Director Gus Van Sant's real-life story
about community activist, first openly gay politician elected in America,
Harvey Milk, is set to screen at this year's Cannes International
Film Festival.
The festival, set on the French
Riviera, remains a favorite place for Hollywood to introduce
potential Oscar films.
Sean Penn plays gay politician Harvey
Milk. Milk, an openly gay activist, won a long-fought election to
the San Francisco Board of Supervisors in 1977. San Francisco
supervisor Dan White, who the next year assassinated Milk along with
Mayor George Moscone, is played by Josh Brolin (replacing the
originally cast Matt Damon).
Filming in San Francisco's Castro area
turned back the hands of time to the 70's and gave the district a
groovy vibe. The set of Milk brought back bars and old stores
long since shuttered to the area. The Castro Theater, the gem of the
neighborhood, received a permanent face lift for the filming.
Harvey Milk's life and career was
previously the subject of the Academy Award-winning documentary The
Times of Harvey Milk, but Milk is the first feature film.
Another Harvey Milk film, The Mayor of Castro Street, by
director Bryan Singer, remains in production.
Milk is set to premiere in the
US in November.
Gay Entertainment Report is a feature
of On Top Magazine and can be reached at ontopmag@ontopmag.com