Chris Jones Reflects on Ebert Feature

Esquire's Chris Jones looks back at his experience writing a feature about legendary film critic Roger Ebert, which appeared in the "Essentials" issue of Esquire in March 2010.

Jones' blog post contains honesty and straight-forwardness, giving readers access to several Post-It Notes that Ebert, due to his inability to speak, scribbled to Jones during their many conversations.

Ebert underwent surgery for his thyroid cancer in 2006 where doctors removed a large portion of his lower jaw, resulting in both the loss of Ebert's ability to speak, eat and drink.

In the opening paragraph of his blog post, Jones explains what he learned through Ebert: taking for granted what many consider small trivial things like making phone calls and the ability to drink a beer.

Fearing what Ebert may think of his blog post if he were still alive, Jones explains, "I’m terrified that he’s reading this somehow and will send me an email telling me how much he hated it. So rather than f**k this up and trip all over myself trying to find the right words, I’ll let Roger do the talking."

A Post-It Note written by Ebert to Jones

Jones' quote is ironic. How can Ebert do the talking if he can't speak? One of Ebert's Post-It Notes (pictured above) demonstrates the power of writing and the importance of written communication.

Up until his death on April 4, 2013, Ebert continued to write reviews for the Chicago-Sun Times with the same journalistic prowess he had possessed for 46 years with the newspaper. Ebert's last review was for "The Host," based on the Stephanie Meyer novel of the same title. He gave the film two and a half out of five stars.

Gone but never forgotten, Roger Ebert will forever be the epitome of film reviews and critiques. Ebert's writing made readers feel as if he was an ordinary guy sitting next to them at the theater.

Remember, please be quiet and courteous to others, and silence your cell phones now. Enjoy the movie.