If Roger Ebert’s friends and family thought his legacy would be capped off with an Oscar win for “Life Itself,” the documentary about the famous film critic’s life and career, a bucket of cold water was felt by all after Thursday’s announcement of this year’s Oscar nominations. To almost everyone’s surprise, “Life Itself” didn’t even earn a nomination for Best Documentary.
“Life Itself” is helmed by Steve James, the director of “Hoop Dreams” (1994), a documentary Ebert relentlessly championed.
“Life Itself” is based on Ebert’s auto-biography of the same name. Ebert, who passed away after a harrowing cancer battle in 2013, participated in the documentary, as did Ebert’s wife Chaz.
Ebert was a film critic, journalist, and Pulitzer Prize winner.
John Nolte on Twitter @NolteNC