Harvey Milk Archives - The Playlist

‘Slumdog Millionaire’ Wins Produces Guild Award – Is This Your Oscar Best Picture?

Rodrigo Perez — Sun, 25 Jan 2009 18:46:00 +0000

Things seem to be boding well for Danny Boyle’s little ‘Slumdog’ flic, as if you haven’t noticed. The film already won the Golden Globe and has now picked up the coveted Producers Guild (PGA) award for Best Film of the Year – the most accurate bellwether for Oscar.

One might think that winning both awards could only help substantiate an Oscar victory, but the statistics don’t support it. Only two films in the past eight years (“Gladiator” and “LOTR:Return of The King”) won both the Globe and the PGA, and then went on to win the Oscar.

Continue reading ‘Slumdog Millionaire’ Wins Produces Guild Award – Is This Your Oscar Best Picture? at The Playlist.

The Playlist’s Oscar Predictions: Major Categories

Rodrigo Perez — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 18:45:00 +0000

Alright, everyone’s dropping their predictions for the Oscar nominations, so The Playlist is dropping ours. Some picks are probably predictable, but again, this is not a time to be original, if that’s how you perceive Oscar betting, we strongly encourage you to join our Oscar pool so we can rob you of the money you seem too naive to be entitled to.

But here’s always a surprise or two, not because the Academy is trying to be different then say the Globes, the Baftas or what have you (that’s naive thinking), but because it’s a group of some 6,000 people who do not vote together collectively or by committee and make decisions in advance.

Continue reading The Playlist’s Oscar Predictions: Major Categories at The Playlist.

‘Milk’ & ‘Benjamin Button’ Lead Critics’ Choice Awards With Eight Noms Each

Rodrigo Perez — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 14:15:00 +0000

The Critics Choice Awards are lame, right? We mean it airs on VH1 on January 8, 2009 for Christsake.

Well, “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” and “Milk” lead the pack with eight nominations each and “Slumdog Millionaire,” “Doubt” and “The Dark Knight” aren’t far behind with six nods a piece.

It’s hosted by the new “At the Movies” duo Ben Lyons and Ben Mankiewicz co-hosted the announcement of the noms in Times Square.

Continue reading ‘Milk’ & ‘Benjamin Button’ Lead Critics’ Choice Awards With Eight Noms Each at The Playlist.

Your Film Going Options For Thanksgiving Weekend – Nov 26-30

Rodrigo Perez — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 19:52:00 +0000

Ok, we’re going to keep this unusually quick, cause we’d like to get the fuck out of dodge.

Opening this weekend in wide release is Baz Luhrmann’s “Australia.” As we assumed, it’s a polarizing film with critics and scribes are split almost evenly down the middle; it has a 51% rating at Rotten Tomatoes. We didn’t love it per se, but we did greatly admire the pomp and circumstance and the lush spectacle of it all.

Continue reading Your Film Going Options For Thanksgiving Weekend – Nov 26-30 at The Playlist.

Will Prop 8 Actually Help ‘Milk’ In The Oscar Race?

Spencer Martin — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 15:32:00 +0000

With the passing of the unfortunate gay marriage ban Proposition 8 in California, the Sean Penn starring “Milk”‘ just may be gotten a major boost with its Oscar chances. The blow to the liberal base in California will do nothing but have them viewing Gus Van Sant’s biopic about gay 1970’s gay activist Harvey Milk as a comment on the events that just occurred and will give the film a new air of relevancy.

As Variety’s Anne Thompson says about the Academy reacting to the vote, “The fact that California did not defeat the ban could energize the largely liberal Academy base.” We have to agree, as “Milk” is suddenly a current events film, not just a biopic of man who died over 30 years ago.

Continue reading Will Prop 8 Actually Help ‘Milk’ In The Oscar Race? at The Playlist.

First Look: New Photos From Gus Van Sant’s ‘Milk’

Rodrigo Perez — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 18:18:00 +0000

We normally try and stay away from posting photos for the sake of posting photos, but after having read the Dustin Lance Black script for Gus Van Sant‘s biopic of the Harvey Milk story, “Milk,” and having just rewatched the excellent 1984 documentary, “The Times of Harvey Milk,” we must say we’re rather excited for the release of this film.

