Jim, congratulations. The news of your promotion makes me a little less cynical: talent, brains, unflagging dedication, loyalty and character actually CAN be rewarded within today's constantly morphing media landscape. You're a very different critic from Jonathan, but you share some traits and habits. For both of you, it's always about the writing and keeping faith with your readers (heaven knows it's not about the money, fame or power); you're more concerned with facts than gossip; and you don't write your copy with the aim of being quoted in studio ads. You keep enough of an eye on the business side of the movie industry to keep you from falling for the blandishments of Hollywood. Jim, your tastes, sensibility and politics may differ from Jonathan's, but ever since I began writing for the Reader and got to know the two of you better, it became clear the paper had an exceptional tag team of film critics. Good luck to you, Jim, in your new gig, and to you, Jonathan, in the latest chapter in your fabled career, and best wishes to everyone in 2008--here's hoping this year's movies prove at least half as good as those of 2007.

Congratulations Jonathan, Jim -

Both well earned.

I will miss Jonathan's voice, but this is good- and reassuring- news.

Best wishes to both of you.

This is sad news. Along with Ebert, Rosenbaum means so much to Chicago and film around the world. He'll be missed, but I hope we'll still see him around...

I am really sorry. Over the years, either in Lisbon or in Brussels where I'm based now, I learned to follow Rosenbaum's opinions as inspirational guidance. No more of "what says Rosenbaum about"? Shame. Not everybody as the right to retire... Hopefully his many books and articles to come will console me from his weekly absence. Best wishes! Congratulations, J.R.

Hey J.R., that's great news!
I whole-heartedly trust any critic who consistently beats me at internet movie quizzes.
Yay for you and yay for us at the paper.

Since the first of my many sojourns to Chicago, way back in '87, I (and my cinephile friends) have read, questioned, been frustrated and thrilled by Rosenbaum. It's been tough to find another like him. Even when he criticizes passionately some of my (formative, and present) favorites, such as Spielberg, Woody Allen, and DePalma, he has "encouraged" my tastes when I found myself (or felt) alone in an opinion (Linklater, Leos Carax, Clair Denis, Albert Brooks, Jarmusch, Breillat, Spike Lee, many others), as well as, and most importantly, introduced me to countless other filmmakers. Rosenbaum will be missed; thank goodness he's not dead! Carry on.

Congratulations to J. R., but I will miss Mr. Rosenbaum's essays.

Hope this frees Mr. Rosenbaum to focus more on the movies that interest him most! I for one will miss you terribly in the paper. But I'm so relieved to hear that JR Jones will be taking over the reins. Congrats!!

Wow what a terrible year for the cinephiles the world over. First Antonioni passes away and Now Mr. Rosenbaum is retiring. Best of luck in Retirement but hopefully you will still write some reviews once in a while.

Mr. Rosenbaum, I've been reading your writings since I was sixteen and first became enamoured with cinema. Your writings were like an older wiser counterpoint to my youthful enthusiasms, and I owe much of the maturing of my taste in films to you. They expanded my horizons, furthered my understanding, and provoked a great deal of thought. Now, in my early twenties, I read that you are retiring. Congratulations on a job well done.

However, the best is yet to come. You are now a free man who will never again have to waste time reviewing a flaming cowpie of hollywood garbage. What will you do with this newfound freedom? The answer is clear, Mr. Rosenbaum. I encourage you to do what Orson Welles, Samuel Fuller, Jean-Luc Godard, or any of your heroes would encourage you to do now: MAKE A MOVIE. And why not? I will revoke everything I have said above if you do not have the desire to make a movie. There is nothing to stop you now that you have retired from your column. You are certainly not too old; de Oliveira is pushing 100 and he's cranking movies out like no tomorrow. Would you protest that financing is a problem? This would be absolutely untrue; too many people in the film world know and admire you Mr. Rosenbaum. Last year alone, 2400 films were made! There is absolutely no doubt that, given time and effort, you can round up the financing to make your picture. We don't care how you make it, Mr. Rosenbaum, but you must. Go out into the streets and shoot in HD, free-form funky style like the Caheirs critics of old. Or, make it lavish and debut it like Welles, and pour everything you've got into one single masterpiece. Paint a paeon to your youth in Alabama, or ignite a righteous portrayal of the way things are now. Whatever it is, we don't mind, because we have faith it will be a film to remember. Now is the time for action, Mr. Rosenbaum. Gather your energies and make the most ambitious picture you can make, because nothing is stopping you.

Best regards,
Preston

To Preston Schiroky:

I appreciate your confidence, but I've always been a writer and I'd
like to continue doing that. Writing can be done alone and cheaply; most filmmaking requires other people, money, and skills and connections I don't have.

Hi Jonathan R:
You've been a fine writer for decades, and we're looking forward to what you do next. Right now, the writing is calling, and you've got to do what you like, yet I do want to put the idea out there that you could definitely make a picture too if you pursued that goal. Not to stop writing by any means, but perhaps to turn a new leaf and kick off your retirement. And not so much for the final product, as for the hell of it.