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<p><b>New page</b></p><div>{{short description|2003 TV movie by Jeffrey W. Byrd}}<br />
{{use mdy dates|date=December 2024}}<br />
{{Infobox television<br />
| image = JasperDVD.jpg<br />
| image_size =<br />
| image_alt = <br />
| caption = <br />
| genre = <br />
| writer = Jonathan Estrin<br />
| director = [[Jeffrey W. Byrd]]<br />
| starring = [[Jon Voight]]<br>[[Louis Gossett Jr]]<br>[[Joe Morton]]<br>[[Bokeem Woodbine]]<br />
| music = Asche & Spencer<br>Richard Werbowenko<br />
| country = United States<br />
| language = English<br />
| producer = Lena Cordina<br />
| executive_producer = Jonathan Estrin<br>Michael Greene<br />
| editor = Jeffrey Cooper<br />
| cinematography = Ousama Rawi<br />
| runtime = 114 minutes<br />
| company = [[Showtime Networks]]<br />
| budget = <br />
| network = [[Showtime (TV network)|Showtime]]<br />
| released = {{Start date|2003|06|08}}<br />
}}<br />
<br />
'''''Jasper, Texas''''' is a 2003 American [[television film|made-for-television]] [[drama (film and television)|drama film]] directed by [[Jeffrey W. Byrd]]. The teleplay by Jonathan Estrin is based on a true story and focuses on the aftermath of a crime in which three white men from the small town of [[Jasper, Texas]], killed [[African American]] [[Murder of James Byrd Jr.|James Byrd Jr.]] by dragging him behind their pickup truck.<br />
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The film was shown at the Philadelphia International Film Festival before being broadcast by [[Showtime (TV network)|Showtime]] on June 8, 2003.<br />
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==Plot==<br />
In Jasper, Texas, in June 1998, three self-proclaimed [[White supremacy|white supremacists]] chain James Byrd Jr., to the back of their pickup truck and drag him to his death over three miles of country road. When the town is forced to deal with an onslaught of media coverage that thrusts it into the collective conscience of the entire country and the arrival of contentious members of the [[Ku Klux Klan]], and the [[Black Panthers]], the once peaceful relationship between its white and black citizens is subjected to tension. Trying to maintain peace in the community as the trial of the three perpetrators commences are black mayor R.C. Horn and white sheriff Billy Rowles, neither of whom is prepared to handle all the negative publicity. Justice is served when two of the men are condemned to death and the third is sentenced to life in prison.<br />
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==Cast==<br />
{{cast listing|<br />
*[[Jon Voight]] as Sheriff Billy Rowles<br />
*[[Louis Gossett Jr.]] as Mayor R.C. Horn<br />
*Ron White as Assistant District Attorney Guy James Gray<br />
*[[Gary Hudson (actor)|Gary Hudson]] as Defense Attorney 'Sonny' Cribbs<br />
*[[Joe Morton]] as Walter Diggles <br />
*Kate Trotter as Jamie Rowles<br />
*[[Demore Barnes]] as Ricky Horn <br />
*[[Karen Robinson]] as Mary Horn<br />
*Michelle Moffat as Mamie Horn<br />
*[[Bokeem Woodbine]] as Khalid X<br />
*[[Emily Yancy]] as Stella Byrd<br />
*Cherion Drakes as Clair Byrd<br />
*[[Kevin Hanchard]] as Thurman Byrd<br />
*Blu Mankuma as James Byrd Sr.<br />
*Roy T. Anderson as James Byrd Jr.<br />
*[[Michael McLachlan]] as Bill King<br />
*[[Eric Peterson]] as Old Mr. King<br />
*[[Eugene Clark (actor)|Eugene Clark]] as Don Clark<br />
*[[David Eisner (actor)|David Eisner]] as Mike Bradford<br />
*Michael Ferguson as William Hoover<br />
*Jeff Topping as Russell Brewer<br />
*[[Toby Proctor]] as Sean Berry<br />
*[[J.D. Nicholsen]] as Mike Lout<br />
*Conrad Bergschneider as 'Moe' Johnson<br />
*[[Holly Lewis]] as Michelle Chapman<br />
*[[Victoria Snow]] as Nancy Nicholson<br />
*[[Leah Renee]] as Brandi Eggleson<br />
*Marium Carvell as Gloria Mays<br />
*Dean McKenzie as Mr. Nelson<br />
*Martin Doyle as Mr. Powell<br />
*Craig Eldridge as Dr. Brown<br />
*Andre Mayers as Sergeant Carter<br />
*Jumaane Ford as Lieutenant<br />
*[[Wayne Ward]] as Deputy<br />
*[[Sandra Caldwell (actress)|Sandra Caldwell]] as Norva<br />
*[[Samantha Bee]] as Kathy<br />
*James Millington as Catholic Priest<br />
*Kedar Brown as Reverend<br />
*[[Neil Crone]] as Principal<br />
}}<br />
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==Production==<br />
Portions of the film, including the town scene, were shot in [[Beaverton, Ontario]], Canada.<br />
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==Critical reception==<br />
Jonathan Storm of ''[[The Philadelphia Inquirer]]'' found it worthy, especially praised and said, "Gossett is barely recognizable as the lean, wizened Mayor O.C. Horn. He and Voigt, as Sheriff Billy Rowles, personify the common-sense intelligence that characterizes much of small-town America." He also added "one of its stars, Louis Gossett Jr., were nominated for NAACP Image Awards, to be presented next month. Costar Jon Voigt is also worthy of a prize."<ref>{{Cite news |last=Storm |first=Jonathan |date=February 11, 2004 |title=Split verdict on cable's two crime movies |work=The Philadelphia Inquirer |pages=D1 and D4}}</ref> [[John Leonard (critic)|John Leonard]] of ''[[New York (magazine)|New York]]'' wrote, "What distinguishes ''Jasper, Texas'' is not inside info...not suspense...and not catharsis...It is performance."<ref name="NYmag">{{cite news |last1=Leonard |first1=John |title=Death and Texas |url=https://nymag.com/nymetro/arts/tv/reviews/n_8760/ |access-date=5 December 2024 |work=New York |date=May 29, 2003}}</ref> <br />
