TheGrill 2015: Tyler Oakley Doc Exclusive First Look Reveals Coming Out Story, Digital Rise

Awesomeness CEO Brian Robbins unveils footage during first panel at TheWrap’s sixth annual Media Leadership Conference

BEVERLY HILLS, CA – OCTOBER 05: Brian Robbins, Founder & CEO of AwesomenessTV speaks onstage duruing TheWrap's 6th Annual TheGrill at Montage Beverly Hills on October 5, 2015 in Beverly Hills, California. (Photo by Alison Buck/Getty Images for TheWrap)

An exclusive first look at Tyler Oakley’s documentary “Snervous” was unveiled by Awesomeness CEO and founder Brian Robbins at TheWrap’s sixth annual leadership conference TheGrill on Monday.

The film promises a look “beyond the webcam,” and Grill participants were treated to first glimpses of the film — which features a narrative of Oakley’s rise in the digital space and tells an emotional coming out story.

“When Ty came out of the closet, I was scared of how people were going to treat him,” his mother Jackie said in the screened footage.

Oakley expressed anxiety that family members might suggest counseling over his sexuality identity, to which his mother firmly responded, “There’s nothing to fix, ‘Love me the way I am, or there’s nothing to do.’”

“He’s got a really unique story” Robbins told TheWrap’s CEO and Editor-in-Chief, Sharon Waxman, of the YouTube star during the panel. “He connects to his audience in a really unique way.”

Awesomeness Films will release the documentary in December in select theaters and on all major digital platforms worldwide, the studio announced on Wednesday.

Directed by Amy Rice (“By the People: The Election of Barack Obama”), the film follows the life and career of the 26-year-old digital icon through his sold-out Slumber Party tour across the U.S., U.K. and Ireland. After eight years of watching snippets of his life online, viewers will see the intimate truth of Oakley’s relationship with fame, family and followers on his international tour.

Oakley produced the documentary with Robbins and Matt Kaplan, also from Awesomeness, as well as Korey Kuhl, Lisa Filipelli and Laura Flanagan.

See complete coverage of TheGrill here.


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