Love Is All You Need? (2011)

'This article is about the 2011 short film. For the 2014 feature length film, see Love Is All You Need? (2014). '

''"Teen Bullying and teen suicide based on someone's sexual preference is ridiculous - and this film turns the table on modern society. What IF the shoe was on the other foot?" ''―Kim Rocco Shields (Creator/Director)

Love Is All You Need? is a 2011  film created by WingSpan Pictures. The film was created and directed by Kim Rocco Shields and was completed on March 24, 2011. Shortly after its completion, the film was shown at numerous throughout the year.

Synopsis
''Just imagine... Imagine a world where "Straight" was considered "gay" - and "gay" was "straight". A world where it was for a woman and a man to fall in love... A world where "same sex marriage" was the only way in which society would permit you to love... A world where who you love defines who you are.'' ―www.loveisallyouneedthemovie.com

"Love Is All You Need?" shows an imaginary world where being "" is normal and being "" is taboo. A world where "" is the only way in which you are allowed to love. A world where children are raised to believe being straight is ‘revolting’ and ‘a sin’, while being gay is normal and the expectation.

This film tells the story of Ashley Curtis, a young teenager born into this imaginary world. Ashley is raised in the suburbs of California by, for one living in this world, a "picture perfect all-American family" - with two moms (Karen and Vicki), two grandpas, two uncles, and a little brother (Cooper).

However, a problem arises when Ashley has a crush on a boy at school named Ian. This is against everything this world has ever taught her. As a result of this undeniable attraction to the opposite sex, Ashley becomes a constant target of verbal and physical abuse until she is driven to a tragic end.

Plot
The film beings with Ashley being born into her world as a normal, healthy baby girl, with the "best, most normal parents anyone could have ever asked for;" Karen and Vicki at the scene. Growing up, Ashley was a happy kid, and they were really the "picture perfect all-American family." Ashley soon celebrates her 5th birthday with her two moms, two grandpas, and her friends.

However, Ashley finds out that she really is different at her uncle's wedding. When holding a pillow containing her uncle's wedding ring for him to use, Ashley develops a sexual attraction toward the wedding flower boy; a sign that she is in truth a heterosexual. Ashley thinks that if she would have just ignored how the flower boy made her feel, she would have turned out to be just like everyone else; normal. The same sex marriage wedding ends with Ashley staying behind concerned about herself as her two now married uncles and the flower boy walk away.

Ashley is next seen 9 years later, now as a 14 year old, having lived most of her life as an in-the-closet heterosexual. She had just returned to her house with her friend, her friend's little brother David, and Ashley's little brother Cooper after the four went bike riding. When Ashley asks her friend what she wants to play now, her friend suggests that they play house. After an argument over who should be the mommies and who should be the daddies, Ashley suggests that she and David should play as mommy and daddy. As this is being like a heterosexual, the others look at Ashley weirdly. Ashley's friend claims that that is "really weird". Ashley says disagrees and says that it would be fun. Ashley's friend is grossed out by this, thinking it is very disgusting, and think that Ashley is some sort of (A common anti-straight slur). A fight ensues between the two, in which Ashley's friend wins out. As she does not want to play with breeders, Ashley's friend leaves with David, leaving her and Cooper behind. She says that she is going to tell everyone that Ashley is a "disgusting breeder".

Ashley tries her best to be normal after that incident, but instead, at school, she develops a crush on a boy at school named Ian who is seen walking out of school with his friend, Tommy. Ashley catches up with them and compliments them for the job they did in the school play "Romeo And Julio". Ian responds kindly, and Ashley claims that she wished Julio's part was for a girl. Before Ian has a chance to respond but two other nearby boys make fun of Ashley for walking and talking with two boys, yelling "ASHLEY LIKES BOYS!". Ashley and Ian just glare at each other before a group of 3 girls come towards Ashley, and perhaps as a way of teasing her, the youngest one says "Oh Ashley you're so beautiful, kiss me" as they walk away giggling. Tommy suggests to Ian that they leave the scene. Ashley and Ian glare at each other one last time before they leave the area.

