This past September, Roger Ebert announced At the Movies would be coming back on public television, with him overlooking the production. Originally, the two critics who were going to star on the show were Christy Lemire of the Associated Press and Elvis Mitchell, formerly of the New York Times. Mitchell bowed out, though, and ever since Ebert and his wife Chaz (producer of the show) have been searching for a replacement. Well, finally this week Ignatiy Vishnevetsky was announced as Mitchell’s replacement.
Vishnevetsky might be a new name on the scene, but he’s got a slew of solid references. He currently writes for Mubi.com (previously The Auteurs) and The Chicago Reader as well as being the co-founder of Cine-File.info. According to Ebert’s press release, he was “struck by the depth and detail of [Ignatiy’s] film knowledge, and by how articulate he was.”
What many people are wondering is what his movie taste is like. Well in a ballot submitted as part of IndieWire’s Annual Critics Survey for 2010, Vishnevetsky lists some great films most people haven’t seen, including: The Girl on the Train, Vincere, World on a Wire, the Claire Denis film White Material, The Father of My Children, Vengeance and Eccentricities of a Blonde-Haired Girl. Strangely though, he also lists the incredibly disappointing George A. Romero’s Survival of the Dead and the overrated Ghost Writer. I have to give him credit for eight out of ten great choices and it’s always nice to see a fresh face.