Outing Politicians; Documentary “Outrage” Premieres Tonight

Filmmaker Kirby Dick’s documentary Outrage premieres on HBO at 9pm tonight. The controversial documentary focuses on gay activist outing closeted politicians who oppose gay rights and endorse legislation that is harmful to the queer community.

The film chronicles the downfall of closeted politicians like Mark Foley and former Idaho Senator Larry Craig, an outspoken opponent of queer rights who pled guilty to disorderly conduct in 2007 for soliciting sex from an undercover officer in an airport bathroom.

Other politicians discussed in the film include Florida Governor Charlie Crist, California Representative David Dreir, former New York City Mayor Ed Koch, and former Louisiana Representative Jim McCrery.

Interviews with openly queer politicians Barney Frank, James McGreevey, Jim Kolbe, Neil Giuliano, and Tammy Baldwin are also featured in the film.

Outrage also takes a critical look at the media’s refusal to discuss politicians’ gay affairs despite comparable stories of straight politicians.

See synopsis below.

An official selection of the 2009 Tribeca Film Festival, OUTRAGE investigates the hidden lives of some of the country's most powerful policymakers - from now-retired Idaho Senator Larry Craig, to former New Jersey Governor Jim McGreevy - and examines how these and other politicians have inflicted damage on millions of Americans by opposing gay rights. Equally disturbing, the film explores the mainstream media's complicity in keeping those secrets, despite the growing efforts to "out" them by gay rights organizations and bloggers.

Through a combination of archival news footage and exclusive interviews with politicians and members of the media, OUTRAGE probes the psychology of a double lifestyle, the ethics of outing closeted politicians, and the double standards that the media upholds in its coverage of the sex lives of gay public figures. As Barney Frank, perhaps the best-known openly gay member of Congress explains, "There is a right to privacy, but not a right to hypocrisy. It is very important that the people who make the law be subject to the law."

The film also spotlights Michael Rogers, a gay activist and founder of blogACTIVE, a Washington, D.C.-based website dedicated to outing closeted public figures. Rogers feels it is necessary to expose the hypocrisy of those who may live one way in public and another way in private, explaining that his work is not about outing people who are gay, but rather about "reporting on individuals who are working against the community that they then expect to protect them."

Kirby Dick is an award-winning documentary film director whose last release, 2006's "This Film Is Not Yet Rated," was a breakthrough investigation of the secretive MPAA film-ratings system. His 2005 HBO film "Twist of Faith" received an Oscar® nomination for Best Documentary Feature. Dick's other films include "Derrida," a portrait of the French philosopher, and "Sick: The Life & Death of Bob Flanagan, Supermasochist," which won the Special Jury Prize at Sundance and the Grand Prize at the LA Film Festival. Among his other HBO/Cinemax credits are 2003's "Showgirls: Glitz & Angst," 2001's "Chain Camera" and 2004's "The End."

OUTRAGE was written and directed by Kirby Dick; producer, Amy Ziering; executive producers, Tom Quinn, Jason Janego, Ted Sarandos, Chad Griffin, Kimball Stroud, Bruce Brothers and Tectonic Theater Project; co-producer, Tanner Barklow; editors, Doug Blush and Matt Clarke; music, Peter Golub. For HBO: senior producer, Nancy Abraham; executive producer, Sheila Nevins.

http://www.hbo.com/docs/programs/outrage/index.html