Movie Casts Catholic Priest Scandal into the ‘spotlight’

By Cary Darling
Fort Worth Star=-Telegram
November 10, 2015

http://www.star-telegram.com/entertainment/arts-culture/article44112084.html

The new film Spotlight, opening Friday in North Texas, would seem to have it all.

It boasts a stellar cast that includes Mark Ruffalo, Michael Keaton, Rachel McAdams, Liev Schreiber and Stanley Tucci. It’s directed and co-written by Tom McCarthy, who earned plaudits for such earlier films as The Station Agent and the Oscar-nominated The Visitor. Co-writer Josh Singer spent many years writing for such TV series as The West Wing and Fringe.

To top it off, it has the kind of loud, award-season buzz that could translate into big box-office.

But Spotlight, based on the journalistic investigation that exploded into the Roman Catholic Church sexual abuse scandal in the early 2000s, came close to never seeing the light of the multiplex.

“This movie almost fell apart three times. And when I say almost fell apart, it did fall apart,” says McCarthy by phone from Washington, D.C. “That just speaks to the environment of the industry right now and how difficult it is to get movies like this made — adult movies that are about something.”