Life Itself
A moving, funny, raucous, wide-ranging look at the man who founded this site.
Sheila O'Malley
Sheila O'Malley received a BFA in Theatre from the University of Rhode Island and a Master's in Acting from the Actors Studio MFA Program.
She writes film reviews and essays on actors for Capital New York, Fandor, Press Play, Noir of the Week, and the House Next Door. Her work has appeared in Salon.com and The Sewanee Review, where her essay about her father was featured in an Irish Literature issue.
O'Malley has performed her one-woman show "74 Facts and One Lie" all over Manhattan. She has read her personal essays at the prestigious Cornelia Street Cafe Writers Read series. O'Malley writes about actors, movies, books, and Elvis Presley at her popular personal site, The Sheila Variations.
Her first play, July and Half of August, recently had public readings at Theatre Wit in Chicago, and The Vineyard Theatre in New York. She is currently working on her second play, as well as a book about Elvis Presley in Hollywood.
Read her answers to our Movie Love Questionnaire here.
Recent Reviews
La Bare
Hellion
A Coffee in Berlin
Obvious Child
La Bare
(2014)
Hellion
(2014)
A Coffee in Berlin
(2014)
Obvious Child
(2014)
A Night in Old Mexico
(2014)
Palo Alto
(2014)
NOW: In the Wings on a World Stage
(2014)
Young & Beautiful
(2014)
Make Your Move
(2014)
Hateship Loveship
(2014)
Nymphomaniac: Vol. II
(2014)
The Galapagos Affair: Satan Came to Eden
(2014)
Alien Abduction
(2014)
Maladies
(2014)
Nymphomaniac: Vol. I
(2014)
A Birder's Guide to Everything
(2014)
Rob the Mob
(2014)
The Single Moms Club
(2014)
The Right Kind Of Wrong
(2014)
U Want Me 2 Kill Him?
(2014)
The Art of the Steal
(2014)
Bethlehem
(2014)
A Farewell to Fools
(2014)
The Bag Man
(2014)
Interview: Paul Duane & John Healy of "Barbaric Genius"
The director and subject of "Barbaric Genius," now available on iTunes.
Interview: Ebert Club Member Greg Salvatore Responds to "Life Itself"
Sheila O'Malley interviews Greg Salvatore, Ebert Club member and contest winner, about "Life Itself" and Roger Ebert's personal impact on him.
#225 July 2, 2014
Sheila writes: Welcome to the "Life Itself" Special Edition of the Ebert Club newsletter! The film, directed by Steve James, opens on July 4 in select cities (and on demand), with more dates and cities to follow. You will find more information about that below, as well as an exclusive for the newsletter: an interview with Ebert Club member Greg Salvatore, who won tickets to the L.A. premiere of "Life Itself" at the Google+ Hangout held on Roger's birthday. He was generous enough to share his thoughts with us and let us experience the L.A. premiere vicariously. There's lots more below. Here is the official trailer for "Life Itself."
#224 June 25, 2014
Sheila writes: It's less than two weeks until the domestic release of Steve James' documentary about Roger Ebert, "Life Itself." "Life Itself" will hit theaters, as well as be released On Demand, on July 4, 2014. Please check out the exclusive clip on Rogerebert.com, which focuses on the impact Chaz had on Roger's life. "Life Itself" just opened the Hamptons Film Festival, and a QA with Chaz Ebert, Rogerebert.com editor-in-chief Matt Zoller Seitz followed the screening. The QA was hosted Alec Baldwin and Hamptons Film Festival artistic director David Nugent. You can read a transcript here.
#223 June 18, 2014
A message from Chaz:
Dear Ebert Club Members: Please join us today at the Google+ Hangout for Roger's birthday: Wednesday, June 18 at 11 am Pacific Time, Noon Mountain Time; 1 pm Central; 2 pm Eastern.#222 June 11, 2014
#221 June 4, 2014
Announcement: We have some exciting news for Ebert Club members. Chaz has been working with Google to create a Google Hangout for Rogerebert.com, and we are thrilled to share that it is close to launching. Google Hangout will be the place where members can have discussions and online interaction in real time about various topics. Our first subject of discussion will be Steve James' acclaimed documentary about Roger called "Life Itself," (scheduled to open in America on July 4, 2014). We want to invite all Ebert Club members to join in, and there will be a special meet-up in Google Hangout (date to be determined, but it will be soon) to have an online discussion about the film.We will keep you posted about any special online discussions that will be held there, and will also let you know the date of the discussion for "Life Itself."So what do you all need to do? It's very simple: All you need to do is sign up for a Google Plus account. If you already have a Google email account, then you're all set. Getting a Google email account is not only simple, it's free! Please let us know if you have any questions about it.
Sorry for the abbreviated newsletter this week. We thought it would be best to highlight the Google Hangout announcement. You'll see new trailers below! We will be in touch with more information when it is available. And we look forward to "hanging out" with you in Google Hangout!Best,Sheila O'Malley
The Greatest Living Actress: Author Dan Callahan on the Legacy of Vanessa Redgrave
#220 May 28, 2014
Sheila writes: I came across a funny video with human re-enactments of moments from Disney films that would seem totally creepy removed from the Disney context. I think my favorite is the Lion King moment, but there are some other really good ones. Enjoy!
#219 May 21, 2014
TRAILERS
