Sean Penn and Milk Get Some Fanfare

Sean Penn as Harvey Milk takes the front page of Vanity Fair's August 2008 "Fanfair" section. The film opens November 26.

(via boy culture)

Previously
Harvey Milk Items Up for Auction at Christie's [tr]
Lucas Grabeel: Milk Role 'Changed My Life' — Also, I'm Not Gay [tr]
Harvey Milk Bust Has Coming Out Party [tr]

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Ryan Air CEO announces plans for reconfigured fleet: "So in economy it will be very cheap fares. Say 10 euros. And in business class it will be beds and blowjobs. In economy. In business, it will all be free including the blowjobs." WATCH.

Will Tasmania become the first Australian state to have same-sex marriage? "Tasmania Greens MP Nick McKim today said he would bring the same-sex marriage bill, which will also provide adoption rights, to state parliament on July 1. 'Marriage is an institution that should be open to opposite-sex and same-sex couples,' Mr McKim told reporters. 'We believe that this matter should have a conscience vote.'"

Naomi Campbell pleads guilty to six counts of assault.

Bill that would mark officially mark May 22 as Harvey Milk Day in California advances, getting approval from the Senate Education Committee.

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The NYT profiled Russell T. Davies this past weekend and he recounted a story about a confrontation he had with a woman who didn't like the same-sex kissing in his Doctor Who series: “I was standing there saying, ‘You’re a bad mother, and your children will either grow up to be lesbians, or they will be taken into care because they’ve been badly raised,’ ” he recalled in a recent interview near the “Doctor Who” set. He began to chuckle. “ ‘You are ignorant, and you’re bringing up your children in ignorance, and that will backfire on you.'"

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SF Castro Residence of Gay Vet Leonard Matlovich to be Recognized

Leonard Matlovich, a Vietnam war vet and gay rights pioneer who took up residence in San Francisco's Castro District in the late 70's and appeared on the cover of TIME magazine in September 1975 under the headline "I am a Homosexual", will get a plaque in the Castro on his former residence (at 18th and Castro) thanks to friends, who include frequent Towleroad commenter Michael Bedwell.

Bedwell told the Bay Area Reporter: "I wanted to memorialize him both to pay respect to him and to make newer generations aware of him. Mainstream society has countless examples of these which mark the people who came before, that inspire people, and reinforce people's identity themselves."

The TIME story concerned Matlovich's fight against the ban on gays in the military. According to the BAR: "He had told his commanding officers he was a homosexual but wanted to remain in the service. The Air Force kicked him out, and Matlovich sued the secretary of the Air Force. Matlovich settled out of court and received $160,000. The lawsuit did prompt the military after 1981 to switch from giving gay service members dishonorable discharges to honorable discharges."

Many of you may have seen Matlovich's striking headstone, which sits in the Congressional Cemetery in Washington, DC and reads, "When I was in the military, they gave me a medal for killing two men and a discharge for loving one."

Said SF Supervisor and supporter Bevan Dufty: "I thought he was impressive. I was like 21 years old and this guy was amazing. He was out and proudly gay. Most gay men were closeted. It was kind of amazing somebody who had this military experience and all these military decorations for courage and service and bravery and he was an openly gay man."

Matlovich was an activist, a member of the Log Cabin Republicans, and died of AIDS in 1988. HE was 44. Bedwell, who spearheaded the campaign for the plaque, hopes to unveil it in the fall.

Friends plan plaque for gay Castro vet [bay area reporter]

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Obama meets with Christian leaders...

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Harvey Milk Items Up for Auction at Christie's

Christie's has a few Harvey Milk items on the block in their June 25 "Pop Culture" sale. They include the Autographic Kodak Jr.camera that was displayed at Milk's Castro camera shop which comes with a couple Polaroids and the snapshot of Milk and the storefront (above). Other items include Milk's keychain, a Hopalong Cassidy wristwatch owned by the activist, and several portraits. Jockohomo has more details...

Check out one of the portraits, AFTER THE JUMP...

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Lucas Grabeel: Milk Role 'Changed My Life' — Also, I'm Not Gay

In a posting to his official site, 23-year-old High School Musical actor Lucas Grabeel writes about acting in Gus van Sant's Milk.

In Milk, Grabeel plays Dan Nicoletta, Harvey Milk's close friend and supporter who worked as a clerk at the Castro street camera shop which later became Milk's campaign office. Grabeel is pictured, in costume, below.

While Grabeel trumpets that acting in the film about the gay civil rights leader who struggled to break down closet doors "changed (his) life," the actor then posts a disappointing paragraph explaining to his fans that just because he's playing someone who is gay, it doesn't mean that he is.

