The Laramie Project (2002)

Director:

Moisés Kaufman

Writers:

Moisés Kaufman (play)
Moisés Kaufman (screenplay) ...

Genre:

Drama | Crime

Tagline:

When a small town comes face to face with murder, everybody has a tale to tell.

Plot:

The true story of an American town in the wake of the murder of Matthew Shepard.

Plot Keywords:

Murder | Death | Angel | Interview | Fence

Awards:

Nominated for 4 Primetime Emmys. Another 5 wins & 7 nominations

Cast

Kathleen Chalfant	...	Anonymous Female Rancher
Laura Linney	...	Sherry Johnson
Peter Fonda	...	Doctor Cantway
Jeremy Davies	...	Jedadiah Schultz
Nestor Carbonell	...	Moises Kaufman
Camryn Manheim	...	Rebecca Hillicker
Andy Paris	...	Stephen Belber
Grant Varjas	...	Greg Pierotti (as Grant James Varjas)
Kelli Simpkins	...	Leigh Fondakowski
Clea DuVall	...	Amanda Gronich
Billie McBride	...	Waitress
Bill Christ	...	Man on Porch
Frances Sternhagen	...	Marge Murray
Michael Emerson	...	Reverend
Margo Martindale	...	Trish Steger

Runtime:

97 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Iceland:12 | Germany:12

Filming Locations:

Golden, Colorado, USA

Company:

Cane/Gabay Productions

Trivia:

In one scene, Rebecca Hillicker (Camryn Manheim) is directing a rehearsal of a play that Moisés Kaufman (Nestor Carbonell) says he "never gets tired of" (and Hillicker responds, "Yeah, well, try directing it fifty times."). The play is "Our Town" by Thornton Wilder, which won the 1938 Pulitzer Prize for Drama and has been a staple of community, college, and high school theaters ever since. Like "The Laramie Project", "Our Town" is a play about a typical American small town and the impact on that town's citizens of the death of a beloved young person.

Quotes:

Rulon Stacey: [ready to make a statement with the hospital staff looking at the gathered crowd outside] Oh, my God... Anybody else wanna do this?

Movie Connections:

Featured in The 54th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards (2002) (TV)

Brilliant and moving

An incredible movie that was brilliantly cast. I watched this movie my freshmen year of college and have revisited it time after time. There is never a lull in the movie--it hits hard and fast with character shifts and emotional dialogue that never sounds forced coming from the actors' mouths. It is the dialogue, transcribed from hundreds of hours of actual interviews with the people of Laramie, that gives this heinous crime a whole new dimension. Though the bigotry that is illustrated is hard to watch, as you observe the courage that certain people in the town showed, you might just find your faith in the human race restored. A must see for everyone.