Stop Ben Lyons (He Destroyed "At the Movies")
TMC
On July 21, 2008, Richard Roeper announced that he was leaving the
show after he and Disney-ABC Domestic Television did not reach an
agreement on a new contract. His last show aired on the weekend of
August 16. On the same day, Roger Ebert announced through a statement
on his website that Disney had "decided to take the program... in a
new direction" and that he would therefore no longer be associated
with the show. Both Ebert and Roeper have hinted of returning for a
possible new show that would continue the traditional format devised
by Ebert and Gene Siskel. The following day, Disney announced that Ben
Lyons (son of film critic Jeffrey Lyons) and Ben Mankiewicz would take
over as the new hosts for At the Movies beginning on September 6,
2008. The intention was that Lyons and Mankiewicz would take the show
in a new direction, hoping to widen the viewership and appeal to
younger audiences as well. The show generally maintained the same
format as before, with one of the two critics presenting a film,
leading to a discussion of its merits.
The See It/Skip It/Rent It review thumbnails, the DVD recommendations,
and the "3 to See" segment were retained. For some films, the show
used a new "Critics Roundup" segment (see below). In addition, instead
of the traditional "The balcony is closed" sign-off, one of the hosts
said "We'll be at the movies," which echoed the "We'll see you at the
movies" sign-off from the first seven seasons of Sneak Previews and
the Tribune Entertainment-produced At the Movies. The show also
featured a new upbeat theme arrangement and brighter color scheme. An
attempt to liven up film clips during reviews by filling clip
letterboxes with coloring was quickly discontinued after the first two
episodes due to viewer complaints.
During Lyons' tenure on At the Movies, he received criticism for his
perceived lack of understanding of films and film history, use of
positively phrased quotes (sound bites) in reviews which appear
tailored for use on movie advertisements (and increasing one's media
profile), and for conflicts of interest in posing for photographs with
actors whose movies he later reviews.
Whilst not specifically mentioning Ben Lyons by name, Roger Ebert has
written a general commentary on ethical standards for film critics,
which other commentators have interpreted as implicitly critical of
Lyons and responding to comparisons of Ebert with Lyons. Ebert later
acknowledged that Lyons was indeed the subject of the commentary.