Shane Bitney Crone

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Shane Bitney Crone

Shane Bitney Crone Love is Louder Campaign Photo
Born (1985-12-19) 19 December 1985
Kalispell, Montana, U.S.
Residence Los Angeles, California
Occupation Activist
Partner(s) Tom Bridegroom (deceased 2011)
Parents Cindy K. Bitney (mother)
David L. Crone (father)

Shane Bitney Crone (born December 19, 1985) is an American filmmaker, writer, speaker and advocate for LGBT rights.

Early life

Crone was born in Kalispell, Montana. He moved to Los Angeles after high school graduation.

Activism

"It Could Happen to You"

Crone made headlines in May 2012 when he released a video on YouTube titled "It Could Happen to You", in which he spoke of the devastation he faced after the death of his longtime life partner, Tom Bridegroom, a year earlier. Bridegroom was himself an actor, songwriter, and had also hosted the TV series The X-Effect. While Crone's own family was loving and accepting of his sexual orientation, Bridegroom's family was not, and had gone so far as to threaten Shane with physical violence and blamed Crone for "making" Tom gay. After Bridegroom was accidentally killed in a fall from a rooftop in May 2011, Crone was himself threatened with physical violence if he dared to attend Bridegroom's funeral and was not mentioned in Bridegroom's obituary or memorial service. Crone had also been denied hospital visitations and other rights accorded married couples, because he was not recognized as Bridegroom's partner or family.[1]

Crone's emotional plea for rights for same-sex couples became one of the most widely viewed clips on YouTube shortly after its release. Crone was stunned and gratified by the reception to his video, and told RadarOnline.com he made the video as a form of therapy to help him deal with his loss and to further positive change for same-sex couples in the United States.[2]

Bridegroom

Bridegroom, a motion picture based on the story of Crone and Bridegroom's relationship and the difficulties Crone faced after his partner's death, premiered on April 23, 2013, at the Tribeca Film Festival. Bridegroom was endorsed by President Bill Clinton, who introduced the movie Bridegroom at the Tribeca Film Festival. In his remarks, President Clinton stated, “This is really, on one level, a wonderful, sad, heartbreaking yet exhilarating and life-affirming story, ...And on another level, it’s a story about our nation’s struggle to make one more step in forming a more perfect union, for which marriage is both the symbol and substance.”[3] Bridegroom won the Tribeca Film Festival Audience's non-fiction award.[4]

Bridegroom has been positively reviewed by the Los Angeles Times, the New York Times, and Variety. "The documentary 'Bridegroom', written and directed by Linda Bloodworth-Thomason (of 'Designing Women' fame), is a poignant, powerful tale of first love and untimely death as well as a practical, frankly undeniable, plea for marriage equality....Despite the pain, sadness and vast emotional upheaval depicted here, "Bridegroom" is also a movie filled with hope and passion, dignity and pride, and many stirring pockets of joy."[5]

"Inspired by a viral YouTube video and deftly directed by Linda Bloodworth-Thomason (“Designing Women”), “Bridegroom” is about an unmarried gay couple in their 20s and what happens when one of them dies. That’s the simple summary of this simply told but exceptionally moving documentary. What “Bridegroom” celebrates is not simply gay rights; it’s the human spirit."[6] "But for many, it’s precisely the sort of emotional eye-opener needed for young people to find inspiration and naysayers to reconsider their attitudes."[7]

"In lieu of telling the story via simple white captions, the docu relies on straightforward talking-head interviews with Crone’s family and the couple’s shared circle of friends, who describe how these two closeted small-town guys clicked when they met in Los Angeles, quickly forming the kind of relationship that romantics everywhere envy…."[7]

"After reaching many over the course of a summer-long festival run, during which it earned audience awards at Tribeca and four other sprocket operas, the touching docu opened on Oct. 4 in New York, to be followed by a few other theatrical stops."[7]

References

  1. ↑ "YouTube - IT COULD HAPPEN TO YOU". youtube.com. Retrieved 2014-01-11. 
  2. ↑ "The 10-Minute Video That May Change Your Life," GoPride.com, http://chicago.gopride.com/news/article.cfm/articleid/29206816. Posted 9 May 2012.
  3. ↑ "Tribeca: President Clinton Introduces Marriage Equality Doc 'Bridegroom' - The Hollywood Reporter". hollywoodreporter.com. Retrieved 2014-01-11. 
  4. ↑ "Tribeca 2013: 'Rocket,' 'Bridegroom' win fest's audience prizes - latimes.com". latimes.com. Retrieved 2014-01-11. 
  5. ↑ "Review: 'Bridegroom' a poignant tale of gay partner's loss - latimes.com". latimes.com. Retrieved 2014-01-11. 
  6. ↑ "Log In - The New York Times". nytimes.com. Retrieved 2014-01-11. 
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 "‘Bridegroom’ Review: Kickstarter Empowers Outsider Story of Gay Couple – Variety". variety.com. Retrieved 2014-01-11. 

External links

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