Latter Days | |
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![]() Theatrical release poster | |
Directed by | C. Jay Cox |
Written by | C. Jay Cox |
Produced by | Jennifer Schaefer Kirkland Tibbels |
Starring | Steve Sandvoss Wes Ramsey Rebekah Johnson Jacqueline Bisset Amber Benson Joseph Gordon-Levitt Khary Payton |
Cinematography | Carl Bartels |
Edited by | John Keitel |
Music by | Eric Allaman |
Production companies | Funny Boy Films Davis Entertainment Filmworks |
Distributed by | TLA Releasing |
Release dates | |
Running time | 108 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Budget | $850,000[2] |
Box office | $834,685[1] |
Latter Days is a 2003 American romantic comedy-drama film about a gay relationship between a closeted Mormon missionary and his openly gay neighbor. The film was written and directed by C. Jay Cox and stars Steve Sandvoss as the missionary, Aaron, and Wes Ramsey as the neighbor, Christian. Joseph Gordon-Levitt appears as Elder Ryder, and Rebekah Johnson as Julie Taylor. Mary Kay Place, Khary Payton, Erik Palladino, Amber Benson, and Jacqueline Bisset have supporting roles.
Latter Days premiered at the Philadelphia International Gay & Lesbian Film Festival on July 10, 2003, and was released in various states of USA over the next 12 months. Later the film was released in a few other countries and shown at several gay film festivals. It was the first film to portray openly the clash between the principles of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and homosexuality, and its exhibition in some U.S. states was controversial. Various religious groups demanded that the film be withdrawn from theaters and video stores under boycott threats.
The film was met with mixed reactions from film critics, but was popular with most film festival attendees. At the North American box office however, Latter Days only made $834,685, barely covering the production's costs with an estimated budget of $850,000. In 2004, freelance writer T. Fabris made Latter Days into a novel, which was published by Alyson Publications.