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'', where he subsequently served as chief film critic until 2020. McCarthy subsequently began writing regularly for '' Deadline Hollywood'' in 2020.

Personal life

Todd McCarthy was born in Evanston, Illinois, 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 consider ...

in 1972. 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. 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 Belle may refer to: * Belle (''Beauty and the Beast'') * Belle (given name), a list of people and fictional characters * Belle (surname), a list of people Brands and enterprises * Belle Air, a former airline with headquarters in Tirana, Albania * ...

'' (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 movie A B movie or B film is a low-budget commercial motion picture. In its original usage, during the Golden Age of Hollywood, the term more precisely identified films intended for distribution as the less-publicized bottom half of a double feature ...

s, which was published in 1975. He moved to Los Angeles and from 1974 to 1975, worked for

Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film and television production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the main namesake division of Paramount Global (formerly ViacomCBS). It is the fifth-oldes ...

as an assistant to

Elaine May Elaine Iva May (née Berlin; born April 21, 1932) is an American comedian, filmmaker, playwright, and actress. She has received numerous awards including an Oscar, a BAFTA, a Grammy, and a Tony. She made her initial impact in the 1950s with her ...

. 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. He also joined '' The Hollywood Reporter'' 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 ''Variety'' is an American media company owned by Penske Media Corporation. The company was founded by Sime Silverman in New York City in 1905 as a weekly newspaper reporting on theater and vaudeville. In 1933 it added ''Daily Variety'', based ...

'' 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 The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...

. 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 and the New York Film Critics Circle. ''Forever Hollywood'' has been played at Grauman's Egyptian Theatre 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 Howard Winchester Hawks (May 30, 1896December 26, 1977) was an American film director, producer and screenwriter of the classic Hollywood era. Critic Leonard Maltin called him "the greatest American director who is not a household name." A v ...

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 Janice Byung Min (born August 13, 1969) is an American media executive. She started her career in journalism, working at ''People'' magazine and ''InStyle'', and was editor-in-chief at ''Us Weekly'' from 2002 to 2009. As an executive, she revam ...

. 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'' 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.

References

External links

*
Todd McCarthy papers, MSS 2308
a
L. Tom Perry Special Collections
Brigham Young University {{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