Ebert’s reminders about a critic’s ethics

Pulitzer Prize-winning movie critic Roger Ebert declined to comment for this article on Ben Lyons. But he seemed to have had Lyons specifically in mind when he wrote a recent post on his Chicago Sun-Times blog titled “Roger’s Little Rule Book.” It lays down “enduring ethical ground rules” governing movie criticism. Among them:

“No posing for photos! Never ask a movie star to pose with you for a picture . . . . . . You diminish yourself by asking for a snapshot.”

“A trailer is not a movie.” (Lyons urged viewers to see the romantic thriller “Twilight” based on its trailer.)

“Accept no favors. For example, if some ‘friends’ throw you a birthday party at a Vegas joint they hope to fill with movie stars who are your ‘friends,’ say thanks, but no thanks. That crosses the line, even if the ‘Britney Spears of Korea’ truly is your close personal friend.” (In October, Lyons celebrated his 27th birthday at Las Vegas nightclub Body English with a party attended by a number of C-grade celebrities including, you guessed it, BoA Kwon, who is sometimes identified as “the Britney Spears of Korea.”)

“Keep track of your praise. If you call a movie ‘one of the greatest movies ever made,’ you are honor-bound to include it in your annual Top Ten list. Likewise, for example, if you describe a film as ‘the most unique movie-going experience of a generation,’ and ‘one of the best films of 2007, and of the last 25 years,’ it’s your duty to put it in the Top Ten of 2007.” (The quotes come from Lyons’ appraisal of “300,” which he then neglected to include on his year-end list.)

Ebert saves the best for next to last: “Never allow IMDB to describe your principal acting credit as ‘co-host of Siskel and Ebert’ if you are neither Siskel nor Ebert.” (The Internet Movie Data Base indeed lists Lyons as co-host of the defunct show.)