45-568: Dustin Lance Black (born June 10, 1974) is an American screenwriter, director, producer, and LGBT rights activist. He is known for writing the film Milk , for which he won the Oscar for best original screenplay in 2009. He has also subsequently written the screenplays for the film J. Edgar and the 2022 crime miniseries Under the Banner of Heaven . Black is a founding board member of
90-655: A freeborn male minor . Acceptable same-sex partners were males excluded from legal protections as citizens: slaves , male prostitutes , and the infames , entertainers or others who might be technically free but whose lifestyles set them outside the law. A male citizen who willingly performed oral sex or received anal sex was disparaged, but there is only limited evidence of legal penalties against these men. In courtroom and political rhetoric, charges of effeminacy and passive sexual behaviors were directed particularly at "democratic" politicians ( populares ) such as Julius Caesar and Mark Antony . Roman law addressed
135-633: A boy in his neighborhood at the age of six or seven, he told himself "I'm going to hell. And if I ever admit it, I'll be hurt, and I'll be brought down". He says that his "acute awareness" of his sexuality made him dark, shy, and at times suicidal. He came out in his senior year of college. While attending North Salinas High School , Black began to work in theater at The Western Stage in Salinas and later worked on productions including Bare at Hollywood's Hudson Main Stage Theater. Black attended
180-408: A cult prostitute, or with someone whose gender roles were not considered solidly masculine. Such sexual relations were even seen as good fortune , with an Akkadian tablet , the Šumma ālu , reading, "If a man copulates with his equal from the rear, he becomes the leader among his peers and brothers". However, homosexual relationships with fellow soldiers, slaves, royal attendants, or those where
225-466: A eunuch". This law code condemns a situation that involves homosexual rape . Any Assyrian male could visit a prostitute or lie with another male, just as long as false rumors or forced sex were not involved with another male. In ancient Rome, the bodies of citizen youths were strictly off-limits, and the Lex Scantinia imposed penalties on those who committed a sex crime ( stuprum ) against
270-453: A feature film screenplay encompassing the events of Milk's life. The screenplay was written on spec , but Black showed the script to Jones, who passed it on to his friend Gus Van Sant , who signed on to direct the feature. Black is an old friend of Milk producer Dan Jinks , who signed on to the biopic after he called Black to congratulate him and discovered that the project did not have a confirmed producer. Black's film Pedro , profiling
315-646: A podcast in which they discussed the ethical issues surrounding surrogacy and the experience as a whole. The couple do not share pictures of their child's face online due to privacy concerns. Daley said, "That might change in the future, but for right now, we wanted to enjoy the first year with him." Daley and Black's second son was born in March 2023. In 2014, Black was one of eight potential commencement speakers invited by Pasadena City College , and he accepted. After school officials learned nude pictures of Black engaged in unprotected sex were leaked online five years prior,
360-677: A prostitute or actor, could not as a matter of law be raped, nor could a slave, who was legally classified as property; the slave's owner, however, could prosecute the rapist for property damage. In the Roman army of the Republic, sex among fellow soldiers violated the decorum against intercourse with citizens and was subject to harsh penalties, including death, as a violation of military discipline . The Greek historian Polybius (2nd century BC) lists deserters , thieves, perjurers , and "...on young men who have abused their persons" as subject to
405-800: A relationship with the British Olympic and World champion diver Tom Daley in spring 2013. The couple live in the London Borough of Southwark . They were engaged in October 2015 and married at Bovey Castle in Devon in May 2017. In February 2018, Black and Daley announced they were expecting their first child and subsequently announced the birth of a son by surrogacy in June 2018. Facing criticism for their choice of surrogacy, Black and Daley started
450-449: A restored Canadian film, focused on Quebec filmmaker François Girard 's 32 Short Films About Glenn Gould made in 1993. Actors Brad Pitt , Edward Norton , Benicio del Toro , Ethan Hawke , Laura Linney and film directors Julian Schnabel , Kathryn Bigelow and Steven Soderbergh are among the celebs the festival has invited on its 500-plus guest list, thus completing its lineup. The festival closed on September 13, 2008 with
495-454: A social better was submissive or penetrated , were treated as bad omens . Middle Assyrian Law Codes dating 1075 BC has a particularly harsh law for homosexuality in the military , which reads: "If a man have intercourse with his brother-in-arms, they shall turn him into a eunuch ." A similar law code reads, "If a seignior lay with his neighbor, when they have prosecuted him (and) convicted him, they shall lie with him (and) turn him into
