MILK

About me:

MilktheMovie.com
MILK Site on LOGO
Harvey Milk Articles on SF Gate


Dustin Lance Black's Acceptance Speech

Dustin Lance Black: Thank You

Dustin Lance Black: Press Room

Sean Penn's OSCAR Acceptance Speech

Sean Penn: Press Room

His life changed history.
His courage changed lives.

In 1977, Harvey Milk was elected to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, becoming the first openly gay man to be voted into public office in America. His victory was not just a victory for gay rights; he forged coalitions across the political spectrum. From senior citizens to union workers, Harvey Milk changed the very nature of what it means to be a fighter for human rights and became, before his untimely death in 1978, a hero for all Americans.
Sean Penn stars as Harvey Milk under the direction of Gus Van Sant in Milk, filmed on location in San Francisco from an original screenplay by Dustin Lance Black, and produced by Dan Jinks and Bruce Cohen...
Milk charts the last eight years of Harvey Milk’s life. While living in New York City, he turns 40. Looking for more purpose, Milk and his lover Scott Smith (James Franco) relocate to San Francisco, where they found a small business, Castro Camera, in the heart of a working-class neighborhood. With his beloved Castro neighborhood and beautiful city empowering him, Milk surprises Scott and himself by becoming an outspoken agent for change.
With vitalizing support from Scott and from new friends like young activist Cleve Jones (Emile Hirsch), Milk plunges headfirst into the choppy waters of politics. Bolstering his public profile with humor, Milk’s actions speak even louder than his gift-of-gab words. When Milk is elected supervisor for the newly zoned District 5, he tries to coordinate his efforts with those of another newly elected supervisor, Dan White (Josh Brolin). But as White and Milk’s political agendas increasingly diverge, their personal destinies tragically converge.
Milk’s platform was and is one of hope – a hero’s legacy that resonates in the here and now. The film’s original score is by Danny Elfman. The costume designer is Danny Glicker and Elliot Graham edited the film. The production designer is Bill Groom and the film’s director of photography is Harris Savides, A.S.C.


Milk honor roll: awards and honors

8 Academy Awards Nominations,
with 2 Oscar wins, including: Best Actor, Sean Penn
Best Original Screenplay, Dustin Lance Black


Winner: Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role (Sean Penn) at Screen Actors Guild Awards

Golden Globe Award nominee for Best Actor [Drama] (Sean Penn)


Winner of Writers Guild of America Award for Best Original Screenplay (Dustin Lance Black)


Nominated for the Producers Guild of America’s [Darryl F. Zanuck] Producer of the Year Award – Theatrical Motion Pictures (Dan Jinks and Bruce Cohen)

Winner of 3 New York Film Critics Circle awards: Best Picture, Best Actor (Sean Penn), and Best Supporting Actor (Josh Brolin)

Winner of the Los Angeles Film Critics Association award for Best Actor (Sean Penn)

Winner of the National Society of Film Critics award for Best Actor (Sean Penn)

Winner of the National Board of Review Award for Best Supporting Actor (Josh Brolin)

Winner of 4 San Francisco Film Critics Circle Awards: Best Picture, Best Director (Gus Van Sant), Best Actor (Sean Penn [in a tie]), and Best Original Screenplay (Dustin Lance Black)

Winner of 3 Southeastern Film Critics Association awards: Best Picture, Best Actor (Sean Penn), and Best Original Screenplay (Dustin Lance Black)

Winner of 3 Boston Society of Film Critics awards: Best Actor (Sean Penn [in a tie]), Best Director (Gus Van Sant [in tandem with another movie]), and Best Screenplay (Dustin Lance Black)

Nominated for 8 Critics’ Choice Awards: Best Picture, Best Director (Gus Van Sant), Best Acting Ensemble, Best Actor (Sean Penn), Best Supporting Actor (Josh Brolin; James Franco), Best Writer (Dustin Lance Black), and Best Composer (Danny Elfman)

Nominated for 4 Spirit Awards: Best Male Lead (Sean Penn), Best Supporting Male (James Franco), Best First Screenplay (Dustin Lance Black), and Best Cinematography (Harris Savides)

Nominated for 3 London Film Critics Circle Awards: Film of the Year, Director of the Year (Gus Van Sant), and Actor of the Year (Sean Penn)