Back at home during dinner, Ashley and her moms have a discussion over Ashley's role in the school play Romeo And Julio. She is really supposed to be playing for the school's american football team, but Ashley says that she "didn't make the team"(In reality, however, she was kicked for being a breeder). Ashley soon changes the subject of the conservation toward heterosexuality. She says that her drama teacher, Mr. Thompson, told her that wrote the play for his true love Duchess. This means that Shakespeare was really a heterosexual, but he couldn't divorce his husband, so he wrote Romeo and Julio to express his love. Karen and Vicki are not pleased that the teachers are telling the kids about heterosexual, and decide to make a call to that school later. Ashley's moms then talk about the straight couple that just moved down street, mentioning the pink and blue flag on their bumper and how he put his arm around her. They agree on how blatant it is, and to avoid being exposed to that perverted lifestyle of men and women living together, Vicki tells Ashley that she and Cooper should go the other way to school despite it being twice as long. Throughout this time, despite being largely unsupportive of heterosexuality, Ashley's parents have not yet known that their daughter is. Sometime after, Ashley's family goes to church. The priestess talks about how wrong heterosexuality is, saying how it is a complete "abomination" for a man and woman to be lying together outside of breeding (reproducing) season. Throughout her speech, Ashley has flashbacks of seeing the straight couple's house getting vandalized by others (Writing "God Hates Heteros" in graffiti paint on their garage) and she doing what the Priestess said not to do; hanging out with Ian at the playground and even lying together.

The flashbacks eventually cut to Ashley is seen getting teased by Paula and two other girls in the boy's bathroom, with the three of them calling her names such as "rogue" as Paula pushes Ashley's head into the toilet. However, they are stopped by Mr. Thompson, who kicks the three girls out of the bathroom. Mr. Thompson then talks with Ashley, telling her about the school's zero-tolerance policy for heterosexual behavior. He warns her about telling her parents about this, but decides that the teasing was punishment enough. He tells her that this is just a phase that she is going through in which she will grow out of soon. Mr. Thompson leaves the room by saying that if she got herself a girlfriend, all this teasing would stop. Ashley, remembering how strong Ian's hand felt and what the thought of kissing him did to her, knows that this isn't just a phase, which she hated herself for thinking like this. That night, Ashley practices her lines for the school play. However, she receives hateful text messages on her phone from Paula and Suzzy.

Ashley and Ian then meet at the school theater the next day. Ian says that he "can't do this anymore", saying that his big brother found out, and that he threatened to tell his dads who would kill him if they found out. Ashley tries to cheer him up, saying that they would never do that as they love him. Ian however mentions a similar story that happens to her Aunt, Aunt Sara. Sara was exposed as being a heterosexual, and the entire family cut her off, not even allowing anyway to say her name anymore. Ashley, agreeing that it would be better if their relationship came to an end, asks Ian if they can just kiss one last time, not knowing if she will ever kiss a boy again. Ian doesn't really agree, but decides to do so anyway. As they attempt to kiss one last time, they are caught by Paula, Suzzy, and two other girls who had sneaked into the theater when they weren't looking. They whisper to each other, and Ashley and Ian know they are busted. Ian, desperately wanting to avoid trouble, directs the blame to Ashley. He says that he was just trying to be nice to Ashley, but she keeps touching him like that, and that in reality he hates her. Paula and the others believe in this, and wanting to teach Ashley a lesson, run after her. Ashley runs around the school getting chased by the girls, who themselves manage to get three other boys to join their side. Ian is relived to see this happening, but still looks guilty.

This chase continues until Ashley enters the school gym. She unluckily runs right into Ian's older brother, Drew, along with two of his friends. He recognizes Ashley as the "little queer bait that tried to hold his brother's hand". Ashley says that he wanted her to, but he doesn't believe her and he orders Ashley to divorce Ian and end their relationship. However, Paula tells Drew that they all saw her kiss Ian, in which all the other students agree to have seen occur. This angers Drew (Even calling Ashley a "Fricking Breeder") and he tells his friends to grab her. They do so easily and Drew punches her to the ground, leaving a mark on her lip. As Ashley lies on the ground, Paula calls Ashley a queer once and she kicks her more before everyone constantly chants "SMEAR THE QUEER!" as they all kick and try to kick her. Paula finishes this punishment by telling Ashley to "Do us all a favor, ro, and kill yourself" before she writes the word "hetero" on Ashley's forehead with a sharpie.

