Celebrities including the likes of George Clooney, Jamie Lee Curtis, Brad Pitt, Kevin Bacon, Jane Lynch, Martin Sheen and Matt Bomer reenacted the courtroom and personal drama of the historic legal battle to have Californa’s gay marriage ban, Prop. 8, overturned in the west coast premiere reading of Dustin Lance Black’s 8, and helped raise more than $2 million for the cause.
The script of 8 was adapted from courtroom transcripts, first-hand accounts of drama in the courtroom, and interviews with the plaintiffs.
“People need to witness what happened in the Proposition 8 trial, if for no other reason than to see inequality and discrimination unequivocally rejected in a court of law where truth and facts matter,” Black said in a statement. “I’ve built my career around exposing and uncovering ‘the real story.’ The goal of 8 is to show the world that marriage equality is a basic constitutional right and that those who would deny this basic freedom from loving, committed couples have only vitriol and baseless hyperbole to fall back on. The facts are on our side and truth always finds the light. We are doing all we can to help speed that process along.”
Rob Reiner directed the stage reading, and Bryan Singer, a film director, was the presenting sponsor of the event, which served as a fundraiser for American Foundation for Equal Rights.
The cast of the reading featured Brad Pitt as Chief Judge Vaughn Walker, George Clooney and Martin Sheen as plaintiffs Jeff Zarrillo and Paul Katami, Jamie Lee Curtis and Christine Lahti as plaintiffs Sandi Stier and Kris Perry, and Cleve Jones as advocate Evan Wolfson. One of the comedic highlights of the evening came from Jane Lynch in her role as Maggie Gallagher exchanging words with Jones as Wolfson.
The stage was not the only place to see celebrities, as attendees included Barbara Streisand and James Brolin, Sally Field, Vanessa Williams, Leonard Nimov, Toni Collette, Sofia Vergara, and California Lieutenant Governor Gavin Newsom.
The west coast premiere reading of 8 streamed live online for the world to watch, and the recording can be viewed in entirety below:
(Skip 30 minutes ahead by clicking the cue at the beginning of the video)
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