This week is all about commemorating legends, kicking off with the cultural icons who came before us. Film critics Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert will be remembered with their own statues in Chicago, and The Beatles will be getting an expanded museum. Nicolas Cage’s transformation to play the football coach hall-of-famer John Madden has us rolling on the floor, while rumors about the casting of the late Dolly Parton for her biopic are not so funny.
And we remember the iconic Patrick Stewart, best known for his role as Captain Jean-Luc Picard in Star Trek: The Next Generation. Beloved film critics Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert will be immortalized in a life-sized bronze sculpture in Chicago. The pair were long-time Windy City newspaper critics (Siskel at the Chicago Tribune and Ebert at the Chicago Sun-Times) before joining forces on the syndicated show Sneak Previews and later At the Movies and Siskel & Ebert.
While today, AMC A-Listers pore over Letterboxd reviews like thesis papers and Rotten Tomatoes scores influence box office numbers, Siskel and Ebert became famous for a simple but effective rating system for films: thumbs up or thumbs down. Even when delivering harsh feedback, their rapport and charm softened the blow. They introduced an accessible form of criticism to the everyday moviegoer and taught a generation of movie buffs how to love and talk about film.
The statue, titled “Siskel & Ebert: Two Thumbs Up,” will feature both men delivering their famous rating system and will live at Prudential Plaza on Randolph Street in Chicago, near where both men worked for decades at local newspapers. A Hollywood memorabilia auction will help raise money for the project, featuring items from other famous Chicago-area stars. This includes a signed Toy Story Jessie doll from Joan Cusack and a Caddyshack lobby card signed by Bill Murray.
There's a new music legend destination across the pond. The Beatles are getting an expanded museum in their hometown of Liverpool, England, just in time for Sam Mendes' quartet of films based on the Fab Four. Apple Corps, which handles the band's business interests, is taking the lead and said the new 100,000-square-foot Beatles Story museum won't open until 2028.
CEO Tom Greene said the attraction would give The Beatles a world-class destination for fans to visit in Liverpool, where they can learn the story of the world's most influential band. The exhibit will include immersive technology, original artifacts, reconstructed sets and priceless memorabilia tracking the explosion of Beatlemania. Paul McCartney commented on a post about the immersive experience, "I love Liverpool.
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