Anyone who knows me knows that there are two guys and a girl who I'm guaranteed to see every week. The girl is my wife Karen. The guys are Siskel & Ebert.
Naturally, then, learning about the death of Gene Siskel was a big blow. This was a man who loved movies. Now, to me, that's about 4000 points of respect right there.
Gene Siskel changed the way we all think and react to movies. If his show and his columns and reviews only made ONE person out there besides me demand an upgrade in quality and intelligence in this fascinating art form, than that's progress towards filling up the extraordinarily shallow idea pool that seems to be festering in Hollywood with scripts worth watching.
Remember "Simply Irresistible"? Me neither. Came out two weeks ago...
Gene's conversations with Roger Ebert took film criticism beyond the stodgy writer behind his desk to a thought exchange that can be understood by everyone. More importantly, everyone could relate to their arguments, which always sought for the uplifting and empowerment of the art of filmmaking.
Besides a great critic, he was also a Bulls fan (and he'll never know how much they're stinkin' up the joint right now. I wish I didn't...). He was also a great father, husband and Chicagoan, endlessly giving to the city and to Parker Schools on Clark St. I had the pleasure of hearing him speak at that school in 1995, and even then he was backing the imagination and power of films that really deserved the recognition like Pulp Fiction and Once Were Warriors.
So, in a day dedicated to Gene, Karen and I went to the movies on Sunday, the day after he died. We've been more-or-less house quarantined while writing and rehearsing a play. With the play's opening last weekend, we have some "free time" (woohoo!) and we're finally catching up on some of 1998's most acclaimed films. We weren't going to spend a day dedicated to Gene seeing Jawbreaker or My Favorite Martian, instead we saw Rushmore and Life is Beautiful. I think Gene would've given our day a thumbs up. We certainly did, as they were both great films.
The guy LOVED movies.
So do I, dammit.
This sucks.
He will be missed.
Yours,
Paul Preston