John McCarthy (journalist) - Media References

Media References

• The 1993 HBO film Hostages, starring Colin Firth as McCarthy, was a fictionalized account of the Lebanon hostage crisis.
• A critically acclaimed film version of the two men's kidnapping and incarceration was made in 2003. Titled Blind Flight, the British film was directed by John Furse starring Ian Hart as Keenan and Linus Roache as McCarthy.
• In 2006 John McCarthy collaborated with the Composer Adam Gorb and Librettist Ben Kaye to create Thoughts Scribbled on a Blank Wall, an exploration of John's mental torture during his long incarceration. Commissioned by JAM (John Armitage Memorial), the work premiered in Fleet Street to critical acclaim in 2007 and was described by BBC Radio 3's Sean Rafferty as "Powerful stuff. A protest Cantata, the first of a genre." 'Thoughts Scribbled on a Blank Wall' is currently scheduled for CD release in 2011.
• The Stiff Little Fingers song Beirut Moon was inspired by John McCarthy's ordeal. It criticized the government for not acting to free him and was subsequently withdrawn from sale.
• A major Sky Arts series, Art of Faith, presented by John McCarthy, was broadcast in 2008. The series, produced by Illuminations, was an exploration of the art and architecture of Islam, Christianity and Judaism. In 2009, production of a follow up series of Art of Faith began, featuring Buddhism, Hinduism and religions of the Tao.
• In the second episode of the Christmas special of the British comedy programme The Office, David Brent (played by Ricky Gervais) explains how he would like to be interviewed by Michael Parkinson. His agent then says that Parkinson only interviews people who have done things. To which Brent replies, referring to journalist John McCarthy: "He had that guy in Lebanon who spent years chained to a radiator, what did he do? Nothing! He was chained to a radiator!"