I and many other Hollywood journalists were sufficiently outraged when, one year ago, Disney/ABC’s movie criticism show once hosted by Roger Ebert and Gene Siskel, and then Roger Ebert and Richard Roeper, was put into the unworthy hands of Ben Lyons and Ben Mankiewicz, both of whose primary claim to fame was nepotism. Fortunately for viewers, At the Movies now has jettisoned the two lightweights for two heavyweights again starting September 7th: The New York Times‘ A.O. “Tony” Scott (photo, left) and The Chicago Tribune‘s Michael Phillips (photo, right). “We are thrilled that A.O. Scott and Michael Phillips will be lending their well-respected and influential voices to At the Movies,” Daytime president Brian Frons said in a statement. “They are regarded by millions of people as authorities in film criticism and will take the series back to its roots of one-on-one film debate that was established when the show first began with Roger Ebert and Gene Siskel.” My question: Which of them is going to plug every Disney pic? Or will they take turns?

Contract Disputes End Ebert-Roeper Duo: Claim To Fame Of New Hosts Is Nepotism