Illinois hometown of late film critic Roger Ebert raising money for statue to honour him

CP24909053
Scott Anderson, head of the Roger Ebert Sculpture fundraising campaign, speaks at a news conference outside the Virginia Theatre, Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2013, in Champaign, Ill., to announce plans to raise money for a commemorative statue of famed film critic Roger Ebert to be placed in front of the theater that hosted his namesake film festival. A scale model of the statue can be seen in the foreground. Ebert died in April in Chicago after a long battle with cancer. (AP Photo/The News-Gazette, John Dixon) MANDATORY CREDIT

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – A campaign is underway to place a statue of late film critic Roger Ebert in front of a theatre in central Illinois that hosted his namesake film festival.

Organizers in Champaign are running the Robert Ebert Sculpture fundraiser. They hope to raise $125,000 to build a life-size bronze sculpture of the Pulitzer Prize-winning Chicago Sun-Times film critic in front of the Virginia Theater. The theatre hosts Ebertfest each year. Ebert is from neighbouring Urbana and went to the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign.

The statue will show Ebert sitting in movie theatre chairs and giving his signature “thumbs up.” His widow, Chaz Ebert, is working with an artist on the design.

Ebert died in April in Chicago after a long battle with cancer.

___

Online: http://www.ebertsculpture.org

News from © The Associated Press, . All rights reserved.
This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Join the Conversation!

Want to share your thoughts, add context, or connect with others in your community?

Create a free account

The Associated Press

The Associated Press is an independent global news organization dedicated to factual reporting. Founded in 1846, AP today remains the most trusted source of fast, accurate, unbiased news in all formats and the essential provider of the technology and services vital to the news business. More than half the world’s population sees AP journalism every day.

Related Articles