Matt writes: This Thursday, July 25th, and next Tuesday, July 30th, the 1979 classic, "The Muppet Movie," produced by Jim Henson and directed by James Frawley, will be returning to the big screen for its 40th anniversary, courtesy of Fathom Events. Roger Ebert was among the film's many admirers, as evidenced by his enthusiastic review. I had the tremendous honor of getting to interview one of my lifelong heroes, Dave Goelz (a.k.a. The Great Gonzo), about his experience working with Henson & Co. as well as the spiritual and philosophical power of The Muppets. We also discussed the upcoming Netflix series, "The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance," which premieres on August 30th, and serves as a prequel to Henson's audacious 1982 fantasy, "The Dark Crystal" (Goelz performs in both).

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Matt writes: Over this past Fourth of July weekend, we were saddened to learn of the passing of an enormously influential icon in the Chicago film community, Milos Stehlik (1949-2019), co-founder of Facets Multimedia, who passed away on Saturday at age 70. Chaz Ebert hailed him as one of cinema's biggest advocates and humanitarians.

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Matt writes: On April 28th, the movie world lost a true giant: filmmaker John Singleton, whose 1991 masterpiece, "Boyz N the Hood," remains one of the most astonishing feature debuts in cinema history. Roger Ebert awarded the picture four stars, writing that it was one of "the best American films of recent years." Roger's thoughts regarding the entirety of Singleton's career were detailed in a special compilation by Nick Allen, while Odie Henderson penned a deeply moving obituary for the trailblazing auteur. I was among the writers at RogerEbert.com who paid tribute to Singleton in a separate article, "Breaking Barriers."

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Matt writes: Considering that the movie of the moment is inarguably "Avengers: Endgame," the Russo Brothers' culmination of the 22-film Marvel Cinematic Universe launched in 2008 with Jon Favreau's "Iron Man," we've decided to open this edition of the Ebert Club newsletter with our coverage of the record-breaking mega-blockbuster.

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Matt writes: The 21st annual edition of Roger Ebert's Film Festival (a.k.a. Ebertfest), concluded last Saturday, and you can find all the onstage Q&As embedded in our festival coverage. Brian Tallerico covered the opening night screening of "Amazing Grace," while Nick Allen covered the Day 2 panels ("Challenging Stigma Through the Arts" and "Women in Cinema") and screenings ("Coeur Fidele," "Rachel Getting Married" and "Bound," culminating in an unforgettable Q&A with Jennifer Tilly and Gina Gershon). Peter Sobczynski covered Day 3 of the festival ("Sebastian," "Cold War," "Cane River," "A Year of the Quiet Sun" and "Romy and Michele's High School Reunion"), and Nick did the write-up for Day 4 ("Maya Angelou: And Still I Rise," "Won't You Be My Neighbor?", "Almost Famous" and "Sideways"). The 2018-19 University of Illinois College of Media Roger Ebert Fellows, Curtis Cook, Pari Apostolakos and Eunice Alpasan, also contributed their own dispatches.

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