MichaelPhillips-related stories
Posted Oct 23rd 2009 3:02PM by John Scott Lewinski
Filed under: Other Reality Shows, News, Interviews, Talk Show

It looks like the new crew at Disney's
At the Movies is turning the ship around.
The new series run with fresh hosts (
New York Times film critic, A.O. Scott (left), and
Chicago Tribune film critic, Michael Phillips (right)) has gone 180 degrees in the other direction from the lighter, more sensationalized previous season.
Last year's host combination of Ben Mankiewicz and Ben Lyons often came off more glib than informative -- leaving both critics and fans wondering what happened to the more measured, analytical tone of former hosts Roger Ebert, Richard Roeper and the late Gene Siskel.
Between the two of them, Scott and Phillips bring decades of entertainment writing and critiquing experience -- combining a love of movies with a willingness to tick off the Hollywood powers that be when necessary.
Continue reading A.O. Scott and Michael Phillips on revitalizing At The Movies
Posted Aug 6th 2009 11:02AM by John Scott Lewinski
Filed under: Talk Show, Reality-Free
At the Movies, the long-running cinema review show that once starred well-respected critics Roger Ebert and Gene Siskel, is going back to the idea of employing experienced reviewers as hosts.
Disney and ABC film-canned
Ben Lyons and Ben Mankiewicz this week. The show's now-dismissed young, hipster critics never really showed any particular cinema savvy besides the ability to unfurl sarcastic reviews. And their writing credentials won't be mistaken for the bylines Ebert and Siskel piled up in their careers.
To reverse course in hope of saving
At the Movies, executives are turning to two guys with established chops.
Continue reading At the Movies critics now at the unemployment line
Posted Aug 23rd 2008 9:07AM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: Entourage, Celebrities, Reality-Free

Last season on
Entourage, when Vincent Chase decided to put his own money into
Medellin it was a major risk and he knew it. He was rolling the dice on his career, taking a leap of faith by choosing to do a controversial biography of a vicious Colombian drug lord. In Spanish. Directed by a hot-headed genius/madman named Billy Walsh.
Vinney was playing with dynamite. It wasn't good for Vincent's career, but it was great for
Entourage. Failure is always funnier than success, isn't it?
Well, as bad as viewers thought
Medellin seemed to be based on the brief scenes we saw last season, in the September 7th premiere on HBO, the media weighs in.
At the Movies' critics Michael Phillips and Richard Roeper filmed a
fictional review of Medellin to be shown in season premiere of
Entourage, and it's not good. In fact, if they were stilling using the thumb-o-meter,
Medellin would get two big thumbs-down.
Continue reading At the Movies meets Entourage in season premiere