Timing is finally right for 'Milk' amid uproar over gay marriage
By Marco R. della Cava, USA TODAY
http://www.usatoday.com/life/movies/news/2008-11-23-milk-main_N.htmSAN FRANCISCO — The mayor's office here is a serene wood-paneled retreat anchored by an imposing desk and fine oil paintings. It also is haunted by the ghosts of what might have been.
"Sitting 6 feet away from the spot, it's impossible not to think of that day," says the office's current occupant, Gavin Newsom.
Thirty years ago this Thursday, city supervisor Dan White marched into this room and assassinated Mayor George Moscone. He then walked down the hall and pumped five bullets into fellow supervisor Harvey Milk, cutting short the life of a pioneering, openly gay politician whose influence has echoed down the decades.
San Francisco felt the jolt of that event in 1978; now it's the nation's turn. With Milk, which opens in New York, Los Angeles and here on Wednesday, director Gus Van Sant weaves archival footage into a tale of a complex man who overcame his inhibitions to become a powerful public advocate. Van Sant's efforts are buttressed by Sean Penn, whose performance as Milk is garnering Oscar attention.
