'Milk': How It Finally Got Made

Image credit: Phil Bray

A story that had stymied seasoned screenwriters for years. But Black, by both circumstance and sensibility, wasn't hampered by the same roadblocks. Many scripts adapted from The Mayor of Castro Street focused on the trial of Dan White. White was convicted of the lesser charge of manslaughter after his attorneys argued that junk food had made him mentally unstable: the infamous ''Twinkie defense.'' Black wasn't interested in that. He was going to write about Milk and his politics, the very thing other scripts had avoided. In 2005, Black approached producers Zadan and Meron about his new vision, but they chose not to hire him. (Zadan and Meron declined to comment.) Black ultimately decided to go around them, and around Warner, and write an original screenplay.

Black couldn't use The Mayor of Castro Street as source material — Zadan and Meron had the rights to that — so he set off to interview Milk's friends and acquaintances. After two and a half years, he handed his script to Jones, who was astonished. ''I've read maybe 40 treatments, outlines, and scripts over the years, and I was never impressed,'' he says. ''But when I read [Black's script], I could hear Harvey's voice.''

Jones arranged a meeting with his friend Van Sant, who decided that a third time was the charm and signed on to direct. American Beauty producers Dan Jinks and Bruce Cohen agreed to produce. Sean Penn accepted the lead role. And Focus Features, the distributors of Brokeback, opted to release the film. ''Meeting Lance was a part of what sold people on this script,'' says Milk executive producer Michael London (Sideways), whose company cofinanced the film. ''His whole life he'd been waiting to pay Harvey Milk back for inspiring him to stand up for himself.''

The finished film (read the EW review), which has drawn strong early praise, is now a possible Oscar nominee. What's more, after 16 years of false starts, a feature film about Harvey Milk now finds itself smack in the center of the zeitgeist. On Nov. 4, Californians approved Proposition 8, a ballot measure outlawing gay marriage. In a bitter twist, it was heavily funded by leaders of Black's childhood faith: the Mormon church. Thirty years after Milk's murder, the fight continues. At that tribute dinner last summer, Black talked about the hurdles for gay kids today, and how important it is that this film reaches them. ''It is our job to give Harvey's story back to the people it belongs to,'' he said. ''We have to give them hope.''

More from EW:
Milk: Rating its Oscar chances

Obama win: Helpful for Milk's Oscar bid?

Sean Penn: A Sure Thing for a Best Actor Nomination

Milk: A First Look