Veteran critic Roger Ebert attacked at festival
By Alexandra Heilbron on September 12, 2008 | 7 Comments
Pulitzer prize-winning Chicago Sun-Times critic Roger Ebert, who has lost the ability to speak due to an ongoing battle with cancer, was at a screening during the Toronto International Film Festival this week when he was attacked. Unable to see subtitles for the film Slumlord Millionaire because the tall man sitting in front of him was leaning into the aisle, Ebert lightly tapped him and gestured for him to move over a little. The man said “Don’t touch me!” and remained as he was. When Ebert tapped him again, the man leaned further into the aisle. Desperate to see the subtitles, Ebert tapped him a third time, and the man, who has since been identified as New York Post movie critic Lou Lumenick, stood up, turned around and swung a binder at Ebert, hitting him solidly on the knee. “He hit him so hard everybody could hear it,” a source told the New York Daily News. “Everyone freaked out and turned around.” However, Ebert wrote in his column yesterday: “This whole matter was embarrassing, because it drew attention to me and invited pity, which makes me cringe.” He insists he wasn’t hurt, ending his article with: “The incident is over. Peace.”
the pen is mightier than the sword. Ebert can ruin this tool’s carrer with one article.
Lou Lumenick can burn in hell. What ever happened to ‘do unto others’? What a dick.
Maybe someone should cut the dick’s tongue out and see what happens to him when he signals for things because he cannot speak!! I can’t believe no one stood up and knocked the fool out!…guess it’s a good thing I didn’t go!
Mr. Ebert is a very gracious man. He could have blown the incident way out of proportion but he chose NOT to. What a gent. As for Lou Lumenick – hope this incident burns in your mind and repeats itself forever showing you to be the rude and insolent ba#?@#@$# that you just demonstrated yourself to be.
i wonder what lou would do if he got cancer couldn’t speak and got hit by and jerk for wanting to read subtitles
What a cut throat business(no pun intended).
Roger Ebert is a Class Act! I doubt this Lou Lumenick (who I’ve never heard of before)will ever reach the kind of status and fame that Ebert has achieved, especially with such a rotten attitude.
What goes around, comes around is the perfect cliche for this incident.
What a jerk. You don’t hit a man for this reason. Ridiculous. Poor Ebert.