The new season of At the Movies begins the weekend of September 6th. I wasn't really expecting Roger Ebert back in the balcony, but Richard Roeper's contract negotiations didn't go well, and he won't be returning, either.
Now we'll have two new hosts, and a "revamped At the Movies aimed at a younger demo." I guess I'm not part of that group, because I liked the the format just the way it was: a little bit like watching Statler and Waldorf banter about movies, but cattier. Michael Phillips, Ebert's long-time stand-in, was even beginning to grow on me. So this bit:
Meanwhile Roeper and Chicago Tribune critic Michael Phillips will shop their show to interested buyers.
is encouraging, at least.
You may have heard the news by now: the theatrical release of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince has been pushed back from this November to JULY 2009, and it's all about the bottom line. Which, of course, is the WB's prerogative.
They just shouldn't be surprised if, in the process, they enrage a majority of their very captive audience, and possibly even lose some allegiance to the Meyer-based films, the first of which is sliding in to take Harry's pre-holiday spot.
