It looks like we will need a few oscars set aside for this one. Van Sant is teaming up with Josh Brolin, Emile Hirsch and James Franco to bring us the tale of Harvey Milk. We get the scoop from the caves of yahoo:
Josh Brolin, Emile Hirsch and James Franco are in final negotiations to join Sean Penn in a movie about Harvey Milk, the country’s first openly gay elected official. “Milk,” from director Gus Van Sant, stars Penn in the title role as a San Francisco city supervisor who was assassinated in 1978 by a political rival.
Brolin will play the rival, Dan White, who shot both Milk and San Francisco Mayor George Moscone to death at City Hall. Hirsch has been cast as Milk’s political ally Cleve Jones, a gay-rights activist who went on to found the NAMES Project AIDS Memorial Quilt. Franco will play Scott Smith, Milk’s lover and campaign manager.
Brolin and Penn as rivals is just fantastic news as far as I am concerned. Having them work under the artistry of Gus Van Sant should produce a memorable film that tugs on the heartstrings like a possessed rhino. Movies about assassinations rule, you know how it is going to end and yet halfway through you try to convince yourself that it isn’t going to happen. If done right, you should feel the most attached to a character right before they are murdered.
This is a big return to big budget Hollywood land for Van Sant. He seems to have been content to do independent films for the past few years, and I am glad – because Elephant ruled. It is no surprise to me that Gus has chosen this project. He seems to have a strong affinity for tragedy and this is certainly a whopper based on a front page zinger from yesteryear.
I do not know much about Harvey Milk, but I look forward to watching his story. Much like Obi-Wan Kenobi, it appears that he may be stronger dead than he was alive. Some people still seem to have a problem where some dudes put their cocks during romantic encounters, it may not be your bag, but it certainly should not be your concern. I used to work with a homosexual named Al that was severely beaten on several separate occasions in his life, just for being gay. Tolerance for same sex relationships is growing but discrimination still exists, stories like this help to educate and enlighten people about the lives of others that may be very different from their own. Harvey is seen as a martyr in the LGBT community and it is great that his tragic story is being told anew.
