Exploring Hypocrisy: Kirby Dick’s “Outrage” Aims to Expose Closeted U.S. Politicians

An image from “Outrage”. Image provided by Magnolia Pictures.

The company got involved to back the film more than two years ago and is openly hoping it will lead to change. “We feel that the film can have a huge impact,” Magnolia’s Tom Quinn told indieWIRE this morning, “This is a really human story and I think [Kirby Dick] really gets to the heart of why this is important.” Continuing, Quinn added, “I am not at a fan of the subject-driven, preachy doc and this is not one of those.”

Magnolia, a sister unit of the Landmark Theaters chain, has decided to guard aspects of the film’s content from leaking in order to maximize its punch when it debuts later this month, hoping to drive audiences to theaters when it rolls out around the country. “By design we’ve kept it under wraps,” company president Eamonn Bowles told indieWIRE yesterday. “I’ve seen where the news gobbles up a story and people think they know about it already.” Continuing Bowles added, “[Kirby Dick] is an accomplished filmmaker… There are some subjects that can’t be described by soundbites and this is a very complex issue. We don’t want to just boil it down to over simplification, which the media will inevitably do. I truly believe this subject would be over-sensationalized without the context of the film’s point-of-view.”

“Certain things [in the film] are revelatory,” added Tom Quinn, today. “The fact that people will get to see this film not at home, not in a vacuum, not in their shell, but in a public forum, I think it’s really important for the film to have that kind of capital in the public space.” Continuing he advocated for the nearly simultaneous festival and theatrical approach to releasing the movie, noting, “I’m a big fan of strangers coming together to discuss issues that affect us all.”

While “Outrage” features formerly closeted politicians such as McGreevey and Frank, as mentioned the film will name prominent people in power today who have, until now, meticulously guarded their secret successfully. Magnolia believes this will create momentum as the movie rolls, and it will undoubtedly cause a sensation.

“We believe ‘Outrage’ will be getting a lot of attention from the media,” said Bowles. “I think people will be curious about it, [and] people are going to want to know who the names are. There will also be interest of not always a noble nature. [But] the film is far from a witch hunt, it’s a very responsible film. It’s not just issues of gayness, it’s about absolute hypocrisy. The film is not just dishy and snarky, it really stays on message. It has its funny moments, but it really deals with the whole hypocrisy issue.”

Kirby Dick will participate in a pair of longer conversations about the movie days after its premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival: a Filmmaker Talk at the Apple Store Soho event with indieWIRE on Thursday, April 30th at 5:00 p.m. and a panel discussion with former New Jersey Governor Jim McGreevey, writer and radio host Michelangelo Signorile, and author & activist Rodger McFarlane at the Tribeca fest on Friday, May 1st.

“I think that if someone is in the closet and voting against gay rights then that’s hypocrisy and that’s cause for outing,” Dick told indieWIRE, addressing the issue of responsibility and when it’s appropriate to out people. “You can call it ‘outing,’ but honestly, it’s just reporting… It’s the same as someone who’s had an abortion and then votes against abortion, it’s hypocritical.”

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Magnolia says "Outrage" could be a "game changer" for same sex civil rights.” Which of these do you think will be the next U.S. state to legalize gay marriage?

	California
	Florida
	Maine
	New Jersey
	New York
	South Carolina
	Washington

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