Milk's Right Hand Man

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Milk's Right Hand ManFeature,By flick_grrrl, 21st January, 2009       
        On January 29 one of the most important gay films in recent years will hit Australian screens – Milk. Directed by Gus Van Sant, Milktells the story of the late American politician Harvey Milk, a gayrights activist and the first openly gay man to be elected to publicoffice in California as a member of the San Francisco Board ofSupervisors. His actions kick started the gay rights movement that isstill felt in Australia today.
Milk is stirring, inspiring and simply beautiful. You walk out of the cinema wanting to change the world.
Emile Hirsch plays Cleve Jones in the film, a young politicalactivist recruited by Harvey Milk. Hirsch took time out to talk abouthis experience working on the film, and to tell us why this movie trulyis something truly special.
So, the real life Jones is still alive today. Was he on set often?
Yeah, Cleve was always around. I went up about a month before westarted shooting. We just got together and he drove me around in hispickup truck, all around San Francisco. He showed me different spotsand proceeded to tell me bits and pieces of his life story. It wasamazing. He was really an intelligent guy. I think it really helped meget a feel for the character and, if I ever had any questions, Clevewould always be quick to answer.
Did you know much about the real events surrounding Harvey Milk before signing on to do the movie?
I knew nothing when I first stepped into the film. I did by the timeI got on set, but when I was first sent the script I did not know aboutthis story. I quickly watched the documentary The Times of Harvey Milk, which is an extraordinary film.
What did you think when you heard about the ‘Yes’ vote on Proposition 8?
I was really surprised. I was elated when Obama had won, and I wassuch a big fan of Obama. But I didn’t think that Prop 8 would pass. ButI think that they they had a very organised effort to get people out tovote for Prop 8. I heard that they’d spent $75 million (USD) orsomething to get that passed. And there are riots now. I think that formany people in the gay community, as angry as they are right now, thisis the perfect time for this movie to come out, to remind people whatthey should stand for. I think it’s a very good time for the film.
Do you have any gay friends? How do they feel about Proposition 8?
Yeah, sure. Sure, I have a lot of gay friends, although I haven’thad that conversation, oddly enough. But people are really angry.People are bummed, too! They’re disappointed.
Sean Penn was your director on Into The Wild. Was working with him as a fellow actor a very different experience?
Yes, he’s completely different. He’s extremely focused when he acts,and he also is when he directs, but it’s just a little different. It’sjust a different job. He always blew me away on set. And, it’s funnybecause, you hear that you’re going to act alongside someone thatdirected you for so long, in such a specific way, and there it’s like asoldier-general deal. And then you have to act alongside them. It’salmost like being a basketball player and being told to play a pickupgame alongside your coach.
What’s next for you?
I don’t know. I’m in the process now of just reading scripts andtrying to find one that is the right one for me, and that’s what I’mdoing. Really it’s any damn role for me. It’s just a case of readingscripts and they’re all such different stories. Right now I’m reading aperiod, it’s a western. I was reading a Roman era thing, I was readinga thriller, a courtroom drama. And they’re all really fun and good,it’s just like, ‘We’ll hire you, which one do you want to do?’
What lessons did you take away from working on Milk ?
To me the film is really about equality and treating people equally.And this was a time, when the film takes place, when Anita Bryant wastrying to get gay people removed from their jobs. That’s ****ed up. AndI think that the film stands up for people’s rights. It’s not just agay thing. It’s mainly a gay thing, but Harvey Milk was powerfulbecause he created a broader context.
Watch the trailer for Milk here:

http://www.youtube.com/v/unu-9vM9VZw

Milk opens nationally on January 29 through Universal Pictures.
[url=http://www.samesame.com.au/go.php?http://www.samesame.com.au/article/3471/Milk;;1;3470]Read our review of Milk here.[/url]

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