***

Via LucasGrabeel.org (sic):

"Earlier this year I was in a movie that changed my life... Milk. I shot for a month in San Fransisco with one of my favorite directors, Gus Van Sant, and a hugely talented cast that exposed me to a completely new realm of film making. It will also be a movie that is completely different that anything else I've done. The story is about a very important man, Harvey Milk. (google him) He was the first openly-homosexual elected political official in the United States, in 1978.

"Things were a lot different then... Before all of you were around...hehe... People were still very prejudice against minorities in the seventies and it was a very difficult time for someone who was "different" than the average white male". You guys have no idea that any of this existed; I'm sure your parents haven't told you about oppression in the seventies, but it was a real issue. People were KILLED without questions for just being "different". Harvey Milk tried to stop all of that. In his tough struggling rise to political power he encountered many obstacles that seemed to only inspire him more to change the minds of people all across the country. People at that time thought that being a homosexual meant that you were sick and needed to be healed before you were viewed as a normal citizen. He gave people hope for a bright future of equality by inspiring everyone he encountered. The movie also shows that in 1978 someone was so afraid of change and new hope, that they walked into his office one morning and killed him and the Mayor of San Fransisco. Crazy, Huh?

"Well, I really hope that this movie is going to be awesome and I can't wait to see it myself. It comes out November 26 in theatres... Now, your parents may not let you see this movie because it's rated R and has many very adult themes.

"I know that a lot of you will not understand (until you're older) that in the film industry, as an actor, you play roles. What that means is you completely embody another person and become someone you are not. I'm NOT Ryan Evans. I'm NOT Kelly Kuzio from Veronica Mars, I'm NOT Lex Luthor... I'm Lucas. But when I go to WORK (just like your parents go to work everyday) I assume the character of whom I'm playing and create a story for people to enjoy. In the movie Milk, I PLAY a homosexual... that doesn't mean that I am gay. Sean Penn, one of the greatest actors of our generation is playing Harvey Milk, a gay character... but He is married to Robin Wright-Penn.(Princess Bride... if you haven't seen that movie see it!!!) Most people in this movie are straight men playing gay men.... Emile Hersch, James Franco, and Diego Luna are just a few....

***

Now, perhaps Grabeel is reacting this way because of speculation among fans or in media about his sexuality. I don't know. But he could certainly learn a few things from his High School Musical castmate Zac Efron, who in his Details cover story and interview handled the same situation better than most actors I've seen.

In any case, I'm still looking forward to seeing Grabeel and Milk later this year.

Related
JAmes Franco rates Sean Penn his 'top' Onscreen Love Interest [tr]
Harvey Milk Bust has Coming Out Party [tr]

(thanks matt)

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Harvey Milk Bust Has Coming Out Party

As promised, Harvey Milk's bust was unveiled in San Francisco City Hall last night (the only bust of a non-mayor to have a place in the building). On its base is inscribed a quote from Milk recorded shortly before his death: "I ask for the movement to continue because my election gave young people out there hope. You gotta give 'em hope."

Via the SF Chronicle: "Standing 75 inches high and weighing over 200 pounds, the sculpture also has three scenes depicted in relief on the base. One features Milk during his stint in the Navy, another shows him riding in a gay pride parade, and the last depicts the candlelight march held the night of the assassinations...The bust will stand in a ceremonial rotunda outside the Board of Supervisors chambers, a spot where couples frequently choose to get married. Manton said she expects the bust to be popular with City Hall visitors, especially now that California has legalized same-sex marriage."

Harvey Milk sculpture gets unveiled at SF City Hall [sf chronicle]
(image liz hafalia)

AFTER THE JUMP, watch a short videoblog by Luke Klipp which gives a brief tour of City Hall and shows the wrapped bust and its placement on the day before the unveiling...

Previously
Harvey Milk Bust to be Unveiled Tonight at SF City Hall [tr]

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Harvey Milk Bust to be Unveiled Tonight at SF City Hall

Today, at 6pm, on what would have been Harvey Milk's 78th birthday, a bust (model pictured, below) in his honor will be unveiled at City Hall by San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom. The bust will occupy a permanent place atop the staircase in the City Hall rotunda.

The decision to place the bust atop the staircase capped weeks of haggling, according to the Bay Area Reporter: "'This bust has been traveling around City Hall like you wouldn't believe,' quipped Joey Cain, co-chair of the Harvey Milk City Hall Memorial Committee. Cain said the committee wanted the bust to be in the rotunda. During Milk's time in office, noted Cain, Milk never rode the elevator to the second floor. Instead, he walked up the grand staircase every time. 'Harvey has a quote – I don't know the exact wording of – in which he said when gay people walk into City Hall, they should walk right up those stairs to let people know they are here,' said Cain. 'Putting it outside the entrance to the Board of Supervisors' chamber in this rotunda has great symbolic significance."

