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Roger Ebert Attacked By Lou Lumenick?

Posted on Thursday, September 11th, 2008 by Peter Sciretta

Roger Ebert was attacked during a screening of Danny Boyle’s Slumdog Millionaire on Saturday at the Toronto Film Festival by…

New York Post critic Lou Lumenick?!

According to the New York Daily News, soon after the film started “a man in the audience started yelling, ‘Don’t touch me!’ People looked around and shrugged. Ten minutes later, the voice yells again, ‘I said don’t touch me!’” Then a few minutes later “the guy stands up in the darkness and thwacks the guy behind him with a big festival binder. He hit him so hard everybody could hear it. Everyone freaked out and turned around.” For those who don’t know, Roger Ebert can no longer speak due to his battle with thyroid and salivary gland cancer. Apparently Ebert couldn’t see the screen and tapped Lumenick’s shoulder in an effort to get him to move his head a little. Lumenick was said to have been surprised to find out that the person he hit was Ebert. No word on if the two have reconciled or if TIFF might organize an epic boxing match between the two famous film critics for next year’s festival. I’m guessing not.

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  • erik
    If I was Lou Lumenick, I'd feel worse than Bernard Pollard after smacking an ill Roger Ebert.
  • webb
    hahaha oh man this is jacked.
  • Christopher Marc
    what an asshole...I hope he gets fired for the negative press he's getting for the NY Post
  • Ray Stanz
    Roepers should have snuck him...
  • &E B.
    What a son of a bitch!
  • MrCavanagh
    What kind of an asshole hit someone across the face with a festival binder over a cordial, gentlemanly tap on the shoulder?
  • James
    IT'S ON NOW!!
  • Tyler
    Couldn't see the screen? What? No stadium-style seating?
  • ScottyBones
    lmao, lmfao
  • jomama
    that's not funny at all...
  • Floppy
    What kind of douche would just start yelling and swinging because somebody tapped them? Why wouldn't that person turn around and see what the other person wanted? Did he think it was some crazed movie reviewer fan that was stalking him? lol
  • I guess the movie was so good that he couldn't stand any distractions?
  • Steelo
    that's jacked up
  • would someone link to stuff this guy writes so we can put a few notes on the interwebs about what a cockspert he is? And that thumbs up picture of ebert is rough.
  • J.D.
    CORRECTION: Ebert cannot "talk." He sure can speak, via written word, as his venomous column today illustrates. Apparently he is now an elitist political commentator on Sarah Palin:

    "And how can a politician her age have never have gone to Europe? My dad had died, my mom was working as a book-keeper and I had a job at the local newspaper when, at 19, I scraped together $240 for a charter flight to Europe. I had Arthur Frommer's $5 a Day under my arm, started in London, even rented a Vespa and drove in the traffic of Rome. A few years later, I was able to send my mom, along with the $15 a Day book."

    "You don't need to be a pointy-headed elitist to travel abroad. You need curiosity and a hunger to see the world. What kind of a person (who has the money) arrives at the age of 44 and has only been out of the country once, on an official tour to Iraq? Sarah Palin's travel record is that of a provincial, not someone who is equipped to deal with global issues."
  • Jamie
    Does it matter who he hit? What an asshole.

    I hate people like that. If you ask them to do anything, they just go crazy.

    I'm glad Ebert didn't have the guy cuffed for assault and battery. For some reason, insane people like this actually become happier the more attention they get.
  • Dave
    Ebert is as astute when it comes to politics as he is when it comes to film.

    Palin's is a effing joke. The Lou Lumenick of politicians.
  • w smith
    "elitist political commentator"... because only right wing elite celebrities and commentators have any credibility or any right to give their opinion (or become president or governor of California...)
  • Helena Mainbasquet
    Lou Lumenick is such a loser. He should be embarrassed by his ongoing hissy-fit behaviour. He thinks he's all that. But he's just a bag of fat, greasy chips.
  • Gart, Bo
    i hope that guy gets fired. what a psycho.
  • Domino
    Lumenick is a dick, which is practically a job requirement for working for the NY Post.
  • Patrick O'Riley
    Wasn't it pretty clearly a misunderstanding? I feel sorry for both of them.
  • Helena Mainbasquet
    Do you hit physically disabled people with binders over a misunderstanding, Patrick?
  • Thats the wackiest story I've read in a while! What an idiot that Lumenick must be!
  • Eddie
    I think everyone here is missing the entire point...where the hell did you get that awful picture of Roger Ebert? Seriously? Weren't there some stock photos or something you could have used. It's bad enough all of the terrible things he's gone through, but it's tough not to laugh when the photo looks like a vid-capture from a Farrelly Bros. movie.
  • mzpq
    @Ebert

    Palin couldn't travel the world b/c she was stuck in the middle of nowhere getting knocked up.
  • Eddie, Roger Ebert knows what cancer has done to his face and neck, but he loves movies enough that he's not hiding from the public. That picture is "awful" and made you laugh? Jesus. It makes me think, "Aw, that must be rough to deal with," not "har har."
  • what a dick!
  • Have to agree with Jamie here. Who does Leminick think he is?

    To paraphrase something Ebert once said to Vincent Gallo:

    "I will one day be healthy, but you will always be the douche who hit me with a binder."
  • Jay T
    Hey Lou u d-bag if you'd refused to move when i tapped u on the shoulder the next tap would have been my fist crushing your skull, scumbag!
  • starscream9289
    WHAT WHAT WHAT?!?!?!?!?!