We have a bunch of great new “Milk” photos including shots of Sean Penn as Harvey Milk, Diego Luna as his fey and jealous latino boyfriend Jack Lira (you gotta love the hair, it’s almost as funny as what the real Lira looked like), the first ever shots of Alison Pill as Milk’s lesbian campaign manager Anne Kronenberg and more shots of Emile Hirsch as Milk’s faithful supporter Cleve Jones, James Franco as his ex-boyfriend Scott Smith and Josh Brolin as his rival and eventual unhinged assassin, Dan White (goddamn, the Twinkie defense).

Continue reading First Look: New Photos From Gus Van Sant’s ‘Milk’ at The Playlist.

Gus Van Sant Wanted Tom Cruise And River Phoenix For ‘Milk’ Back In The Day

Rodrigo Perez — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 18:53:00 +0000

Movies take a long time to get off the ground. This we all now. Gus Van Sant’s biopic of the first openly gay city supervisor of San Francisco, California, Harvey Milk, was something he had in the works as far back as 1998.

In an interview with Interview magazine between, “Milk” star James Franco and the director Van Sant, the two discuss the original incarnation of the biopic. While Sean Penn was always the filmmaker’s first choice for playing the slain supervising politician, at the time, he had other ideas.

Continue reading Gus Van Sant Wanted Tom Cruise And River Phoenix For ‘Milk’ Back In The Day at The Playlist.

New ‘Milk’ Trailer Hits! Plus New Photos And Not Final Poster

Rodrigo Perez — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 20:30:00 +0000

Rope Of Silicon has new images of Josh Brolin and Emile Hirsch from Gus Van Sant‘s “Milk.”

This poster above was over at In Contention, but then yanked cause it’s not final, but according to the blog, the final poster and trailer (!) will be out tomorrow. Scratch that, today.

The biopic about the life and death of Harvey Milk, the first openly gay city supervisor of San Francisco, California, stars Sean Penn, Brolin, Hirsch, Diego Luna and James Franco.

Continue reading New ‘Milk’ Trailer Hits! Plus New Photos And Not Final Poster at The Playlist.

Gus Van Sant’s ‘Milk,’ Pops

Rodrigo Perez — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 15:59:00 +0000

Just got an interesting tip from a friend who got a first look at Gus Van Sant’s “Milk” starring Sean Penn as Harvey Milk, the first openly gay man elected to office in U.S. history slain in 1978 in his San Franciscan city (Milk was the supervisor to the city’s then-mayor George Moscone who was also murdered) .

As you might have expected, considering the Oscar-bait-ness of the film (the heavy weight list of actors includes Josh Brolin, Emile Hirsch, James Franco and Diego Luna), the insider tell us the film is much more “old school” Gus Van Sant ala the assured and economical days of “Good Will Hunting,” rather than his recent experimental phase (“Elephant,” et al).

Continue reading Gus Van Sant’s ‘Milk,’ Pops at The Playlist.

The Playlist’s Fall Film Schedule PT.2, Nov-Dec, Let’s Do This Again!

Rodrigo Perez — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 17:23:00 +0000

Alright, you were here yesterday to read The Playlist’s picks for the first half of the fall season (Sept-Oct), you don’t need much of a refresher. The fall line-up are the films that generally matter (at least from North American films) and the Oscar race is officially on. Many trailers here are not available, fyi, but links in the titles where applicable and or sometimes just contextual.

NOVEMBER 7

“Role Models”
David Wain of “Wet Hot American Summer” and “The Ten” fame directs this comedy about two energy drink reps (Sean William Scott and Paul Rudd) forced to enroll in a community service program where they mentor two young boys.

Continue reading The Playlist’s Fall Film Schedule PT.2, Nov-Dec, Let’s Do This Again! at The Playlist.

So That Thing Isn’t Real? James Franco Wears Large Penis Prosthesis In Gus Van Sant’s ‘Milk’

Spencer Martin — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 16:13:00 +0000

In the upcoming Gus Van Sant biopic of an assassinated gay San Francisco city councilman, “Milk,” James Franco admits that his endowment in the film may not be entirely natural. In a recent appearance on Jimmy Kimmel, Franco admits that he used to assistance of modern technology in his nude scenes with Sean Penn ala Mark Wahlberg in “Boogie Nights.”

“I was very uncomfortable on the day [of the nude scene] but the makeup artist handed me this prosthetic penis.

Continue reading So That Thing Isn’t Real? James Franco Wears Large Penis Prosthesis In Gus Van Sant’s ‘Milk’ at The Playlist.