Roger Ebert hopeful of full recovery

Roger Ebert hopes to be fully recovered in time for the Academy Awards and the Cannes Film Festival.

In a letter published Thursday in the Chicago Sun-Times, the Pulitzer Prizewinning film critic and co-host of the “Ebert & Roeper” TV show says he’s looking forward to getting back to work full time early next year.

Ebert, 64, had surgery on June 16 to remove a cancerous growth on his salivary gland. He also had emergency surgery July 1 after a blood vessel burst. Now at the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago, he thanked fans and colleagues for their support.

He announced in the letter that his first movie review in months will be run today. He decided to review “The Queen” after getting a copy of the movie on DVD.

Ebert plans to continuing doing occasional reviews until he’s fully recovered.