Matthew Shepard Story (The)
- Director: Roger Spottiswoode
- Writer: John Wierick; Jacob Krueger
- Producer: Clara George; Ed Gernon
CGiii Comment
Goldie Hawn was the executive producer.
It is a shocking story - unfortunately, it does not kick the authorities in the balls hard enough.
This should have been a relentless exposition of a hate crime...a young man lost his life through hate!
The lack of marketing and sub-standard packaging is unforgivable.
Trailer...
The(ir) Blurb...
In 1998, a young gay man by the name of Matthew Shepard was robbed, viciously beaten and left tied to a fence to die. Although he was soon found by the police and hospitalized, he soon expired. This film recounts the events after the conviction of the two men responsible for this hate motivated murder. Matthew's parents, though satisfied by the conviction, are finding the sentencing phase of the trial more difficult. The parents initially want to request the death penalty for their son's murderers, but the mother, Judy, starts to reconsider. As they struggle with their decision, they decide to reexamine the life of their son and rediscover his personality, his struggle to accept his homosexual sexual orientation as a natural part of his being and above all, his generous humanity to others. All of this leads the parents to appeal to the court the way their son would have wanted, not out of vengeance but to represent best of what their son was and the tragedy of his loss.
Cast & Characters
Stockard Channing as Judy Shepard;
Shane Meier as Matthew Shepard;
Wendy Crewson as Sarah;
Kristen Thomson as Romaine Patterson;
Joseph Ziegler as Cal;
Yani Gellman as Pablo;
Sam Waterston as Dennis Shepard;
Damien Atkins as Donny;
Philip Eddolls as Aaron McKinney;
Paul Robbins as Russell Henderson;
Judah Katz as Defense Attorney;
Drew Nelson as Lance;
Nazneen Contractor as Shima;
Makyla Smith as Casey;
Lindsay Murrell as Matthew's Date