According to the Time Out Chicago blog, Chicago Reader film critic extraordinaire Jonathan Rosenbaum will be retiring from weekly criticism as of early next year. According to the TOC blog post, Rosenbaum's retirement will take place effective February 27, his 65th birthday, and that Rosenbaum will be officially announcing this in his upcoming best-of-2007 piece.
For many readers, this comes as something of a shock, as Rosenbaum was one of the major figures on the American critical scene. Rosenbaum was respected for his mammoth long reviews, puzzled over for his ivory tower tastes, and controversial for his tendency toward throw-down-the-gauntlet proclamations. In short, he was a polarizing figure, a true cinephile in a profession that often prizes snark and contrarianism and telegenic looks over serious film discussion. Rosenbaum's readers would often disagree with what he had to say, but his reviews were required reading.
But if you think Rosenbaum's going away, think again. As part of his retirement deal with the paper, Rosenbaum states that new Reader owners Creative Loafing "will be setting him up with a website of his own so that even in "retirement" his writings on film will continue to be part of their franchise." A good idea, I'd say, as Rosenbaum remains the paper's critic of note, and losing him altogether hurt them more than it would him.
Keep your eyes peeled to the Reader Web site for most J.Ro-related news.