Jesse Grant/Getty ImagesRoger Ebert is giving a big thumbs-up to a new version of an old classic.
The legendary film critic is reviving his 35-year-old syndicated movie review show, At the Movies, with a new pair of critics along with cameos from his Pulitzer Prize-winning self.
Dubbed Roger Ebert Presents At the Movies, the new program will see fellow cinephiles Christy Lemire from the Associated Press and former New York Times reviewer Elvis Mitchell go head-to-head—and thumb-to-thumb—each week.
The new crew will trade opinions in the same half-hour format pioneered in 1975 by Ebert and Gene Siskel. After Siskel's death in 1999, Ebert continued with his Chicago Sun-Times colleague Richard Roeper, but he was eventually forced to step down after a bout of throat cancer that cost him his voice.
The show continued with several other critics (including E!'s Ben Lyons), before getting canceled earlier this year.
Ebert, now outfitted with a computerized voice, will turn up in segments titled "Roger's Office," offering points of view and reviews devoted to classics, overlooked and new films.
"This is the rebirth of a dream," said Ebert, noting that it will be Lemire and Mitchell "awarding the Thumbs" as "you can't have three Thumbs."
The show will also feature occasional contributions from popular film bloggers Kim Morgan and Omar Moore.
The reimagined At the Movies, which will be coproduced by Ebert and his wife, Chaz, and tape in Chicago, will also return to its original home at WTTW and once again be distributed to PBS stations across the country.
Congrats, Roger.