HBO to Produce Documentary on Gay Marriage Legal Fight
Drew Angerer for The New York Times HBO plans to air a documentary from filmmakers who had behind-the-scenes access to the legal team led by David Boies, left, and Theodore B. Olson that challenged California's ban on same-sex marriage.
LOS ANGELES â€" HBO on Tuesday announced a documentary film project that will chronicle the court battle to overturn California’s ban on same-sex marriage.
HBO said that two directors, Ben Cotner and Ryan White, have for years had exclusive behind-the-scenes access to the legal team that argued the recent Supreme Court case over Proposition 8, a California ballot initiative that banned gay marriage in the state. The Supreme Court late last month declined to rule on the case, effectively ending the ban.
The still-untitled documentary will be completed by the end of the year and make its debut on HBO sometime next year. Michael Lombardo, HBO’s programming president, in a statement called the movie “the story of a modern-day American revolution†and said it was intended to be “the film of record on this landmark case.â€
Mr. Cotner, a first-time director, and Mr. White, known for the documentary “Good Ol’ Freda,†about the woman who served as secretary to the Beatles, gained access to the Proposition 8 legal team - led by the liberal David Boies and conservative Theodore B. Olson - through the American Foundation for Equal Rights, the nonprofit group that brought the challenge.
“Their willingness to give us such amazing access speaks to how confident they were about where history would end up,†Mr. Cotner said in a telephone interview.
The documentary will also tell the story of the couples behind the case. “I’ve always said that the best evidence in this case is to hear our clients tell their stories,†Mr. Olson said in a statement.
Opponents of same-sex marriage succeeded in blocking video coverage of the case as it made its way through lower courts. “But they cannot block this documentary,†Mr. Boies said in a statement.
