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''Spotlight'' is a 2015 American
biographical
A biography, or simply bio, is a detailed description of a person's life. It involves more than just the basic facts like education, work, relationships, and death; it portrays a person's experience of these life events. Unlike a profile or ...
drama film
In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-g ...
directed by
Tom McCarthy Thomas McCarthy (also Tom and Tommy) may refer to:
Academia
*Thomas A. McCarthy (born 1940), American professor of philosophy
*Thomas J. McCarthy (born 1956), American professor of polymer chemistry at the University of Massachusetts
*J. Thomas Mc ...
and written by McCarthy and
Josh Singer
Josh Singer (born 1972) is an American screenwriter and producer. He is best known for writing '' The Fifth Estate'' (2013), ''Spotlight'' (2015), ''The Post'' (2017) and '' First Man'' (2018). He won the Academy Award for Best Original Screenpl ...
.
The film follows ''
The Boston Globe
''The Boston Globe'' is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes, and has a total circulation of close to 300,000 print and digital subscribers. ''The Boston Glob ...
'' "Spotlight" team, the oldest continuously operating newspaper
investigative journalist
Investigative journalism is a form of journalism in which reporters deeply investigate a single topic of interest, such as serious crimes, political corruption, or corporate wrongdoing. An investigative journalist may spend months or years rese ...
unit in the United States,
and its investigation into cases of widespread and systemic
child sex abuse in the Boston area by numerous
Roman Catholic
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
*Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...
priests. Although the plot was original, it is loosely based on a series of stories by the ''Spotlight'' team that earned ''The Globe'' the 2003
Pulitzer Prize for Public Service
The Pulitzer Prize for Public Service is one of the fourteen American Pulitzer Prizes annually awarded for journalism. It recognizes a distinguished example of meritorious public service by a newspaper or news site through the use of its journalis ...
. The film features an
ensemble cast
In a dramatic production, an ensemble cast is one that is composed of multiple principal actors and performers who are typically assigned roughly equal amounts of screen time.Random House: ensemble acting Linked 2013-07-17
Structure
In contrast to ...
including
Mark Ruffalo
Mark Alan Ruffalo (; born November 22, 1967) is an American actor and producer best known for playing Bruce Banner / Hulk since 2012 in the superhero franchise of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and in the television series '' She-Hulk: Attorne ...
,
Michael Keaton
Michael John Douglas (born September 5, 1951), known professionally as Michael Keaton, is an American actor. He is known for his various comedic and dramatic film roles, including Jack Butler in ''Mr. Mom'' (1983), Betelgeuse in ''Beetlejuice'' ( ...
,
Rachel McAdams
Rachel Anne McAdams (born November 17, 1978) is a Canadian actress. After graduating from a theatre degree program at York University in 2001, she worked in Canadian television and film productions, such as the drama film ''Perfect Pie'' (200 ...
,
John Slattery
John M. Slattery Jr. (born August 13, 1962) is an American actor and director widely known for his role as Roger Sterling Jr. in the AMC drama series ''Mad Men'' (2007–15), for which he was nominated four times for the Primetime Emmy Award fo ...
, and
Stanley Tucci
Stanley Tucci Jr. ( ; born November 11, 1960) is an American actor and filmmaker. Involved in acting from a young age, he made his film debut in John Huston's '' Prizzi's Honor'' (1985), and continued to play a variety of supporting roles in fil ...
, with
Brian d'Arcy James,
Liev Schreiber
Isaac Liev Schreiber (; born October 4, 1967) is an American actor, director, screenwriter, producer, and narrator. He became known during the late 1990s and early 2000s after appearing in several independent films, and later mainstream Hollywo ...
, and
Billy Crudup
William Gaither Crudup (; born July 8, 1968) is an American actor. He is a four-time Tony Award nominee, winning once for his performance in Tom Stoppard's play ''The Coast of Utopia'' in 2007. He has starred in numerous high-profile films, inc ...
in supporting roles.
''Spotlight'' was shown in the Out of Competition section of the
72nd Venice International Film Festival
The 72nd annual Venice International Film Festival took place from 2 to 12 September 2015. Alfonso Cuarón served as the President of the Jury for the main competition. A restored version of Federico Fellini's film ''Amarcord'' was shown at the ...
,
the
Telluride Film Festival
The Telluride Film Festival (TFF) is a film festival held annually in Telluride, Colorado during Labor Day weekend (the first Monday in September). The 49th edition took place on September 2 -6, 2022.
History
First held on 30 August 1974, th ...
and the Special Presentations section of the
2015 Toronto International Film Festival
The 40th annual Toronto International Film Festival was held from 10 to 20 September 2015. On 28 July 2015 the first wave of films to be screened at the Festival was announced. Jean-Marc Vallée's ''Demolition'' starring Jake Gyllenhaal and Naom ...
.
It was released on November 6, 2015, by
Open Road Films
Open Road Films, LLC (formerly Global Road Entertainment from 2017 to 2018) is an American film production and distribution company based in Los Angeles, California. It was founded by Eric Hohl on March 26, 2011 as a joint venture between the t ...
and grossed $98 million worldwide.
[ It received widespread critical praise, with critics lauding the performances of the cast, historical accuracy and screenplay; it won numerous guilds' and critics' association awards, and was named one of the best films of 2015 by various publications. ''Spotlight'' won the ]Academy Award for Best Picture
The Academy Award for Best Picture is one of the Academy Awards presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) since the awards debuted in 1929. This award goes to the producers of the film and is the only category ...
, along with Best Original Screenplay
The Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay is the Academy Award for the best screenplay not based upon previously published material. It was created in 1940 as a separate writing award from the Academy Award for Best Story. Beginning with the ...
, from six total nominations, making it the first Best Picture winner since '' The Greatest Show on Earth'' (1952) to win only one other Oscar. The film also won the .
Plot
In 1976, at a Boston Police
The Boston Police Department (BPD), dating back to 1854, holds the primary responsibility for law enforcement and investigation within the city of Boston, Massachusetts. It is the oldest municipal police department in the United States. The ...
station, two policemen discuss the arrest of Fr. John Geoghan
John Joseph "Jack" Geoghan (; June4, 1935August23, 2003) was an American serial child rapist and Roman Catholic priest assigned to parishes in the Archdiocese of Boston in Massachusetts. He was reassigned to several parish posts involving intera ...
for child molestation. A high-ranking cleric talks to the mother of the children. An assistant district attorney
In the United States, a district attorney (DA), county attorney, state's attorney, prosecuting attorney, commonwealth's attorney, or state attorney is the chief prosecutor and/or chief law enforcement officer representing a U.S. state in a loc ...
then enters the precinct and tells the policemen not to let the press learn what has happened. The arrest is not publicized and Geoghan is released.
In 2001, Marty Baron
Martin Baron (born October 24, 1954) is an American journalist who was editor of ''The Washington Post'' from December 31, 2012, until his retirement on February 28, 2021. He was previously the editor of ''The Boston Globe'' from 2001 to 2012.
Ba ...
, the new managing editor of ''The Boston Globe
''The Boston Globe'' is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes, and has a total circulation of close to 300,000 print and digital subscribers. ''The Boston Glob ...
'', meets Walter "Robby" Robinson, the editor of the newspaper's "Spotlight" investigative team. After Baron reads a ''Globe'' article about a lawyer, Mitchell Garabedian
Mitchell "Mitch" Garabedian (born July 17, 1951) is a lawyer known for representing sexual abuse victims in the Boston area during the Sexual abuse scandal in the Catholic archdiocese of Boston, Catholic priest sexual abuse scandal, including the ...
, charging that Cardinal
Cardinal or The Cardinal may refer to:
Animals
* Cardinal (bird) or Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds
**''Cardinalis'', genus of cardinal in the family Cardinalidae
**''Cardinalis cardinalis'', or northern cardinal, the ...
Bernard Law
Bernard Francis Law (November 4, 1931 – December 20, 2017) was an American cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church, known largely for covering up the serial rape of children by Catholic priests. He served as Archbishop of Boston, archprie ...
, the Archbishop of Boston
The Archdiocese of Boston ( la, Archidiœcesis Bostoniensis) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or archdiocese of the Catholic Church located in the New England region of the United States. Its territorial remit encompasses the whole of ...
, knew about Geoghan's sexual abuse
Sexual abuse or sex abuse, also referred to as molestation, is abusive sexual behavior by one person upon another. It is often perpetrated using force or by taking advantage of another. Molestation often refers to an instance of sexual assa ...
of children and did nothing to stop it, Baron urges the Spotlight team to investigate. Journalist Michael Rezendes Michael Rezendes is an American journalist and a member of the global investigative team at Associated Press. He is the recipient of a Pulitzer Prize for his investigative work for ''The Boston Globe''. Since joining the ''Globe'' he has covered pre ...
contacts Garabedian, who initially declines to be interviewed. Though he is told not to, Rezendes reveals that he is on the Spotlight team and convinces Garabedian to talk.
Initially believing that they are following the story of one priest who was moved to new assignments several times, the Spotlight team begin to uncover a pattern of sexual abuse by other priests in and an ongoing cover-up by the Boston Archdiocese
The Archdiocese of Boston ( la, Archidiœcesis Bostoniensis) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or archdiocese of the Catholic Church located in the New England region of the United States. Its territorial remit encompasses the whole of ...
. Through Phil Saviano, who heads the victims' rights group Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests
The Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, known as SNAP, established in 1989, is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization support group of survivors of clergy sexual abuse and their supporters in the United States. Barbara Blaine, a survivor o ...
(SNAP), the team is led to widen their search to thirteen priests. Richard Sipe
Aquinas Walter Richard Sipe (December 11, 1932 – August 8, 2018) was an American Benedictine monk-priest for 18 years (1952–1970 at Saint John's Abbey, Collegeville, Minnesota), a psychotherapist and the author of six books about Catholicism, ...
, a former priest who worked to rehabilitate sexually abusive priests, tells them that his studies suggest that there are approximately 90 abusive priests in Boston (6% of priests). Through their research, the team develops a list of 87 names and begin to find victims to back up their suspicions.
As the team realizes the sheer scale of the investigation, it begins to take a toll on their lives: reporter Matt Carroll learns one of the priest rehabilitation centers is on the same block as his family's home but cannot tell his children or his neighbors to avoid spoiling the story; reporter Sacha Pfeiffer
Sacha Pfeiffer (born September 7, 1971) is an American Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative journalist and radio host. In November 2018, she joined NPR as an investigations correspondent.
Pfeiffer is known for her work with the Spotlight team ...
finds herself unable to attend church with her grandmother; Rezendes pushes to get the story out quickly to prevent further abuse; and Robinson faces pushback from some of his close friends who he learns were complicit in covering up the abuse.
When the September 11 attacks
The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercia ...
occur, the team is forced to de-prioritize the story. They regain momentum when Rezendes learns from Garabedian that there are publicly available documents that confirm Cardinal Law was made aware of the abuse and ignored it. Although Rezendes argues vociferously to run the story immediately, before more victims suffer and rival newspapers publish comparable articles, Robinson steadfastly refuses, arguing the team needs to research further so that the systemic problem can be more fully exposed. After the ''Globe'' wins a case to have even more legal documents unsealed that provide the evidence of that larger picture, the Spotlight team finally begins to write the story and plan to publish their findings in early 2002.
As they are about to go to print, Robinson admits that he learned during the investigation that he was sent a list of 20 sexually abusive priests by lawyer Eric MacLeish in 1993, on which Robinson never followed up. Baron still commends Robinson and the Spotlight team's efforts to expose the crimes now. The story goes to print with a weblink to the documents that expose Law's inaction and a phone number for victims of abusive priests. The next morning, the team is inundated with calls from victims coming forward to tell their stories.
A textual epilogue notes that Law resigned in December 2002 and was eventually promoted to the Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore
The Basilica of Saint Mary Major ( it, Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore, ; la, Basilica Sanctae Mariae Maioris), or church of Santa Maria Maggiore, is a Major papal basilica as well as one of the Seven Pilgrim Churches of Rome and the larges ...
in Rome
, established_title = Founded
, established_date = 753 BC
, founder = King Romulus (legendary)
, image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg
, map_caption ...
, and presents a list of 105 U.S. communities and 101 others around the world where major scandals involving abuse by priests have taken place.
Cast
Spotlight team
* Mark Ruffalo
Mark Alan Ruffalo (; born November 22, 1967) is an American actor and producer best known for playing Bruce Banner / Hulk since 2012 in the superhero franchise of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and in the television series '' She-Hulk: Attorne ...
as Michael Rezendes Michael Rezendes is an American journalist and a member of the global investigative team at Associated Press. He is the recipient of a Pulitzer Prize for his investigative work for ''The Boston Globe''. Since joining the ''Globe'' he has covered pre ...
* Michael Keaton
Michael John Douglas (born September 5, 1951), known professionally as Michael Keaton, is an American actor. He is known for his various comedic and dramatic film roles, including Jack Butler in ''Mr. Mom'' (1983), Betelgeuse in ''Beetlejuice'' ( ...
as Walter "Robby" Robinson
* Rachel McAdams
Rachel Anne McAdams (born November 17, 1978) is a Canadian actress. After graduating from a theatre degree program at York University in 2001, she worked in Canadian television and film productions, such as the drama film ''Perfect Pie'' (200 ...
as Sacha Pfeiffer
Sacha Pfeiffer (born September 7, 1971) is an American Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative journalist and radio host. In November 2018, she joined NPR as an investigations correspondent.
Pfeiffer is known for her work with the Spotlight team ...
* Brian d'Arcy James as Matt Carroll
Globe leadership
* Liev Schreiber
Isaac Liev Schreiber (; born October 4, 1967) is an American actor, director, screenwriter, producer, and narrator. He became known during the late 1990s and early 2000s after appearing in several independent films, and later mainstream Hollywo ...
as Marty Baron
Martin Baron (born October 24, 1954) is an American journalist who was editor of ''The Washington Post'' from December 31, 2012, until his retirement on February 28, 2021. He was previously the editor of ''The Boston Globe'' from 2001 to 2012.
Ba ...
* John Slattery
John M. Slattery Jr. (born August 13, 1962) is an American actor and director widely known for his role as Roger Sterling Jr. in the AMC drama series ''Mad Men'' (2007–15), for which he was nominated four times for the Primetime Emmy Award fo ...
as Ben Bradlee Jr.
Benjamin Crowninshield Bradlee Jr. (born August 7, 1948) is an American journalist and writer. He was a reporter and editor at ''The Boston Globe'' for 25 years, including a period when he supervised the Pulitzer Prize–winning investigation i ...
Additional characters
* Stanley Tucci
Stanley Tucci Jr. ( ; born November 11, 1960) is an American actor and filmmaker. Involved in acting from a young age, he made his film debut in John Huston's '' Prizzi's Honor'' (1985), and continued to play a variety of supporting roles in fil ...
as Mitchell Garabedian
Mitchell "Mitch" Garabedian (born July 17, 1951) is a lawyer known for representing sexual abuse victims in the Boston area during the Sexual abuse scandal in the Catholic archdiocese of Boston, Catholic priest sexual abuse scandal, including the ...
, an attorney representing victims of sexual abuse
* Gene Amoroso as Stephen Kurkjian
Stephen A. Kurkjian is an American journalist and author. He received the Pulitzer Prize for Local Investigative Specialized Reporting in 1972 and 1980. Additionally, he contributed to ''The Boston Globe'' Spotlight Team's coverage of the clergy ...
, ''Boston Globe'' general investigative reporter
* Jamey Sheridan
James Patrick Sheridan (born July 12, 1951) is an American actor known for playing a wide range of roles in theater, film, and television. He's best known for Randall Flagg in '' The Stand'' (1994), Captain James Deakins on '' Law & Order: Crimin ...
as Jim Sullivan, an attorney representing the Church
* Billy Crudup
William Gaither Crudup (; born July 8, 1968) is an American actor. He is a four-time Tony Award nominee, winning once for his performance in Tom Stoppard's play ''The Coast of Utopia'' in 2007. He has starred in numerous high-profile films, inc ...
as Eric MacLeish, an attorney representing victims of sexual abuse
* Maureen Keiller as Eileen McNamara
Eileen McNamara (born May 30, 1952) is an American journalist. She is the author of ''Eunice, The Kennedy Who Changed the World,'' to be published by Simon and Schuster, on April 3, 2018. She is chair of the Journalism Program at Brandeis Unive ...
, ''Boston Globe'' columnist
* Richard Jenkins
Richard Dale Jenkins (born May 4, 1947) is an American actor who is well known for his portrayal of deceased patriarch Nathaniel Fisher on the HBO funeral drama series '' Six Feet Under'' (2001–2005). He began his career in theater at the Tr ...
as Richard Sipe
Aquinas Walter Richard Sipe (December 11, 1932 – August 8, 2018) was an American Benedictine monk-priest for 18 years (1952–1970 at Saint John's Abbey, Collegeville, Minnesota), a psychotherapist and the author of six books about Catholicism, ...
, psychotherapist (telephone voice, uncredited)
* Paul Guilfoyle
Paul Vincent Guilfoyle () (born April 28, 1949) is an American television and film actor. He was a regular cast member of the CBS crime drama ''CSI: Crime Scene Investigation'', on which he played Captain Jim Brass from 2000 to 2014. He retu ...
as Peter Conley
* Len Cariou
Leonard Joseph Cariou (; born September 30, 1939) is a Canadian actor and stage director, best known for his portrayal of Sweeney Todd in the original cast of '' Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street'', for which he won the Tony Award ...
as Cardinal Bernard Law
Bernard Francis Law (November 4, 1931 – December 20, 2017) was an American cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church, known largely for covering up the serial rape of children by Catholic priests. He served as Archbishop of Boston, archprie ...
, Archbishop of Boston
The Archdiocese of Boston ( la, Archidiœcesis Bostoniensis) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or archdiocese of the Catholic Church located in the New England region of the United States. Its territorial remit encompasses the whole of ...
* Neal Huff
Neal Huff is an American actor from New York City. In April 2018, he performed as Willie Oban in the Broadway revival of ''The Iceman Cometh''. In December 2018, Huff began performing in ''To Kill a Mockingbird'', adapted for stage by Aaron Sor ...
as Phil Saviano of SNAP
Snap or SNAP may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* ''Snap'', the original release title for the 2013 film ''Enter the Dangerous Mind''
*''Snap'' (TV series), a CITV programme
* ''The Stanly News and Press'', a newspaper in Albemarle, North Carol ...
* Michael Countryman as Richard Gilman, publisher of the ''Boston Globe''
* Michael Cyril Creighton
Michael Cyril Creighton is an American actor and writer best known for his portrayal of Howard Morris in ''Only Murders in the Building'', Patrick in ''High Maintenance'', Joe Crowley in ''Spotlight'' and his Writers Guild of America Award-winni ...
as Joe Crowley
* Laurie Heineman
Laurie Heineman (born August 4, 1948 in Chicago) is an American actress and teacher, probably best known for the role of Myra in the John G. Avildsen film '' Save the Tiger'' and for originating the role of Sharlene Frame on '' Another World''. L ...
as Judge Constance Sweeney
* David Fraser as John Albano
* Tim Progosh
Tim Progosh (born December 21, 1957) is a Canadian actor and the creator and original producer of the Canadian Comedy Awards, an annual awards presentation that celebrates Canadian comedy in a variety of media (TV, radio, film, the Internet, etc. ...
as Principal Bill Kemeza
* Jimmy LeBlanc
James LeBlanc is an American actor.
LeBlanc grew up in South Boston, and was educated at St. Augustine's and Matignon High School in Cambridge. He has worked as a boxer and sheet metal worker.
Selected filmography
* ''Gone Baby Gone'' as Chris ...
as Patrick McSorley
Production
Writing
The film was written by Tom McCarthy and co-writer Josh Singer. When McCarthy was asked how he and his co-author tackled the research and writing process, he said:
As I said, I passed urned down the filmthe first time! That's probably some indication of how intimidating it was. But I think, as always, with any big assignment, once you get over that initial shock and awe of how much material there was to cover, you start digging into the material and become really fascinated by and engaged with it, and we did. And yeah, it was a lot of work, but it was exciting work. It was really interesting work, parsing through details of not just the investigation, but its findings, and trying to determine what was most helpful in telling our story. I think having two brains on it was somewhat helpful too, because we could talk through it a lot. So it wasn't just sitting alone in a room and jotting notes. We were dialoguing a lot about it. That particular collaboration did feel investigative and on some level, seemed to parallel some of the collaboration of the reporters in that investigation. So, I think there was something about our collaboration that made that initial process more palatable on some level.
Development
McCarthy and Singer completed the script in June 2013. It was on the 2013 Black List
Blacklisting is the action of a group or authority compiling a blacklist (or black list) of people, countries or other entities to be avoided or distrusted as being deemed unacceptable to those making the list. If someone is on a blacklist, t ...
of unproduced screenplays. Singer told ''Creative Screenwriting'' that one of his goals for the film was to highlight the power of journalism, which he feels has been waning. He explained, "This story isn't about exposing the Catholic Church. We were not on some mission to rattle people's faith. In fact, Tom came from a Catholic family. The motive was to tell the story accurately while showing the power of the newsroom—something that's largely disappeared today. This story is important. Journalism is important, and there is a deeper message in the story."
Filming
Principal photography
Principal photography is the phase of producing a film or television show in which the bulk of shooting takes place, as distinct from the phases of pre-production and post-production.
Personnel
Besides the main film personnel, such as actor ...
began on September 24, 2014, in Boston, Massachusetts, and continued in October in Hamilton, Ontario
Hamilton is a port city in the Canadian province of Ontario. Hamilton has a population of 569,353, and its census metropolitan area, which includes Burlington and Grimsby, has a population of 785,184. The city is approximately southwest of T ...
. Filming took place at Fenway Park
Fenway Park is a baseball stadium located in Boston, Massachusetts, United States, near Kenmore Square. Since 1912, it has been the home of the Boston Red Sox, the city's American League baseball team, and since 1953, its only Major League Base ...
, the then-current ''Boston Globe
''The Boston Globe'' is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes, and has a total circulation of close to 300,000 print and digital subscribers. ''The Boston Glob ...
'' offices in Dorchester, Boston
Dorchester (colloquially referred to as Dot) is a Boston neighborhood comprising more than in the City of Boston, Massachusetts, United States. Originally, Dorchester was a separate town, founded by Puritans who emigrated in 1630 from Dorchester, ...
, the Boston Public Library
The Boston Public Library is a municipal public library system in Boston, Massachusetts, United States, founded in 1848. The Boston Public Library is also the Library for the Commonwealth (formerly ''library of last recourse'') of the Commonweal ...
, and McMaster University
McMaster University (McMaster or Mac) is a public research university in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. The main McMaster campus is on of land near the residential neighbourhoods of Ainslie Wood and Westdale, adjacent to the Royal Botanical Ga ...
in Hamilton, Ontario. The film's editor Tom McArdle said of the post-production process, "We edited for eight months. We just wanted to keep refining the film. We cut out five scenes plus some segments of other scenes. Often we would just cut out a line or two to make a scene a little tighter." The Boston Police station depicted in the opening scene was filmed in Toronto at the former Toronto Police Service
The Toronto Police Service (TPS) is a municipal police force in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, and the primary agency responsible for providing law enforcement and policing services in Toronto. Established in 1834, it was the first local police ser ...
11 Division station at 209 Mavety Street, and the former Sears
Sears, Roebuck and Co. ( ), commonly known as Sears, is an American chain of department stores founded in 1892 by Richard Warren Sears and Alvah Curtis Roebuck and reincorporated in 1906 by Richard Sears and Julius Rosenwald, with what began a ...
building on Islington Avenue in Toronto
Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...
was converted into a replica of the interior of the old ''Boston Globe'', where the bulk of the filming took place.
Historical accuracy
The visual blog '' Information is Beautiful'' deduced that, while taking creative license into account, the film was 76.2% accurate when compared to real-life events, summarizing that "the only conceits are scenes of power figures warning off the journalists".
* The film only depicts the events leading up to the publication of the Spotlight team's first article, whereas the team actually continued publishing follow-up reports for nearly two years afterward. As a result, certain events are depicted as having happened earlier than they actually did, including the scene where former priest Ronald H. Paquin freely admits to molesting children and having been molested himself.
* While Sacha Pfeiffer did indeed write the numerous follow-up reports on Paquin, the interview depicted in the film was a blend of two interviews conducted by her and Steve Kurkjian, both of which took place about a month after the events in the film. After the first story was published, Kurkjian rejoined the Spotlight team (he had been a founding member before becoming the ''Globe'''s Washington bureau chief) to assist with further reporting on the abuses. Pfeiffer and Kurkjian have said that the confession was a much more gradual process and Paquin did not just "blurt it out" the way he does in the film.
* A scene where Matt Carroll discovers one of the priest treatment centers is down the block from where he lives is based on an actual discovery he made during the investigation, with one minor detail changed: Carroll actually lived down the street from John Geoghan, the priest whose case sparked the investigations. This was changed as the filmmakers thought the image of Carroll putting Geoghan's photo on his refrigerator to warn his children would seem unrealistic.
* In a subplot, Eric MacLeish claims he sent a list of 20 priests to the ''Globe'' in 1993 but the story was buried in Metro: Robinson later admits he was the editor for Metro at the time and he likely overlooked the case. While the ''Globe'' did publish an article about the list of 20 priests, the Spotlight team did not learn this during their investigation. MacLeish himself revealed the article's existence while being interviewed for the screenplay by McCarthy and Singer. This revelation, along with Robinson's response to the filmmakers' inquiry, was incorporated into the screenplay for dramatic purposes.
Release
The film "premiered to sustained applause" at the Venice Film Festival and the audience "erupted in laughter" when the film reported that following the events in the film Cardinal Bernard Law was reassigned to a senior position of honor in Rome.[ It had a limited release on November 6, 2015, with its U.S. release scheduled for three weeks later on November 25.
]
Home media
''Spotlight'' was released by Universal Studios Home Entertainment
Universal Pictures Home Entertainment (formerly Universal Studios Home Entertainment, Universal Studios Home Video, MCA/Universal Home Video, MCA Home Video, MCA Videodisc and MCA Videocassette, Inc.) is the home video distribution division of Am ...
on DVD and Blu-ray in the United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
on February 23, 2016.
Reception
Box office
''Spotlight'' grossed $45.1 million in the United States and Canada and $53.2 million in other countries for a worldwide total of $98.3 million, against a production budget of $20 million. ''The Hollywood Reporter
''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Cinema of the United States, Hollywood film industry, film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade pap ...
'' calculated the film made a net profit of up to $10 million.
In the opening weekend of its limited release, the film grossed $295,009 from five theaters ($59,002 average), one of the highest per-screen averages of any release of 2015. The film grossed $4.4 million in the first weekend during its wide release, finishing 8th at the box office.
Critical response
''Spotlight'' received critical acclaim. The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...
gave the film an approval rating of 97% based on 376 reviews, with an average rating of 8.80/10. The website's summary of the critical consensus is that "''Spotlight'' gracefully handles the lurid details of its fact-based story while resisting the temptation to lionize its heroes, resulting in a drama that honors the audience as well as its real-life subjects." On Metacritic
Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...
, the film has a score of 93 out of 100, based on 45 critics, indicating "universal acclaim."
''Variety
Variety may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats
* Variety (radio)
* Variety show, in theater and television
Films
* ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont
* ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...
''s Justin Chang
Justin Choigee Chang (born January 3, 1983) is an American film critic and columnist for the ''Los Angeles Times''. He previously worked for ''Variety''.
Early life
Justin Chang graduated from the University of Southern California in 2004. Chan ...
called the film "a superbly controlled and engrossingly detailed account of the ''Boston Globe''s Pulitzer Prize-winning investigation into the widespread pedophilia scandals and subsequent cover-ups within the Catholic Church." Joe Morgenstern of ''The Wall Street Journal'' wrote, "To turn a spotlight fittingly on ''Spotlight'', it's the year's best movie so far, and a rarity among countless dramatizations that claim to be based on actual events." Mark Kermode of ''The Guardian'' gave it 4 out of 5 stars and praised Ruffalo's performance, writing, "As for Mark Ruffalo, he's the closest thing this ensemble cast has to a star turn, a long-suppressed outburst of emotion providing one of the film's few grandstanding showstoppers." Helen O'Hara of ''Empire'' gave the movie 4 out of 5 stars and called it a "grown-up film about serious people that mercifully escapes any awards-grabbing platitudes" and "more thrilling than most action movies." Richard Propes of ''The Independent Critic'' gave ''Spotlight'' 4 out of 4 marks and praised the screenplay and cast: "''Spotlight'' is a nearly perfect example of what happens when the perfect filmmaker works with the perfect script and acquires the perfect cast and crew to bring a story to life".
At the 2015 Toronto International Film Festival
The 40th annual Toronto International Film Festival was held from 10 to 20 September 2015. On 28 July 2015 the first wave of films to be screened at the Festival was announced. Jean-Marc Vallée's ''Demolition'' starring Jake Gyllenhaal and Naom ...
, ''Spotlight'' finished third in the audience balloting for the People's Choice Award.
Comparing ''Spotlight'' to '' The Post'', a similar period film about journalists, critic Matt Zoller Seitz
Matt Zoller Seitz (born December 26, 1968) is an American film and television critic, author and film-maker.
Career
Matt Zoller Seitz is editor-at-large at RogerEbert.com, and the television critic for '' New York'' magazine and Vulture.com, as ...
of RogerEbert.com expressed perplexity over critics' muted praise for the latter film, writing that in terms of direction, ''Spotlight'' "got praise for doing a tenth of what Steven_Spielberg">nowiki/>Steven_Spielberg.html" ;"title="Steven_Spielberg.html" ;"title="nowiki/>Steven Spielberg">nowiki/>Steven Spielberg">Steven_Spielberg.html" ;"title="nowiki/>Steven Spielberg">nowiki/>Steven Spielbergdoes here".
Top ten lists
''Spotlight'' was included on many critics' top-ten lists.
* 1st – Peter Travers, ''Rolling Stone''
* 1st – Christoper Orr, ''The Atlantic''
* 1st – Bill Goodykoontz, ''Arizona Republic''
* 1st – Lou Lumenick, ''New York Post
The ''New York Post'' (''NY Post'') is a conservative daily tabloid newspaper published in New York City. The ''Post'' also operates NYPost.com, the celebrity gossip site PageSix.com, and the entertainment site Decider.com.
It was established ...
''
* 1st – Rex Reed
Rex Taylor Reed (born October 2, 1938) is an American film critic, occasional actor, and television host. He writes the column "On the Town with Rex Reed" for '' The New York Observer''.
Early life
Reed was born on October 2, 1938, in Fort Wo ...
, ''New York Observer
New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created.
New or NEW may refer to:
Music
* New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz
Albums and EPs
* ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013
* ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, ...
''
* 1st – Ty Burr
Ty Burr (born August 17, 1957) is an American film critic, columnist, and author who currently writes a film and popular culture newsletter "Ty Burr's Watchlist" on Substack. Burr previously served as film critic at ''The Boston Globe'' for two ...
, ''Boston Globe
''The Boston Globe'' is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes, and has a total circulation of close to 300,000 print and digital subscribers. ''The Boston Glob ...
''
* 1st – Michael Phillips, ''Chicago Tribune
The ''Chicago Tribune'' is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" (a slogan for which WGN radio and television ar ...
''
* 1st – Stephanie Zacharek
Stephanie Zacharek is an American film critic at ''Time'', based in New York City. From 2013 to 2015, she was the principal film critic for ''The Village Voice''. She was a 2015 Pulitzer Prize finalist in criticism.
Early life
Stephanie Zachare ...
, ''Time
Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, to ...
''
* 1st – Ann Hornaday
Ann Hornaday is an American film critic. She has been film critic at ''The Washington Post'' since 2002 and is the author of ''Talking Pictures: How to Watch Movies'' (2017). In 2008, she was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for Criticism.
Ear ...
, ''The Washington Post
''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...
''
* 1st – Kate Erbland, ''Indiewire
IndieWire (sometimes stylized as indieWIRE or Indiewire) is a film industry and review website that was established in 1996. The site's focus was predominantly independent film, although its coverage has grown to "to include all aspects of Hollyw ...
''
* 1st – Joe Morgenstern
Joe Morgenstern (born October 3, 1932) is an American writer and retired film critic. He wrote for ''Newsweek'' from 1965 to 1983, and then for ''The Wall Street Journal'' from 1995 to 2022. He won the Pulitzer Prize for Criticism in 2005. Morgen ...
, ''Wall Street Journal
''The Wall Street Journal'' is an American business-focused, international daily newspaper based in New York City, with international editions also available in Chinese and Japanese. The ''Journal'', along with its Asian editions, is published ...
''
* 2nd – Peter Debruge, ''Variety
Variety may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats
* Variety (radio)
* Variety show, in theater and television
Films
* ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont
* ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...
''
* 2nd – Christy Lemire, '' RogerEbert.com''
* 3rd – Scott Feinberg, ''The Hollywood Reporter
''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Cinema of the United States, Hollywood film industry, film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade pap ...
''
* 3rd – Rene Rodriguez, ''Miami Herald
The ''Miami Herald'' is an American daily newspaper owned by the McClatchy Company and headquartered in Doral, Florida, a List of communities in Miami-Dade County, Florida, city in western Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County and the M ...
''
* 3rd – Inkoo Kang, ''TheWrap
''TheWrap'' is an American online news website covering the business of entertainment and media via digital, print and live events. It was founded by journalist Sharon Waxman
Sharon I. Waxman (born c.1963) is an American author, journalist, ...
''
* 3rd – James Berardinelli
James Berardinelli (born September 25, 1967) is an American film critic and former engineer. His reviews are mainly published on his blog ''ReelViews.'' Approved as a critic by the aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, he has published two collections of r ...
, ''Reelviews''
* 3rd – Richard Lawson, '' Vanity Fair''
* 3rd – J.R. Jones, ''Chicago Reader
The ''Chicago Reader'', or ''Reader'' (stylized as ЯEADER), is an American alternative weekly newspaper in Chicago, Illinois, noted for its literary style of journalism and coverage of the arts, particularly film and theater. It was founded by a ...
''
* 3rd – A.O. Scott
Anthony Oliver Scott (born July 10, 1966) is an American journalist and cultural critic. He has been chief film critic for ''The New York Times'' since 2004, a title he shares with Manohla Dargis.
Early life
Scott was born on July 10, 1966 in ...
and Stephen Holden, ''The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
''
* 4th – Jake Coyle, ''Associated Press
The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. newspa ...
''
* 4th – Connie Ogle, ''Miami Herald
The ''Miami Herald'' is an American daily newspaper owned by the McClatchy Company and headquartered in Doral, Florida, a List of communities in Miami-Dade County, Florida, city in western Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County and the M ...
''
* 4th – Josh Kupecki, ''Austin Chronicle
''The Austin Chronicle'' is an alternative weekly newspaper published every Thursday in Austin, Texas, United States. The paper is distributed through free news-stands, often at local eateries or coffee houses frequented by its targeted demogr ...
''
* 5th – Anne Thompson, ''IndieWire
IndieWire (sometimes stylized as indieWIRE or Indiewire) is a film industry and review website that was established in 1996. The site's focus was predominantly independent film, although its coverage has grown to "to include all aspects of Hollyw ...
''
* 5th – Kristopher Tapley, ''Variety
Variety may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats
* Variety (radio)
* Variety show, in theater and television
Films
* ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont
* ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...
''
* 5th – Mick LaSalle
Mick is a masculine given name, usually a short form ( hypocorism) of Michael. Because of its popularity in Ireland, it is often used in England as a derogatory term for an Irish person or a person of Irish descent. In Australia the meaning broad ...
, ''San Francisco Chronicle
The ''San Francisco Chronicle'' is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of Northern California. It was founded in 1865 as ''The Daily Dramatic Chronicle'' by teenage brothers Charles de Young and M. H. de Young, Michael H. de ...
''
* 6th – David Edelstein
David Edelstein (born 1959) is a freelance American film critic who has been the principal film critic for ''Slate'' and ''New York'' magazine, among others, and has appeared regularly on NPR's ''Fresh Air'' and ''CBS Sunday Morning'' programs. O ...
, ''New York Magazine
''New York'' is an American biweekly magazine concerned with life, culture, politics, and style generally, and with a particular emphasis on New York City. Founded by Milton Glaser and Clay Felker in 1968 as a competitor to ''The New Yorker'', ...
''
* 6th – Joshua Rothkopf, ''Time Out New York
''Time Out'' is a global magazine published by Time Out Group. ''Time Out'' started as a London-only publication in 1968 and has expanded its editorial recommendations to 328 cities in 58 countries worldwide.
In 2012, the London edition becam ...
''
* 7th – Justin Chang
Justin Choigee Chang (born January 3, 1983) is an American film critic and columnist for the ''Los Angeles Times''. He previously worked for ''Variety''.
Early life
Justin Chang graduated from the University of Southern California in 2004. Chan ...
, ''Variety
Variety may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats
* Variety (radio)
* Variety show, in theater and television
Films
* ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont
* ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...
''
* 8th – Richard Roeper
Richard E. Roeper (born October 17, 1959) is an American columnist and film critic for the ''Chicago Sun-Times''. He co-hosted the television series '' At the Movies'' with Roger Ebert from 2000 to 2008, serving as the late Gene Siskel's success ...
, ''Chicago Sun-Times
The ''Chicago Sun-Times'' is a daily newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Since 2022, it is the flagship paper of Chicago Public Media, and has the second largest circulation among Chicago newspapers, after the ''Chicago T ...
''
* 9th – Alonso Duralde
Alonso Duralde (born May 18, 1967) is an American film critic, author, and podcaster.
Personal life
Duralde was born in East Point, Georgia, the youngest of seven children born to Spanish immigrants. He attended Vanderbilt University and curre ...
, ''TheWrap
''TheWrap'' is an American online news website covering the business of entertainment and media via digital, print and live events. It was founded by journalist Sharon Waxman
Sharon I. Waxman (born c.1963) is an American author, journalist, ...
''
* 10th – Alison Willmore, ''BuzzFeed
BuzzFeed, Inc. is an American Internet media, news and entertainment company with a focus on digital media. Based in New York City, BuzzFeed was founded in 2006 by Jonah Peretti and John S. Johnson III to focus on tracking viral content. Ken ...
''
* 10th – Tom Brook
Tom or TOM may refer to:
* Tom (given name), a diminutive of Thomas or Tomás or an independent Aramaic given name (and a list of people with the name)
Characters
* Tom Anderson, a character in ''Beavis and Butt-Head''
* Tom Beck, a character ...
, ''BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
''
* 10th –
Kyle Smith, ''
New York Post
The ''New York Post'' (''NY Post'') is a conservative daily tabloid newspaper published in New York City. The ''Post'' also operates NYPost.com, the celebrity gossip site PageSix.com, and the entertainment site Decider.com.
It was established ...
''
* Top 10 (listed alphabetically, not ranked) – Stephen Whitty, ''
The Star-Ledger
''The Star-Ledger'' is the largest circulated newspaper in the U.S. state of New Jersey and is based in Newark. It is a sister paper to ''The Jersey Journal'' of Jersey City, ''The Times'' of Trenton and the '' Staten Island Advance'', all of wh ...
