For moviegoers and critics alike, Steve James’ documentary Life Itself is a very special film, as it looks at the life of world famous movie critic Roger Ebert. Based on the memoir of the same name, James takes us back to the beginning as we see how Ebert became the head film critic for the Chicago Sun-Times, how his relationship with Gene Siskel evolved, and how the loss of his voice made him all the more prolific as a writer.
While I unfortunately never had the honor of meeting Roger Ebert before he passed away, I did get to meet his wife Chaz when she arrived in Los Angeles, California to do some press for the new documentary. While there she was joined by James, whose films Hoop Dreams, Stevie and The Interrupters Roger championed endlessly.
During our exclusive interview, we spoke about how much the documentary changed through production, Chaz’s relationship with Gene, what it was like working with Martin Scorsese and some of the other filmmakers who helped produce, and much more.
Check it all out in the video below and be sure to catch Life Itself in theatres as it’s now playing!