Ashley does not return home until the evening. She attempts to go unnoticed by her moms as she does not want them to see her face. However, she is quickly noticed by her parents. They had just received a phone call about their daughter's. Now noticing what had just happened to Ashley, they now believe that their daughter is in fact a breeder. They ask her who did this to her, and Ashley replies by mentioning Paula and Drew.

Ashley is then told to go upstairs and to get herself cleaned up. Karen and Vicki argue over what they should do to prevent the bullying and prevent Cooper from enduring a similar fate. While this happens, Ashley checks her account to see her page filled with negative comments (One example showing someone editing Ashley's face onto a cow). What really gets her upset, though, is a message from Ian that says "I'm De-Friending you...", proving that their relationship cannot continue. Ashley continues to get hateful text messages, now even more constant and from more students than before. Drew even drives by the house, telling Ashley that he is watching her.

Ashley's parents eventually come up with a solution that they should move. Before they can tell Ashley their plan, she goes into the bathroom and locks the door. Too stressed from all the bullying and teasing she has gone through lately and thinking that maybe there is a hetero heaven for her, Ashley decides to by first washing her face off. Then, she hops into the bathtub with the water running, and slashes her arm with a needle. This causes her to bleed to death. By the time Ashley's parents are able to open the locked bathroom door, it is too late, for Ashley is no longer alive.

The screen fades to white, and the film title is shown once more, along with a message saying "All the events that took place in this film are true stories from victims of bullying".

The film concludes with the following final message.

"This film is dedicated to any child who has ever felt such darkness due to others' hatred and misunderstanding. Always know that love is meant to be within and you should never feel wrong or alone by being who you are... Unique.

Development
On a rainy morning in November 2010, WingSpan Pictures creator Kim Rocco Shields, aware of all the bullying on gay teens that has led to their suicides making the headlines, woke up with an idea she couldn't stop thinking about... what if the they (the heteros) were the ones getting bullied instead? Although Shields knows that being gay is becoming more socially acceptable on a global scale, she still felt like more had to be done. Thus, she created and directed "Love Is All You Need?" in attempt to show the world what it would be like to walk a mile in someone else's shoes.

Since development started in early November 2010, a was released on November 24, 2010, a "Behind The Scenes" video was released on January 21, 2011, a full trailer was released on January 23, 2011, and the full short film was first shown at film festivals on March 24, 2011. The full short film was then released to be watched online for free on August 16, 2012.

Main Characters

 * Lexi DiBenedetto as Ashley, the main of the film
 * Sheri Levy as Karen, one of Ashley's two moms
 * Carrie Lazar as Vicki, Ashley's other mom
 * Dante Thorn as Ian, Ashley's crush at school
 * Valerie Baca as Paula, the main of the film and leader of the bullies
 * Luke Thorn as Cooper, Ashley's little brother
 * David Tillman as Mr. Thompson, Ashley's drama teacher
 * Michael Soulema as Drew, the secondary antagonist and Ian's older brother

Other Confirmed Characters

 * Sophia Pearl Stone as 5 Year Old Ashley, Ashley when she was a toddler
 * Brian Deming as the delivery doctor
 * Rachael Sousa as the nurse
 * Antoine Williams as Uncle Bill
 * Jason Ryan Lovett as Uncle Andy
 * David Manning as Grandpa Jay
 * John Reiner as Grandpa Jim
 * Josh Feldman as the Flower Boy
 * Jax Malcolm as David, little brother of Ashley's friend
 * Fiona Perry as Suzi, one of Paula's friends and students who bully Ashley
 * Noah Rotroff as Tommy, Ashley and Ian's friend
 * Faryl Saliman Reingold as the Priest

As of now, all other cast & character names are either unknown or unconfirmed (For example, the name of Ashley's friend at the bicycle scene is never mentioned). The full list of the cast and characters can be found here.

