The balcony is closed.

This is the last season of “At the Movies,” the long-running syndicated review show made into a hit in the 1980s by dueling Chicago critics Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert.

The show’s roots go back to 1975’s “Sneak Previews.”

Here’s a statement from distributor Disney-ABC Domestic TV:
After 24 seasons with us in national syndication, the highly regarded movie review show “At the Movies” (formerly known as “Siskel & Ebert” and “Ebert & Roeper”) will air its last original broadcast the weekend of August 14, 2010.

This was a very difficult decision, especially considering the program’s rich history and iconic status within the entertainment industry, but from a business perspective it became clear this weekly, half-hour, broadcast syndication series was no longer sustainable. We gratefully acknowledge the outstanding work of the program’s current co-hosts A.O. Scott and Michael Phillips and top-notch production staff, and it is with heartfelt appreciation that we extend very special thanks to the two brilliant, visionary and incomparable critics that started it all, Roger Ebert and the late Gene Siskel.

Online reviews and aggregators like Rotten Tomatoes and Metacritic have made finding knowledgeable opinions movies easier than ever for fans, yet have also evolved the consumption of criticism in such a way that made the half-hour review show seem dated. “At the Movies” also never again found a critic pairing with the chemistry that matched the breakout pairing of Siskel and Ebert.
(via THR)

Fear not, “Scene Unseen” still has a heartbeat, albeit faint.  We appreciate your loyalty (and passionate bitterness), but truth be told, we probably won’t be blogging much (as I’m sure you’ve gathered).

After 3 1/2 years of podcasting, we felt the show certainly ran its course…and when it comes to blogging, well, those cats over at Slash Film seem to have the recipe down pat.

However, from time to time, Jimbo and I will post items of curiosity (a.k.a., “Random Acts of Interest”) that tickle our fancy, such as the clip below that has been circling the interwebs.  It’s quite a collection of cliche, and if we still yammered into mics, we’d probably riff on this for minutes on end.

Enjoy…

I know what you’re thinking (and by “you,” I mean all three of you that still check this blog out)…where the hell have you guys been?!  You pull the plug on the damn show, you promise to blog more, and then you do jack shit.

Guilty as charged.

Would you believe me if I said we were busy writing, directing, and pre-producing a number of projects both large and small?  I hope so…because it’s true.

Back in December, I posted an article about a documentary I’m producing entitled, Dear Mr. Watterson. We had just launched a 90-day fundraising mission through Kickstarter.com, and I was on my humble knees asking for your support.  Well, it seemed the groveling worked.

Not only did we reach our goal of $12,000, but we did so in 21 days…and are about to peak $16,000.  Our sincere thanks to everyone and anyone who contributed three bucks or more. And, if you’d still like to donate, the sky’s the limit, and Joel (the director) has posted another intro on the Kickstarter site.

In addition, Jimbo and I will probably have some more exciting news and tidbits to share with you in the coming months, so stay tuned.  And just so ya know, if we ever go missing in action, it only means we’re working our f’n tails off creating movies / culture / entertainment for ya’ll to enjoy (and perhaps, rib and ridicule).

Hello there!

I’m the gentleman (and I use that term loosely – eyeing myself over my glasses and everything) that worked with Chris and Jimmy to get this new site up and running. Beyond building websites, I work in the film industry as a producer and writer. I’ll be adding occasional posts to the site about film distribution, overlooked work and general pop culture.

I just wanted to put up a quick post regarding the latest insane entertainment corporation move of the New Year – the Sony Spiderman reboot.

In case you haven’t read/heard about this, Sam Raimi and Tobey Maguire are off the project – and Sony is gleefully looking forward to a grittier reboot of the franchise. Yes – a reboot on a franchise that is less than 10 years old, and only a few years since the last massive (though flawed) blockbuster. I think it’s appalling, weird and a troubling sign of things to come. Salon.com had their film writers toss out some ideas/reactions on where to take things here (you’ll need to sit through an ad) and Scott Mendelson has some great thoughts on it as well.

What do the fiends think? Travesty? Welcome chance for recovery?

One, perhaps, upside is that we could begin to enter a film comic universe full of the endless plot shifts/parallel dimensions/causal paradoxes of actual comics. That’s the best outlook I’ve got.

“Scene Unseen” Store

First Episode of “Scene Unseen” – Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest Review

Don Lafontaine – Official Website

“Monkey Island”

However, now that we’re phasing out the podcast, I feel liberated to share more with you, the blogees, about what’s going on behind-the-scenes. While I have many writing-directing irons in the fire, I am also producing a number of projects on the side…one of which I mentioned briefly on a few episodes.

The project, “Dear Mr. Watterson,” is a documentary that will explore the history, fandom, and cultural impact of the comic strip, “Calvin and Hobbes.” We just released a teaser trailer along with a personal pitch from the director, Joel Schroeder, through Kickstarter.com in order to raise funds for the film.

The site allows anyone and everyone to donate from $3 to $333,333 to various creative pursuits. The catch is, once you set up a financial goal, you’re locked in…and if you don’t meet the dollar amount by the deadline, you get nada.

In our case, we have until March 15th to raise $12,000…and in order to reach this goal, we’re spreading the word to friends, family, and fans of “Scene Unseen.” We’ve already raised over $2000 in just a matter of days, but we still need your help to really launch this film to the next level.

Check out the Kickstarter page here or our website here.

2010 will be a very important year for this passion project…archival research, cross-country road trips, interviews with comic strip creators…and I’ll keep you in the loop as things progress.  As Joel says, “This is just the tip of the iceberg.”

Up in the Air – Official Site

“Los Angeles Times” – Up in the Air Marketing Challenge

“Scene Unseen” Store

Truffaut’s Manifesto

Beyond that, the man is also an accomplished photographer, artist, and musician. The reason for this blog is to direct you toward his personal website – jeffbridges.com – full of free-form creativity, set pictures, hand-drawn sketches, music links, and fragments from his endless creative stream.

Here’s a Widelux picture he took of his head shaving experience to play Obadiah Stane in Iron Man. Jon Favreau sits nearby, offering follicle support.

By the way, just saw the man himself last night at a screening of Crazy Heart…a fine film, and another extraordinary performance.

The Road – Official Site

Robocop vs. Terminator

Post Apocalyptic Movie Mania

Steven Seagal Wikipedia

A little banjo might make this disaster (movie) a little more enjoyable.

More mashup delight after the jump…