In 2005, Hunter's autobiography, Tab Hunter Confidential: The Making of a Movie Star, co-written with Eddie Muller, became a New York Times best-seller, and again topped the charts when it was released in paperback in 2007, as well as in 2015, following the release of the documentary. The book served as Hunter's first person account of his rise to Hollywood heartthrob status in the 1950s, as well as his personal struggle with revealing his sexuality over the course of his career. Acknowledging he was gay in the book, the tone set a new precedent for discussion of Hollywood's golden era. Following Hunter's participation in Jeffrey Schwarz's documentary I Am Divine, producer Allan Glaser approached Schwarz about the potential of adapting the Confidential book into a feature-length documentary. Filming began in 2011 conducting a series of new interviews with Hunter and associates in Los Angeles, New York, Paris and Santa Barbara., as well as culling archival footage of figures from Hollywood's past discussing the star. Filming was completed in 2015.
Release
Tab Hunter Confidential premiered at South by Southwest in 2015, and played over 100 film festivals and independent screenings. The film was also given a theatrical release in October 2015, premiering in New York at The Village East and in Los Angeles at the Nuart Theater, playing theatrically in over 50 cities.
Participants
Archive footage
Reception and awards
Receiving favorable reviews from critics, Tab Hunter Confidential has been praised for its portrait not only of Hunter, but of Hollywood during the actor's heyday. Vanity Fair called it “A savvy, rollicking, eye-popping film. Brave for its candor and enlightening for the social context it provides,” while IndieWire posited that the film was “fun and gossipy in the way that great documentaries about Hollywood often are, but it also speaks to a deeper truth about identity and perseverance and the large divide between one's personal and professional life.” The film has been nominated and won a multitude of awards, including the Best Documentary at the California Independent Film Festival, the Audience and Festival Awards for Best Documentary at the FilmOut San Diego Film Festival, Best Feature at the Louisville LGBT Film Festival, and the Audience Award for Best Documentary at the Miami Gay and Lesbian Film Festival. Tab Hunter Confidential was also long listed for consideration for Best Documentary for the 2015 Academy Awards. In January 2016, Tab Hunter Confidential was nominated for "Outstanding Documentary" by the GLAAD Media Awards.