Winner of 2 Phoenix Film Critics Society awards: Best Actor (Sean Penn) and Best Acting Ensemble

Winner of 2 Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics Association awards: Best Actor (Sean Penn) and Best Screenplay (Dustin Lance Black)

Winner of the Austin Film Critics Association Award for Best Actor (Sean Penn)

Winner of the Houston Film Critics Society award for Best Actor (Sean Penn)

Winner of the St. Louis Film Critics Award for Best Actor (Sean Penn)

Nominated for 5 additional St. Louis Film Critics Awards: Best Picture, Best Director (Gus Van Sant), Best Supporting Actor (Josh Brolin), Best Screenplay (Dustin Lance Black), and Best Cinematography (Harris Savides)


Winner of the Alliance of Women Film Journalists award for Best Actor (Sean Penn) Nominated for 3 additional Alliance of Women Film Journalists awards: Best Film, Best Director (Gus Van Sant), and Best Ensemble Cast

Winner of the AFI Award, given to AFI Movies of the Year [named one of the year’s Ten Best Films by the American Film Institute]

Winner of 2 awards from New York Film Critics Online: Best Actor (Sean Penn) and Best Ensemble Performance

Named one of the year’s [Five] Best Supporting Actors (Josh Brolin) by the Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics Association [#2 on list]

Named one of the year’s [Five] Best Directors (Gus Van Sant) by the Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics Association [#4 on list]

Named one of the year’s Top Ten Films by the National Board of Review

Named one of the year’s Top Ten Films by the Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics Association [#2 on list]

Named one of the year’s Top Ten Films by the Houston Film Critics Society [#4 on list]

Named one of the year’s [Ten] Best Pictures by New York Film Critics Online

Named one of the year’s Top Ten Films by the Phoenix Film Critics Society

Named one of the year’s Top Ten Films by the Austin Film Critics Association

Named one of the year’s Top Ten Films by the Oklahoma Film Critics Circle

Cited among year’s Best Films (#7 on list), Best Actors (Sean Penn -- #1 on list), and Best Supporting Actors (Josh Brolin -- #3 on list) by the Village Voice/L.A. Weekly Film Critics’ Poll

Honored by the Producers Guild of America with the Stanley Kramer Award (Dan Jinks and Bruce Cohen)

Honored with 2 awards from the 2009 Palm Springs International Film Festival: the Sonny Bono Visionary Award (Gus Van Sant) and the Desert Palm Achievement Award for Acting (Sean Penn)

Honored with a Tribute (Gus Van Sant) at the 2008 Gotham Awards

Honored with the Stanley Kubrick Britannia Award for Excellence in Film (Sean Penn) from BAFTA/Los Angeles

Honored with a Los Angeles Leadership Award (Gus Van Sant; Dustin Lance Black; Dan Jinks and Bruce Cohen) from the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force

Breakthrough Actor of the Year Award to James Franco from the Hollywood Awards

Breakthrough Screenwriter of the Year Award to Dustin Lance Black from the Hollywood Awards

Composer of the Year Award to Danny Elfman from the Hollywood Awards [tandemed with three other films]

Honored with a 2008 Legacy Award (Bruce Cohen) from Outfest

Named one of the year’s Top 10 Films by the Satellite Awards

Nominated for 6 Washington, DC Area Film Critics Association awards: Best Film, Best Director (Gus Van Sant), Best Actor (Sean Penn), Best Supporting Actor (Josh Brolin), Best Ensemble, and Best Original Screenplay (Dustin Lance Black)

Nominated for 6 Satellite Awards: Best Picture [Drama], Best Director (Gus Van Sant), Best Actor [Drama] (Sean Penn), Best Supporting Actor (James Franco), Best Original Screenplay (Dustin Lance Black), and Best Original Score (Danny Elfman)

Nominated for 5 Chicago Film Critics Association awards: Best Picture, Best Director (Gus Van Sant), Best Actor (Sean Penn), Best Original Screenplay (Dustin Lance Black), and Best Original Score (Danny Elfman)

Nominated for 4 San Diego Film Critics Society awards: Best Actor (Sean Penn), Best Supporting Actor (Josh Brolin; James Franco), and Best Original Screenplay (Dustin Lance Black)

Nominated for the Detroit Film Critics Society award for Best Actor (Sean Penn)

Nominated for the Location Managers of America’s California on Location Award for Location Team of the Year (Features)