From nwsource.com:
Chicago Sun-Times columnist Richard Roeper says he is leaving the nationally syndicated show “At the Movies With Ebert & Roeper” after eight seasons.
Roeper said in a statement Sunday that he had failed to agree on a contract extension with Disney-ABC Domestic Television so his last appearance on the show will air the weekend of Aug. 16-17.
“Several months ago, Disney offered to extend my contract, which expires at the conclusion of the 2007-08 season,” Roeper said. “I opted to wait. Much transpired after that behind the scenes, but an agreement was never reached, and we are all moving on.”
A message seeking comment was left for a spokeswoman for Disney-ABC Domestic Television early Monday.
Roeper said he intends to “proceed elsewhere … as the co-host of a movie review show that honors the standards established by Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert more than 30 years ago.”
“I will be free to share the details on that program in the near future,” he said.
He also said he wishes Disney “the best of luck with their new show, whatever form it may take.”
Roeper joined Sun-Times movie critic Roger Ebert on the show in 2000, after Ebert’s original co-host, Chicago Tribune film critic Gene Siskel, died of a brain tumor in 1999.