Watch the NBC News footage broadcast on the evening of Milk and Mayor George Moscone's assassination, which includes Dianne Feinstein's still shocking announcement of their untimely deaths, AFTER THE JUMP...

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First Look: Sean Penn in Gus van Sant's Milk

The first official production photo for Gus van Sant's Milk has been released and shows Sean Penn as Harvey Milk celebrating his 1977 election to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, which made him the first openly gay man to be elected to office in a major U.S. city.

Producer Dan Jinks told EW: "[Sean] is playing a guy who's not at all like him, way beyond the sexuality of the character. Harvey was this guy who wants everybody to love him, and he loves everybody else. Sean just completely became that guy. It's a real transformation.''

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James Franco Rates Sean Penn His 'Top' Onscreen Love Interest

Entertainment Weekly asks actor and fragrance spokesmodel James Franco how Sean Penn rates as an onscreen love interest compared to the actresses he's played opposite — Kirsten Dunst, Neve Campbell, and Catherine Keener.

Says Franco, who plays Penn's lover Scott Smith in the upcoming Milk: "The top! He's a little hairier than those other ones, but oh well..."

Of Milk in general, Franco says: "It's hard to think of a director or actor who I regard more highly than [Gus van Sant and Sean]. Gus has been a hero of mine since Drugstore Cowboy and My Own Private Idaho. And of course Sean is probably the best actor around. It was great. Surprisingly kind of comfortable and easy. Gus has a very soft-spoken, soft-handed approach, so he just brings everybody together, the right elements together, and then he doesn't really have to do much. It just kind of happens. At least that's how it feels...I know the two main questions I'm going to be asked in the next year are (referring to his role in Judd Apatow's Pineapple Express) 'How much pot did you smoke?' and 'What was it like to kiss Sean Penn?'

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Sean Penn and James Franco as Lovers in Milk [tr]

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New York may soon no longer be the city that never sleeps.

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Jake Gyllenhaal stands underneath an umbrella - ella - ella.

Leslie Jordan, who stars in the upcoming Sordid Lives, headlined a fundraiser on Monday night for NYC's Harvey Milk High School scholarship fund.

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Emile Hirsch Strips Down for David LaChapelle in Hawaii

Emile Hirsch, who is starring in the upcoming Speed Racer as well as Gus van Sant's Milk later this year, got natural for David LaChapelle in Hawaii in this month's Flaunt magazine.

Hirsch also recently spoke out about Milk for the first time. Said the actor, who plays gay activist (and eventual NAMES Quilt creator) Cleve Jones in the film: "I just did this film called ‘Milk’ with Sean Penn and Gus Van Sant about Harvey Milk. I think it’s going to be a really good film. I don’t want to give anything away by telling you a timeline, but it’s not really giving anything away, because it’s historical fact. Milk represented change for a lot of people, and was a catalyst to that. And his eventual assassination similarly mirrored Martin Luther King."

Check out a little behind-the-scenes shirtless waterfall action on LaChapelle's shoot,
AFTER THE JUMP...

>

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Harvey Milk Bust to Sit Atop Staircase in SF City Hall Rotunda

San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom played a key role in the final decision to place a bust of Harvey Milk in the City Hall rotunda rather than in the north mezzanine which one critic dubbed "semi-Siberia."

The bust, which will be unveiled on May 22 (which would have been Milk's 78th birthday), will sit permanently in the ceremonial rotunda atop the grand staircase.

According to the Bay Area Reporter, "The decision caps a months-long fight over where the memorial to the history-making lawmaker should be placed inside City Hall that sounds like a microcosm of the political haggling the landmark has long played home to since it opened in 1915. The actors this time included everyone from Milk's friends, members of several obscure city committees, the artists commissioned to create the bust, a granddaughter of a former mayor, and ultimately intervention by Mayor Gavin Newsom. 'This bust has been traveling around City Hall like you wouldn't believe,' quipped Joey Cain, co-chair of the Harvey Milk City Hall Memorial Committee. Cain said the committee wanted the bust to be in the rotunda. During Milk's time in office, noted Cain, Milk never rode the elevator to the second floor. Instead, he walked up the grand staircase every time. 'Harvey has a quote – I don't know the exact wording of – in which he said when gay people walk into City Hall, they should walk right up those stairs to let people know they are here,' said Cain. 'Putting it outside the entrance to the Board of Supervisors' chamber in this rotunda has great symbolic significance."

