Cultural depictions of Matthew Shepard lists notable plays, films, novels, songs and other works created from the 1998 Matthew Shepard murder, investigation and resulting interest the case brought to hate crime issues. The best known is the stage play The Laramie Project, which was adapted into an HBO movie of the same name. Matthew Wayne Shepard was an openly gay university student who was brutally attacked near Laramie, Wyoming in October 1998 and left for dead by his attackers. Shepard later died from intracerebral hemorrhage and hypothermia. The incident was a major news story and this case brought national attention to hate crime legislation at the state and federal levels. His two assailants, Russell Arthur Henderson and Aaron James McKinney, were convicted of the crime and imprisoned. Henderson is serving two consecutive life sentences and McKinney is serving the same but without the possibility of parole.
People in the entertainment industry expressed outrage and responded in various ways to the attack. Ellen DeGeneres hosted Shepard's memorial services in Washington, D.C. Three narrative films were made about the Shepard story: The Laramie Project (based on the play of the same name), The Matthew Shepard Story and Anatomy of a Hate Crime. The Laramie Project and The Matthew Shepard Story both won numerous awards. The documentary film Laramie Inside Out focuses on the murder's effect on the Laramie community in the aftermath of the murder.
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