White appeared on the /Film podcast last night to discuss film criticism, and when the site's David Chen asked him what he thought of the almost universally beloved Roger Ebert, White launched into his most contrarian broadside yet:
I do think it is fair to say that Roger Ebert destroyed film criticism. Because of the wide and far reach of television, he became an example of what a film critic does for too many people. And what he did simply was not criticism. It was simply blather. And it was a kind of purposefully dishonest enthusiasm for product, not real criticism at all...I think he does NOT have the training. I think he simply had the position. I think he does NOT have the training. I'VE got the training. And frankly, I don't care how that sounds, but the fact is, I've got the training. I'm a pedigreed film critic. I've studied it. I know it. And I know many other people who've studied it as well, studied it seriously. Ebert just simply happened to have the job. And he's had the job for a long time. He does not have the foundation. He simply got the job. And if you've ever seen any of his shows, and ever watched his shows on at least a two-week basis, then you surely saw how he would review, let's say, eight movies a week and every week liked probably six of them. And that is just simply inherently dishonest. That's what's called being a shill. And it's a tragic thing that that became the example of what a film critic does for too many people. Often he wasn't practicing criticism at all. Often he would point out gaffes or mistakes in continuity. That's not criticism. That's really a pea-brained kind of fan gibberish.
Ebert himself was relatively sanguine, tweeting a link to the podcast and writing, "Did I act alone in destroying film criticism? Armond won't name a critic he likes other than himself." As for White, I can only hope that he is busy preparing the only attack that can possibly top this one: a brutal, ten-page evisceration of Betty White.
Armond White: "I Do Think It Is Fair To Say That Roger Ebert Destroyed Film Criticism" [Slashfilm]