Hollywood Heavyweights To Work On Documentary About Ebert's Life
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Some big names in Hollywood have teamed up to make a documentary about the life of Pulitzer-prize winning film critic Roger Ebert.
As WBBM Newsradio's Jackie Swike reports, Ebert, of the Chicago Sun-Times, announced the news on his Twitter account. He tweeted that Oscar-winning director Martin Scorsese and "Schindler's List" screenwriter Steven Zaillian will be partners on the documentary about his life.
Ebert said the film will be based on his 2011 memoir, "Life Itself."
Steve James, who directed the critically acclaimed documentaries "Hoop Dreams" and "The Interrupters," will direct the Ebert project.
Ebert's memoir details the Pulitzer Prize-winning critic's early years, as well as his time with television co-host – the Chicago Tribune and CBS 2's Gene Siskel – who died of complications from a brain tumor in 1999.
Ebert's memoir also details his own subsequent battles with cancer. The surgery he required to treat the cancer left him unable to speak in 2006. James says Ebert's story is "one of great personal struggle and triumph."
Ebert says he "couldn't be happier," and never thought of his book as a film.
LISTEN: WBBM Newsradio's Jackie Swike reports
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