Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Spotlight's Michael Keaton, Mark Ruffalo and director Tom McCarthy: 'More victims are coming forward because of this film'

The film tells the true story of four journalists who uncovered a scandal of child molestation in the Catholic Church

Jacob Stolworthy
Thursday 28 January 2016 16:47 GMT
Comments
Spotlight interview - Michael Keaton & Walter Robinson

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

With aid from six Oscar nominations, Spotlight has established itself as one of this year's must-see films.

The film tells the biographical story of four journalists from The Boston Globe's 'Spotlight' team - the oldest newspaper investigative unit in the US - who uncovered a scandal of child molestation within the local Catholic Church in 2001.

We sat down with Michael Keaton, Mark Ruffalo, their real-life counterparts Walter Robinson and Michael Rezendes, as well as director Tom McCarthy, to discuss the film which has been winning rave reviews since its premiere at the Venice Film Festival in September.

Speaking about Spotlight, Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter Rezendes said, "This movie gives our work a second life with a much bigger, broader audience.

Spotlight Interview with Mark Ruffalo and Michael Rezendes

"There was no way I ever believed this could be cinematic."

This claim was backed up by Boston Globe's editor-at-large Walter Robinson who stated that the film has affected the public consciousness "in a way that the printed word could never have."

"More victims are coming forward because of this film," Robinson explained.

"Just the other day in Paris, we had a press conference and a reporter talked to us afterward and said 'Oh, by the way when I was six-years-old, I was abused by a priest."

Spotlight - Interview with Tom McCarthy

Ruffalo - who received a nomination for Best Supporting Actor - described the film's Oscar recognition as "...another way to weight the film's credibility."

Spotlight is released in the UK on 28 January.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in