Todd McCarthy
Acting
Biography
Todd McCarthy is an American film critic. 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 became chief film critic. Was born on February 16, 1950 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 Stanford University in 1972. McCarthy married at age 43 to Sasha Alpert on July 4, 1993 on his family's ranch in Pagosa Springs, Colorado. Sasha is a documentary film maker. From 1974 to 1975, McCarthy worked for Paramount Pictures in Los Angeles as an assistant to Elaine May. He helped her edit Mikey and Nicky. He edited Kings of Bs: Working Within the Hollywood System with Charles Flynn which was published in 1975. It is a book that discusses the great filmmakers of B movies. From 1975 to 1977, McCarthy worked for New World Pictures in Los Angeles as the director of advertising and publicity. McCarthy was later the manager English-language editions of Le Film français in 1977. The next year, he got a job as a Hollywood editor for Film Comment. McCarthy became a film critic and wrote for Variety in 1979. In 1990, McCarthy wrote a documentary called Preston Sturges: The Rise and Fall of an American Dreamer which won 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 and the New York Film Critics Circle. Forever Hollywood has been played at Grauman's Egyptian Theatre for more than a decade. In 2007 he wrote Fast Women: The Legendary Ladies of Racing. He wrote about the famous producer/director Howard Hawks in his book, Howard Hawks: The Grey Fox of Hollywood which was published in 2000. McCarthy also wrote Des Ovnis, des Monstres et du Sexe: Le Cinéma Selon Roger Corman (2011). McCarthy lost his job Variety in March 2010, having been the longest-serving member of their staff. McCarthy began working with an independent blog called Indiewire after leaving Variety. He was hired at The Hollywood Reporter in October 2010. He was hired as the chief film critic under Janice Min. He wrote the introduction to Painting with Light that was published in 2013.
Known For
A chronicle of the long career of American filmmaker Roger Corman, the most tenacious and ingenious low-budget producer and director in the US film industry, a pioneer of independent filmmaking and discoverer of new talent.
Corman's World
Coy "Cannonball" Buckman and his blazing red Pontiac enter the Trans-America Grand Prix, an underground road race spanning the continent in which there are no rules, no speed limits and no heed for the law. En route, Buckman jockeys with an international ensemble of racers for a $100,000 purse. But there are none more important than Cade Redman, his direct competition for a guaranteed spot on the elite Modern Motors racing team.
Cannonball
A documentary profile on Quentin Tarantino broadcast by the BBC's "Omnibus" strand in 1994 to coincide with "Pulp Fiction" hitting UK cinemas.
Quentin Tarantino: Hollywood's Boy Wonder
A Midwestern ingenue arrives in Hollywood to try her luck as an actress. An incompetent agent hooks her up with a production company which specializes in low budget B-movie fare, which starts being plagued by strange, deadly accidents.
Hollywood Boulevard
At a media-swamped party to celebrate his seventieth birthday and screen his avant-garde film-in-progress, a legendary but jaded Hollywood director is faced both with voracious fans and unsettling questions about what became of his lead actor.
The Other Side of the Wind
Noted Hollywood stars and directors talk about the history and evolution of the film industry in Los Angeles.
Forever Hollywood
The grim woes that surrounded famed director Peter Bogdanovich and his film, "They All Laughed."
One Day Since Yesterday: Peter Bogdanovich & the Lost American Film
The artistry, triumph and lifelong friendship of the great cinematographers Laszlo Kovacs and Vilmos Zsigmond. With film school equipment, they shoot the Soviet crackdown of the 1956 Hungarian Revolution. As refugees they struggle in Hollywood, finally breaking into the mainstream with their pivotal contribution to the "American New Wave."
No Subtitles Necessary: Laszlo & Vilmos
A documentary focusing on seventeen maverick directors who were not afraid to break the rules of filmmaking to advance their art. Among the classic directors profiled are D.W. Griffith, Josef von Sternberg, Erich Von Stroheim, and Preston Sturges up until more current filmmakers like David Lynch, Robert Altman, and Martin Scorsese..
Hollywood Mavericks
SEDUCED AND ABANDONED combines acting legend Alec Baldwin with director James Toback as they lead us on a troublesome and often hilarious journey of raising financing for their next feature film. Moving from director to financier to star actor, the two players provide us with a unique look behind the curtain at the world's biggest and most glamourous film festival, shining a light on the bitter-sweet relationship filmmakers have with Cannes and the film business. Featuring insights from directors Martin Scorsese, 'Bernando Bertolucci' and Roman Polanski; actors Ryan Gosling and Jessica Chastain and a host of film distribution luminaries.
Seduced and Abandoned
A rich girl steals her dad's Rolls Royce and heads off to Las Vegas to get married. However, her angry parents, a jealous suitor, and a bunch of reward seekers are determined to stop her.
Grand Theft Auto
A veteran film critic explores the legacy of Cannes Film Festival regular Pierre Rissient.
Pierre Rissient: Man of Cinema
Documentary that explores the life and career of leading man Cary Grant through film clips and interviews. Produced as S18E03 of the long running series American Masters.
Cary Grant: A Class Apart
A compelling personal journey with David Stratton, as he relates the fascinating development of our cinema history. David guides us from his boyhood cinema experience of Australia in England, where he saw the first images of this strange and exotic landscape via the medium of film, to his migration to Australia as a ‘ten pound pom’ in 1963 and onto his present day reflections on the iconic themes that run through our cinematic legacy. All of this reflects a passionate engagement in a uniquely Australian medium. Parallel and at the heart of the series is the story of an industry whose growing pains David has witnessed over a lifetime. Alongside David, the protagonists of this history are the giants of Australian cinema – both behind the camera and in front of it.
David Stratton: A Cinematic Life
Cameramen and women discuss the craft and art of cinematography and of the "DP" (the director of photography), illustrating their points with clips from 100 films, from Birth of a Nation to Do the Right Thing. Themes: the DP tells people where to look; changes in movies (the arrival of sound, color, and wide screens) required creative responses from DPs; and, these artisans constantly invent new equipment and try new things, with wonderful results. The narration takes us through the identifiable studio styles of the 30s, the emergence of noir, the New York look, and the impact of Europeans. Citizen Kane, The Conformist, and Gordon Willis get special attention.
Visions of Light
An unfinished 1981 essay-documentary project by Orson Welles, based on a filmed Q&A session at USC following a screening of The Trial, intended as a reflective companion piece to the film but never edited or completed during his lifetime.
Filming 'The Trial'
The feature documentary Searching for Mr. Rugoff is the story of Donald Rugoff, who was the crazy genius behind Cinema 5, the mid-century theater chain and film distribution company. Rugoff was a difficult (some would say impossible) person but was also the man who kicked art films into the mainstream with outrageous marketing schemes and pure bluster. Rugoff's impact on cinema culture in the United States is inestimable, and his influence on the art film business-from the studio classics divisions to the independent film movement to the rise of the Weinsteins-is undeniable. Yet, mysteriously, Rugoff has become a virtually forgotten figure. The story is told through the eyes of former employee Ira Deutchman, who sets out to find the truth about the man who had such a major impact on his life, and to understand how such an important figure could have disappeared so completely.
Searching for Mr. Rugoff
A review of Howard Hawks's work, focusing on "His Girl Friday".
Howard Hawks: Reporter's Notebook
A documentary short on the explosive life, career and tragic death of former Playboy model and cult movie actress Claudia Jennings.
Claudia Jennings
Documentary about the life and work of film director Preston Sturges.