05 Jul The Script Lab – Life Itself

2013 saw the untimely deaths of two very influential people in my life; my biological mother Mary Ann Holmes and legendary film critic Roger Ebert. Both losing their battle with cancer, similar fighting spirits and graceful acceptance of the end showed fearlessness in character. Those similar attributes have shaped me personally and creatively over the years. Besides sharing my mom’s DNA, her ability to see the world outside of her own lens forced me to double-check preconceived notions of the world I lived in. The same could be said for Ebert who thoroughly understood the language of cinema like no-other yet, could translate its tongue to the common man effortlessly. Makes total sense how he essentially became one of cinema’s most respected film reviewer of all time; something that Hoop Dreams director Steve James details in the documentary companion to Ebert’s 2011 memoir Life Itself. James properly creates a portrait of a man whose ballsy approach to film criticism shaped the industry.

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