The Matthew Shepard Story is a 2002 award-winning Canadian-American television film by director Roger Spottiswoode based on the true story of Matthew Shepard, a 21-years-old gay youth who was murdered in 1998, victim of an anti-gay hate crime. The film scenario written by John Wierick and Jacob Krueger, it starred Shane Meier as Matthew and Stockard Channing as Judy and Sam Waterston as Dennis.
Producers were Alliance Atlantis Communications, Canadian Film or Video Production Tax Credit (CPTC) with the assistance of/with the participation of Canadian Television (CTV) and Cosmic Entertainment. The premiere was on 16 March 2002 on NBC, the same day HBO showed another Matthew Shepard film entitled The Laramie Project. The Matthew Shepard Story was also shown on CTV, with language versions show in many countries.