As previously reported, the revived, refurbished Roger Ebert Presents At The Movies will premiere on Jan. 21, and today Ebert himself has revealed who will step into that iconic balcony alongside Associated Press critic Christy Lemire: The anointed one is Ignatiy Vishnevetsky, a 24-year-old, Soviet Union-born contributor to the Chicago Reader and the streaming, “online cinematheque” Mubi.com, a co-founder of the Chicago alternative film guide Cine-File.info, a multilingual former translator for Russia’s top literary journal, a programmer for the University of Chicago’s Doc Films, and a guy who makes most 24-year-olds look like glue-sniffing laggards. Perhaps spending your childhood in the Soviet Union would make you appreciate the land of opportunity a little more, eh?
Anyway, apparently Ebert overheard Vishnevetsky discussing film in Chicago’s Lake Street Screening Room one day, and he went straight home and checked out his work online. So, lesson learned: When in a room full of colleagues, always voice your opinions as articulately and loudly as possible, because it might get you a job and make you famous. This also works at nightclubs, but with sex.