Oscar Winner Dustin Lance Black Backstage Q&A

Academy Award Winner for Best Original Screenplay Dustin Lance Black was interviewed backstage at the Oscars, here is his full Q&A to share with you here on BWW.

Q. Congratulations on your win. It was very touching, and I loved what you said. Do you think President Obama should reverse the stand on gay marriage?

A. I think that there's a few things that I would love him to do immediately, which is to repeal "don't ask don't tell," and DMA, Defensive Marriage Act. But I do think that for inspiration for the gay community, we need to look not to Proposition 8, but dream bigger and look back to 1964 and the Civil Rights Act, because no group has ever won full civil rights in this country going state by state or county by county. I think it is time for the gay and lesbian community to have a federal civil rights act for full civil rights.

Q. So you think it should be reversed?
A. Absolutely. We are equal. Everyone.

Q. Congratulations.
A. Thank you.

Q. Hey, Lance, Greg Hernandez. Daily News.
A. Hi.

Q. Congrats.
A. Thank you.

Q. Hey, you know, you were talking about how you were inspired by Harvey Milk when you were a kid. What would have happened if, say, you were 13 and you saw someone like you at the Oscars, saying what you said? What do you think that would have done for you back then?

A. I don't know. I didn't hear that at the Oscars when I was a 13 year old kid. You know, I just hope it makes you feel a bit less alone. It's easy in San Francisco and L.A. and New York, Chicago, because you can find support, you can find mentors and heroes. But where I'm from, and a lot of places, you know in this country, in small town America, they just don't know there are gay heroes, and they don't know there's other gay people, and they don't know there's a potential future, I mean a beautiful future. I mean, look at this; it's insane for out gay people. So, you know, I hope it inspires some folks.

Q. Congratulations. First of all, working on the screenplay you did, have you ever have the dream of an Oscar moment or award moment? Did it fulfill the expectation that you felt?

A. It's all sort of an out of body thing. I mean, definitely, when we started this journey, I was, you know, just charging hotel stays and gasoline on my credit card and driving out to meet with Cleve Jones and Anne Kronenberg in San Francisco. There's no studio, things like that. Your dream is don't screw it up, first of all; and your second is, let's get it to a great director. And I was fortunate and got it to Sean and it just kept being the next thing in front of you. And then all of a sudden, four weeks ago was a nomination, and it's just sort of unbelievable. I don't quite believe it yet. Maybe when I see my mom in a few minutes, I'll believe it.

Q. Did you know what you were going to say if and when you got up there?

A. You know, I hadn't I had an idea. You know, I had an idea. I mean, for me, the whole thing was always just sort of, you know, pay it forward. You know, Harvey gave me his story. And Harvey gave me his story and it saved my life. I just thought it's time to pass it on. So the only thing I really knew I wanted to say is tell those kids out there they are going to be all right.

Q. Congratulations. You're making us all emotional. You've mentioned your mom a couple times. Was there something your mom said to you right before you came in came here tonight or were on the red carpet? Is there something you guys talked about that really struck a chord with you?

A. You know, she always, you know, she just says, "I can't believe we are here. Think of where we came from." You know, we were, like, a broke family. It was just my single mom raising us for a very long time before my beautiful stepdad came around, and, you know, and it was just about survival for so long. So, I think for her, she's completely overwhelmed and, you know, and she just does what she always does. I mean, this is a Mormon woman who should not be accepting or loving, and she just says I love you, and I want you to fall in love and be as happy as I am, so...

Q. Congratulations.
A. Hi.

Q. I wanted to know at what point did you think that this film could grab the attention of the Academy?

A. I think that's an easy one. I think it was the moment we first saw Sean with his hair cut with the suit on, and he came in, onto the set. And I was blown away at how much it reminded me of everything I'd heard and seen of Harvey. And I looked out to turn to Cleve and I went, "My God. That's him, isn't it?" And Cleve was outside like smoking manically going, "Oh, my God. I've seen a ghost." But that was the thing. I thought this film would only succeed if we could somehow get close to that charisma, because that charisma of Harvey Milk is what transcended our community again and reached out to all these other people and will embrace the film. I think they have.

Harvey Milk was an activist and politician, and the first openly gay man to be elected to major public office in America; in 1977, he was voted to the city supervisors' board of San Francisco, representing the Castro District.

From an original screenplay by Dustin Lance Black, Milk is produced by Dan Jinks and Bruce Cohen, the Academy Award-winning producers of American Beauty, through The Jinks/Cohen Company. Groundswell Productions and Focus Features co-financed Milk, which is a Focus Features presentation in association with Axon Films of a Groundswell production and a Jinks/Cohen Company production. Executive producers of Milk are Groundswell CEO Michael London (an Academy Award nominee for Sideways), Mr. Black, Groundswell's Bruna Papandrea, Barbara Hall, and William Horberg.

 

Photo Credit: Sarah DeBoer/Retna Ltd.

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