Roger Ebert - Nas Palavras dos Outros (III/X)

"Deve-se consideração aos vivos; aos mortos apenas se deve a verdade."
Detestado por alguns, amado por outros mas respeitado por todos, mesmo aqueles que várias vezes criticou nas suas análises ao longo de uma vida, a frase de Voltaire apenas realça a consideração de toda uma indústria e de uma sociedade para com Roger Ebert. As reacções à sua morte surgiram um pouco de todo o lado e, algumas, vindas de amigos pessoais do crítico, são uma forma de conhecer um pouco melhor a sua influência nas mais variadas gerações de cinéfilos e não-cinéfilos.

Barack Obama: "Michelle and I are saddened to hear about the passing of Roger Ebert. For a generation of Americans — and especially Chicagoans — Roger was the movies. When he didn’t like a film, he was honest; when he did, he was effusive — capturing the unique power of the movies to take us somewhere magical. Even amidst his own battles with cancer, Roger was as productive as he was resilient — continuing to share his passion and perspective with the world. The movies won’t be the same without Roger, and our thoughts and prayers are with Chaz and the rest of the Ebert family."

Robert Redford: "One of the great champions of freedom of artistic expression. His personal passion for cinema was boundless, and that is sure to be his legacy for generations to come."

Helen Mirren: "A great friend to the art and the commerce of film. He loved and understood the medium better than anyone. Many of us, including me owe him a great deal. We will all miss him very much."

Oprah Winfrey: "The end of an era."

Steven Spielberg: "Reviews went far deeper than simply thumbs up or thumbs down. He wrote with passion through a real knowledge of film and film history, and in doing so, helped many movies find their audiences. He put television criticism on the map."

Werner Herzog: "I always loved Roger for being the good soldier, not only the good soldier of cinema, but he was a wounded soldier who for years in his affliction held out and plowed on and soldiered on and held the outpost that was given up by almost everyone: The monumental shift now is that intelligent, deep discourse about cinema has been something that has been vanishing over the last maybe two decades. And it has been systematically replaced by celebrity news. It is what it is, and we have to stand the tide. I try to hold out and keep up what Roger was after."

Jimmy Kimmel: "Roger Ebert was an excellent writer, a gifted artist, and as nice a guy as you'll ever meet. Sad he's gone."

Michael Moore: "Roger Ebert. Millions of thumbs up for you."

Morgan Freeman: "He was one of the really great critics. Also an accomplished in depth interviewer for the Chicago Sun-Times. He took me under his wing early in my movie career and was always supportive. I’ll miss him."