Bridegroom, the documentary that has left film festival viewers devastated and even caused Bill Clinton to publicly proclaim its power, apparently also has a fan in Oprah Winfrey, who will air it on OWN. The film depicts the true-life tale of Shane Bitney Crone and Tom Bridegroom, two gentle-natured young men in a loving and committed relationship that was cut tragically short when Bridegroom accidentally slipped off the side of a roof. The doc becomes a harrowing examination of how people without the legal protections of marriage can find themselves completely shut out and ostracized.
When the former president introduced a screening of the film at the Tribeca film festival in April he remarked, “This is really on one level a wonderful, sad, heartbreaking yet exhilarating and life affirming story and on another level it’s a story about our nation’s struggle to make one more step in forming a more perfect union, for which marriage is both the symbol and substance.”
OWN will broadcast the television premiere at 10 p.m. October 27 as part of a special night of programming about being LGBT in America. An hour prior Oprah’s Next Chapter will focus on being “Gay in Hollywood,” and feature interviews with out actors Wanda Sykes, Dan Bucatinsky and Jesse Tyler Ferguson. The film will be available for viewing on Netflix the same night, as well.
A week before it airs on OWN the documentary, directed by Clinton’s pal Linda Bloodworth Thomason of Designing Women fame, will receive a limited theatrical engagement in Los Angeles beginning October 18 (heads up, Oscar voters!).
How about we take this to the next level?
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Regardless of where and how you see it, have tissues nearby. The film will shatter you. Hell, even the trailer will likely have you in tears. As film pundit Dave Karger put it, it’s “the kind of film that can change hearts and minds.”
Wingfield
I remember hearing about this film when it was being made. So sad, count me in to watch!
iMarty
He commuted suicide… He didn’t accidentally die… That’s lame they altered reality! #badapple
Raymond
@iMarty: You don’t know them or anything about them, yet, you blurt out a lie just to hurt someone. You have absolutely no sense of decency.
jimbryant
What brings me to tears is that Bill Clinton is involved in this. How dare this blow-job receiver attach himself to a cause which suffered due to his own actions as President. I’m talking about DOMA here. The last thing we need is this hypocrite and his gall. Stick to 19 year old interns, Slick Willie.
nephilim71
@iMarty: He didn’t commit suicide. He fell off a roof while taking photographs. Don’t be such an evil troll.
Scott
It’s not eligible for Oscar consideration if it’s only hitting LA theaters.
stanhope
@jimbryant: dim wit….what passes for brains in that cesspool you call a head? Bill Clinton’s involvement brings tremendous attention to a movie that makes an important point. What Clinton did was years ago. If you want to be outraged then speak to Reagan’s ignorance about AIDS or Bush’s warmongering. You give the term fool entirely new dimension.
jimbryant
Stanhope,
Bill Clinton is a hypocrite. He is an insect. He harms gay people.
iMarty
@Raymond: I’ve seen his YouTube tribute… He even says he walked off the roof… He did it alone too, there was no photoshoot. Oprah and/or her people changed the story. And if his YouTube tribute video is still up you can see him say that his partner killed himself. There was no accident.
Red_Dragon_888
The Power of Love is overwhelming and with the sweet comes the bitter.
James St Marcus
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pR9gyloyOjM&list=TLi9KzQmR26NznE4nv5hsX9DnyR5Qouh7o @ 3:58 this is the original upload on May 6, 2012
krystalkleer
@jimbryant: jimbryant…yer a waste of space…PERIOD! http://getoffmydress.blogspot.com/2013/10/huffn-and-puffn-and-blooown-house-down.html
loafersguy
@Scott: Yes, it is. In order for a film to be eligible for Academy consideration, it must play in a theatre for seven consecutive days somewhere in L.A. county. It is not required that it be shown anywhere else. And of course it can not have been shown in any other medium prior to that.
http://www.oscars.org/awards/academyawards/rules/86/rule02.html
Ogre Magi
So wait, what is the truth here? Did he kill himself or not?
the other Greg
“the kind of film that can change hearts and minds.”
About what? – guys who are world travelers, off to the Pyramids and the Taj Mahal and so on, but who are too lazy to get a health care proxy and durable power of attorney? You can get those notarized for $10 at most.
Thanks, Oprah, I guess, but what’s with this endless, cultural infantilizing of grown-up gay men?
Why are adult gay men expected to sit around whining about marriage, and/or their crazy homophobic parents/in-laws, instead of doing regular adult things?
jmitchin
@iMarty: Don’t be a jerk. If you watch the movie you will see that Tom accidentally fell off the roof. He was doing a photo shoot of their friend. I don’t know what video you are referring to with Shane saying Tom killed himself. Do you feel better about yourself for starting rumors? Jackwagon.
