Meyer and their collaboration on Beyond the Valley of the Dolls, as well as how Roger ultimately came to transcend film criticism to become an influential cultural voice. Production On September 7, 2012, a film adaptation of the 2011 memoir Life Itself was first announced by Ebert on Twitter: "Whoa! My memoir has been optioned for a doc by Steve James (Hoop Dreams), with Martin Scorsese and Steven Zaillian as exec producers."