Trivia

 * Probably as an, on Ashley's Facebook page, a message from Kim Rocco Shields, the film director,Love_Is_All_You_Need_Ashley_Facebook.jpg that says "Poke Back" can be seen.
 * On Ashley's Facebook page, for some reason, one of her bullies, Chris Stanton, is listed as one of Ashley's friends. No one named Chris is actually shown on the film's character list, but he does look like one of the boys who bullied Ashley.
 * On the WingSpan Pictures YouTube channel, when using "closed captions" to view the short film (only the version uploaded by WingSpan Pictures), Paula's name is incorrectly named as "Holly".
 * The portrayer of Ashley when shown as a baby has been never mentioned. Also, Karen and Vicki's appearances remain the same throughout the entire film, even though the first and last scene of the film are spread apart by a 14 year difference.
 * Even though the film was finished in March 2011, and Ashley's Facebook page has her birth date as July 7, 1999, her age is actually a confirmed 14 even though at the time she would really be 11. The film must have therefore taken place a few years after the film was made in the later scenes. December 2013 is assumed to be the month and year of when the later scenes occur, as she would be 14 at the time and her most recent Facebook comments were posted in December.

Print Teaser
The first video relating to "Love Is All You Need" was a Print Teaser released on on November 24, 2010; about two weeks before filming of the real film even started. This teaser shows scenes never seen in the actual finished film. It starts by showing signs telling how wrong heterosexuality is (This time covering the entire screen, not shown in a book like the actual film). Then Ashley is shown in a dark room facing a mirror with a brush in her hand. Then the teaser shows Ashley in a grey room drawing on a schoolboard with chalk (Seemingly writing "It is not right to like boys). Then it cuts to the mirror scene again. This time, however, Ashley has the word "Hetero" written on her forehead. Ashley looks at herself in the mirror, occasionally brushing her hair, throughout the rest of the teaser. Throughout these scenes, every couple seconds a subtitle appears on the screen, each one showing a few words that gradually summarize the idea of the film. The teaser ends by showing Ashley's forehead up close with the word "Hetero" written on it.

Full Trailer
The trailer of the film "Love Is All You Need?" was released on YouTube on January 23, 2011. This trailer shows clips of various scenes from the finished full film. After starting the trailer by showing the "WingSpan Pictures" logo, it shows short clips from various scenes in the full film such as the Wedding Scene and Playground Scene. Throughout the scenes, Ashley's voice can be heard narrating a few lines that she says in the finished film. In addition, subtitles appear on the screen in between the scenes every few seconds, each one showing a few words that gradually summarize the idea of the film (Similar to how it was done in the Print Teaser). The trailer ends by showing the "Love Is All You Need?" title just like how it is shown at the beginning of the full film (Inside a book).

"Behind The Scenes" Video
On January 21, 2011, a "Behind The Scenes" video of the film "Love Is All You Need?" was released on YouTube. This video was actually created two days before the trailer, so this was the first video to contain scenes that were seen in the finished film. This video features interviews with the main creators and actors of "Love Is All You Need?" such as Kim Rocco Shields and Lexi DiBenedetto. Also throughout the video, the video shows clips from scenes in the full film, hidden footage showing the cameramen film the scenes, and clips of Shields directing some of the film's scenes. The interviewers in the video mainly talk about the creation of the film, including why it was made and what it is about.

The Short Film
The entire short film of "Love Is All You Need?" was finished on March 24, 2011. Throughout its first year of existence, the film was shown at many different film festivals throughout the world, but mainly in the. After being offered to be bought on DVD for a while, the entire short film was finally posted online to be watched for free on August 16, 2012. For information about this film, see the information at the top of this article.

You can see the entire short film below.



Setting Differences From Real World
The world showed in the Love Is All You Need? series is similar to the way the real world works. However, other than having the terms "gay" and "straight" switched, there are also some other noticeable differences from the imaginary world when compared to the real world.

Reception
Love Is All You Need? received generally positive reviews. On imdb.com, the film has a 7.8/10 rating based on over 400 votes. Positive reviewers, such as Jodie Beth Mullen of Movie Quotes and More praised the film for being inspirational and emotional. Mullen says "Its one of those films where you can predict what is going to happen yet you still continue to watch". Georgi Krastev of The Sky Kid praised the film's acting, saying that "the cast manages to bring the story to life by acting with real conviction". Larry McGillicuddy of Tracking Shots, who saw the film at its film festival premiere, also gave the film a positive review, mentioning its "incredibly powerful statement against bigotry, bullying, and oppression".

