- Todd is a veteran trade publication film critic, columnist and reporter who has also written several acclaimed books and documentary films. He served two stints on the staffs of Variety and The Hollywood Reporter and extensively covered film festivals internationally for both publications. His film "Visions of Light: The Art of Cinematography" won the best documentary prizes from the New York Film Critics and National Society of Film Critics associations and he won an Emmy for writing the documentary "Preston Sturges: The Rise and Fall of an American Dreamer." He also directed the documentaries "Man of Cinema: Pierre Rissient" and "Forever Hollywood," which played at the American Cinematheque's Egyptian Theater for a decade. His books include "Kings of the Bs: Working Within the Hollywood System," the definitive biography "Howard Hawks: The Grey Fox of Hollywood" and "Fast Women: The Legendary Women of Racing."
- IMDb mini biography by: Deadline Official Website
- His top ten films of all time are: Trouble in Paradise (1932), The Scarlet Empress (1934), The Crime of Monsieur Lange (1936), To Have and Have Not (1944), Notorious (1946), Shoot the Piano Player (1960), Lawrence of Arabia (1962), Contempt (1963), Chimes at Midnight (1965) and The Godfather Part II (1974).
- Attended Evanston Township High School, in Evanston, Illinois, with classmate Mimi Chesterton, who later became B-Movie Queen Claudia Jennings.
- Served as Variety's Chief Film Critic for 31 years until March 8, 2010.
- Laid off from Variety as a cost-cutting measure [March 8, 2010].
- [on Showgirls (1995)] Akin to being keelhauled through a cesspool, with sharks swimming alongside.
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