The SF world premiere of Gus Van Sant’s film Milk was everything I hoped it would be. All of us surviving Milk colleagues, family and friends were given Celebrity status and it was great fun. Anne Kronenberg – Weland and cute hubby Paul and I and my date (the fabulous and stunning Juanita More) arrived in a limo and walked the red carpet along with Milk producers Dan Jinks and Bruce Cohen, and Alison Pill, who plays Anne Kronenberg in the film. We had a lot of fun posing for the paparazzi, and chatting up the various reporters about what it was like and what it meant to be revisiting Harvey’s shining moments once again. It was nothing short of cathartic for me, and so great to be able to share the experience with my good friend Juanita More; she is no stranger to the Milk legacy through her tireless fundraising support of the Milk City Hall Sculpture project that I co-chaired over the last four years. Juanita looked like a million bucks in her Mr. David faux leopard-skin gown and her massive chandelier-like amber earrings.

We loved that there was a small legion of “No on 8” supporters doing Harvey’s famous human billboard technique of public demonstration and flanking the other side of Castro Street, how politically simpatico is that?? Thanks to those who encouraged and supported that public demo. Juanita and I hate that we have to be burning up community-building energy to fight prop 8. So please vote NO on 8 and let your relatives in California know where you stand...and that you hope they will stand with you at the ballot box next week. If we all just called one relative who may be on the fence, we would win this!

The premiere was poignant for those of us who had championed remembrance of Harvey throughout recent years – and for me who has done so for the last three decades. I was 19 when I met Harvey and Scott Smith so the film comes very full circle for me and kind of like a super-thrilling gift for all the hard work caring about Harvey over the years. The after-party at City Hall was elegant and stellar and fun. At the top of the grand staircase there was the beautiful bronze sculpture of Harvey smiling his big grin, bathed in colored stage light which he never was very shy about basking in when he was alive...

Go see the sculpture some day if you haven’t. It’s a truly inspiring public work of art, the first of its kind honoring an openly gay Civil Servant housed in a government locale... and if you haven’t ever visited City Hall, you owe that to yourselves... a truly awe-inspiring place, by way of its long and illustrious history, a beacon of hope for the larger international LGBT civil rights movement... Thank you Mayor Newsom and all our openly LGBT elected officials and supporters for keeping that legacy of the building thriving today... Harvey would be proud of you.

A lot of people don’t know of Harvey’s early theatre history during his NYC days working for then-Broadway director (and best friend to Harvey) Tom O’Horgan, who directed the legendary shows Hair and Lenny on Broadway...  Harvey always loved the synergy of theatre and film so he would have just loved all this dazzle that was largely for him...

One of the other beauties of Milk is that Scott Smith (Harvey’s main soul-mate), played by James Franco, is also remembered so lovingly and poignantly... James’ rendition was as uncanny and moving as Sean Penn’s was of Harvey. Scott would have been just tickled pink to be remembered so romantically and poetically. Scott and Harvey were like my first gay parents in SF, so the release of the movie about our lives was incredibly poignant for me...

Today I am feeling soooo ferklempt, partly because the whole affair was done with an eye towards engendering a sense of hope for the new generation of Harvey Milks...as a benefit for four LGBT youth groups. The producers really came through on that important community issue. Harvey made that essential sense of hope famous through his “Hope” speech which will now become even more famous and beloved thanks to the hard work of so many brilliant people... from the gorgeous costumes of Danny Glicker to the on-point clarity of screenwriter Dustin Lance Black, both of who have become really great friends to me...I was sad that Lucas Grabeel, who plays me in the movie (and in such a delightful rendition) couldn’t be at the premiere because he was working in Korea. But he sent his love.

And I have to pay my respects to The Gus-meister... Mr. Van Sant, we would have hired you to work at Castro Camera (Harvey and Scott’s camera store in The Castro) in a quick minute. As all now will know, it was the coolest place in The Castro... you would have had a home there dropping off your super 8 footage and pausing on that old beat-up arm chair to hang out with us and the dog... And can we have three cheers for the dog who was cast as Harvey and Scott’s dog The Kid... Now that’s Star material!!! What a cutie!!! Thanks for bringing the old armchair of Castro Camera to millions for now and forever...Come on in...Have a seat...Register to vote and help us create community...And above all keep it fun -- on that point Harvey would insist.

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