Not all reception was positive, however. Some viewers have complained about the film's "graphical content", criticizing its inappropriate content toward younger audiences. Alan De Baets, the father of a student who fainted after seeing the film in even came as far to call the video "inappropriate, gratuitously violent and horrific". De Baets also says that there "are a lot of better ways to communicate that message than through a video such as this". Other film critics complain that the film had more to do with promoting homosexuality than preventing bullying and is anti-Christian. John Iskat, pastor of even said "That video had nothing to do with bullying. ... It had to do with a militant sodomite agenda".

Controversy
Despite overall positive reception from viewers, some have criticized the film for the reasons above. As a result, when accidentally shown to students in school, the film often sparks controversy.

Winnipeg
An uproar about the film's content occurred on June 5, 2013, when a health teacher in a Winnipeg school called showed the video to her grade seven students. In fact, the film's content was so graphic, that one of the students fainted.

It has been reported that the teacher did not view the video prior to showing it to students. The teacher has since apologized, and was put on temporary leave. The school's superintendent, Duane Brothers, commented by emphasizing “We know we have issues with bullying, we know we have issues with racism and homophobia, and this is huge stuff. We want our teachers to wade into this and help our young people, in age-appropriate ways, to become better citizens."

Kim Rocco Shields responded to the controversy by saying that the video is aimed at adults and maybe older teenagers, not at a young audience. Shields also said that she is working with educators on an alternative ending that can be shown in classrooms, in which the main character lives.

Florida
On March 4, 2014, it has been reported that the film has retrieved a lot of controversy for a school screening by a teacher in. The video was showed to a group of High School students sometime around February 20, 2014. The film was said to have disturbed the students and angered the students' parents and the church pastors from around the area. They complained that the video was falsely presented as an anti-bullying message, and had more to do with promoting homosexuality. A pastor from a nearby church, John Iskat, said “That video had nothing to do with bullying, It had to do with a militant sodomite agenda."

The school's superintendent, Physllis Criswell, says he could not disclose the teacher’s name or whether any disciplinary action had been taken. Shields and Jeremy Rhoden, the teacher who showed the film at the school, defended the film at a question-and-answer session at the Putnam bowling alley in front of an audience shortly after screening the film for 35 people. The audience supported the two, especially Rhoden as he told them about his coming out last year, the bullying that he previously experienced and why he showed the film to the students. Although some still thought the film should have never been shown to students, this event successfully did cancel a school board meeting that was scheduled to occur that same night.

Although still not officially over, the controversy has calmed since the question-and-answer session.

Alternate Ending
After the Winnipeg school screening controversy in June 2013 (Although this idea and the video were made shortly prior to the incident), "Love Is All You Need?" director Kim Rocco Shields claimed that she and her production company, WingSpan Pictures, were working on an alternate ending with a more positive ending in which the main character Ashley, instead of committing suicide, sticks up for herself against the bullies. However, no word of the progress of the alternate ending has been made since. A fundraising project was made to help film the alternate ending from May 30-June 29, 2013, but the funds finished well short of its goal by the ending date. Due to the confirmed release of the 2014 feature film, with still no alternate ending plans announced, it is likely that this project has been cancelled.



2014 Film
A second part of the original 2011 Love Is All You Need? film was announced not long after completion of the first part of the film. This video will be a feature length film. The film's true release date isn't confirmed, but a release date of July 17, 2014 is showed on imdb, although this release date has recently been changed to TBA 2014. The film is currently in production.

The film will return to the imaginary world showed in Ashley's story where being "gay" is normal and being "straight" is weird. This film accounts several stories from multiple points of view. It will show stories including victims of different age groups and demographics. The most popular of these storylines is one that features the life of Jude Klien, the star quarterback of the Sparta University american football team. After celebrating a recent win, Jude meets sports journalist Ryan Morris, and the two quickly form a romantic bond. They try to hide their relationship from the rest of the world, but the cold and cruel local priest Rachel Duncan discovers this secret affair, inspiring her to fervently organize a hateful campaign against the local "hetero”.

Ashley's story will be mentioned in the film as proven by the confirmed cast member Sheri Levy, who portrayed Karen Curtis, one of Ashley's moms in the short. It is unsure whether or not Lexi DiBenedetto will return to the cast. If she does, she will be representing a different character.

On May 11, 2014, the feature film was confirmed and will start accepting donations on May 13 until July 2, with a goal of 250,000 dollars to be raised. A promotional video relating to the announcement was also created on May 12.