Special Sub-Topic: "Milk" - the Life and Times of Harvey Milk Click Here To Play: "Milk" - the Life and Times of Harvey Milk

In the film's opening scene Harvey first met his future lover Scott Smith, played by James Franco. The date '1970' was superimposed over the scene. Where did this meeting take place?

The New York subway. In the film Harvey approached Scott on the subway stairs and asked him to help celebrate his 40th birthday. They later went to Harvey's apartment where Scott told Harvey he needed to change his ordinary life.

After Harvey and Scott moved to San Francisco, what type of store did they open?

Camera shop. Harvey Milk was an amateur photographer and when the store front below their apartment became vacant, they started the camera store. During Harvey's subsequent runs for political office his occupation was listed as 'store owner'.

Harvey Milk ran for political office in San Francisco four times. What was the position to which he was finally elected in 1977?

San Francisco Board of Supervisors. Milk ran unsuccessfully for the Board of Supervisors twice and also the California Assembly before his 1977 victory. In the film, Milk befriended a young man named Cleve Jones (played by actor Emile Hirsch) during the course of his State Assembly campaign. Jones came to play a key role in Milk's future political endeavors. The movie's end featured an update on each major character including Jones, who originated the AIDS Memorial Quilt which commemorated the lives of more than 40,000 victims of the disease.

Which actor portrayed Milk's murderer, former Board of Supervisors member Dan White?

Josh Brolin. Josh Brolin stated on television's "The Actor's Studio" that Sean Penn suggested him for the role and that they mirrored the relationship of their characters by not speaking during filming except in their scenes together. Reviews of the film have noted Brolin's uncanny resemblance to the real-life White.

The director of "Milk" has been known for his gritty art-house films like "My Own Private Idaho" (1991) as well as mainstream hits like "Good Will Hunting" (1997). What is his name?

Gus Van Sant. A 1992 article in 'The Hollywood Reporter' stated that Van Sant was signed to direct an Oliver Stone scripted version of Milk's life as early as 1991 with the lead role to be played by Robin Williams. An article from 2007 in the same paper said that Matt Damon was originally cast as Dan White.

Actress Ashlee Temple portrayed the politician who had the sad duty of announcing the murder of Milk and Mayor George Moscone to the press. Which real-life colleague of Milk's did Temple play?

Dianne Feinstein. In the film, archival news footage was used in the scene in which Feinstein announced Moscone and Milk's death. As Chairman of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors at the time of Moscone's death she succeeded him as mayor. Feinstein was also elected mayor twice in her own right, serving through 1988. She was elected to the US Senate in 1992. Ms. Feinstein was the first woman to hold both political offices.

Mid-way through the film, Milk laughed that his ability to build unlikely political coalitions with groups like the Teamsters had earned him a nickname. The name reflected his influence in the section of San Francisco that was home to most of the city's gay population. What was Milk called?

The Mayor of Castro Street. The Castro Valley section of San Francisco was originally settled by Irish Catholics like Dan White's family. As the second and third generations moved to the suburbs after WWII, the area went into decline. The exodus accelerated when the first openly gay bar opened in the Castro District in the early '60s. A decade later the city had the largest gay community in the US.

One of the issues that Milk campaigned fervently against was California Proposition 6, a bill to ban gay teachers from the state's public school system. In a scene about this issue, Harvey Milk told Dan White that the proposition was so unpopular "even ______ is against it." Who did Milk say was anti-Prop 6?

Ronald Reagan. Congressman John Briggs, played by actor Denis O'Hare, championed Proposition 6. It was said that even Ronald Reagan was against the bill because there were already enough laws dealing with the same issue. Reagan appeared in the movie via archival footage, as did future US Senator Dianne Feinstein.

Who appeared numerous times in the film solely through archival footage of her Florida orange juice commercials and nationwide crusade against gay rights?

Anita Bryant. Anita Bryant was a singer who gained fame through appearances on Arthur Godfrey's television talent show and as the second runner-up in the Miss America pageant of 1959. As the spokeswoman for the Florida Citrus Commission in the late 1960s, she made famous the tagline "a breakfast without orange juice is like a day without sunshine." Though Bryant was referenced numerous times throughout "Milk", the only times she was seen on camera were in the actual newsreels of the oj commercials and news coverage of her anti-homosexual activities.

Throughout the film Milk started his rallies by shouting "I'm Harvey Milk and I'm here to ________." What did Milk say he was there to do?

Recruit you. Milk's signature line "I'm Harvey Milk and I'm here to recruit you" was a tongue in cheek reference to the claims of anti-gay proponents that homosexuals actively recruited youth to the gay lifestyle. In a scene toward the movie's end, Congressman John Briggs debated Milk about Proposition 6, the bill banning gay teachers from California public schools. He claimed children mimic what they see, especially authority figures like teachers. Penn (as Milk) responded that if kids imitate what they see in school there should be a lot more nuns.