October 30, 2008

Videos, Print Coverage of “Milk” Premiere, 10/28/08

First, let’s get in the mood again with the stunning trailer:

More videos after the jump.

Next, the Chron has a fine write-up of the event, and excellent photo coverage:

‘Milk’ world premiere benefit at Castro Theatre

The guests came to the Castro Theatre on Tuesday dressed in Levi’s and designer dresses, ’70s-chic velvet jackets and drag-queen heels and glitter. It looked like a glamorous early start on Halloween, but actually it was a Hollywood affair complete with a red carpet and a who’s-who invitation list. …

History came back home to where it started three decades ago. The Castro Theatre vibrated with gay rights past and present. As the creators and stars of the film and local politicians ran the red-carpet press gantlet, a throng of people across the street waved “Vote No on Prop. 8″ signs and shouted at every passing car that honked. The measure will eliminate the right to same-sex marriage in California if it passes next week.

“Harvey Milk gave his life for the struggle for human rights,” said San Francisco District Attorney Kamala Harris. “It’s a continuing battle that’s not over.”

State Assemblyman Mark Leno, sporting a “Harvey Milk for Assembly” button on his lapel, connected “the exciting and tumultuous time” of Milk’s gay rights activism to the “ill-conceived measure facing voters on the ballot next week.” …

The feature, directed by Gus Van Sant, opens in theaters Nov. 26. [Sean] Penn, a Marin County resident, plays the title role in a richly textured performance sure to evoke visceral memories of one of the first openly gay people to win major elective office in the country. …

The film tells its story in fatefully somber, operatically enhanced flashback, with Milk speaking into a tape recorder in eerie anticipation of his possible assassination. …

Tuesday’s premiere was a heady mingling of then-and-now. Various real-life participants in Milk’s career showed up, along with the actors who portray them onscreen. Milk confidant Cleve Jones, who later founded the NAMES project AIDS Memorial Quilt, was there. His onscreen embodiment, “Into the Wild” star Emile Hirsch, was expected. Photographer Danny Nicoletta, doubled by Lucas Grabeel in the movie, attended.

In an interview on Monday, Milk’s campaign manager Anne Kronenberg, who is now a San Francisco public heath administrator, said, “I just saw the movie yesterday, and I still haven’t recovered from it. Gus (Van Sant) and the production team caught the era exactly. It’s very accurate. What really comes across is that feeling of compatriots and being family that we felt.” …

The screening was a benefit for the Hetrick Martin Institute, home of Harvey Milk High School; Larkin Street Youth Services; the Point Foundation; and the San Francisco Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Community Center. Tickets ran from $50 for the screening to $15,000 for 12 prime seats at the movie and a post-premiere dinner and party at City Hall. …

Location shooting for “Milk” began on Castro Street in January. Street signs and window displays were refashioned to appear as they did at the time. The Castro Theatre marquee was backdated to its colored-confetti look of the 1970s. Filming wrapped in March, shortly after a big crowd scene was shot on the steps of City Hall. …

On Tuesday, back in a Castro neighborhood that seemed to pulse with his memory 30 years later on a cool October night, many in the crowd seemed ready to sign on for the cause all over again.

Much more at the link.

Next up, videos:

Mini-documentary (with lots of No On 8 coverage, plus Cindy Sheehan, Tom Ammiano, Medea Benjamin, Mark Leno, Gavin Newsom, and other familiar faces) in the Castro, before and after the premiere: