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Todd McCarthy (born February 16, 1950) is an American film critic and author. He wrote for '' Variety'' for 31 years as its chief film critic until 2010. In October of that year, he joined ''
The Hollywood Reporter ''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Hollywood film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade paper, and in 2010 switched to a weekly large ...
'', where he subsequently served as chief film critic until 2020. McCarthy subsequently began writing regularly for ''
Deadline Hollywood ''Deadline Hollywood'', commonly known as ''Deadline'' and also referred to as ''Deadline.com'', is an online news site founded as the news blog ''Deadline Hollywood Daily'' by Nikki Finke in 2006. The site is updated several times a day, wi ...
'' in 2020.


Personal life

Todd McCarthy was born in
Evanston, Illinois Evanston ( ) is a city, suburb of Chicago. Located in Cook County, Illinois, United States, it is situated on the North Shore along Lake Michigan. Evanston is north of Downtown Chicago, bordered by Chicago to the south, Skokie to the west, ...
, the son of Daniel and Barbara McCarthy. His mother was a cellist and served as the president of the Evanston Symphony Orchestra. His father was a rancher and real-estate developer. McCarthy graduated from Evanston Township High School (ETHS) in 1968 and
Stanford University Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is conside ...
in 1972. While at ETHS, he made a silent, plotless movie on Super 8 film titled ''Mimi'' after the
nickname A nickname is a substitute for the proper name of a familiar person, place or thing. Commonly used to express affection, a form of endearment, and sometimes amusement, it can also be used to express defamation of character. As a concept, it is ...
of his featured classmate who later became known as Claudia Jennings. In college, McCarthy was hired as a critic at the newspaper office on campus. His first review was a positive one for the French-Italian film '' Belle de Jour'' (1967). He wrote it at the age of 18.


Career

McCarthy edited ''Kings of Bs: Working Within the Hollywood System'' with Charles Flynn, a book that discusses the great filmmakers of B movies, which was published in 1975. He moved to
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 ...
and from 1974 to 1975, worked for Paramount Pictures as an assistant to Elaine May. He helped her edit '' Mikey and Nicky'' (1976). From 1975 to 1977, McCarthy worked for
New World Pictures New World Pictures (also known as New World Entertainment and New World Communications Group, Inc.) was an American independent production, distribution, and (in its final years as an autonomous entity) multimedia company. It was founded in 19 ...
in Los Angeles as the director of advertising and publicity. He also joined ''
The Hollywood Reporter ''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Hollywood film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade paper, and in 2010 switched to a weekly large ...
'' as a film critic in 1975 but was let go a year later. McCarthy was later the manager of the English-language edition of '' Le Film français'' in 1977. The next year, he got a job as a Hollywood editor for '' Film Comment''. McCarthy joined '' Daily Variety'' in 1979 and worked there as a reporter and film critic until 1989. In 1990, McCarthy wrote the PBS documentary ''Preston Sturges: The Rise and Fall of an American Dreamer'' which won him an Emmy Award. He directed four documentaries about film: '' Visions of Light'' (1992), ''Claudia Jennings'' (1995), ''Forever Hollywood'' (1999), and ''Man of Cinema: Pierre Rissient'' (2007). ''Visions of Light'' was named the Best Documentary of the Year award by the
National Society of Film Critics The National Society of Film Critics (NSFC) is an American film critic organization. The organization is known for its highbrow tastes, and its annual awards are one of the most prestigious film critics awards in the United States. In January 2014, ...
and the New York Film Critics Circle. ''Forever Hollywood'' has been played at
Grauman's Egyptian Theatre Grauman's Egyptian Theatre is a historic movie theater located at 6706 Hollywood Blvd. in Hollywood, California. Opened in 1922, it is an early example of a lavish movie palace and is noted as having been the site of the first-ever Hollywood ...
for more than a decade. In 1991 he joined '' Variety'' as film review editor of ''Variety'' and ''Daily Variety''. He wrote about the producer/director Howard Hawks in his book, ''Howard Hawks: The Grey Fox of Hollywood'' which was published in 2000. In 2007 he wrote ''Fast Women: The Legendary Ladies of Racing.'' McCarthy also wrote ''Des Ovnis, des Monstres et du Sexe: Le Cinéma Selon Roger Corman'' (2011). McCarthy lost his job at ''Variety'' in March 2010, having been the longest-serving member of their staff. McCarthy began writing for IndieWire after leaving ''Variety''. He was rehired by ''The Hollywood Reporter'' in October 2010 as the chief film critic under Janice Min. He wrote the introduction to the 2013 edition of cinematographer John Alton's book '' Painting with Light''. McCarthy lost his job at ''The Hollywood Reporter'' in April 2020. McCarthy subsequently began writing regularly for ''
Deadline Hollywood ''Deadline Hollywood'', commonly known as ''Deadline'' and also referred to as ''Deadline.com'', is an online news site founded as the news blog ''Deadline Hollywood Daily'' by Nikki Finke in 2006. The site is updated several times a day, wi ...
'' later in 2020.


Personal life

At age 43, McCarthy married documentary filmmaker Sasha Alpert on July 4, 1993, at his family's ranch in
Pagosa Springs, Colorado The Town of Pagosa Springs ( Ute language: Pagwöösa, Navajo language: Tó Sido Háálį́) is a home rule municipality that is the county seat, the most populous community, and the only incorporated municipality in Archuleta County, Colorad ...
.


References


External links

*
Todd McCarthy papers, MSS 2308
a
L. Tom Perry Special Collections
Brigham Young University Brigham Young University (BYU, sometimes referred to colloquially as The Y) is a private research university in Provo, Utah. It was founded in 1875 by religious leader Brigham Young and is sponsored by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-d ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:McCarthy, Todd 1950 births Living people People from Evanston, Illinois Evanston Township High School alumni Stanford University alumni American film critics National Society of Film Critics Members 20th-century American non-fiction writers 21st-century American non-fiction writers Journalists from California Journalists from Illinois Writers from California Writers from Illinois Variety (magazine) people The Hollywood Reporter people 20th-century American male writers Film directors from Illinois American male non-fiction writers 21st-century American male writers Harold B. Lee Library-related film articles