Fresh Air from WHYY: Milk screenwriter and executive producer Dustin Lance Black explains how Harvey Milk, gay rights and his upbringing in the Mormon church influenced his writing.  Listen to the interview here.

Kevin Miniter, who was arrested in the widely seen footage during the initial Prop 8 protest march the day following the election, has spoken to the Washington Blade to recount his story.

I have to admit that while protesting, I wondered what might happen if I were to be arrested. Not surprisingly, Kevin makes it pretty clear that it wasn’t pleasant.  In the end, they released him after 2 days, presumably without charges. But he was released with bruising and bleeding resulting from a questionable use of force when subduing him. Seems to be that they were using him as an example to keep the rest of the crowd back. The video below shows the event.

Richard Raddon, the Mormon director of the LA Film Festival, has resigned from his job following the uproar of controversy around his $1500 donation to the Yes on 8 campaign.

The donation came to light lmost two weeks ago, a revelation that caused Raddon to tender his resignation to Film Independent. At the time, the board did not accept Raddon’s offer, though the move didn’t quite stem the debate over Raddon’s future and whether a potential boycott would devastate the festival when it returns next summer. 

Please encourage everyone you know to see the new film, Milk, between Wednesday and Sunday. This is a very important film about a historic person, time, and events for gay civil rights. It is very timely with many parallels to the current uproar about Proposition 8. And if you don’t already know the story, I can promise you that this will NOT be a boring docudrama. The film is often mentioned as a top Oscar contender. Please visit NoMilkForCinemark.com and support their efforts to see the film at a gay rights friendly theater.

NoMilkForCinemark.com is a new site trying to go beyond a boycott of Cinemark Theaters to specifically ask people NOT to see Milk, the eagerly awaited film about Gay pioneer Harvey Milk, at a Cinemark Theater. The CEO of Cinemark, Alan Stock, donated $9999 to the Yes on 8 Campaign, and the site is outraged that the company will now profit from showing MILK in his theaters.

Of course we’re all going to see Milk though! The site proclaims, “if 1,000 of us commit to see MILK at a competitor’s theater instead of Cinemark, at an average cost of $10 per ticket, that’s $10,000 of lost revenue”