Gigi Gee
@iMarty — I suggest you change your name to either iTroll or iDouche. Either one would do. Please stop spreading likes. Tom Bridegroom’s death was accidental. Stop lying.
Gigi Gee
@iMarty — I wish you were spreading “likes”! Stop spreading lies.
itsjustmejon
@theothergreg. Totally agree with you that as a committed couple they should have had their paperwork in order, however there have been several cases covered by the media where the couple did have everything in order and the hospital/funeral home/family still wouldn’t allow access.
eigilvesti
@iMarty:
in regards to your comment~ He commuted suicide… do you mean he was in a suicide carpool ?
Niall
I’m not being disrespectful, but is there another story that’s similar to this? Because I basically read the same version as iMarty somewhere else(towleroad I think) and it was said that he did commit suicide due to rejection from his family or something like that. Maybe there is another story similar to this, or the facts were initially wrong and clarified.
jimbryant
How on earth can anyone accidentally fall off a roof?
ChiChi Man
I’ve seen the documentary. HE DID NOT COMMIT SUICIDE.
He was taking pictures on the rooftop of a friend and we actually see the last picture he took before he fell backward to his death. The friend was in the audience of the screening I attended (as was the poor boyfriend) and she wept openly and loudly during the screening. It was extremely chilling.
The film is extremely moving, although hardly the most heartbreaking gay doc ever. I can think of much more tragic films. Silverlake comes to mind.
the other Greg
@itsjustmejon: That never quite adds up either. If a hospital / funeral home is bigoted enough to ILLEGALLY ignore certain documents, they are going to be bigoted enough to illegally ignore a marriage certificate too.
It’s not all about marriage, and it’s not all about evil awful heteros. Single or widowed people can plan for these matters. But as gay people, most of us need to remember that some (or if we’re unlucky, all!) of our relatives are a$$holes and are going to stay that way. And not all of us are going to be married at any given time.
Maybe if someone is willing to do slightly dangerous things like go to Egypt or India or hang out on roofs, he should give these matters a little more thought? I’m sorry this guy fell off the roof, but there’s something a bit condescending about all this.
Joe303
Jim, you need a blow job to lighten up. Hillary 2016!
iMarty
For all you haters… Watch where this documentary came from… It all started here. And about 10 minutes into it you’ll see how he killed himself.
http://youtu.be/pR9gyloyOjM
jmitchin
@iMarty: HE DID NOT KILL HIMSELF! Stop trying to spread rumors. I personally know Shane and knew Tom. I was visiting them the week before he died. He was not a suicidal person. There is no mention in this video that he took his own life. You need to get a life!
iMarty
Kinda odd how the YouTube video by his BF has him coming home after a discouraging visit with his family and then he ‘accidentally’ falls off a roof… No?
jmitchin
@iMarty: His visit to his family when he came out was over 2 years before he fell off the roof. Why do you insist on being rude and disrespecting Shane and Tom? If you wait until October 27th you can watch the movie and get more answers.
john
I WILL DEFINITELY SEE THAT MOVIE.I THINK ???? SHOULD SHOW IT ALSO IN SCHOOLS.
Hermes
@iMarty: What on earth are you talking about? They had a company that did specialized filming, mostly for commercials. He had a shoulder mounted cam, which is quite heavy, he leaned over the parapet for a series of shots down, he slipped and went over the parapet. He died on impact.
Why would you be this discourteous… I don’t get it… Why???
Hermes
Hermes
@jimbryant: Very much not true. What is wrong with some gay people? Or are you gay at all? I seriously doubt it – if you are you need to learn a LOT more about politics and how change works.
Hermes
Jennie
@imarty if you have your CC on it says “accident”. Don’t make assumptions.
DarkZephyr
@Ogre Magi: He didn’t kill himself. He fell, the original video states “an accident” in it.
robho3
The comment so here are just so ridiculous this is a very moving story and like a really good movie. Why all you other people have to fight and go on and on about how he died and blah blah blah
Cyn
Ya’ll, don’t feed the trolls. It’s fact he did not kill himself, but we do know there are folks who troll here to justify their meager existence.
That said, I wish Bridegroom would have played at our local LGBTQ Film Festival. I slapped the Kickstarted back when, and it would be good to see it on a big screen instead of Oprah.
Scott
@loafersguy: There are different requirements for feature length documentaries. http://www.oscars.org/awards/academyawards/rules/86/rule11.html
Alan down in Florida
What a fuss over semantics. He did not commit suicide. That is not necessarily the same thing as killing yourself. If someone gets drunk and accidentally crashes into a tree and dies it is not necessarily a suicide but it is a case of killing one’s self. There is no indication he climbed up on that roof suicidal intent. However his fall was not caused by any one so the case, semantically, can be made that he killed himself.
