Milk - The Movie

[michaelflanagansf]

James Franco says gay-rights film 'Milk' is much more
 Thursday, November 20, 2008
Tom Long
Detroit News

James Franco was born the same year that Harvey Milk was killed: 1978.

But Franco, who grew up in Palo Alto, Calif., less than 40 miles from the spot where Milk was gunned down, knew little about the gay activist before he signed on to the film "Milk," which opens here Nov. 26.

"When I first started researching this, there was something about Harvey that seemed familiar, but I didn't know much about him," Franco says on the phone from Los Angeles. "I found it kind of sad that growing up in the Bay area, I wasn't taught anything about Harvey Milk, let alone people in the rest of the country."

Milk was the first openly gay man elected to office in America, winning a race for the San Francisco board of supervisors. After defeating an anti-gay state proposition in the '70s, he was shot to death by fellow supervisor Dan White. White was subsequently found not guilty of Milk's murder and the murder of Mayor George Moscone, due to insanity. It was a case that outraged and inspired gay activists across the country.

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Sean Penn plays Milk in the film; Franco, who is perhaps best known as Harry Osborn from the three "Spider-Man" films, plays Milk's lover, Scott Smith.

Franco is well aware of the odd coincidence that finds "Milk" arriving in theaters just after California voters approved a state proposition banning gay marriage.

"Things have certainly changed, but the fight for equal rights is not over," he says. "In my mind, a group of people are being isolated and told they can't have the same rights as everybody else, and that sounds like discrimination to me, and it should be fought."

Indeed, Franco says "Milk" shouldn't only be seen as a story about a gay hero.

"I hope it just gets the message across of here's somebody fighting for freedom," he says. "And that is not a gay issue, it's a civil rights issue across the board. Everybody should be able to relate to that."

continues:

http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20081120/OPINION03/811200313

[BayCityJohn]

CRAP!!   

i checked the focus website and locally, and i can find no booking dates for MILK.  not only here, but ANYWHERE in florida.  isn't that keeping it a LEETLE close to the chest?

Limited release: November 26
Expanded: December 5

[michaelflanagansf]

CRAP!!   

i checked the focus website and locally, and i can find no booking dates for MILK.  not only here, but ANYWHERE in florida.  isn't that keeping it a LEETLE close to the chest?

Limited release: November 26
Expanded: December 5

So you'll unfortunately you'll have to wait for the full release, Jack.

[michaelflanagansf]

Here is Uncle Donald's Castro Street portal to Harvey Milk:

http://www.thecastro.net/milkpage.html

[CellarDweller115]

Sean Penn: The 48-year-old award-winning actor and sometime Chronicle contributor who lives in Marin County has not shied away from politics in his personal life, making his role as Milk a natural fit. He is rumored to have text-messaged his former wife, Madonna, after kissing actor James Franco, who told Out magazine that Penn wrote, "I just popped my cherry kissing a guy. I thought of you. I don't know why."

[KittyHawk]

How Van Sant finally got Milk
It took director 15 years to get slain gay politician's story into theatres
Nov 22, 2008 04:30 AM
John Hiscock
Special to the Star

SAN FRANCISCO–As the party's celebrity guests swirled around him and 1970s-era disco music blared, the normally shy and reserved Gus Van Sant allowed himself an expansive smile of satisfaction.

"I've been working towards this for more than 15 years and now it's finally happened," he said, while greeting the seemingly endless procession of people waiting to shake his hand and congratulate him.

It has taken the 56-year-old director that long to bring the story of slain San Francisco gay rights activist Harvey Milk to the screen. Beset by legal hurdles, setbacks and a frequently changing cast, he twice abandoned the project to direct other movies, but always returned to Milk (which opens Wednesday).
...

Funny thing. Yesterday, Van Sant's My Own Private Idaho came up on my Netflix list and then I unintentionally ran across an episode of Entourage which included him as an actor. I like to keep an eye out for him since he's from Kentucky. I have a feeling that I will have to drive at least 35 miles to see Milk when it finally reaches the rest of us.

