WHO'S NEXT

Dustin Lance Black

Dusty Cakes is.

In the free gay mag, the Oscar-winning screenwriter chats about his latest projects.

8, the play he penned about Prop 8:

“I don’t ever want to make a dime off it. It should always benefit the community in two ways. One, any money that does ever come out of it goes towards this equality movement, and I’ll ensure that happens. And, two, it’s a communication tool. I think [the trial] was one of the most truthful, illuminating three weeks in the history of our movement. In that way this play isn’t just documentation—it’s a rallying cry for people to support this landmark case and to know how landmark it was. We need to have evidence of it, to share it, and shed light on the truth of who we are and why we’re asking for what we’re asking for.”

And, his J. Edgar (Hoover) screenplay:

“We all wanted to find out what really happened. What was his sexuality. What did it look like. I wanted to get to the truth of his political work and the things that deserve applause and things that were heinous. The gay stuff was only ever going to be a third of it. It’s not Milk, but it’s there. When I finished a draft I liked, and think I got to what the truth is, it’s a story that reflects what gay life was like pre-Stonewall, which was very different from what it looked like for Harvey Milk. That’s the script Clint and the studio read and I’ll tell you what—not only did Clint and the studio never cut or change a word, they never had a note about it. Clint said some things that were so incredibly moving that he understood the struggle young gays go through today. If anything, Clint made it even more human and universal.”