Newsom finally interceded and ordered the bust put in the rotunda. It will sit a few feet away from the Supervisors chamber and just down the hall from the office where Dan White shot and killed Milk in 1978.

Milk bust finds City Hall home [bay area reporter]

Previously
Harvey Milk to get Bust at San Francisco City Hall [tr]

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The SF Chronicle: Recreating History with Milk

The SF Chronicle has a great piece about the shooting of Gus van Sant's Milk which includes this anecdote about the final days of production:

"Appearing on the City Hall steps to deafening applause, Penn looked shockingly like Milk. He had his almost Grecian nose and dark wavy hair parted to one side and wore a tight T-shirt that showed off his muscles. 'Brothers and sisters, you must come out to your parents,' Penn/Harvey shouted, pronouncing his vowels distinctly to sound like a New Yorker. 'It may hurt them. But think how they could hurt you in the voting booth.' Penn would do eight takes of this speech all to loud applause from an indefatigable crowd, including people who had stood in the same spot 30 years ago listening to Milk urge gays to protect their rights from those trying to get gay-friendly legislation repealed. A dozen rows back from Penn, John Hershey, 63, started crying. Milk had influenced him to come out to his family, Hershey recalled. 'This is an important thing for me because I want all the kids to know what Harvey did,' he said...

...A production assistant followed Penn around the front of City Hall with a large navy blue umbrella. She held it over his head to shield him from the sun. Seeing he had a captive audience, Penn broke loose of the umbrella to deliver an impromptu speech that Milk would have loved. 'I almost wish Jerry Falwell were alive to see this. Almost,' Penn shouted to the crowd. After dropping some names of conservatives who are still with us - 'Bill O'Reilly, who is too stupid to talk about,' and "Sean Hannity, the butt boy of Rupert Murdoch," Penn said, 'We know something more. We know their end is near.'"

It's a wrap - 'Milk' filming ends in S.F. [sf chronicle]
(image Kat Wade, sf chronicle)

Previously
Sean Penn Directed His Own 'Mighty Real' Man-on-Man Kiss [tr]
Gus van Sant's Milk Finishes up in San Francisco [tr]
Bryan Singer to Cameo in Gus van Sant's Harvey Milk Film? [tr]
Milk Screenwriter Dustin Lance Black Spills [tr]
Josh Brolin on Tackling the Role of Milk Assassin Dan White [tr]

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Sean Penn Directed His Own 'Mighty Real' Man-on-Man Kiss

Mark Martinez (aka drag queen Flava) got more than he bargained for in his role as disco singer Sylvester in Gus van Sant's Harvey Milk biopic Milk, which recently wrapped in San Francisco, reports E's Marc Malkin.

A singing performance at Harvey Milk's birthday party turned out to be a different kind of performance altogether, according to Flava:

"All of a sudden, Sean’s pointing at me, and he’s talking to the assistant director. The AD comes up to me and says, 'Just to let you know, you are now going to break up Sean and [costar] James Franco’s conversation. You’re going to grab Sean, and Sean’s going to be really excited, and he’s going to kiss you.' I’m performing, and he comes onto the dance floor. He grabs me, and he just slaps the biggest kiss on me...It felt like the kiss was forever. I’m like, Is he going to stop? I had to close my eyes. I couldn’t believe it. I’m thinking, We gotta do this thing again. We just didn’t get it right. But Gus was like, 'It’s perfect, perfect, perfect.' I said, 'No! It’s not perfect!' Sean was laughing at me."

Check out a short clip of Flava getting ready for a performance, AFTER THE JUMP...

Sean Penn's Man-on-Man Disco Kiss [marc malkin]

Recently
Gus van Sant's Milk Finishes up in San Francisco [tr]
Bryan Singer to Cameo in Gus van Sant's Harvey Milk Film?
Milk Screenwriter Dustin Lance Black Spills [tr]
Josh Brolin on Tackling the Role of Milk Assassin Dan White [tr]
James Franco Hangs on to Milk Mustache [tr]
Milk in Action on Castro Street [tr]
Sean Penn and James Franco as Lovers in Milk [tr]
Milk: The Transformation of Castro Street [tr]

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Gus van Sant's Milk Finishes up in San Francisco

Milk, the Gus van Sant-directed biopic of the slain SF supervisor, has finished production in San Francisco. Bluegrassravebackroom has some shots of the final days of shooting last weekend when Gay Freedom Day 1978 was recreated at City Hall.

NPR also just did a report on the film.

