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New column!EarthTalk: Carbon footprintpage 33Icons unveiledNot for Reproduction Copyright 2008 QNotes Not for ReproductionGay history month profiles leaderspage 36c o p r i g h tNoted . Notable . Noteworthy . LGBT News & ViewsVolume 23 . Number 10 September 20 . 2008 www.q-notes.com Page 31try at the time.Milk became an outspoken opponent ofCalifornia’s Proposition 6, a ballot initiativepushed by conservative state Sen. JohnBriggs that would have allowed school dis-Filmmakers say Harvey Milktricts to fire teachers simply for being homosexual.Ironically, the Briggs Initiative wasbiopic will accurately depict ’70ssociopolitical, sexual2mores0soundly defeated0a few weeks before Milk’s8assassination.by Christopher Cappiello“It was so essential to the LGBT move-When Harvey Milk was elected to theSan Francisco Board of Supervisors in 1977he was, as Time magazine would laterobserve,“the first openly gay man electedto any substantial political office in the historyof the planet.”Although Milk was assassinated byDan White, a distressed former Board colleague,less than a year after taking office,his legacy of activism and hope, of ambitionand authenticity, has endured andinspired a generation of LGBT leaders. Inc o p r i g h t“It was such a phenomenally writtenscreenplay and, let’s face it, Gus1999 Time named Milk one of its 100“Heroes and Icons” of the 20th century.Van Sant is one of the best directorsNow, on the 30th anniversary of hison the planet,” Jinks raves.death, Milk’s story hits the big screen inThe question of who should playNovember with the release of director Gus Milk was answered quickly whenVan Sant’s “Milk.”Academy Award-winningactor Sean Penn (“Mystic River”)their heads together and unanimouslyJinks, Cohen,Van Sant and Black puttakes on the role of the colorful andagreed that Sean Penn would be theircharismatic LGBT icon.first choice.“[Milk] came into power at a really“We felt that we should be able toimportant time in thechistory of gay rightsoget somebodypsensational to play ther i g h tin America,” says Dan Jinks, one of thepart because it’s such a great story, itproducers of “Milk,” referring to the wavewas such a strong script and it’s a brilliantpart,” explains of anti-gay legislation sweeping the coun-Cohen.ment to have a leader in place who waseffective at stopping something that reallyneeded to be stopped,” Jinks says.When screenwriter Dustin LanceBlack (HBO’s “Big Love”) asked Jinksand his producing partner BruceCohen to take a look at his scriptabout Milk’s unlikely rise from CastroStreet camera shop owner to politicalpioneer, the Oscar-winning producersof “American Beauty” were quicklyhooked.Like the mercurial actor playinghim, Milk was a bit of a rebel. Thenative New Yorker made his way to SanFrancisco in the early ’70s, finding thecity’s hippie climate more to his likingthan the self-consciously bohemianGreenwich Village he left behind.His Castro Street camera shop becamea fixture in gay San Francisco and served asheadquarters for his unlikely attempts toget elected to public office. Milk lost threeelections before finally winning a seat onIn addition to Milk’s political accomplishments,the filmmakers wanted toshow his personal journey,“which isabsolutely every bit as interesting,” Jinkssays,“and what got this guy to do what heended up doing.”Among the actors who signed on toOscar-winner Sean Penn ‘wanted to push the envelope in terms of the physical expressionof his character’s homosexuality,’ said ‘Milk’ producer Dan Jinks.the Board of Supervisors in January 1978.play Milk’s close friends and associates areA fellow freshman on that Board was SanJames Franco (“Spider-Man”) as Milk’sFrancisco firefighter Dan White.see Penn on 382 0 0 8It’s that time of year!NC Pride Fest slated for Sept. 26-28This year’s NC Pride Fest and Parade in East Campus by veteran Carolina LGBTDurham promise to be the most exciting yet. activist and national Obama Pride co-chairLast year, festival organizers said the event Mandy Carter in memory of Joe Herzenberg.broke new records, attracting larger numbers In 1991, Herzenberg won his race for Chapelof day festival vendors and a slight bump in Hill Town Council, becoming the first openlyattendance. Because of the election season, gay man elected to any office in Northattendance might be boosted yet again.Carolina. He died in 2007.Speaking at the festival this year is former The festival and parade will take placeSenate candidate Jim Neal. He made history Saturday, Sept. 27. The annual parade, beginningat 11 a.m., will wind its way aroundrunning as the first openly gay candidate forc o p rstatewideioffice. His lossgto state Sen. KayhDuke’s East Campustand portions of Durham.Hagan in the race to unseat incumbent U.S. Dozens of events, including wine tastings, coffeehours and nightclub parties, are scheduledSen. Elizabeth Dole hasn’t stopped him fromcontinuing to reach out across the state and for Friday, Sept. 26 and Saturday evening.For more information on NC Pride events,as well as listings on where to eat, drink, shopand more, see Q-Notes’ Pre-Pride coverage onpages 24 and 25. ◗make a difference for all North Carolinians.According to John Short, longtime NCPride organizer, this year’s festival will alsounveil a memorial arch. The arch will be pre-Not for Reproduction Copyright 2008 sented QNotes on the grounds of Duke University’s info: www.ncpride.org Not for Reproduction