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Cracked VS: Roger Ebert Vs. Rotten Tomatoes

By:: Zanandi Botes

October 09, 2021

Cracked VS: Roger Ebert Vs. Rotten Tomatoes

Welcome to Cracked VS, a new feature where we pit two topics against each other and let ‘em duke it out. Today’s topic: The Legacies and innovations of Roger Ebert Vs. Rotten Tomatoes

It’s another round of Cracked VS, and this time we have heavyweight film critic champion Roger Ebert going up against the ever-dominating film-scoring behemoth that is Rotten Tomatoes. Pick your fighter, let’s goooo!

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CRACKED VS. Profiles ROGER EBERT ROTTEN TOMATOES Rotten mat HOLLYWOOD Career: 1967-2013 Created: 1998 by Senh (RogerEbert.com is still Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, going since 2002.) and Stephen Wang. The multi-platform Review-aggregator critic: Print critic for the website: Owned by Chicago Sun-Times, TV Fandango & Warner Bros. personality, prolific 4.500 active critics. and reviewer and blogger, Expanded to shows published 17 books. video productions. CRACKED.COM — Sources: Chicago Sun-Times, L.A. Times, Variety, The Verge, Billboard, Wired

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CRACKED VS. First inspirations ROGER EBERT ROTTEN TOMATOES MAD 3 OHLE Learned about being a film Jackie Chan. Founder Senh critic by reading Mad Duong was such a fan of the Magazine. Mad's actor that he would scour parodies made me aware reviews whenever a Chan of the machine inside the movie hit the theaters. It skin - of the way a movie inspired him to build a site might look original on the where you could get many outside, while inside it was reviews in one place. Ebert just recycling the same old and Siskel's TV show also dumb formulas. — Sources: Mad About the Movies, Asian Connections

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CRACKED VS. Legacies Part I ROGER EBERT ROTTEN TOMATOES Rotten mat HOLLYWOOD Created a platform where the Credited for democratizing public has access to a variety film criticism and bringing of critics. Was the first to it to a mainstream bring mainstream criticism audience. First film critic to the internet at such a to win a Pulitzer Prize for scale. The problem with Criticism in 1975, for his reviews from newspapers... piece on the lack of strong, is that you usually only get three- -dimensional roles one review to base your for women in film. opinion on. CRACKED.COM — Sources: The Pulitzer Prizes, Chicago Sun-Times, Asian Connections

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CRACKED VS. Divisive Innovations ROGER EBERT ROTTEN TOMATOES BAYWATCH R 2017,Comedy/Action,1 1h 56m 17% 66% TOMATOMETER AUDIENCE SCORE 246 Reviews 10.000+ Ratings Came up with the thumbs Studios have said that RT's thumbs down rating early scores are responsible up, TV for tanking their Box system when he was doing Office earnings. In 2017, the demise shows with Gene Siskel. of recycled franchise films like Ebert later criticized ratings, Baywatch and Transformers: admitting that he didn't think The Last Knight were blamed his site's fourstars system on RT for their Rotten scores, was adequate enough; that while 90% scores for — Sources: Chicago Sun-Times, Roger Ebert, The Hollywood Reporter

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CRACKED VS. Biggest faux pas ROGER EBERT ROTTEN TOMATOES Once wrote a piece stating The review bombing saga. that video games could Prior to 2019, RT had a want never be art, drawing more to see section where users than 4,500 comments, could rate their expectation obviously. He later of a film before actually admitted that it was an seeing it. This led to the now opinion he probably infamous campaign against should've kept to himself Captain Marvel where users and that he might be wrong drove down the want to see (emphasis on might). score on the site. CRACKED.COM — Sources: Kotaku, Roger Ebert, Engadget

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CRACKED VS. Criticism (against) ROGER EBERT ROTTEN TOMATOES Rotten Tomatoes Was accused of dumbing Some directors have said the that RT killed the for down film critic space nuance in film criticism profession, especially because their scores are following the thumbs too simple, and audiences up, thumbs down TV can't see past these scores soundbite he did with and read the actual reviews. Siskel and regardless of Which is kind of insulting his countless, nuanced and also oversimplifying, reviews. but t whatever. CRACKED.COM — Sources: Variety, Entertainment Weekly

