In an exclusive excerpt from 'Opposable Thumbs: How Siskel and Ebert Changed Movies Forever,' author Matt Singer recounts one of the critical duo's most audacious talk show moments: panning 'Three Amigos' while sitting right next to star Chevy Chase.
with over seven years of experience in the entertainment industry. An award-winning journalist, she's written for Turner Classic Movies,, and more. She's worked at EW for six years covering film, TV, theater, music, and books. The author of EW's quarterly romance review column, "Hot Stuff," Maureen holds Master's degrees from both the University of Southern California and the University of Oxford.
Singer's book, on shelves Tuesday, details this encounter, as well as Siskel and Ebert's similar pot shots at Chase in aover and over. In time, they got comfortable with Johnny—maybe too comfortable. In their December 12, 1986, appearance on theFor the first few minutes, everything went smoothly.
Gene's and Roger's unflinching honesty was upending their audience's expectations left and right. "What works on television is authenticity," agrees Ben Mankiewicz, a longtime host at Turner Classic Movies who also hostedin the late 2000s, after Roger Ebert finally left the series. "When it works, there is a strong presence with a defendable point of view, not a character. And Siskel and Ebert had points of view.
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