Roger Ebert Attacked At Screening By New York Post Movie Critic

CHICAGO — Film critic Roger Ebert on Thursday confirmed that a fellow critic yelled at him and whacked him on the knee with a program during a movie screening at the Toronto Film Festival last weekend, but said the incident was "blown out of proportion."

"It has been blown out of proportion. It is of little interest," Ebert said in a column posted Thursday on the Web site of the Chicago Sun-Times, where he has been a critic since 1967.

Ebert, who has battled cancer in recent years and was left unable to speak, did not name the other critic involved in the incident. But he said an account published in the New York Daily News that named the other man as rival New York Post movie critic Lou Lumenick was "truthful."

Lumenick did not return an e-mail from The Associated Press after business hours on Thursday.

Saturday's incident began, Ebert said, when he could not see subtitles for the film "Slumlord Millionaire" because the man sitting in front of him was leaning into the aisle.

"In my medical condition I cannot speak, I tapped him lightly on the shoulder, and gestured him to move over a little. He said, 'Don't touch me!' and remained in position. I tapped him lightly again. 'I said _ don't touch me!' He leaned further into the aisle, as if making a point of it. I tapped him a third time, and he jumped up and whacked me on the knee with whatever it was," Ebert said.

Ebert wrote that he tapped the man a fourth time, "just to show I wasn't intimidated." The man was later moved to another seat.

"This whole matter was embarrassing, because it drew attention to me and invited pity, which makes me cringe," said Ebert, former host of the syndicated show "At the Movies with Ebert & Roeper."

While Ebert said he thought the man was wrong for blocking his sight line, the Pulitzer Prize winner said he felt sorry for him.

"He had no idea who was behind him when he smacked me," Ebert wrote. "Now it looked like he was picking on poor me. I have had my problems, but I promise you I am plenty hearty enough to withstand a smack, and quite happy, after the smack, to tap him again."

Comments

[IslandGyal]

PLEASE FORWARD:

"McCain campaign admits mailing 1 Million bad ballot applications to voters in Ohio"


http://news.cincinnati.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/AB/20080911/NEWS0108/309110032/

[kappa08]

What is it with Ohio? Is there like a rush to get the "dumb" or what? Ohio will always vote against their own interests so it's no surprise that they would follow the shiny object when presented. Rather than vote themselves a middle class tax break and an opportunity at leadership with an actual plan.
As far as I'm concerned. Ohio is the Alabama of the north.

[snarkopolitan]

Oh for God's sake, did you take time to read the entire post? Absentee ballots mailed out to Ohio Dems by the Repugs (I usually don't go for name-calling, but in this case it's necessary) had the wrong return address---a dirty trick that could fool plenty of people.

Talk about rushing to the dumb. Any other bright plans for alienating Ohioans?

[RGKahn]

Yes I read the entire post and it has nothing to do with politics. It is about Roger Ebert and NY Post Critic Lou Lumenick who attacked him. WTF are you guys talking about?

[MsLiz]

Good Grief. The subject here is Roger Ebert.

Leave Alabama out of this.

[Bryony]

Its not just Ohio. They are mailing absentee ballots to registered dems in Wisconsin. The ballots have the incorrect return precinct!

[surething]

Ebert wrote that he tapped the man a fourth time, "just to show I wasn't intimidated."

love that!

[Trittydi]

Cute story, nonetheless.
*

[YouDisgustMe]

who the fvck does that to a man this ill??!?!?

[JBS]

According to Ebert, someone who doesn't know who's sitting behind him.

[TheStallion]

Since when does being a mute give someone the right to be a jerk? Lumenick told Ebert after the first tap not to touch him again. So what does Ebert do? He touches him again. I think the guy showed great restraint in waiting until the third poke by Ebert before whacking him on the knee. I know if someone did that to me, I'd reach across the aisle like my name was John Mccain immediately after the second poke. And you can guaran-damn-tee I'd be doing a whole hell of a lot more with that program than whacking someone on the knee with it.

[lokipuck]

WOW! What a man you must be. Especially considering the name you've given yourself, stud.

[davenav]

Yeah! Real men, like you, never allow someone to tap their shoulder!!! But this scenario you describe could never happen -- Ebert doesn't review child porn.