    That's messed up, the guy's missing his lower jaw for God's sake!!!!!
  • Lou Lumenick.. a film critic? Now that's funny. "Slumdog Millionare" Lou Lumenick is the filthy dog.
  • DD
    What a scumbag ! I don't care WHO you are, you get out the the effing way when Rodger m/f-ing Ebert can't see the screen.
    I swear if I had Lou within arm's reach right now he wouldn't be be able to to any "knee whacking" till after his physical therapist game him the OK in 3 to 6 months.

    -DD

    p.s. and I don't even like Rodger Ebert all that much
  • DD
    game=gave . damnit I meant to say "gave" friggin no-editer-having site :)
  • Nick
    http://www.cinematical.com/2008/06/07/fan-rant-...

    I love the cinematical almost called it back in june. This is a lesson kids, if the reviewer sucks, he's probably also a jerk.
  • Scott MacDonough
    When I was a senior publicist at MGM/UA back in the early 1980s, Lou was the critic for a small Jersey newspaper (and thereby considered unimportant by my boss). But I admired his writing, invited him to all our press screenings, and he was very gracious and appreciative. I also dealt with Roger, who is a brilliant critic and who couldn't have been nicer to deal with. Roger has been through hell, and I wish him a complete recovery. If what happened between the two of them is true (which I find hard to believe), I feel very sad. Whatever happened to common courtesy, compassion, and consideration for one's fellow man?
  • John Root
    Hi Scott, Do you remember when you were publicist on Back Roads in Mobile Alabama. I met you on the set. I was a teenager.
  • Rob
    That guy must have some serious problems dealing with day to day living, if someone tapping him on the shoulder freaks him out.

    And as for Ebert's comments on Palin - all fair enough really. Still, so far anyone who follows current affairs is aware that she knows little of the wider world, thinks war is a "task from god", likes jesus, guns, creationism, unprepared pregnancy, banning books, and attempting to abuse her authority; so she's a sure-fire vote-winner :(
  • frank
    lumenicks a hack! always will be.
  • Stan Satan
    I don't like either of them very much, but Lou "whacky" Lumenick had no reason to do that. If I was in his shoes, i would stay low for quite a while. What a d'ckpump.
  • TheMarquis
    Front page of IMDb!

    However, i would only assume someone would TURN AROUND FIRST when someone touched them on the shoulder, rather than jumping to the severe action of HITTING THEM WITH A HARD OBJECT.

    Two Thumbs Down for Lou Lumenick.
  • igroveman
    Do some research. She never banned any books. I would hope that if you had to fight a war for your country you'd view it as a task from God vs. a task from the Devil. Or a task from no one, that is.

    If murdering infants equals "prepared pregnancy," I'll take her brand of "unprepared" pregnancy any day.

    I'm tired of the Sarah Palin slander from all the Obama-ites. It reeks of hypocrisy and bias to high heaven.
  • JM
    Quote from Roger Ebert:

    "If it were up to me, you would never have heard about the incident at the Toronto Film Festival on the morning of Sept. 6 when a fellow critic whacked me with a rolled-up program or a festival binder or something. It has been blown out of proportion. It is of little interest."
  • EEE
    Lou Lumenick has SHAMED the NY Post with his arrogant and hostile behavior. Had this been an ordinary "Joe Blow", Lou would not be apologizing, and would be continuing as a JERK. If Lou won't resign, then the NY Post needs to fire him for conduct unbecoming of a Post employee.
  • James
    Lou should be ashamed of himself. This kind of behavior is simply unacceptable be it imposed upon Roger Ebert or any other person.
  • Thesushiguy
    Scott MacDonough - Well stated.
    Nick - funny, but true.

    IMHO - Have people really lost ALL civility? Are some at a point where the mere "tap" of another causes heightened aggression? What happened to turning around, evaluating the situation, and responding accordingly? Lumenick was at a screening with fellow critics or other patrons, not in the midst of a dark alley where those about you might be the riff-raff of the city.

    Anyway, Lumenick should be apologizing PROFUSELY !!!! I pray long healthy years for Ebert. Not because he is a critic, but because he is a human being that has battled cancer and survived! In fact, all those who face down the pain of this disease should enjoy life to the fullest and not have to deal with such boorish behavior.... especially by those who are supposed to be more cerebral than others.
  • Rick Kruchten
    Lou Lumenick you make me sick. I wish I could have you sit in front of me or hit me as you did Roger. I don't care what is wrong with Roger, it has nothing to do with it. It is assholes like you that I don't even go to the movies. You are a coward, and any individual who even thinks of defending your actions is even more of a coward. Come to Chicago and act that way, I promise you, you will never, ever, be the same again.
  • EEE
    Rather than just post on this board, let them know what you think!

    lou.lumenick@nypost.com

    Col.Allan@nypost.com
  • extreme81
    on one hand i feel sorry for lou, it was dark and some guy who kept tapping his shoulder would be annoying, but his reaction to it seems totally unjustified. Critics as a rule(Ebert included) have over-bloated egos and have little tolerance for those below them. i really would have liked to have seen lou's face when he found out he hit not someone below him but the God of the Critics himself, Roger Ebert. someone should have taken a picture.
  • Ebert has actually reported this on his website, stating it has been blown out of proportion. He sympathizes with Lou, who was unable to identify Ebert and his condition due to the darkened theater, as well as the extent people have been negative to Lou over this.

    You can read it here: http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/ar...
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