''
* Top 10 (listed alphabetically, not ranked) –
Dana Stevens, ''
Slate.com
''Slate'' is an online magazine that covers current affairs, politics, and culture in the United States. It was created in 1996 by former '' New Republic'' editor Michael Kinsley, initially under the ownership of Microsoft as part of MSN. In 2 ...
''
* Top 10 (listed alphabetically) –
Steven Rea
Steven Rea (also known as Steven X. Rea) is an American journalist, film critic, , ''
Philadelphia Inquirer
''The Philadelphia Inquirer'' is a daily newspaper headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The newspaper's circulation is the largest in both the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the Delaware Valley metropolitan region of Southeastern Pennsy ...
''
* Best of 2015 (listed alphabetically, not ranked) –
Kenneth Turan
Kenneth Turan (; born October 27, 1946) is an American retired film critic, author, and lecturer in the Master of Professional Writing Program at the University of Southern California. He was a film critic for the ''Los Angeles Times'' from 1991 ...
, ''
Los Angeles Times
The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...
''
Reactions from the Catholic Church
In general, the film was positively received by the Catholic community. Before its release, Cardinal
Sean O'Malley of the Archdiocese of Boston issued a statement in the archdiocese's official newspaper, stating that the "media's investigative reporting on the abuse crisis instigated a call for the Church to take responsibility for its failings and to reform itself—to deal with what was shameful and hidden." O'Malley had not seen the movie at that time but planned to do so.
On November 9, 2015, a review in the ''
Catholic News Service
Catholic News Service (CNS) is an American news agency owned by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) that reports on the Catholic Church.
The agency's domestic service is set to shut down at the end of 2022, but its Rome bur ...
'' called the film a "generally accurate chronicle" of the Boston scandal, but objected to some of the portrayals and the film's view of the Church. On the ''Catholic News Service'', auxiliary bishop of
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
Robert Barron
Robert Emmet Barron (born November 19, 1959) is an American prelate of the Catholic Church who has served as bishop of the Diocese of Winona-Rochester since 2022. He is the founder of the Catholic ministerial organization Word on Fire, and ...
said that it is "not a bad movie", as it shows how the wider community shares the responsibility for sexual abuse committed by priests, but that the film is wrong to insinuate that the Church has not reformed.
Vatican Radio
Vatican Radio ( it, Radio Vaticana; la, Statio Radiophonica Vaticana) is the official broadcasting service of Vatican City.
Established in 1931 by Guglielmo Marconi, today its programs are offered in 47 languages, and are sent out on short wave, ...
, the official radio service of the
Holy See
The Holy See ( lat, Sancta Sedes, ; it, Santa Sede ), also called the See of Rome, Petrine See or Apostolic See, is the jurisdiction of the Pope in his role as the bishop of Rome. It includes the apostolic episcopal see of the Diocese of Rome ...
, called it "honest" and "compelling" and said it helped the U.S. Catholic Church "to accept fully the sin, to admit it publicly, and to pay all the consequences."
Luca Pellegrini on the Vatican Radio website wrote that the ''Globe'' reporters "made themselves examples of their most pure vocation, that of finding the facts, verifying sources, and making themselves—for the good of the community and of a city—paladins of the need for justice."
In February 2016, a
Vatican City
Vatican City (), officially the Vatican City State ( it, Stato della Città del Vaticano; la, Status Civitatis Vaticanae),—'
* german: Vatikanstadt, cf. '—' (in Austria: ')
* pl, Miasto Watykańskie, cf. '—'
* pt, Cidade do Vati ...
commission on clerical sex abuse attended a private screening of the film. Following the film's Best Picture win at the Oscars, Vatican newspaper ''
L'Osservatore Romano
''L'Osservatore Romano'' (, 'The Roman Observer') is the daily newspaper of Vatican City State which reports on the activities of the Holy See and events taking place in the Catholic Church and the world. It is owned by the Holy See but is not a ...
'' ran a column assuring that it is "not an anti-Catholic film", and Vatican Radio revealed that clerics in Rome have been recommending the film to each other.
Criticism
A January 8, 2016, article in ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' cited author David F. Pierre Jr., who said that ''Spotlight'' "is a misrepresentation of how the Church dealt with sexual abuse cases", asserting that the movie's biggest flaw was its failure to portray psychologists who had assured Church officials that abusive priests could be safely returned to ministry after undergoing therapy treatments. Open Road Films rebutted the detractor, saying he was "perpetuating a myth in order to distract from real stories of abuse."
The film was attacked by Jack Dunn (played by Gary Galone), the public relations head and a member of the board at
Boston College High School
, motto_translation = ''So they may know You.''
, address = 150 Morrissey Boulevard
, city = Boston
, state = Massachusetts
, zipcode = 02125
, country ...
, for portraying him as callous and indifferent to the scandal. Dunn says he was immediately aware of the issues involved and worked to respond after viewing the film. Two of the ''Globe'' reporters depicted in the film, Walter Robinson and Sacha Pfeiffer, issued a statement in response to Dunn, firmly standing by their recollections of the day, that Dunn did "his best to frame a story in the most favorable way possible for the institution he is representing. That's what Jack did that day." They said Dunn mounted a "spirited public relations defense of Boston College High School during our first sit-down interview at the school in early 2002," the scene in which Dunn is depicted.
On March 15, 2016, Open Road Films released a statement on how Dunn was portrayed in the film: "As is the case with most movies based on historical events, ''Spotlight'' contains fictionalized dialogue that was attributed to Mr. Dunn for dramatic effect. We acknowledge that Mr. Dunn was not part of the Archdiocesan cover-up. It is clear from his efforts on behalf of the victims at BC High that he and the filmmakers share a deep, mutual concern for victims of abuse."
Dunn then also released a statement: "I feel vindicated by the public statement and relieved to have the record set straight on an issue that has caused me and my family tremendous pain. While it will never erase the horrific experience of being falsely portrayed in an Academy Award-winning film, this public statement enables me to move forward with my reputation and integrity intact."
Accolades
''Spotlight'' has been critically acclaimed, and has been included in many critics' Top Ten Films of 2015 lists.
The film has received over 100 industry and critics awards and nominations. The
American Film Institute
The American Film Institute (AFI) is an American nonprofit film organization that educates filmmakers and honors the heritage of the motion picture arts in the United States. AFI is supported by private funding and public membership fees.
Leade ...
selected ''Spotlight'' as one of the
Top Ten Films of the year.