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CRACKED VS. Significant features ROGER EBERT ROTTEN TOMATOES M RogerEbert.com Rotten Tomatoes CRACKED Letters to the Editors The podcast series, Rotten Tomatoes Is Wrong. Ebert was widely known for responding and RT has been criticized for communicating with his having wildly different critic audience. After his passing, scores than what the this ability to correspond audience gave a movie. They with critics on his site was started a series discussing brought back by popular these films, mostly admitting demand to ensure a two-way that their scores might not communication between the reflect the true critique or site and its readers. — Sources: Roger Ebert, Rotten Tomatoes

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CRACKED VS. On fandom ROGER EBERT ROTTEN TOMATOES Rotten Tomatoes Criticized extreme fandom, saying that lot of fans Changed its Audience Score are basically fans of fandom itself. system to curb trolling and He also said that extreme review bombs by verifying fandom may serve as a security whether a user has actually blanket for the socially inept, bought a ticket and seen the and argued that anyone who movie they've reviewed or would camp out in a tent on the not. Of course, this doesn't sidewalk for weeks in order to be prevent trolls from still first in line for — Sources: Roger Ebert’s Brutal Take On Fan Culture, Variety, Rotten Tomatoes, Digital Innovation And Transformation

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Sources: Variety, Roger Ebert, Fast Company

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CRACKED VS. Versus Others ROGER EBERT ROTTEN TOMATOES EMOJI THE MOVIE When Spike Lee's Do The Right To circumvent Rotten critic Thing wasn't nominated for Best scores for their films, some Picture in 1990, Ebert and Siskel studios have used embargoes to were livid as they both believed it prevent RT's influence on their was the movie of the year. They Box Office sales. But cinephiles criticized the Academy for being can't be folled, and such old white men who didn't want to embargoes have since become talk about race relations, and red flags that, chances are, the said the voting — Sources: The Ringer, Vox, Mashable

5

CRACKED VS. Whose Voice Should Count ROGER EBERT ROTTEN TOMATOES Rotten Tomatoes CRACKED.COM Went to bat for internet Added an Audience critics who weren't affiliated Says blurb to their with print publications. movies under Critics Studios didn't consider them and Consensus to real critics wanted to make their keep them away from early audience reviews more screenings, but Ebert argued prominent and accessible that they should be included, (they're often way more as it was the future of film direct and to the point criticism and studios needed than critics' reviews). to get with it. — Sources: Guernica, Rotten Tomatoes

4

CRACKED VS. Legacies Part II ROGER EBERT ROTTEN TOMATOES Rotten Tomatoes HOLLYWOOD CRACKED.COM Changed the world of film Have pushed for information and reviews inclusivity and, since online. Not only was Ebert an 2018, have focused on early investor in Google's changing their criteria search engine, but he also secretly edited Wikipedia to add more women, pages because, when underrepresented searching for a movie online, groups and freelancers they're the first pages that in different media forms come up and are therefore to their pool of critics. quite influential. — Sources: Guernica, Variety, Deadline

3

CRACKED VS. Influence on directors and filmmaking ROGER EBERT ROTTEN TOMATOES CERTIFIED FRESH Rotten HOLLYWOOD Directors like Spike Film marketing has Lee, Bennett Miller, been affected by those and Martin Scorsese RT scores. In 2017, have been influenced Baby Driver used its and inspired by both 92% RT score to Ebert's presence and promote the film and his work. get people to watch it. CRACKED.COM — Sources: Roger Ebert, Digital Innovation And Transformation, Roger Ebert

2

CRACKED VS. Summary ROGER EBERT ROTTEN TOMATOES Rotten Tomatoes Inspiration: Mad Magazine Inspiration: Jackie Chan Innovation (Good): Brought Innovation (Good): Brought film critique to the masses, mainstream criticism to the supported inclusion. internet on a large scale. Innovation (Divisive): Innovation (Divisive): Early Oversimplifying rating release of oversimplified systems with thumbs up, scores before Box Office thumbs down and openings. four-star rating. CRACKED.COM

1

CRACKED VS. Ultimate winner: ROGER EBERT ROTTEN TOMATOES Rotten Tomatoes The audience. In the end, while critics can inform many things pertaining to filmmaking and movies, audiences tend to have the last say. For example, Constantine (2005) has a one-and-a-half star rating from Ebert and a Rotten critics score of 48% on RT. The audience score? Fresh at 72%, with a cult status to boot. (In their defense, RT admitted that they were probably wrong about their score.) CRACKED.COM — Sources: Rotten Tomatoes, Roger Ebert, GQ

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