Mr. Ebert's review was mean but fair. Truthfully, it was not a good picture and the review and book made it easy for every other reviewer to dismiss every film I make in similar fashion. So large is Roger's impact on Cinema and cinema reviewing that he can set a trend that others will follow for years.

But as a Zen Buddhist I know there is no such thing as a one-sided coin. Every coin has two sides and it is our choice to decide if we only want to focus on one side or the other. Or we can choose to see that both sides are inseparable and part of the same coin. The other side for me was finally being free of the studio system and all its constraints and expectations. Now I had to ask myself, "what kind of movies do I really want to make?" I made a couple of independent films that I liked and was secretly hoping that Roger would like. One of which was a little movie called "The Chosen One." I actually tried to get the film to Mr. Ebert but it never happened. It is a movie about people who are stuck, each in there own way, trying to deal with their father's suicide. It was a personal story as my father had to live with the suicide of his father, the affects of which touched all of us. The last five minutes of that movie I'm more proud of than any picture I have made.

When Mr. Ebert's book, "Your Movie Sucks!" came out I admit to feeling sore about it. You have to build a somewhat thick body armor to survive in show business. But the strange thing was, when I heard Roger was sick I felt terrible and my heart ached. Whatever bad feelings that were leftover melted away and all I remembered was thinking about how much I really admired and loved Roger Ebert and his work and how grateful I felt to him for introducing me to countless films from all over the world that became such an important part of my life and of my work. Some of the best times I had as a kid were watching the films that he thought were great! When Roger and the late Gene Siskel loved or fought over a film, my friends and I would run out to see it and then decide who was right! More times than not we decided it was Roger that was right.

But for me, the most important part of Roger's legacy and the key to his genius was his absolute love of movies. His enthusiasm for film was contagious and his ability to articulate his excitement and his brilliant way of inviting every one of us to be a part of that same joy was truly unique. Roger Ebert never placed himself above us, he treated us as his equals as movie nuts. Even when he hated a picture, as was the case with mine, there was still a joy in dissecting it's faults. However, what separated Roger Ebert from so many in the cottage industry that followed in his wake, was Roger never rooted for a film to fail. And when he became a film's champion there was no bigger ally in the film community. I believe Mr. Ebert was personally responsible for Charlize Theron's Oscar win. Roger's praise for her performance as "one of the greatest acting achievements in motion picture history" made Ms. Theron that years instant Oscar favorite.