The Laramie Project

MOVIE DESCRIPTION:

Laramie, WY, is a small town which became infamous overnight in the fall of 1998, when Matthew Shepard, a gay college student, was found tied to a fence after being brutally beaten and left to die, setting off a nationwide debate about hate crimes and homophobia. A month after the crime, Moises Kaufman, a writer and director with the New York City theater troupe the Tectonic Theater Project, traveled to Laramie with a handful of actors to interview people who lived in and around Laramie in preparation for an upcoming production; Kaufman's goal was to create a play that focused not on the assault on Matthew Shepard, but on the community where such an attack could happen, and how many of the citizens reacted to the crime. The result was The Laramie Project, which was first performed in early 2000, and was performed in Laramie in the fall of that year, two years after Kaufman and his associates first arrived in the city. The Laramie Project is a film adaptation of Kaufman's play, in which the thoughts and opinions of Laramie residents from all points of the political spectrum are presented alongside re-enacted excerpts from the trials of the two men who attacked Matthew Shepard. Produced for the premium cable network HBO, The Laramie Project was adapted for the screen by Moises Kaufman, who served as both writer and director. The distinguished cast includes Dylan Baker, Steve Buscemi, Peter Fonda, Janeane Garofolo, Laura Linney, Amy Madigan, Camryn Manheim, Christina Ricci, and Frances Sternhagen. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

DVD FEATURES:

• Region: 1
• Number of Discs: 1
• Audio: Dolby Digital 5.1, PCM Stereo
• Screen: Enhanced Wide Screen Letterbox for 16x9 TV
• Subtitle: English, Spanish, French
• Features:
  • cc
  • Two featurettes
  • Chapter selection
  • Cast & director bios
  • The making of "The Laramie Project"

AWARDS

• Berlin International Film Festival

•     Won PREMIERE First Movie Award - Special Mention - 2002

• National Board of Review

•     Won Best Cable TV Film - 2002

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

• Director:

  Moises Kaufman

• Producer:

  Declan Baldwin

• Screenwriter:

  Andrew Paris

• Play Author:

  Andrew Paris

• Screenwriter:

  Kelli Simpkins, Amanda Gronich

• Play Author:

  Amanda Gronich

• Screenwriter:

  Stephen Belber

• Play Author:

  Stephen Belber

• Screenwriter:

  Greg Pierotti

• Play Author:

  Greg Pierotti

• Screenwriter:

  Barbara Pitts, John McAdams

• Play Author:

  John McAdams

• Screenwriter:

  Leigh Fondakowski

• Play Author:

  Leigh Fondakowski

• Screenwriter:

  Moises Kaufman

• Play Author:

  Moises Kaufman

• Screenwriter:

  Jeffrey LaHoste

• Play Author:

  Jeffrey LaHoste

• Screenwriter:

  Stephen Wangh

• Play Author:

  Stephen Wangh

• Cinematographer:

  Terry Stacey

• Musical Direction/Supervision:

  Alex Steyermark

• Composer (Music Score):

  Peter Golub

• Editor:

  Brian A. Kates

• Production Designer:

  Dan Leight

• Art Director:

  Timothy Duffy

• Executive Producer:

  Ted Hope, Ross Katz, Anne Carey, Peter Cane, Roy Gabay

• Costume Designer:

  Katie Sanders

• Set Decorator:

  Paul Sjoberg

• Makeup:

  Laura Van Wagner

• First Assistant Director:

  Chip Signore

• Camera Operator:

  Ann Kukacs

• Casting:

  Ann Goulder

• Sound Mixer:

  Robert Abbott

• Assistant Location Manager:

  Robert Manning

• First Assistant Camera:

  Oliver Cary

• Production Supervisor:

  Bernadette Lee

• Location Manager:

  Mike S. Ryan

• Second Unit Camera:

  Kip Borgdahn

• Second Assistant Camera:

  Tod Boyle

• Camera Loader:

  Renette Saba

• Still Photographer:

  Eric Liebowitz

• Script Supervisor:

  Loretta Polizzi

• Boom Operator:

  Gerard Vernice

• Leadman:

  Jerry Kuke

• Set Dresser:

  Geoffrey Worstell

• Properties Master:

  Dylan Kieszlowski

• Assistant Properties:

  Robin Bartlett-Asnicar

• Key Costumer:

  Kelly A. King

• Costume/Wardrobe:

  Annette Holt, Mimi Kaupe

• Key Make-up:

  Claus Lulla

• Assistant Makeup:

  Jeanette Sorenson-Hickok

• Key Hairstylist:

  Rosanne Reid

• Assistant Hair:

  Tanya Barnes

• Hair Styles:

  Laura Lee R. Faye

• Art Department Coordinator:

  William Sewell

• Set Dresser:

  Chad Branham

REVIEW:

• Innovative, mournful, and politically charged, this piece of journalistic theater translates powerfully to the screen. Helmed by its original stage director, cinematic newcomer Moises Kaufman, The Laramie Project manages not only to sidestep the obvious emotions milked by TV movies about the Matthew Shepard case, but also to reject all of their hackneyed techniques. Compiled by the Tectonic Theater Project from hundreds of hours of interviews with the residents of Laramie, WY, where Shepard was murdered, the film is more of a sociological interrogation than a dramatic story. Fragmentary and spare, the material benefits enormously from Kaufman's precise pacing, judicious use of split screens and wide-open exteriors, and sensitive direction of a motley Hollywood cast. Christina Ricci has one of the punchiest roles as Romaine Patterson, Shepard's fiery lesbian best friend, but even Laura Linney, in just one extended scene and a few snippets, manages to nail one particular outlook and set of responses, contributing to the mosaic of individual thoughts and emotions that make up the piece. Performers as diverse as '60s survivor Peter Fonda and Dawson's Creek teenybopper Joshua Jackson exhibit the same careful attention to craft. Amy Madigan deserves special mention for her grave cop role, which scans like Frances McDormand's part in Fargo drained of its humor and Minnesota kitsch. One of the few moments that rankles is the inclusion of actual news reports from the time of the murder; there's enough leftie celebrity glitz involved in the casting without seeing the real-life Ellen DeGeneres in footage of a vigil. Such minor quibbles aside, this is the most powerful film produced about the Shepard murder -- a stunning achievement considering the young man himself never appears. ~ Brian J. Dillard, Rovi