Help The Crowdfunded Roger Ebert Documentary 'Life Itself' Reach Its Goal [UPDATE]

By Jon Graef in Arts & Entertainment on Dec 1, 2013 7:00PM

Credit: Roger Ebert in 2004 (Getty Images)

Update, 3:47 p.m.: The official Twitter account for Life Itself said the film is "over 50% funded, just shy of 500 backers."

@Chicagoist Now over 50% funded, just shy of 500 backers. Thanks for the support! http://t.co/0iVqLnXkoU

— Life Itself (@EbertMovie) December 1, 2013

With 20 days left to reach its financing goals, the crowdfunded documentary about legendary Chicago film critic Roger Ebert, titled Life Itself after his 2011 memoir, has secured about 40 percent of its funding to complete postproduction. Help them get over the hump.

Here's the summary of the Steve James directed, Martin Scorsese executive produced documentary, via the film's IndieGoGo page:

LIFE ITSELF, the first ever feature-length documentary on the life of Roger Ebert, covers the prolific critic’s life journey from his days at the University of Illinois, to his move to Chicago where he became the first film critic ever to win the Pulitzer Prize, then to television where he and Gene Siskel became iconic stars, and finally to what Roger referred to as “his third act”; how he overcame disabilities wrought by cancer to became a major voice on the internet and through social media.

Director Steve James (HOOP DREAMS) has conducted interviews with over two dozen people, including lifelong friends, professional colleagues, the first ever interview with Gene Siskel’s wife, and filmmakers Errol Morris, Werner Herzog, Ramin Bahrani, Gregory Nava, Ava DuVernay, and Martin Scorsese, who is one of the executive producers.

Here's the trailer:

Life Itself has raised $56,000 toward a $150,000 goal as of this writing. Check out the IndieGoGo page for contribution perks, which include everything from tote bags to private screenings to a "one-hour Skype/Google Hangout with Steve James and Zak Piper, the director and producer of the documentary."

[h/t AV Club]