CHICAGO - ROEPER QUITTING AT THE MOVIES

At the Movies With Ebert & Roeper will apparently become another entertainment magazine show along the lines of Entertainment Tonight following Sunday's announcement by Chicago Sun-Times columnist Richard Roeper that he will leave the show next month. In a statement, Roeper said, "I wish Disney the best of luck with their new show, whatever form it may take." Roeper said that he intends to launch another movie-review show after his contract with the Walt Disney Co., which syndicates At the Movies , ends in mid-August. He joined Roger Ebert as the permanent co-host of the show in 2000, one year after the death of Gene Siskel, who had reviewed movies in tandem with Ebert since 1975, when they debuted on a Chicago public television station. They moved to commercial TV in 1982. Ebert has not appeared on the show since 2006 due to complications from surgery that left him unable to speak. "In the meantime, it is my intention to proceed elsewhere with my ninth year as the co-host of a movie review show that honors the standards established by Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert more than 30 years ago," Roeper said. "I will be free to share the details on that program in the near future."

21/07/2008