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The real-life Boston Globe investigative team at the heart of SPOTLIGHT took some convincing that the film would honour their efforts, says actor Brian d'Arcy James.

what it takes to tell these stories. If you consider the fact that if this story didn’t have the resources and the support from The Boston Globe to give these journalists the time to do this, it wouldn’t have been told. “Tom McCarthy, our director, had a really interesting point – he said it’s a great time for graft in local politics, because no-one is covering the capitals. They don’t have the people, they don’t have the

definitely thought twice about it, and Sacha (Pfeiffer, played by Rachel McAdams) said, ‘no good can come of this,’” he laughs. “But I think after a while when they came around, especially with what Tom and Josh [Singer, screenwriter] had done with the creation of the script, which is the roadmap. “They could see very clearly that this wasn’t just some slapdash version of events. They were really taking the time to get it right. They went back again and again, much like the work that they did as journalists to get the story right. “I think they felt comforted and bolstered by that, but when we came into the mix, that’s another element of strangeness. For Matt, when we initially met we spent two hours together and we’d be talking and he would see me looking at him like this, and he’d start kind of moving back, like, ‘what is he computing?’ “But in all seriousness it’s a great debt of gratitude I have for his generosity and opening up himself to me. That is an asset for any actor to have.”

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that has such social and significant impact, it is quite a testament when they say, ‘thank you for getting it right.’ So I’m very proud of that.” He points out too, that investigative journalism takes time and money and that these days, resources on newspapers are being cut back. The Spotlight team on the Boston Globe started their investigation into child abuse in the Catholic Church back in 2001 – and over the following years the situation has only worsened. “I think another great take away from this film is the importance of

assuming this is an amazing experience,’” recalls d'Arcy James. “He goes, ‘yeah, this is crazy.’ I said, ‘It is. It’s an extraordinary moment.’ I think it was just as thrilling for me as it was for him, if I can put words in his mouth. He would choose much better words,” he laughs. “The journalists, including Matt, have said that they felt that we did a good job and I’m going to believe them. I think they honestly mean it. And that to me is the best review you can get. “Because you do what you love and when you have something like this

Amongst the rave reviews that Spotlight has received from playing film festivals around the world, there was one that Brian d’Arcy James treasured the most – the seal of approval from the man he plays in the film. Directed by Tom McCarthy, Spotlight brilliantly recounts the Boston Globe ’s Pulitzer Prize-winning exposé of the child abuse scandal in the Catholic Church with an ensemble cast playing the real journalists involved in the newspaper’s painstaking investigation, including d’Arcy James as Matt Carroll, a key member of the team. After the film played at the Toronto Film Festival, the journalists joined McCarthy and his cast on stage to a standing ovation. “There was a moment on stage at the end where we were just standing next to each other, and I looked at Matt and I said, ‘I’m

manpower to do it, so if you want to slide some money under the table, chances are you’re going to get away with it, because there are less and less people who are watching the store, from a journalistic point of view.” McCarthy insisted on getting the details of the investigation – and the way the reporters worked on it – as accurate as he possibly could. And essential to that process was consulting with the reporters themselves, even if, at first, they were a little wary of a ‘Hollywood’ re-telling of their story. “Matt has said he

Spotlight is out May 4

FAKE PAPERS, BIG STORIES The Daily Prophet Britain's

The Daily Bugle New York City tabloid with an anti-superhero leaning. Often

The Amity Gazette Local newspaper of New England resort town, Amity Island. Headlines may involve shark sightings, beaches being kept open, and the discovery of a woman's remains, believed to be a boating accident.

most read wizarding newspaper. More concerned with sales than factual accuracy. Claims exclusives that aren't exclusive, like Harry Potter's account of Voldemort's return.

launches smear campaigns against Spider-Man. Sources webslinger images from freelance photographer Peter Parker.

The Daily Planet Metropolis broadsheet whose headlines tend to involve Superman. Editor-in-Chief is Perry White, and its team of reporters includes Clark Kent, Lois Lane and Jimmy Olsen.

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