Something to Live for: The Alison Gertz Story

Something to Live for The Alison Gertz Story also known in UK as Fatal Love is a 1992 American television movie based on the life of a prominent AIDS activist Alison Gertz. The movie originally aired on ABC on March 29, 1992, approximately four months before Gertzs death.

A Federal AIDS information number that ran after the film generated a record 189,251 calls within 24hours of the films showing, mostly from women.In the Boca Raton News The News of March 19, 1992, an article based on the film was published under the title Molly Ringwald learns real world in TV movie, written by Stacy Jenel Smith. In the article, Ringwald spoke about meeting the real Alison Gertz. The article noted that Ringwald had little idea of just how intense the emotional experience would become when she agreed to play Gertz. From her first phone conversation with her reallife counterpart to her final scene in the telefilm, the then 24yearold actress found herself facing stresses shed never faced before. She stated in an afternoon interview I spent a weekend with Ali two weeks before we started the movie. Did I feel nervous? Yes. Guilty? Oh, sure. I remember having dinner with Carol and Jerry Alis mother and father. They sat there looking at her and looking at me and were close to the same age and Im healthy... I guess it was hard for everyone. Meeting her sort of made me panic like How am I going to get that voice right? Then I realized Im not an impersonator. I didnt want to try to imitate Ali. And I think its stronger because I didnt. This person I play, she could be any girl. She is a very, very strong personality. Maybe when you start facing your own mortality, you just dont have the time to B.S. people, or to be diplomatic even. Ali says whatever is on her mind. Shell just tell you what she thinks. Im not used to that in people. During filming of the movie particularly after days of hospital sequences, it was revealed that Ringwald was very fragile emotionally. She stated You could look at me the wrong way and Id burst into tears. Finally, the article noted that Ringwald found that the experience of making the film led her to a new understanding of how people react and deal with you when you have AIDS. ........

Source: Wikipedia