8legs: South by southwest film and tv festival

#1 out of 161.8K est. views

Filmmaker who helped crack gay porn actor's gruesome Hollywood killing wins SXSW premiere

Mason’s documentary 'My Brother’s Killer' will world premiere at SXSW, spotlighting a decades-old Hollywood murder case.
The film follows amateur sleuths who helped investigators crack the case tied to Bill Newton, a gay porn actor killed in 1990.
Madden, a former gay porn actor, describes the night of the killing and a subsequent confession that shaped the investigation.
Prosecutors declined to bring charges against Madden, citing lack of evidence beyond the confession.
Newton’s murder, once an urban legend, is now explored through interviews with family, sleuths and detectives in the film.
The documentary uses a rare trove of VHS and personal footage to reveal overlaps between Newton’s life and the suspects.
Clark Williams is highlighted as a key sleuth whose work helped bring new attention to the case.
The film positions LGBTQ+ rights discussions against a backdrop of the AIDS era and West Hollywood culture.
The film features on-camera interviews with the confessed killer, DarraLynn Madden.
Mason’s prior work, including 'Circus of Books,' anchors the film in West Hollywood’s history and community memory.

Vote 4