8: The Mormon Proposition (2010)

A scorching indictment of the Mormon Church's historic involvement in the promotion & passage of California's Proposition 8 and the Mormon religion's secretive, decades-long campaign against LGBT human rights.

Directors:

Reed Cowan, Steven Greenstreet

Writer:

Reed Cowan

Stars:

Spencer Jones, Tyler Barrick, Dustin Lance Black

1 win.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Spencer Jones	...	Himself
Tyler Barrick	...	Himself
Dustin Lance Black	...	Narrator
Linda Williams Stay	...	Herself (as Linda Stay)
Kate Kendell	...	Herself
David Melson	...	Himself
Dennis Herrera	...	Himself
Fred Karger	...	Himself
Carol Lynn Pearson	...	Herself
Emily Pearson	...	Herself
Gavin Newsom	...	Himself
Mike Nelson	...	Himself
Chip White	...	Himself
George Cole	...	Himself
Rocky Anderson	...	Himself

Storyline

In 2009, thousands of LGBT citizens are denied almost 200 civil rights their straight, married counterparts enjoy through civil marriage. Some states have signaled progress. But amid the progress, The Mormon Church, with its front-group THE NATIONAL ORGANIZATION FOR MARRIAGE, has been coordinating, financing and leading the effort to stop the advancement of marriage equality for more than three decades. As an organization worth hundreds of billions of dollars, the Mormon Church has been able to wage this war in secret. Not until the California Fair Political Practices Commission launched an investigation into the Mormon's involvement in Proposition 8, did the secrets of the Mormon effort become a matter of record. Through never-before seen documents, recordings & insider-interviews, 8: THE MORMON PROPOSITION, exposes the efforts of the Mormon Church and its members to halt nearly every piece of LGBT legislation on the desks of lawmakers from Hawaii to New York. 8: THE MORMON ...

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Plot Keywords:

mormon | mormon church | proposition | marriage | california | 

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Taglines:

Equality for some

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Genres:

Documentary

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for some language/sexual references

Details

Official Sites:

Facebook Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

24 January 2010 (USA)

Box Office

Budget:

$2,500,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$14,093 (USA) (25 June 2010)

Gross:

$99,851 (USA) (16 July 2010)

Company Credits

Production Co:

David v. Goliath Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

80 min

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Did You Know?

Goofs

The film mentions that gay children "can't have children biologically". Nothing biological stops a homosexual from reproducing.

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Connections

Featured in The Rotten Tomatoes Show: Salt/Ramona and Beezus/Summer Doc Round-Up (2010)

User Reviews

A Must-See Documentary That Exposes Truth and Light,

I saw this film at a screening in Park City during the Sundance Film Festival in January of 2010. Admittedly, I am LDS and I identify as a gay man. Obviously, this is a movie that I wanted to see because I had these two elements of my life fighting with each other, both in private (in my own mind) and in public (LDS Church vs. the anti-Proposition 8 movement). First of all, the movie definitely has an agenda. However, the title does not lie; sometimes the truth hurts. Being involved in both of these communities fairly actively, I can tell you that this movie brings the truth about Proposition 8 to light. Where the film crosses the line is in its sometimes sensationalistic portrayal, in how the facts are presented to the audience. The truth is presented, but not in the best way or method. Reed Cowan (director) did try to interview LDS Church officials and spokespeople, but his requests were either denied or ignored. Can people really blame him for this? Criticisms of his film being "too biased" are without knowledge of this fact. A lot has to be said for the documents from the 1990's proving that the anti-gay marriage group in Hawaii was created, staffed, and funded through Mormon means. It may all have been done legally, but that doesn't mean that it was right or moral. A lot of criticism of the film points to the "picking-and-choosing" of which phrases from these documents were highlighted on screen and pointed out to the viewer. This is easily remedied: to see the documents, simply go to "Mormon Gate dot com" and read them. The documents speak for themselves.