Matt1961
@iMarty: Wow you didn’t watch any of the actual video did you. He died falling off a 4 story building. It was an accident and it was horribly tragic. Your claim is nearly as tragic and treads in a place this is not amusing in any way. very sad.
Saps48
The article should have mentioned that Bridegroom is currently playing in NYC at the Quad Cinema prior to its west coast run.
frshmn
It’s a sad story, but the “most heartbreaking”? Tragedies and senseless violence is happening to gays worldwide, in places like Jamaica, Uganda, Saudi Arabia and Iran. They just don’t happen to be against wealthy and good looking white males. Raising awareness of legal protections is important though, if you have a significant other, make sure and take some time everything is squared away in case something awful does happen.
frshmn
It’s a sad story, but the “most heartbreaking”? Tragedies and senseless violence is happening to gays worldwide, in places like Jamaica, Uganda, Saudi Arabia and Iran. They just don’t happen to be against wealthy and good looking white males. Raising awareness of legal protections is important though, if you have a significant other, make sure and take some time to make sure everything is squared away in case something awful does happen.
Aidywan
So if a bigot has a change of heart, they get branded as a hypocrite? That doesn’t sound right.
James
@jimbryant: How can someone “accidentally” fall off a ladder?
How can someone “accidentally” slip in the bathtub?
How can someone “accidentally” fall down the steps?
Come On!! Grow-Up!!
Although I’m not going to pick sides, there REALLY are some Dumb-Ass Comments here!!
How can someone “accidentally” fall off the roof?
I can understand the different points-of-view; but…Gee-Whiz People!
Use Some Common Sense.-
James
@ChiChi Man: “Silver Lake” Is NOT a “Documentary”.- It is a “Movie”.-
BIG Difference.-
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0402498/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1
Dxley
I’d really like to jump in and support @iMarty but the guy didn’t kill himself. It was a fucking accident. Get some more info, dude.
musclover
@iMarty: Hi iMarty. I have to say I remembered this tragedy as a suicide as well.
I had watched the original video quite some time ago. It left quite an impression on me, which is why I remembered it as a suicide resulting from family pressure as well.
I’ve seen the documentary trailer which depicts it as an accident.
I’ve also rewatched the ‘original’ where it now seems unclear whether it was a suicide or not.
While all the descriptions now points to it being an accident, I can’t say for sure that I was mistaken back then.
But if that’s the way they intend the world to see it, I will gladly stand corrected. This is not about the way Tom died but about the repercussions that follow his death which affect Shane as a result of being unable to legally marry.
Jackhoffsky
Good for Shane. Just… good for him.
stranded
@musclover:
I too remember it being a suicide. But in the end does it matter? I still don’t know why everyone is so worked up about whether it was a suicide or not. It doesn’t change the fact that Tom died and his family took Tom’s body and forbade Shane from having any type of say to the funeral plans. That’s the point of this movie, not whether he committed suicide or not.
seaguy
@jimbryant: Are you a republican?
DarkZephyr
@musclover: @stranded: I watched the video when it was new and nowhere did it say that it was a suicide. It didn’t say it WASN’T one because Shane Bitney Crone didn’t think it needed clarifying at the time. He was very distraught when he initially made the video. People immediately misunderstood it to be a suicide because of the fact that his plummeted to his death and his parents had been such douches. Sad over douchey parents + plunging off of a roof = suicide in some people’s brains. Because of the confusion Shane later put in the clarification that it was not a suicide. If you watch the video WITHOUT that caption added to it, you have the whole, original video. Nowhere does it say that it was a suicide.
@frshmn: This issue isn’t about race.
Sally
The Supreme Court ruling was indeed a milestone, but for some it would prove too late.
Like my vivacious and gay Great Uncle Harry. A “confirmed bachelor”, my Uncle Harry was, next to a waiter passing the champagne, the most sought after man at a mid-century wedding. The single gals buzzed around him like bees to honey. The thing of it was, Harry’s come hither eyes weren’t directed to the bevy of beauties, they were more directed at the Best Man. Friends thought him picky, an odd man out in a world geared to the married set.
Harry was born too early to witness a wedding cake topped by 2 grooms or a time when his come hither eyes would be able to gaze more openly to the possibilities that were denied him. For more visit http://envisioningtheamericandream.com/2012/06/25/the-gay-bachelor-and-the-bride/
Hermes
@iMarty: I’ve also seen the youtube tribute – and unless there are two such tributes – I saw it years ago – and he said no such thing. You are making things up out of whole cloth – and the more important question is why? What bitterness infects you? Whatever it is, avoid the sun, its rumored to turn trolls to stone.
Blessed be
Sluggo2007
@iMarty: I hope the same happens to you, you nasty bitch!