The film garnered three
Golden Globe Award
The Golden Globe Awards are accolades bestowed by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association beginning in January 1944, recognizing excellence in both American and international film and television. Beginning in 2022, there are 105 members of t ...
nominations for
Best Motion Picture – Drama,
Best Director Best Director is the name of an award which is presented by various film, television and theatre organizations, festivals, and people's awards. It may refer to:
Film awards
* AACTA Award for Best Direction
* Academy Award for Best Director
* BA ...
for McCarthy, and
Best Screenplay for McCarthy and
Josh Singer
Josh Singer (born 1972) is an American screenwriter and producer. He is best known for writing '' The Fifth Estate'' (2013), ''Spotlight'' (2015), ''The Post'' (2017) and '' First Man'' (2018). He won the Academy Award for Best Original Screenpl ...
. It was nominated for five
Independent Spirit Awards
The Independent Spirit Awards (abbreviated Spirit Awards and originally known as the FINDIE or Friends of Independents Awards), founded in 1984, are awards dedicated to independent filmmakers. Winners were typically presented with Poly(methyl m ...
, including
Best Feature,
Best Director Best Director is the name of an award which is presented by various film, television and theatre organizations, festivals, and people's awards. It may refer to:
Film awards
* AACTA Award for Best Direction
* Academy Award for Best Director
* BA ...
,
Best Screenplay for Singer,
Best Editing for Tom McArdle and Honorary
Robert Altman Award The Independent Spirit Robert Altman Award is presented to the ensemble cast, director and casting director of a film by the Film Independent, a non-profit organization dedicated to independent film and independent filmmakers. It is named after dire ...
for the cast.
Rachel McAdams
Rachel Anne McAdams (born November 17, 1978) is a Canadian actress. After graduating from a theatre degree program at York University in 2001, she worked in Canadian television and film productions, such as the drama film ''Perfect Pie'' (200 ...
and the ensemble cast received nominations for the
Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role and the
Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture respectively, with the cast winning the latter.
The
New York Film Critics Circle
The New York Film Critics Circle (NYFCC) is an American film critic organization founded in 1935 by Wanda Hale from the New York ''Daily News''. Its membership includes over 30 film critics from New York-based daily and weekly newspapers, magaz ...
awarded
Michael Keaton
Michael John Douglas (born September 5, 1951), known professionally as Michael Keaton, is an American actor. He is known for his various comedic and dramatic film roles, including Jack Butler in ''Mr. Mom'' (1983), Betelgeuse in ''Beetlejuice'' ( ...
the
Best Actor award, while it won the
Best Picture
This is a list of categories of awards commonly awarded through organizations that bestow film awards, including those presented by various film, festivals, and people's awards.
Best Actor/Best Actress
*See Best Actor#Film awards, Best Actress#F ...
, Best Director, Best Screenplay and Best Ensemble cast at the
New York Film Critics Online Awards
The New York Film Critics Online (NYFCO) is an organization founded by Harvey Karten in 2000 composed of Internet film critics based in New York City. The group meets once a year, in December, for voting on its annual NYFCO Awards.
2001 Various ...
. ''Spotlight'' won the
Best Film
This is a list of categories of awards commonly awarded through organizations that bestow film awards, including those presented by various film, festivals, and people's awards.
Best Actor/Best Actress
*See Best Actor#Film awards, Best Actress#F ...
and
Best Screenplay from the
Los Angeles Film Critics Association
The Los Angeles Film Critics Association (LAFCA) is an American film critic organization founded in 1975.
Background
Its membership comprises film critics from Los Angeles-based print and electronic media. In December of each year, the organiza ...
. It received eight nominations from the
Broadcast Film Critics Association
The Critics Choice Association (CCA), formerly the Broadcast Film Critics Association (BFCA), is an association of television, radio and online critics. Their membership includes critics who review film and television. Founded in 1995, it is the ...
, including
Best Film
This is a list of categories of awards commonly awarded through organizations that bestow film awards, including those presented by various film, festivals, and people's awards.
Best Actor/Best Actress
*See Best Actor#Film awards, Best Actress#F ...
,
Best Director Best Director is the name of an award which is presented by various film, television and theatre organizations, festivals, and people's awards. It may refer to:
Film awards
* AACTA Award for Best Direction
* Academy Award for Best Director
* BA ...
,
Best Supporting Actor,
Best Supporting Actress,
Best Screenplay and
Best Score. It won the
Best Cast in a Motion Picture at
Satellite Awards
The Satellite Awards are annual awards given by the International Press Academy that are commonly noted in entertainment industry journals and blogs. The awards were originally known as the Golden Satellite Awards. The award ceremonies take place ...
and was nominated for six other awards including
Best Film
This is a list of categories of awards commonly awarded through organizations that bestow film awards, including those presented by various film, festivals, and people's awards.
Best Actor/Best Actress
*See Best Actor#Film awards, Best Actress#F ...
,
Best Director Best Director is the name of an award which is presented by various film, television and theatre organizations, festivals, and people's awards. It may refer to:
Film awards
* AACTA Award for Best Direction
* Academy Award for Best Director
* BA ...
,
Best Supporting Actor,
Best Supporting Actress
and
Best Original Screenplay
The Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay is the Academy Award for the best screenplay not based upon previously published material. It was created in 1940 as a separate writing award from the Academy Award for Best Story. Beginning with the ...
.
At the
Academy Awards
The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...
, the film received six nominations, including
Best Picture
This is a list of categories of awards commonly awarded through organizations that bestow film awards, including those presented by various film, festivals, and people's awards.
Best Actor/Best Actress
*See Best Actor#Film awards, Best Actress#F ...
,
Best Director Best Director is the name of an award which is presented by various film, television and theatre organizations, festivals, and people's awards. It may refer to:
Film awards
* AACTA Award for Best Direction
* Academy Award for Best Director
* BA ...
,
Best Supporting Actor for Ruffalo,
Best Supporting Actress for McAdams,
Best Original Screenplay
The Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay is the Academy Award for the best screenplay not based upon previously published material. It was created in 1940 as a separate writing award from the Academy Award for Best Story. Beginning with the ...
, and
Best Film Editing, winning Best Picture and Best Original Screenplay. It is the first Best Picture winner to win fewer than three
Academy Awards
The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...
since
1952's ''
The Greatest Show on Earth''. At the time of its win, the film had made $39.2 million at the North American box office, which made it the second lowest domestically grossing film (adjusted for ticket-price inflation) to win Best Picture within the past four decades (after ''
The Hurt Locker
''The Hurt Locker'' is a 2008 American war thriller film directed by Kathryn Bigelow and written by Mark Boal. It stars Jeremy Renner, Anthony Mackie, Brian Geraghty, Christian Camargo, Ralph Fiennes, David Morse, and Guy Pearce. The film follo ...
'' with $17 million).
''Spotlight'' was listed on over 120 critics' and publications' top ten lists.
It was also voted the 88th greatest film since 2000 in an international critics' poll conducted by
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
. In 2018,