The terrible civil rights setback represented by the passage of the gay-bashing Proposition 8 in California earlier this month could prove to be an unexpected boost to the Gus Van Sant film, “Milk,” set to open in New York and Los Angeles Nov. 28 and around the country in December.
The bio-pic about the life and 1978 murder of the pioneering San Francisco gay politician Harvey Milk was already generating Oscar buzz when liberal Hollywood and the gay community around the country were stunned by Prop 8.
Now, the film could become a rallying point for the national movement to repeal the discriminatory proposition.
With a dearth of obvious year-end awards contenders, “Milk” seems on track to be a all-too-timely audience and critic hit.
One of my favorite Manhattan performers, Justin Bond, attended a screening at the Tribeca Grand last night and kicked off a new blog (http://www.justinbondisliving.blogspot.com/) with a long posting today.“The real uncanny thing, to me, is the timing. It reminds me of when The China Syndrome came out right when the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant went all funky…I think this film comes at a time time when the LGBT community needs a shot of inspiration and if nothing else the story is truly inspirational,” Bond writes in a smart and witty account of the screening (and his gate-crashing the celebrity party afterwards).
With a strong supporting cast that includes rising stars James Franco (above, embracing Penn) and Emile Hirsch, “Milk” should be able to crossover quickly from limited art-house release in early December to wide multiplex play by Christmas. I’ll report on the film here after I see it next week.
