UNITED STATES
The New York Times
By KATE MURPHY JAN. 9, 2016
Tom McCarthy is the director and co-writer of “Spotlight,” a film about the journalists who exposed widespread sexual abuse of children by Roman Catholic priests in Boston and the wider institutional cover-up.
READING Between work and kids, I’m not reading as much as I’d like, which is why I’m leaning into short stories. My wife, who is also a writer, turned me on to “Tenth of December,” a collection by George Saunders. Sometimes it feels very realistic and then it will jump into feeling more fantastical. I’m always interested in people who can subtly, or maybe not so subtly, play with genre.
I’m also reading “The Hug Machine,” by Scott Campbell, because it’s my daughter’s favorite book. It’s about a little boy who will hug anything, whether a tree or a porcupine. He’s not afraid of hugging. A friend of mine gave it to me. When you get a good children’s book from a fellow parent who loves books, it’s such a treat.
LISTENING Brian Koppelman’s podcast, “The Moment.” He’s a writer and director who has been around a long time and has a very impressive résumé. He just really enjoys talking about the creative process and digging in deep.
For music, I listen to the National all the time. Their album “High Violet” may be one of my favorite albums of the last decade. I reached out to them when I was directing “Win Win” and they ended up writing a song for the closing credits of the film. There’s something very sophisticated about their sound; something very orchestral. There’s a density to their music that’s highly effective.
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