The Matthew Shepard Story

2002 Drama

This fact-based TV movie explores the story behind the infamous Matthew Shepard gay-bashing case, in which a Laramie, WY, college student was brutally murdered by a pair of local boys in 1998. Sam Waterson and Stockard Channing star as Judy and Dennis Shepard, the parents whose agonizing decision over whether to ask for the death penalty for one of their son's killers provides the movie with its dramatic structure. Beginning with a slow-motion re-creation of the attack on young Matthew (Shane Meier), the script moves back in time to encompass the boy's troubled adolescent romance with another boarding-school student, his previous attack at the hands of a gang while on vacation, and his tentative shot at self-actualization among like-minded friends. These flashbacks are interspersed with the central drama, in which Shepard's parents sift through their son's belongings and slowly come to a surprising decision about what to say at his killer's trial. The Matthew Shepard Story premiered on NBC on March 12, 2002, a week after HBO's The Laramie Project first aired. more..

Director: Roger Spottiswoode

Starring: Stockard Channing, Sam Waterston, Shane Meier, Kristen Thomson, Yani Gellman

Reviews

No reviews

Awards

  • Outstanding Television Movie

    GLAAD Media Awards (2003)

     
  • Best Original Music Score for a Program or Mini-Series

    Gemini Awards (2002)

  • Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role

    L.A. Outfest (2003)

  • Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Miniseries or a Movie

    Primetime Emmy Awards (2002)

  • Best Performance by an Actress in a Miniseries or a Motion Picture Made for Television

    Satellite Awards (2003)