MM Remembers: Joel Siegel (1943 - 2007)

by MovieMaker Staff | Published July 6, 2007

Being a movie critic wasn’t always as easy as starting a blog and telling all your friends about it. Now any and everyone seems to want to voice their opinion, and give their two cents worth (which is usually is worth even less than two cents). “Film critic” used to be a trusted position--a name, a real live person who could give you an honest opinion that you could count on. They knew that your money went where they told you to put it, and that many movies lived and died by their opinions.

One of those critics was Joel Siegel, and for 25 years he told people what he thought--and they listened. Siegel wasn’t just a critic though; he was a Tony-nominated playwright, a joke writer for JFK, a passionate
activist… the list goes on. He even had a trademark mustache.

But, how better to explain a man like Siegel than with his own words? Here are some of his best quotes.

1. Remember the movie critic Sony invented to give their films good reviews? Not even he would like The Sweetest Thing.
2. Follow your passion.
3. I do my best not to have any expectations when I go into a movie because it’s not fair.
4. If you fight back and get hit, it hurts a little while; if you don’t fight back it hurts forever.
5. I let the audience know what they should look for in the movie and also to try and improve their movie-viewing habit.

Siegel passed away on June 29th after a lengthy battle with colon cancer.