Martin Scorsese And Steve James To Produce Documentary Of Roger Ebert

By Rob Christopher in Arts & Entertainment on Sep 10, 2012 3:20PM

A few years ago Roger Ebert wrote a book called Scorsese by Ebert. Now it would appear that Scorsese is returning the favor. He's partnering with Steven Zaillian, the screenwriter of Schindler's List, and documentarian Steve James of Kartemquin Films to produce a documentary on Ebert. The filmmakers have optioned the rights to Ebert's 2011 memoir Life Itself (which incidentally was just released in paperback). Ebert told Matt Singer: "I never thought of my book as a doc. I'm keeping hands off any involvement, such as with the screenplay, because I don't want to be a third wheel. Whatever they do I will be fascinated."

You might think that after the massive critical acclaim of The Interrupters, Steven James might be content to just chill out for awhile. But you'd be wrong. In fact his newest documentary, Head Games, will be playing at the Siskel Film Center in just a few weeks. We're definitely excited to see it; we've no doubt that the hot-button topic of traumatic head injuries in sports will benefit from his keen-eyed observation. These same skills, as well as his deep roots in Chicago, also make him the perfect filmmaker to tackle Ebert's story.