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David Wiegand of the ''[[San Francisco Chronicle]]'' said, "There's nothing fatally wrong with the film, but the muddled, overstuffed script and sometimes cheesy direction short-circuit the emotional potential of the treatment of James Byrd Jr.'s brutal dragging death five years ago in a small Texas town . . . The better TV films offer commentary and perspective subtly, through careful characterization and plot development. ''Jasper, Texas'' doesn't quite do that. Despite great performances from Voight and Gossett, the film trips over its own simplistic analysis of what 'getting along' between the races really means."<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.sfgate.com/entertainment/article/Simplistic-Jasper-misses-mark-2610889.php |title=Simplistic 'Jasper' misses mark |date=June 6, 2003 |last=Wiegand |first=David |work=San Francisco Chronicle |archive-date=December 7, 2024 |access-date=April 24, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241207110626/https://www.sfgate.com/entertainment/article/Simplistic-Jasper-misses-mark-2610889.php |url-status=live }}</ref><br />
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Laura Fries of ''[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]'' called the film "an introspective but somewhat Hollywoodized treatment" and continued, "The director's focus is very personal. Although he doesn't linger on details of the court case, the murder is presented in full-color detail. It is handled almost clinically, but not without sensitivity. To dance around the facts would be too great a disservice. To exploit the sensational nature of the crime also would be wrong. Instead, Byrd puts his trust into his very capable cast."<ref>{{cite news|last=Fries |first=Laura |url=https://variety.com/2003/tv/reviews/jasper-texas-1200541250/ |title=Jasper, Texas |date=June 5, 2003 |work=Variety}}</ref><br />
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Sam Adams of ''[[Philadelphia City Paper]]'' thought the film was "a standard-issue [[docudrama]] whose pat resolution doesn't dredge up anything like the national horror of Byrd's murder."<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.citypaper.net/articles/2003-06-05/screen.shtml |title=Screen Picks |date=June 2003 |last=Adams |first=Sam |work=Philadelphia City Paper |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060513233102/http://citypaper.net/articles/2003-06-05/screen.shtml |archive-date=2006-05-13 |url-status=dead}}</ref><br />
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==Awards and nominations==<br />
Screenwriter Jonathan Estrin was nominated for the [[Humanitas Prize]]. The film was nominated for the [[NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Television Movie, Mini-Series or Dramatic Special]], and Louis Gossett, Jr. was nominated for the [[NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actor in a Television Movie, Mini-Series or Dramatic Special]].<ref name="naacp">{{cite web |title=Official List Of 35th NAACP Image Awards Nominations |url=http://www.naacpimageawards.net/media/35thnominees.html |website=NAACP Image Awards |access-date=5 December 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040312072443/http://www.naacpimageawards.net/media/35thnominees.html |archive-date=March 12, 2004 |url-status=dead}}</ref><br />
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==Home media==<br />
Paramount Pictures Home Entertainment released the film on DVD on February 3, 2004.<ref>{{cite web |title=''Jasper, Texas'' DVD |url=https://www.amazon.com/Jasper-TX-Roy-T-Anderson/dp/B0000TSR10 |website=Amazon |access-date=5 December 2024}}</ref> It is in [[Pan and scan|fullscreen]] format with audio tracks in English and Spanish.<br />
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==References==<br />
{{reflist}}<br />
<br />
==External links==<br />
*{{IMDb title|id=0335185|title=Jasper, Texas}}<br />
*{{tcmdb title|id=533839|title=Jasper, Texas}}<br />
*{{rotten-tomatoes|id=jasper_texas|title=Jasper, Texas}}<br />
<br />
[[Category:2003 television films]]<br />
[[Category:2003 films]]<br />
[[Category:2003 drama films]]<br />
[[Category:Cultural depictions of Bill Clinton]]<br />
[[Category:Drama films based on actual events]]<br />
[[Category:Films set in Texas]]<br />
[[Category:Showtime (TV network) films]]<br />
[[Category:Films set in 1998]]<br />
[[Category:Films about racism in the United States]]<br />
[[Category:Films about the Ku Klux Klan]]<br />
[[Category:Films directed by Jeffrey W. Byrd]]<br />
[[Category:American drama television films]]<br />
[[Category:2000s American films]]<br />
[[Category:2000s English-language films]]</div>imported>Waxworker