# The Laramie Project (film)

The Laramie Project is a 2002 film about the aftermath of the 1998 murder of Matthew Shepard in Laramie, Wyoming.
    Directed and written by Moisés Kaufman, based on his 2000 play.

## Dennis Shepard

* My son, Matthew, did not look like a winner. He was rather uncoordinated and wore braces from the age of 13 until the day he died. However in his all-too-brief life, he proved that he was a winner. On October 6, 1998, he tried to show the world he could win again. On October 12, 1998, my first born son, and my hero, lost. On October 12, 1998, my first born son, and my hero, died. 50 days before his 22nd birthday. I keep wondering the same thing that I did when I first saw him in the hospital. What would he have become? How could he have changed his piece of the world to make it better? Matt officially died in a hospital in Fort Collins, Colorado. He actually died on the outskirts of Laramie, tied to a fence. You, Mr. McKinney, with your friend Mr. Henderson, left him there, by himself. But he was not alone. There were his lifelong friends with him, friends that he had grown up with. You're probably wondering who these friends were. First he had the beautiful night sky and the same stars and moon we used to see through a telescope. Then he had the daylight and the sun to shine on him. And through it all, he was breathing in the scent of the pine trees from the snowy range. He heard the wind, the ever present Wyoming wind for the last time. He had one more friend with him. He had God. And I feel better, knowing he wasn't alone. Matt's beating, hospitalization, and funeral focused worldwide attention on hate. Good is coming out of evil. People have said, 'Enough is enough.' I miss my son, but I am proud to be able to say that he was my son. Judy has been quoted as being against the death penalty. It has been stated that Matt was against the death penalty. Both of these statements are wrong. I, too, believe in the death penalty. I would like nothing better than to see you die, Mr. McKinney. However, this is the time to begin the healing process, to show mercy to someone who refused to show any mercy. Mr. McKinney, I am going to grant you life, as hard as it is to do so, because of Matthew. Everytime you celebrate Christmas, a birthday, the 4th of July, remember that Matt isn't. Everytime that you wake up in your prison cell, remember you had the opportunity and the ability to stop your actions that night. You robbed me of something very precious and I will never forgive you for that. Mr. McKinney, I give you life in the memory of someone who no longer lives. May you have a long life. And may you thank Matthew everyday for it.

## Doc O'Conner

* I remembered something to myself. The night he and I drove around together, he said, 'Laramie sparkles, doesn't it?' And where he was in that spot up there, if you sit exactly in that spot up there, Laramie sparkles. With the low-lying clouds, it's - uh - it's the blue lights that bounce off the clouds. And it goes over the whole city. I mean, I mean, it blows you away. And Matt was right there in that spot. And I can just picture - in his eyes - what he was seeing. And the last thing that he saw on this Earth was the sparkling lights of Laramie, Wyoming.

## Rulon Stacy

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

## Stephen Belber

* "Live and let live" is, at best, a load of crap. It basically boils down to: 'If I don't tell you I'm a fag, you won't beat the crap out of me'. What kind of solution is that?

## Taglines

* When a small town comes face to face with murder, everybody has a tale to tell.
* Everyone Carries a Piece of the Truth.

## Cast

* Nestor Carbonell - Moisés Kaufman
* Christina Ricci - Romaine Patterson
* Dylan Baker - Rulon Stacey
* Terry Kinney - Dennis Shepard
* Lou Ann Wright - Judy Shepard
* Mark Webber - Aaron McKinney
* Laura Linney - Sherry Johnson
* Peter Fonda - Dr. Cantway
* Jeremy Davies - Jedadiah Schultz
* Camryn Manheim - Rebecca Hillicker
* Andy Paris - Stephen Belber
* Grant Varjas - Greg Pierotti
* Kelli Simpkins - Leigh Fondakowski
* Clea DuVall - Amanda Gronich
* James Murtaugh - Reverend Fred Phelps
* Frances Sternhagen - Marge Murray
* Michael Emerson - Reverend
* Summer Phoenix - Jen Malmskog
* Margo Martindale - Trish Steger
* Steve Buscemi - Doc O'Connor
* Greg Pierotti - Jon Peacock
* Janeane Garofalo - Catherine Connolly
* John McAdams - Jonas Slonaker
* Joshua Jackson - Matt Galloway
* Ben Foster - Aaron Kreifels
* Amy Madigan - Officer Reggie Flutty

## External links

* The Laramie Project quotes at the Internet Movie Database