Delivering Milk

Out screenwriter Dustin Lance Black on making Milk.

BY LAWRENCE FERBER

Dustin Lance Black is enjoying a prolific peak in his career right now. The Mormon-raised, Texas-born, Los Angeles-based filmmaker is executive producer and screenwriter of potential Oscar contender Milk; screenwriter for the upcoming Pedro Zamora biopic, Pedro (which premiered at September's Toronto International Film Festival); a producer and writer on HBO's Big Love, the third season of which begins in January; he's prepping to shoot his feature directorial debut, What's Wrong With Virginia, starring Jennifer Connolly; and is currently scripting Tom Wolfe's The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test for Milk director Gus Van Sant.

The openly gay Black spent four years on his own dime—well, credit card—researching the Harvey Milk biopic with real-life Milk acquaintances like Cleve Jones. Speaking by phone the night after the film's premiere at San Francisco's Castro Theatre, Black discussed making the film and how queer kids can change the world.

FRONTIERS: You're a friend of Bryan Singer, who had also been working on a Milk biopic, The Mayor of Castro Street. Any animosity there since you beat him to the punch?

DUSTIN LANCE BLACK: He's been super sweet about it, very congratulatory and supportive. Any of that talk about animosity is more a press construction. [I'd love to see a second film about Harvey Milk]. Unlike the Capote films, where it was more of a similar take, there's so much more to his story than what's in Milk. I hope people go out and read the books, see the documentary and the stories that aren't in this film.

Speaking of, I understand that Harvey spent his share of time in bathhouses. Did you consider including any of that in the script?

No. Because a lot of that was pre-San Francisco. By the time he was in S.F. he was with [his lover] Scott Smith and for the most part Harvey was super romantic. If you read some of his love letters, they drip with romance for Scott. He was pretty monogamous for that time. You'll see there are periods where he's single, but there was no time to go into it.

What major changes occurred between the first draft and the shooting script?

It didn't change a lot. That's partly why [getting it made] went so fast. The first time Gus and I sat down he hadn't read it yet, but he started firing questions like, “is this in, is this out?” I just said, this is in, this is out. I decided to only do San Francisco. To not do the Dan White trial or “White Night” riots. And limited the main relationships between Scott and Harvey and Cleve and Harvey. We just really saw eye to eye.

Who is today's Harvey Milk? Gavin Newsom?

No, because he's straight. Harvey's message was so much about self-representation and that's something we need more of. I love Gavin and think he's fantastic and really appreciate what he's done, but at the same time I think it would be really beneficial to have high-profile, out gay politicians doing an education campaign saying, listen, this is who we really are. We're not these things you're scared of, we're not going to hurt your children, and a lot of us have a lot of interest in the family, we want families, so we're not looking to destroy the family.

Wasn't Emile adorable as Cleve?

He's adorable. We have a pretty adorable cast. You look at the pictures of all these real-life people back in the day and they're all really cute, they were kids. I hope that's really inspirational, and that's one of the things I want the film to accomplish. Kids who are 18-25 talk a lot about things they want different but I don't always see them getting out and physically affecting change. If they see what a small band of intimate friends can do when they really focus their energy, in this case they changed the country. They stopped Proposition 6, they elected the first openly gay man. You can actually do a lot.

LIMITED RUN

Sound of Music

A novice nun finds herself reassigned as nanny to seven motherless children: Song, dance and laughter ensue in this classic Oscar-winner. Aero Theatre. Sun., Nov. 30. 4 p.m. $10. americancinematheque.com

Moulin Rouge and Romeo + Juliet

A visually inventive, wildly kinetic musical of turn-of-the-century Parisian nightlife pairs with an Oscar-nominated, retro-futuristic take on a Shakespearean classic—guns standing in for swords and Veracruz for the mythical Verona Beach. Aero Theatre. Sun., Nov. 23. 7:30 p.m. $10. americancinematheque.com

Singin’ in the Rain

A sublime marriage of song and dance, this ’50s classic of innocence and nostalgia, heart-tugging romance and surreal comedy will surely impress all the more, digitally restored. Aero Theatre. Fri., Nov. 28. 7:30 p.m. $10. americancinematheque.com

