Prop 8 Re-enactment Video Scheduled for Posting on Wednesday

According to a press release, video of the re-enactment of Perry vs. Schwarzenegger will be online beginning Wednesday, January 20, 2010. I'll post as much of it here as possible.

For Immediate Release


Proposition 8 Trial Re-enactment Brings Closed Proceedings to the Viewing Public

January 18, 2010 (Los Angeles) -- Last Wednesday, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a ruling blocking indefinitely the broadcast of a video feed from the San Francisco Federal Court trial challenging California’s Proposition 8.  Within a few hours, a film production team in Los Angeles was readying a script from court transcripts, securing a courtroom set and casting actors in an effort to bring the trial to the people by way of re-enactment.

“We both jumped in and started calling all of our contacts… and never looked back,” says John Ireland, who is co-producing the “made for the web” series with actor and producer, John Ainsworth.  “John and I both agreed that time is short but the time is now.  We have collected a top-notch group of people to tell this story, so the world can see it.”  Both men have been in the documentary and entertainment business for years.

“I was glued to the Courage Campaign’s Prop 8 Trial Tracker when John and I started talking about producing a re-enactment to put on the web.  I wanted to know what was happening in the courtroom and that’s when I knew we needed to produce this.” Ainsworth noted.

The production is using professional actors and, where possible, they are casting as close to the appearance of the real people the actors portray.

The team is being advised by constitutional law scholar and Professor, David B. Cruz, from the University of Southern California Gould School of Law, which has made the replica courtroom available.  He is reviewing scripts and advising on courtroom dynamics and flow.  "People across the country and around the world were eager to watch this trial unfold, so I was eager to help make it accessible after the Supreme Court took the unusual step of blocking broadcast,” Cruz said.

Ireland is confident that a sizable audience is ready to tune in.  He says, “There is a huge buzz on the web about this trial.  I think a lot of people across our country were poised to watch the opening statements on the first day.  When access was blocked, the thirst for information just grew exponentially.”

According to Ainsworth, they should have last week’s five episodes “in the can” within a few days.  They will assemble a script each new trial day, notify the relevant actors and film that day’s testimony late into the night.  Ainsworth adds, “We are moving swiftly, so that more Americans can see our government in action as it reviews this landmark case.”

Learn more at:
     www.MarriageTrial.com

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Prop 8 Trial to be Re-enacted for Posting on YouTube

Judge Vaughn Walker's plan to tape the proceedings of the Perry vs. Schwarzenegger lawsuit for posting on YouTube was killed by the US Supreme court at the request of the pro-H8 side last week. Without the video, we've relied on the efforts of dedicated live bloggers to get the latest information out of the courtroom. Now, thanks to the efforts of journalist and film maker John Ireland, we'll be able to watch a recreation of the trial on YouTube.

Ireland told On Top Magazine in an interview posted Sunday, “People want to see this drama unfold and there is a tremendous narrative that was propelled by that first day of testimony,” Ireland told On Top Magazine on Sunday. “This is the first time that gay and lesbian people have talked about their lives in federal court. It's historic from that point of view.”

Ireland's production is much like what went on during the Micheal Jackson child molestation trial, where cameras were also banned from the courtroom. Casting and filming  began over the weekend. Dialog is based on the text of live bloggers who have been working non-stop to bring us the day-to-day details. Ireland says, “I don't think you have to be gay or lesbian to see that there is a tremendous human story being told but so few people are actually hearing it."

Filming is complete of last Monday's opening session and Ireland plans to post the video on YouTube Tuesday. I'll post the video, or a link here as soon as it is available.

Ireland and his partner are one of the 18,000 California couples that were legally married in 2008 during the window of opportunity between the California Supreme Court's decision to legalize same-sex marriage and the passing of Prop 8, which relegated the state's lesbians and gays to second class citizenship.