Details emerge about Roger Ebert's new show, plus the first look at "Water for Elephants"

As with many things that don't come immediately to my fairly little burg when it's promised to be "opening at a theater near you," we won't be getting the return of "Roger Ebert Presents At The Movies" in its first-run airings. Nards.

I'm still fairly certain that we'll still get it within a week or so of its initial airing in Atlanta, and with, according to Ebert at least, "81 percent" national coverage and the top 20 markets all getting this in first-run, most of the country will get to see this, and that can only be a great thing.

Before being resurrected from the ashes by Ebert and returned to its public TV beginnings, the "At the Movies" franchise was terminated by Disney after a rather impressive run. Now, with Ebert in charge and, of course, the show airing at truly God-awful times (more on that below), here's hoping it will at least find a limited audience for a five-year run or so.

When it makes its debut on some stations on Jan. 21, it will return to the simple thumbs up/thumbs down format, but seems to have lost one co-host. Christy Lemire of the AP, who likes odd movies and deplores by-the-numbers romantic comedies,which I can certainly appreciate, will still make up one half of the main duo of hosts. Elvis Mitchell, however, who starred on the pilot they released earlier this year, has apparently left, which is a real bummer.

As for who will step into that slot, you'll know when I do, and for a complete list of when and where "Roger Ebert Presents At The Movies" will makes its debut, check out this pdf.

And all I have after that today is the first trailer I know of for "Water for Elephants," which is based on one of my all-time favorite novels. Thankfully, the movie is coming out fairly soon, April 15, so definitely keep an eye out for it.

As you'll see from the trailer, I think they got the casting just about perfect. The story, a rather grand bit of historic and romantic fiction, tells the story of Jacob Jankowski, a veterinary student who leaves school and finds work tending to the animals of the Benzini Brothers Circus. There, he becomes involved in a rather steamy love triangle with the beautiful horse lady Marlena and her husband, the brutal head animal trainer August.

Already known was that one Robert Pattinson would play Jacob (fair enough), Reese Witherspoon plays Marlena (even better) and Christoph Waltz plays the often maniacal August (just about perfect). What I didn't know until this morning, however, is that, best of all, the truly great Hal Holbrook plays the narrator of this tale, the elder Jacob from his nursing home. I really can't see anyway this flick, being directed by Francis Lawrence ("I Am Legend," among other things), should be anything short of fantastic (at least if it is, I'll be rather sorely disappointed). Enjoy the trailer, and have a perfectly pleasant Thursday. Peace out.

Thumbs way up ... Ebert's "At the Movies" coming back to life!

I never should have believed that, having survived the cancer that robbed him of his natural voice, a simple cancellation by Disney would be enough to keep Roger Ebert or "At the Movies" down.

Indeed, as announced appropriately enough in the Chicago Sun Times, "Roger Ebert Presents At The Movies" will be coming to PBS - where Ebert and the late, great Gene Siskel got their TV start way back in 1975 - in January, and he's lined up two fantastic hosts. The show will be hosted chiefly by the Associated Press' Christy Lemire and NPR's Elvis Mitchell, with further contributions from Kim Morgan and Omar Moore.

Though by force we mostly run reviews by Roger Moore in the newspaper that still pays my bills (although he's a very good writer, the "by force" is that he's also very fast and we have an early deadline), I always try and wait to get my hands on Lemire's reviews, because she always delivers strong opinions with a hearty splash of wit. I also like that, as you'll see from the preview clip below, she's a woman who both rails against by-the-numbers romantic comedies but embraces great female directors like Nicole Holofcener, while at the same convincingly raving about odd choices like "Piranha 3D" and "The Last Exorcism."

As for Mitchell, I haven't kept up with his work like I should recently, but I used to love his writing for The New York Times. Together, as you'll again see in the preview below as they discuss Holofcener's "Please Give," which I haven't had the pleasure of seeing yet, they have a natural banter that, while not quite Siskel & Ebert caliber, should at least make them worthy successors.

Perhaps best of all, Ebert will be appearing with his computer voice in a weekly segment called "Roger's Office," most often, I'd have to guess, giving his thumb's up to movies that otherwise wouldn't get much play at all anywhere on TV. Here's what Roger himself had to say about the new endeavour:

"This is the rebirth of a dream. I believe that by returning to its public roots, our new show will win better and more consistent time slots in more markets. American television is swamped by mindless gossip about celebrities, and I'm happy this show will continue to tell viewers honestly if the critics think a new movie is worth seeing."

One definite advantage of returning to PBS (assuming the yarnheads at GPTV are smart enough to pick this up) is that it should have a set air time each week, something the show was often sorely lacking when it was handled by the Tribune company and then Disney.

Definitely keep an eye out for this starting in January. I know I will, because "Sneak Previews" with Siskel and Ebert debuted when I was 5 years old, and I've enjoyed Ebert's insightful and always entertaining reviews ever since (or at least since I was old enough to understand them.) Enjoy this preview for the new show, in which Lemire and Mitchell dish on "Iron Man 2" (solid thumbs down, and I heartily agree) and "Please Give" (a split decision), and then feel free to stick around for a couple more videos that caught my eye this morning.



OK, if something this mawkish-looking were coming from, say, M. Night Shyamalan, I'd probably just say no immediately, but I'd say Clint Eastwood has at least earned the benefit of the doubt by now. And besides, I've seen his last flick, "Gran Torino," three times now, and it just keeps getting better each time. As you'll see from this first trailer, Eastwood's next flick, "Hereafter," stars Matt Damon as some kind of reluctant psychic and deals with all kinds of weighty life-and-death issues (hey, it is fall, right?). Enjoy the clip and keep an eye out for "Hereafter" beginning in at least some cities Oct. 22.



And finally today, a dose of silliness that's just about right for a Saturday morning (even if it's a Saturday on which I have to work - nards.) I've said here plenty of times before that Joseph Gordon-Levitt is an actor I'd watch do just about anything, and he certainly puts that to the test by performing Lady GaGa's "Bad Romance" for his Hitrecord.org cohorts. It's actually pretty darn good, and guaranteed to at least make you smile a little, which is really the right way to leave things today. Peace out.