Oscar winning screenwriter Dustin Lance Black has landed a new gig according to an exclusive report from Pajiba. For his next project he’ll take on another ground breaking political figure, but this one will be a lot more notorious than Harvey Milk. Universal Pictures and Ron Howard’s Imagine Entertainment are looking to tackle a biopic based on the life of J.Edgar Hoover.
With the release of Gus Van Sant‘s film Milk coinciding with the current issues of Prop 8, gay cinema was finally pushed into the forefront of everyones attention both on screen and off. Although this genre may be a touchy subject, more and more directors and actors are choosing to discuss the issues behind the repression of homosexuality both in politics and ones life.
The month of June is Gay & Lesbian Pride Month so in honor of that, we have put together a list of some of the most influential gay films which have helped inspire, educate, and encourage audiences to make a change and support equal rights.
Take a look after the jump…
As we all know the U.S. government, specifically California has been under fire for their refusal to recognize gay, bi-sexual, and transgender marriages. Once Proposition 8 was passed in the state last November, several organizations immediately went to work to appeal the decision. Since then it’s been an uphill battle, but many celebrities and other’s of influence have tried to do what they can to help obtain equality for all effected. Last year’s biopic Milk, which earned Sean Penn his second Academy Award, mirrored similar struggles of today’s gay community more than 30 years after Harvey Milk’s unfortunate death.
Milk, the independent film about the life of slain gay politician/activist Harvey Milk was one of the most talked about films of 2008. It earned Sean Penn his second Academy Award for Best Lead Actor, and writer Dustin Lance Black his first little gold man for the film’s powerful screenplay. During Black’s acceptance speech he spoke about how much of an inspiration Harvey Milk was to him as he came to terms with his own sexuality. If you were positively impacted by the film in some way, you now have the opportunity to share your story, and give thanks to those who made the film possible.
As Black put it backstage in an interview after his acceptance speech, he felt that this appearance on the Oscar stage was an opportunity to “pay it forward” to millions of people — especially teenagers living in fear of what might happen if they come out:
“For me, the whole thing was always to… pay it forward. You know, Harvey gave me his story… Oh, I’m going to cry [pauses to compose himself]… Harvey gave me his story and it saved my life. And I just thought it’s time to pass it on… The only thing I really knew I wanted to say was to tell those kids out there that they’re going to be alright.”