Watch Out

A man falls in love with himself, literally. This future cult-classic has it all, from carnivorous priests to Prozac-popping Polish prostitutes to pop-diva assassinations. El Cid. Wed., Nov. 19. 9:30 p.m. $10. 323/668-0318; elcidla.com

Homo Must

I Can’t Think Straight

A spirited Christian bride-to-be meets a shy a young British-Indian woman; the attraction is immediate and the struggle between tradition and love is on. Sunset 5. Fri., Nov. 28. Show times vary. $7-10. 323/848-3500; laemmle.com

ON SCREEN

Lake City

Sissy Spacek, Troy Garity, David Matthews
R, 92 mins, Screen Media Films and Sixty-Six Productions
*1/2

With its crummy dialogue, lack of style and cliches aplenty, the only notable element to this disastrous American indie is its eclectic casting. But trivia buffs can appreciate Spacek co-starring with Rebecca Romijn, as a cop who attends AA, Keith Carradine as a gas station/garage owner with, literally, a garage band, and singer Dave Matthews as a drug thug without seeing Lake City. Billy (Garity) and his kid Clayton (Colin Ford) turn up at his mom Maggie's (Spacek) home. They are on the lam from Red (Matthews) who wants the drugs Clayton's mom stole. While Maggie is still haunted by the death of her other son, she gets a “second chance” to care for Clayton. This may be a from-the-heart, well-intentioned film about redemption, but it is absolutely emotionless. Well, not exactly—but laughing at Spacek being chased through a cornfield by an SUV is probably not the reaction the queer writer/directors Hunter Hill and Perry Moore wanted from viewers. —GARY M. KRAMER

Milk

Sean Penn, Josh Brolin, James Franco
R, 128 mins, Focus Features
****

The final eight years in the life of slain civil rights pioneer Harvey Milk, one of the first openly gay men elected to office in the U.S., are the focus of a stirring return to mainstream filmmaking by out director Gus Van Sant. Dustin Lance Black’s rich, evocative screenplay covers a lot of ground, yet allows for multi-dimensional characterizations, particularly by Sean Penn, who in a charismatic, nuanced performance creates an indelible portrait of the complicated leader who became “the Mayor of Castro Street.” In support, Emile Hirsch as sassy street activist Cleve Jones and James Franco as Milk’s gentle, long-suffering lover Scott Smith make strong impressions and Josh Brolin finds humanity in Dan White, who murdered Milk in 1978. While this is a fine companion piece to the more comprehensive Oscar-winning 1984 documentary, it’s also an inspiring—and very timely—film in its own right. —JEREMY KINSER

ON DVD

Dog Tags

Paul Preiss, Bart Fletcher, Candy Clark
***

You might not expect much depth from a film with a title like Dog Tags but you’d be mistaken in the case of this concoction that’s part coming out and part coming-to-terms-with-life drama. This often affecting, sometimes meandering melodrama has more to offer than skin (although there is plenty) and it sure is pretty to look at (and I’m not just talking about the easy-on-the-eyes lead actors). It’s to this pair’s chemistry and the entire cast’s credit that we are drawn into the proceedings despite the spontaneous and somewhat hard-to-swallow friendship between a wayward Marine and the would-be goth guy—neither sure who he is. Dog Tags tells us they need each other to figure themselves out. And while there’s some confusion as to the plausibility of their bond and what their intersecting lives mean to one another, the themes of abandonment, fresh starts, clean slates and what it means to be a man will keep you enthralled until the final reveal. —WALLY KING

3-Day Weekend

Derek Meeker, Derek Long, Chris Carlisle
**

Borrowing a well-worn premise from the book of Love! Valour! Compassion! this Weekend pales in comparison, but proves itself to be a relatively earnest effort in its exploration of friendships, relationships and the frailty of each during a weekend away amongst a group of friends. The weekend here, however, turns experimental when each guest is advised to bring a new, single friend along, and this is a recipe for more than a few faux pas where lots of secrets (and lots of flesh) are exposed. But what’s supposed to be revelatory plays more explanatory—characters speak as if the filmmaker’s thoughts are falling from their mouths without any reservation—and you really need to invest yourself into caring about any one of these flawed characters rising above caricature in order to watch and enjoy the DVD for more than the bare butt shots of the boys. —W.K.