[HollyMartinz]

I would like to point out that this article rips off my actual article about the incident at rogerebert.com, and by adding all those "he saids," destroys the rhythm and form of my prose. Nor does the article even have the decency to link to mine, perhaps because it would be embarrassing to see that HuffPost stole it from me. Nor does it even say where I "said" these things, but implies I said them to HuffPost. Arriana, I love ya, but this practice is immoral, and HuffPost practices it shamelessly.

Roger Ebert

[sharonh]

"A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty." Looks like huffpost is full of opportunists who answer the door when it comes knocking. The quote is Winston Churchill (I give credit where it is due).

[goplayrabbit]

um. this is an AP article, not a huffington post original.

[geneven]

And why doesn't the article say AP? Because HP enjoys pretending that the article originates with it and pays AP for the privilege?

[JBS]

Why does HollyMartinz sign her comment Roger Ebert?

[LiberalBuzz]

Wow, what a Richard to paraphrase Jon Stewart.

[NelsonC]

What a classless punk!
In all the years that I have been at a movie theatre, I've never seen someone haul off and hit someone. And this guy is the Post's film critic? A supposedly professional film-goer?
Ebert has long since solidified his reputation as one of our best film critics. The only thing this Lumenick punk will be remembered for is this juvenile outburst in which he hit a guy who was his superior, in every way.

[LiberalBuzz]

Right on!

[BannedInBoston]

Hey, you've got to remember it's the Post. Pretty much of a piece with the rest of that newspaper (if you can call it that)....

[Deluded]

I think U are all unfair to the Post I always reads it when in NY it keeps me on the straight and narrow liberal path. Besides, like a good Scot I don't actually buy it. I just pick up discarded copies.

[lokipuck]

So what do you do for newspapers when your at home?

[TheStallion]

Ebert hit the guy 3 times first. How many times was Lumenick supposed to let himself be poked before defending himself?

[NelsonC]

"Defending yourself"?

Defending yourself from a guy who is tapping your shoulder?

Defending yourself is when you protect yourself from physical harm. What this guy did was lashing out in blind anger.

He supposedly didn't know he was hitting someone recovering from cancer. Which would mean this guy could just as easily lash out at an 85 year old woman or a child who dared to tap him.

[TheStallion]

What part of "don't touch me" didn't Ebert understand?

[NelsonC]

I suppose that Ebert didn't understand any part of "Don't touch me!" because it is such a wildly irrational response.

Lumenick is a film critic. He's been in a movie theatre before. One would think that he knows that a tap on the shoulder is not a prelude to a mugging. It's not as though he was on his own, in some dodgy theatre on the bad side of town. He was on the job with other professionals representing his paper.

The only mistake that Ebert made was expecting the man to exhibit basic courtesy.

[OrganOfThought]

What part of being a human being didn't this guy understand?

If you go through life everyday being so angry and spiteful that when an old man taps you on the shoulder because he is having some sort of difficulty, you respond like this, it makes you a really screwed up person.

He obviously knew what the problem was because he then exaggerated his leaning into the isle. Even if he didn't recognize Ebert, he could see that he was an old man.

We have all met jerks like this sometime in our life. Lets not pretend he isn't a jerk. Just imagine if most people were like this. It would be very unpleasant living in a city with other humans. So, that means being a jerk is bad.

If you don't agree, then you are one of them.

[Bitsko]

Roger Ebert is an old school eccentric like they don't make anymore. And a pretty good writer/critic too. Lou Lumenick is a hack pushing pencils for a hack paper owned by a hack media conglomerate.

[barrja]

Ebert says he wanted to keep it all quiet: An incident at Toronto

[Swerinjer]

Can someone up in New York please punch Lumineck in the face? He shouldn't get away with what he did.

[IslandGyal]

Sarah Palin's texes; have you all seen this?
http://taxprof.typepad.com/taxprof_blog/2008/09/sarah-palins-ta.html

[PDXTransplant]

The story is here on HuffPo too - search it.

[lbcny]

When Democrats rule and roll back all the F.C.C. loopholes and fix the anti-trust laws that Bush and his cronies allowed we will hopefully put Old Rupert and his gang of thugs out of business.
I am so sick of the MSM media monopolies with their corporate agendas.
Fascists. Bring back the Red Brigade please.

[peachesmahoney]

I wish I had a "festival binder" to whack the smelly guy behind me who talked drunkenly on his cell phone during No Country For Old Men last year!

[ShamusNYC]

The Rupert Murdoch Media Empire: an endless supply of douch e bags.

[BannedInBoston]

Trickle-down douchenomics