- Lydia

[michaelflanagansf]

Funny thing. Yesterday, Van Sant's My Own Private Idaho came up on my Netflix list and then I unintentionally ran across an episode of Entourage which included him as an actor. I like to keep an eye out for him since he's from Kentucky. I have a feeling that I will have to drive at least 35 miles to see Milk when it finally reaches the rest of us.

- Lydia

Aside from 'Milk' he has another film 'Crossing Over' (on immigration) waiting for release:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crossing_Over_(film)

And a documentary 'Witch Hunt', about false accusations related to child molestation charges in Kern County, out now as well:

http://www.bakersfield.com/142/story/593106.html

http://ktffilms.com/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b0C2aQprdIM

'Witch Hunt' is a particularly interesting film given the role that fear of sexuality being presented to children played in the recent Proposition 8 battle in California.

[michaelflanagansf]

For those who are unaware of this, there is a documentary which covers the events in 'Milk' which won an Oscar for best documentary in 1985, 'The Times of Harvey Milk':

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Times_of_Harvey_Milk

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5G4G1vTnb8o

[brokebacktom]

CRAP!!   

i checked the focus website and locally, and i can find no booking dates for MILK.  not only here, but ANYWHERE in florida.  isn't that keeping it a LEETLE close to the chest?

Limited release: November 26
Expanded: December 5

I might be one of the lucky ones. I think it opens in Minneapolis on the 26th date. I can't wait.

[pattieono]

CRAP!!   

i checked the focus website and locally, and i can find no booking dates for MILK.  not only here, but ANYWHERE in florida.  isn't that keeping it a LEETLE close to the chest?

  huh?  Starts this week on AMC (Aventura Mall), and Gateway Cinemas on Sunrise Blvd (Ft. Lauderdale)

[michaelflanagansf]

CRAP!!   

i checked the focus website and locally, and i can find no booking dates for MILK.  not only here, but ANYWHERE in florida.  isn't that keeping it a LEETLE close to the chest?

  huh?  Starts this week on AMC (Aventura Mall), and Gateway Cinemas on Sunrise Blvd (Ft. Lauderdale)

Time to get on that scooter and 'ride like the wind' Jack!

[CellarDweller115]

For those who are unaware of this, there is a documentary which covers the events in 'Milk' which won an Oscar for best documentary in 1985, 'The Times of Harvey Milk':

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Times_of_Harvey_Milk

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5G4G1vTnb8o

I saw this documentary this past September on DVD.  I would definitely recommend it to anyone.

[Lyle (Mooska)]

As reported in TDS, it was also shown at the academy this
year as part of their documentary screening series.  There's
something different about a group viewing of it on a movie screen.

By the way, is this thread to talk about the film if one has
seen it, or is there a dfferent thread for that?  Or just in the
"What Movie Did You Watch This Weekend" thread?

[michaelflanagansf]

As reported in TDS, it was also shown at the academy this
year as part of their documentary screening series.  There's
something different about a group viewing of it on a movie screen.

By the way, is this thread to talk about the film if one has
seen it, or is there a dfferent thread for that?  Or just in the
"What Movie Did You Watch This Weekend" thread?

I would imagine you can talk about either 'The Times' or 'Milk' here Lyle as they are linked.  There hasn't been a 'spoilers' thread set up for 'Milk', but I'm not sure we need one as we all pretty much know how the story ends....

[michaelflanagansf]

For those who are unaware of this, there is a documentary which covers the events in 'Milk' which won an Oscar for best documentary in 1985, 'The Times of Harvey Milk':

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Times_of_Harvey_Milk

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5G4G1vTnb8o

I saw this documentary this past September on DVD.  I would definitely recommend it to anyone.

I think it may be in a limited re-release in theaters now Chuck - here in S.F. it's being shown at one of the repertoire theaters, the Roxy Cinema:

http://www.roxie.com/events/details.cfm?eventID=88B52547-F1F6-5CD4-1F1FBE2E56788137