At the Movies Gets the Full Disney Treatment
Disney ABC has named two new “charismatic co-hosts” for their syndicated At the Movies franchise - in E! Television’s ass-sniffing, red carpet rover and alleged critic Ben Lyons, as well as Turner Classic Movies host Ben Mankiewicz (you’re not the only one that’s never heard of him) - a move targeting a younger audience, reports Variety’s Anne Thompson. This comes a day after Roger Ebert and Richard Roeper both announced they were leaving the show after an 8 year run. Thompson notes that earlier contract negotiations with Roeper ended “abruptly,” making us wonder if this wasn’t a premeditated changing of the guard by Disney. Roeper is expected to shop his own show around, with Chicago Tribune critic Michael Phillips as co-host, and Ebert will be back, somewhere, when he’s good and ready. Full story and press release.