Interview With Ebert and Roeper
HEMMER: Our next stop in our Chicago ride is beautiful and historic Union Station. We'll be there tomorrow, indoors by the way. Among our many guests -- the governor was here yesterday -- the lieutenant governor is here tomorrow, Pat Quinn, character actress Irma P. Hall. We'll also take another bite into "Deep Dish Politics" and a look the people who tend to all of those movable bridges along the Chicago River. All of that and a lot more tomorrow here in Chicago. That's on Wednesday. But Tuesday continues now. Here's Soledad.</s>O'BRIEN: Well, it is not Tinseltown. It's not the Big Apple, but moviemakers and filmgoers alike love Chicago. And you can't forget the dueling critics, Ebert and Roeper. Here's is CNN's pop culture correspondent, Toure.</s>TOURE, CNN POPULAR CULTURE CORRESPONDENT (voice over): So Chicago is one of the great movie towns...</s>ROGER EBERT, FILM CRITIC: Yes.</s>TOURE: ... great movie locals. What are some of the great quintessential Chicago movies?</s>EBERT: Well, you have you to start with the reality that Chicago is the best-looking big city in America. We have the lakefront. We have the skyline. We have the best architecture, and we have wonderful neighborhoods. So you look at a movie like "The Fugitive," directed by Andy Davis, who grew up here and who has made several movies here, and he really knows the town so that he shows you fabulous locations.</s>RICHARD ROEPER, FILM CRITIC: I love the way Davis used Chicago in "The Fugitives." A lot of filmmakers, too, they love the L tracks.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Walter, this is Richard.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Richard, why did you run? Running only makes you look guilty.</s>TOURE: When New York is a character in the movie or a TV show...</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.</s>TOURE: ... I know what that represents. I know what L.A. is. What is Chicago?</s>EBERT: Chicago, I think, represents a kind Midwestern reality, more down to earth. The people have less edge. They are likely to be nicer, frankly. I'll just stop there.</s>ROEPER: He said it, I didn't. Well, I think one of the reasons Chicago became so popular as a filmmaker location is because New York had been used so many times that Chicago, I think, was rediscovered maybe in the late '60s, early '70s for a long time as a new location. Like, wow, look at this great architecture.</s>EBERT: Yes.</s>ROEPER: Look at his lakefront. We can do different things with it. Of course, look at "The Blues Brothers." Talk about Calumet City, Illinois and then Chicago as well with the great chase scene.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I've always loved you.</s>TOURE: Well, and we haven't even really gotten to the John Hughes that much yet, right?</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.</s>TOURE: I mean, one of the -- and showing the pride, right? Chicagoans have great pride for their city. And he is like the Woody Allen of Chicago, perhaps.</s>ROEPER: Of the North Shore. Actually, it's suburban Chicago, because although, you know, some of John Hughes' movies, of course, they do take the characters downtown. And what you're really seeing is the quintessential upper middle-class suburban life in the movies like "Sixteen Candles" and "Home Alone."</s>TOURE: Since 1954, 200 -- more than 200 movies have been made in Chicago. What is it about...</s>EBERT: And let me tell you this. Another 500 Chicago movies have been made in Toronto...</s>ROEPER: Yes, exactly. In fact...</s>EBERT: ... including "Chicago."</s>ROEPER: In fact, "Chicago" was made in Toronto.</s>TOURE: Oh, sacrilegious.</s>ROEPER: And now have you "Shall We Dance," where Richard Gere plays the Chicago accountant who is on the L train, and he sees J.Lo, Jennifer Lopez in the window of a dance studio, the train stops, and this whole thing takes place. And where did they film 95 percent of "Shall We Dance?" Winnipeg.</s>EBERT: Winnipeg.</s>ROEPER: Winnipeg, where I think the tallest building is four feet.</s>TOURE: The best Chicago movie ever?</s>EBERT: The best Chicago movie ever would have to be "Hoop Dreams." It's a documentary about two kids from the west side who go out to the suburbs to play basketball. And what happens to them is better than any scriptwriter could have ever come up with.</s>ROEPER: I love, of course, "Ferris Bueller's Day Off." It's one of my favorite movies of all time. And it's kind of a little travel log. I mean, Ferris lives out in the suburbs in John Hughs-land. But, of course, they come downtown.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hey, batter, batter, batter, batter, swing, batter! Hey, batter, batter, batter, batter, swing, batter! He can't hit, he can't hit, he can't hit, he can't hit. Swing, batter!</s>ROEPER: To me, I mean, I've had that day off, you know. I mean, I thought -- when I first saw that movie, I thought, where was he with the camera when I was ditching school? I mean, it gets it perfectly. What would do you if you had, you know, a perfect Chicago spring day and the Cubs were playing and you go to the Art Institute and you can go to this great restaurant and you can go to a parade?</s>O'BRIEN: And that was Toure, our culture correspondent.</s>HEMMER: I love the shot in "Ferris Bueller" at the Art Institute when he was checking out</s>O'BRIEN: That's such a great movie. Guess what I did yesterday?</s>HEMMER: I can only guess.</s>O'BRIEN: Take a guess. I'll give you a hint.</s>HEMMER: Well, we're here.</s>O'BRIEN: Gucci, Luka Luka (ph), Armani. Oh, there's me shopping.</s>HEMMER: How much did you buy?</s>O'BRIEN: My husband is watching the show this morning, so I'm going to say, why, nothing. This is research, Bill. That means I put it on my corporate card.</s>HEMMER: Oh, you know, you...</s>O'BRIEN: Just kidding.</s>HEMMER: You've learned very well actually to give the right answer: research.</s>O'BRIEN: We spent the afternoon along the Magnificent Mile, which is 3.1 million square feet of retail space. We covered most of it, 460 stores. We got to most of them. Hello. I did buy those shoes. Aren't they fabulous? Two hundred seventy-five restaurants. We ate at a couple. Twenty-two million visitors every single year. It's a stretch, as you well know, along North Michigan Avenue, and we had a great time. The folks have been really wonderful to us, and we spent a lot of time.</s>HEMMER: And let your husband know that the Magnificent Mile is even more magnificent during Christmastime.</s>O'BRIEN: Oh, it's...</s>HEMMER: The lights come out. And you come back to Chicago and do some more shopping.</s>O'BRIEN: Marshal Field's, which has a giant flagship store.</s>HEMMER: The list just keeps on going.</s>HEMMER: Andy says it's going to be a big day for the Big Blue. He's "Minding Your Business." Back in a moment with Drew in a moment here live in Chicago on a Tuesday morning.