LARAMIE PROJECT, THE (TV)
Summary
A film based on the play by the same name. Both productions dramatize a series of interviews conducted with the people of Laramie, Wyoming, following the death of Matthew Shepard, a University of Wyoming student brutally beaten on October 8, 1998, in an apparent hate crime. The film includes real-life media coverage related to the Shepard case, including footage of Tom Brokaw, Ellen DeGeneres, and Bill Clinton, and dramatized versions of events that are described. Members of New York City's Tectonic Theater Project, the group that first conceptualized and executed "The Laramie Project" endeavor, describe their thoughts and feelings about the project. Their reflections continue throughout the film. The dramatized interviews include the following people: the head of the theater department at the University of Wyoming; Matthew's academic advisor; Matthew's friends and peers; the woman who was the first openly gay faculty member at the university; a gay farmer who lives in Laramie; attacker Aaron McKinney's girlfriend; the car-service driver who drove Matthew to the gay bar he visited on the night he was attacked; and a bartender who worked at the bar. Interviewees discuss Matthew's personality and ambition, along with gay politics in the area. The bartender explains exactly what happened in the bar the night of the attack. McKinney's girlfriend tells his story regarding the incident, adding her perspective. The man who found Matthew shares the details of that day, and doctors describe the critical medical condition he was found in. The interviewees chronicle the arraignment of Aaron McKinney and Russell Henderson, which is reenacted, and the subsequent and unexpected, descent of national media crews on Laramie. Others interviewed include the following: Matthew's doctor; Henderson's landlady; friends and acquaintances of Henderson and McKinney; the policewoman who first arrived at the scene of the crime; a Catholic priest; and the reverend of a local church. People who knew the attackers voice their disbelief over what happened. The policewoman describes her experience at the scene of the crime and her fear of HIV infection following her discovery that Matthew was HIV positive. Real-life media coverage of events relating to the Matthew Shepard case is shown. Some of the interviewees discuss the anti-gay values with which they were raised; others denounce Matthew's lifestyle and bemoan the media attention given to the case. Statements made by Matthew's doctor to the press are reenacted, including the announcement of his death, five days after the attack. Matthew's funeral is described, and the sentencings of McKinney and Henderson are reenacted. Ultimately, the defendants receive their sentences and go to jail. The reporters pack up and leave town, as do the members of the Tectonic Theater Project. The program closes with a view of a campus performance of Tony Kushner's "Angels in America" in the background.
Details
- NETWORK: HBO
- DATE: March 9, 2002 Saturday 8:00 PM
- RUNNING TIME: 1:34:56
- COLOR/B&W: Color
- CATALOG ID: T:69766
- GENRE: Docudrama
- SUBJECT HEADING: Drama; Homosexuality (See also: Gays); LGBT Collection
- SERIES RUN: HBO - TV, 2002
- COMMERCIALS: N/A
CREDITS
- Ross Katz … Executive Producer
- Anne Carey … Executive Producer
- Ted Hope … Executive Producer
- Declan Baldwin … Producer
- Peter Cane … Co-Executive Producer
- Roy Gabay … Co-Executive Producer
- Moises Kaufman … Director, Writer
- Leigh Fondakowski … Writer
- Jeffrey LaHoste … Writer
- Stephen Belber … Writer
- Greg Pierotti … Writer
- Stephen Wangh … Writer
- Amanda Gronich … Writer
- John McAdams … Writer
- Andy Paris … Writer
- Barbara Pitts … Writer
- Kelli Simpkins … Writer
- Peter Golub … Music by
- Dylan Baker … Cast, Rulon Stacey
- Stephen Belber … Cast, Anonymous friend of Aaron McKinney
- Tom Bower … Cast, Father Roger Schmit
- Clancy Brown … Cast, Rob Debree
- Steve Buscemi … Cast, Doc O'Conner
- Nestor Carbonell … Cast, Moises Kaufman
- Kathleen Chalfant … Cast, Anonymous Female Rancher
- Jeremy Davies … Cast, Jedadiah Schultz
- Clea Duvall … Cast, Amanda Gronich
- Michael Emerson … Cast, Reverend
- Noah Fleiss … Cast, Shannon
- Peter Fonda … Cast, Doctor Cantway
- Ben Foster … Cast, Aaron Kreifels
- Janeane Garafolo … Cast, Catherine Connolly
- Amanda Gronich … Cast, Zackie Salmon
- Mercedes Herrero … Cast, Pam Sears
- Bill Irwin … Cast, Harry Woods
- Joshua Jackson … Cast, Matt Galloway
- Terry Kinney … Cast, Dennis Shepard
- Laura Linney … Cast, Sherry Johnson
- Amy Madigan … Cast, Reggie Fluty
- Camryn Manheim … Cast, Rebecca Hillicker
- Margo Martindale … Cast, Trish Steger
- John McAdams … Cast, Jonas Slonaker
- James Murtaugh … Cast, Reverend Fred Phelps
- Andy Paris … Cast, Stephen Belber
- Summer Phoenix … Cast, Jen Malmskog
- Greg Pierotti … Cast, John Peacock
- Barbara Pitts … Cast, Sherry
- Christina Ricci … Cast, Romaine Patterson
- Richard Riehle … Cast, Henderson Judge
- Kelli Simpkins … Cast, Leigh Fondakowski
- Lois Smith … Cast, Lucy Thompson
- Frances Sternhagen … Cast, Marge Murray
- Mark Webber … Cast, Aaron McKinney
- Tom Brokaw
- Bill Clinton
- Russell Henderson
- Aaron McKinney
- Matthew Shepard