Nov 16, 2007 - Sean Penn has been confirmed to star as gay-rights icon Harvey Milk in the Groundswell Productions and Focus Features film, Milk. Gus Van Sant will direct the film from a screenplay by Dustin Lance Black. Production is slated to begin in January 2008.
Activist/politician Harvey Milk, the first openly gay man elected to office in America, was murdered on November 27, 1978. Milk and San Francisco Mayor George Moscone were shot by San Francisco City Supervisor Dan White who later defended his actions by using the 'twinkie defense'. White was convicted of manslaughter instead of murder after explaining he was depressed and had been eating a lot of sugary junk food. White's sentence of manslaughter, and his short jail time, caused rioting in San Francisco. The backlash over his sentencing led to changes in California's diminished capacity law.
Dan Jinks, Bruce Cohen, and Michael London are producing the film with Bruna Papandrea, William Horberg, and Black executive producing. The behind the scenes team will include cinematographer Harris Savides and production designer Bill Groom.
In a press release issued by Focus Features CEO James Schamus said, “Gus Van Sant is the perfect artist to bring to the screen the extraordinary story of Harvey Milk, and we couldn’t be more thrilled to join our partners at Groundswell in helping make this dream project a reality.”
Groundswell CEO Michael London was quoted as saying, "The Focus team is the best in the business when it comes to provocative, socially relevant movies with world-class talent like Gus Van Sant and Sean Penn. We’re thrilled that they share our passion for telling the story of Harvey Milk.”
Source: Focus Features
