We think about the challenges facing a screenwriter facing a blank page (or monitor, rather) while facing the enormous task of writing about a real life and the real events that surrounded it. Dustin Lance Black recently took on that challenge -- and succeeded -- when he penned the acclaimed script for "Milk," the accolade-laden bio pic starring Sean Penn.
"Milk," which is now up for a highly impressive eight Oscar nominations (including one for original screenplay), tells the story of San Francisco politico Harvey Milk, a man who successfully championed gay rights in numerous ways before being gunned down by fellow city supervisor Dan White in 1978. The case filled the headlines, and many remember each detail like they had just seen it on television hours ago.
Not surprisingly, Black's task was a monumental one, and we're thinking that during his Book Soup appearance a question or two may be asked about just that: how does one approach a bio pic of such importance, and when so many of the players remember it so vividly? Certainly a challenge.
The scribe has also written for the amazing "Big Love" (could there be a more intriguing character than Chloe Sevigny's Nicki on television right now?), so we're expecting to see his name in the lead credits for decades to come.
Dustin Lance Black Signs "Milk: The Shooting Script"
February 2, 7PM
Book Soup, 8818 Sunset Boulevard, West Hollywood
310-659-3110