And The Oregonian talks to science fiction author Frank Robinson, who was Milk's good friend and speechwriter about downloading his experiences to Sean Penn and his adventure as a cameo in the film:

"The final scene Van Sant shot last week was the candlelight march held in the wake of the murders. 'The march for Harvey in real life was a spontaneous march that started at 17th and Market, at night, and everyone had a candle,' Robinson said. 'You got to Van Ness and you looked back and there was nothing . . .' He pauses. There are tears in his voice as he pushes on. ' . . . there was nothing but candles. Along the way, people had put candles in the windows. It wasn't just the gays, it was a lot of the straights. It was the entire city.'

Extra action on the set of Milk [bluegrassravebackroom]
A final toast for Harvey Milk [the oregonian]

Previously
Bryan Singer to Cameo in Gus van Sant's Harvey Milk Film?
Milk Screenwriter Dustin Lance Black Spills [tr]
Josh Brolin on Tackling the Role of Milk Assassin Dan White [tr]
James Franco Hangs on to Milk Mustache [tr]
Milk in Action on Castro Street [tr]
Sean Penn and James Franco as Lovers in Milk [tr]
Milk: The Transformation of Castro Street [tr]

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Josh Brolin Flaunts It, Gives Thoughts on Milk, Bush

Josh Brolin appears in the new issue of Flaunt. More images at Boy Culture. He also gives an interview to the San Luis Obispo New Times in which he discusses taking on the characters of Dan White (in Milk) and George W. Bush for the upcoming Oliver Stone flick.

"Dan White, there's so much footage of him and there's so much video and audio in his confessions and all that, that it's definitely ... nerve-wracking because you feel like you have to do the family justice in some way, and the person justice, but you don't want to do a carbon copy. It's the same thing with Bush. I'm getting ready to play Bush, George W. We're talking just about how close we want to get to him, and we want to stay in the spirit of it instead of trying to do a carbon copy because there's been so many comedies based on George Bush. So yeah, it gets a little more nerve-wracking. But I think once you get those iconic portions of the character, then you can go and kind of do your own thing and get away with it and still feel free instead of stifled."

Brolin also reveals how his participation in Milk came about:

"Sean [Penn] was the one that went to Gus [Van Sant] for Milk and said 'What about Josh,' 'cause me and Sean and Woody Harrelson and Catherine Keener had a great night when we were in Toronto and me and Javier Bardem, we all went out one night and had one of the funnest nights I've ever had in my life. It was hilarious, and we were all completely insane. I've known Sean off and on, but really through that night Sean went to Gus and said 'What about Josh for playing Dan White' and then when they came to me with it, I read it and thought it was amazing but I just thought it'd be fun. It'd be fun to play with Sean. Literally. Like a kid. I want to go play with Sean. Anyway, I know it starts to sound a little insane, but it's true."

He'd be so much hotter without that cigarette.

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MAPS of the electorate: "Survey USA's data shows both Clinton and Obama beating McCain on electoral votes, but they win in different ways."

Colin Farrell smokes up British GQ.

Anti-gay lawyer Robert Skolrood is dead at 79: "He fought against gay rights by helping to word an initiative on the Colorado ballot in 1992 that would have barred any special protection for homosexuals. The amendment to the state’s constitution passed but was struck down by the United States Supreme Court four years later. Mr. Skolrood helped to draft an amendment to the Cincinnati City Charter to similarly deprive homosexuals of specific legal protections; voters approved the measure in 1993. A federal appeals court upheld the result, and the United States Supreme Court in 1998 refused to hear an appeal."

'Underoos' for Men sales bulge: "It seems that the Y-front, bikinis, wild prints and Underoos style underwear has made a huge comeback in contributing to a $1.1 billion men's knit-underwear market. (Knit underwear excludes the traditional boxer) John Sievers, co-owner of International Jock, calls it an 'explosion' in his business in the last 3 years that has doubled his revenues."

Gay Malaysian pleads with Canada for asylum: "Amirthalingan moved to Montreal in 2003 and applied for refugee status in Canada on humanitarian grounds, arguing his life was in danger because his homosexuality made him a target of Malaysian police who detained him for five days, and abused him, physically and sexually. 'They were punching me, pushing me down to the floor and putting their leg on me to confess that I am a gay,' he told CBC last week. Being gay in Malaysia is difficult, and he is "a bit afraid for my safety" if he's forced to go back. 'I don't have family support too, because my brothers and sisters are against [me] because I'm gay.' Amirthalingan lost his refugee status case because the judge was not convinced he was gay. He filed for a humanitarian appeal and a pre-removal risk assessment, which