| | |  Entertainment 
Filmmaker Debuts Gay Marriage Trial On YouTube
 Carlos Santoscoy - On Top Magazine
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January 22, 2010
Freelance filmmaker John Ireland and co-producer John Ainsworth have released their first episode of the gay marriage trial on YouTube.
Ireland began filming video re-enactments of the federal trial to decide the constitutionality of Proposition 8, the gay marriage ban approved by California voters in 2008, after the Supreme Court blocked a broadcast plan that would have included daily YouTube postings. The trial entered its second week on Tuesday in a San Francisco courtroom.
The first episode, available at MarriageTrial.com and YouTube.com, recreates the trial's emotional opening day which included testimony by the suit's four plaintiffs. Storytelling is based on the accounts of bloggers present at the trial.
“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. “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.”
After casting the trial's main characters, filming began last weekend. The University of Southern California Gould School of Law has made a mock courtroom available for filming. The team is being advised by USC law professor David B. Cruz.
A widely publicized Craigslist.com casting call was scrapped in favor of professional actors.
“One thing that is significant, is that we were able to become SAG-signatory,” Ireland said in an email. “In fact, we did not cast anyone off of Craigslist.com, as we were signed by Friday and posted the breakdowns through The Casting Network.”
Ireland has a personal stake in the trial. In 2004 he married Duncan Crabtree in San Francisco City Hall after Mayor Gavin Newsom instructed the County Clerk's office to issue marriage licenses to gay couples. Newsom's decision began a domino effect that eventually led to voters approving Proposition 8 four years later. |
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