Todd McCarthy
Todd McCarthy | |
---|---|
Born | Evanston, Illinois, U.S. | February 16, 1950
Education | Stanford University (BA) |
Occupation(s) | Writer, film critic |
Spouse |
Sasha Alpert (m. 1993) |
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.[1][2] In October of that year, he joined The Hollywood Reporter, where he subsequently served as chief film critic until 2020.[3][4] McCarthy subsequently began writing regularly for Deadline Hollywood in 2020.[5]
Early life
Todd McCarthy was born in Evanston, Illinois,[6] the son of Daniel and Barbara McCarthy.[7] His mother was a cellist and served as the president of the Evanston Symphony Orchestra.[8] His father was a rancher and real-estate developer. McCarthy graduated from Evanston Township High School (ETHS) in 1968 and Stanford University in 1972.[6] While at ETHS, he made a silent, plotless movie on Super 8 film titled Mimi after the nickname of his featured classmate who later became known as Claudia Jennings.[9] 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.[10]
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.[1] He moved to Los Angeles and from 1974 to 1975, worked for Paramount Pictures as an assistant to Elaine May.[6] He helped her edit Mikey and Nicky (1976). From 1975 to 1977, McCarthy worked for New World Pictures in Los Angeles as the director of advertising and publicity.[6] He also joined The Hollywood Reporter as a film critic in 1975 but was let go a year later.[11] 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.[6]
McCarthy joined
In 1991 he joined Variety as film review editor of Variety and Daily Variety.[14] He wrote about the producer/director Howard Hawks in his book, Howard Hawks: The Grey Fox of Hollywood, which was published in 2000.[13] In 2007 he wrote Fast Women: The Legendary Ladies of Racing.[6] McCarthy also wrote Des Ovnis, des Monstres et du Sexe: Le Cinéma Selon Roger Corman (2011).[15]
McCarthy lost his job at Variety in March 2010,[4] having been the longest-serving member of their staff.[1] 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.[4][3] He wrote the introduction to the 2013 edition of cinematographer John Alton's book Painting with Light.[16] McCarthy lost his job at The Hollywood Reporter in April 2020.[17] McCarthy subsequently began writing regularly for Deadline Hollywood later in 2020.[5]
Personal life
At age 43, McCarthy married documentary filmmaker Sasha Alpert on July 4, 1993, at his family's ranch in Pagosa Springs, Colorado.[8]
Bibliography
- Kings of the Bs: Working within the Hollywood system : an anthology of film history and criticism (1975) (edited by Todd Mccarthy and Charles Flynn)
- Howard Hawks: The Grey Fox of Hollywood (2000)
- Fast Women: The Legendary Ladies of Racing (2007)
- Telling Stories: Norman Rockwell from the Collections of George Lucas and Steven Spielberg (2011) (coauthor Virginia Mecklenburg)
References
- ^ a b c Ebert, Roger (March 9, 2010). "Variety: This Thumb's For You". Roger Ebert's Journal. Retrieved July 5, 2011.
- ^ a b Fritz, Ben (March 8, 2010). "Variety eliminates chief film critic position". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved March 30, 2015.
- ^ a b "Todd McCarthy". Bloomberg. Retrieved May 27, 2016.
- ^ a b c Dickey, Josh (October 6, 2010). "Todd McCarthy Joins the Hollywood Reporter as Chief Critic". The Wrap. Retrieved March 30, 2015.
- ^ a b "Todd McCarthy". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved December 28, 2020.
- ^ a b c d e f "Todd McCarthy". Literature Resource Center. Gale Cengage Learning. Retrieved May 27, 2016.
- ISBN 9780802115980.
- ^ a b "Todd McCarthy, Sasha Alpert". The New York Times. July 5, 1993. Retrieved May 27, 2016.
- ^ Williams, Albert. "But She Was A Cheerleader," Reader (Chicago, IL), September 21, 2000. Retrieved September 2, 2021
- ^ McCarthy, Todd; Hammond, Pete (February 22, 2022). "Two Shot: Thumbs Up Or Down, Fresh Or Rotten, Just Exactly What Is The Power Of The Critic Anymore?". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved February 23, 2022.
- ^ a b McCarthy, Todd (April 15, 2020). "Esteemed THR Lead Film Critic Todd McCarthy Writes About His Abrupt Firing". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved November 21, 2020.
- ^ a b "Todd McCarthy". TCM Classic Film Festival. Retrieved May 27, 2016.
- ^ ISBN 0-8021-1598-5.
- ^ "McCarthy named film review editor". Variety. August 26, 1991. p. 10.
- ^ "Todd McCarthy". FamousBio.com. Retrieved May 27, 2016.
- ^ "Painting with Light". University of California Press. Retrieved May 27, 2016.
- ^ Patten, Dominic; D'Alessandro, Anthony (April 15, 2020). "Hollywood Reporter Hit With Heavy Hitter Layoffs From Valence Media". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved April 15, 2020.