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#1732773204785540-790: A specific law has been passed. Civil Unions proposed. Transgender persons have a law reserving 1% of Argentina's public sector jobs. Economic incentives included in the new law aim to help trans people find work in all sectors. [REDACTED] No Homophobia/biphobia is not illegal legal gender change possible since 2002. Since 2022, legal gender change allowed with only partial sex reassignment surgery . Difficulty remains to change gender information on diplomas and degrees. [REDACTED] Yes Anti-discrimination protections for gender expression. [REDACTED] Transgender people are not allowed to change gender since 2020. [REDACTED] Transgender people are not allowed to change gender since 2017. [REDACTED] Gender change
585-644: A speech in front of the United States Capitol to an estimated crowd of 200,000 LGBT rights activists. In 2010, Black directed his own script Virginia , starring Jennifer Connelly . Also in 2010, Black narrated 8: The Mormon Proposition , a documentary about the involvement of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS) in California's Proposition 8 . Black accepted the award for best documentary for 8: The Mormon Proposition at
630-446: Is The Loss of a Teardrop Diamond (directed by Jodie Markell ), based on a "rediscovered" Tennessee Williams screenplay. TIFF screened 312 films from 64 countries. These include 249 features, most of which were North American and/or world premieres. Neil Burger (director of The Illusionist ) world premiered The Lucky Ones a character study of U.S. soldiers on an unplanned road trip, starring Tim Robbins . Also featured
675-745: Is enforced by the legal authorities in Iran and Nigeria (in the northern third of the country). In 2011, the United Nations Human Rights Council passed its first resolution recognizing LGBT rights, following which the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights issued a report documenting violations of the rights of LGBT people, including hate crimes , criminalization of homosexual activity , and discrimination . Following
720-564: Is not legal [REDACTED] No legal recognition Gender change is legally recognized since 2021 2008 Toronto International Film Festival The 2008 Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) was held in Toronto , Ontario, Canada. This 33rd annual festival was from September 4 to September 13, 2008. The opening night gala was the World War I romantic epic Passchendaele from Canadian director Paul Gross . The 2008 festival
765-445: The fustuarium , clubbing to death. Ancient sources are most concerned with the effects of sexual harassment by officers, but the young soldier who brought an accusation against his superior needed to show that he had not willingly taken the passive role or prostituted himself. Soldiers were free to have relations with their male slaves ; the use of a fellow citizen-soldier's body was prohibited, not homosexual behaviors per se. By
810-719: The American Foundation for Equal Rights and writer of 8 , a staged reenactment of the federal trial that led to a federal court's overturn of California's Proposition 8 . Black's father Raul Garrison walked out on his polio -stricken mother, Roseanna, and his two brothers, Marcus Raul and Todd Bryant, when he was young. They grew up in a Mormon household, first in San Antonio, Texas , before moving to Salinas, California . Growing up in his family's Mormon culture and living on military bases , Black worried about his sexuality. When he found himself attracted to
855-523: The Benelux countries, Spain , Andorra , and Malta among the best for LGBT rights. The index ranks Nigeria , Yemen , Brunei , Afghanistan , Somalia , Mauritania , Palestine , and Iran among the worst. Asher & Lyric ranked Canada, Sweden , and the Netherlands as the three safest nations for LGBT people in its 2023 index. Laws that affect LGBT people include, but are not limited to,
900-591: The Eugene O'Neill Theatre in New York City on September 19, 2011, and later broadcast to a worldwide audience on YouTube from the Ebell of Los Angeles Theatre on March 3, 2012. The American Foundation for Equal Rights (AFER) and Broadway Impact, sponsors of 8 , have released and licensed the play for readings nationwide on college campuses and in community theaters free of charge. Black appears as himself in
945-463: The University of California, Los Angeles, School of Theater, Film, and Television ( UCLA ) while apprenticing with stage directors, taking acting jobs, and working on theater lighting crews. He graduated with honors in 1996. In 2000, Black wrote and directed The Journey of Jared Price , a gay romance film, and Something Close to Heaven , a gay coming-of-age short film. In 2001, he directed and
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#1732773204785990-497: The rape of a male citizen as early as the 2nd century BC when it was ruled that even a man who was "disreputable and questionable" had the same right as other citizens not to have his body subjected to forced sex. A law probably dating to the dictatorship of Julius Caesar defined rape as forced sex against "boy, woman, or anyone"; the rapist was subject to execution, a rare penalty in Roman law. A male classified as infamis , such as
1035-577: The "Wavelengths" avant-garde showcase, the four-hour-long Steven Soderbergh epic Che (playing in two parts), as well as The Wrestler lensed by Darren Aronofsky . The Brits are also well represented with Happy-Go-Lucky directed by Mike Leigh and Slumdog Millionaire directed by Danny Boyle . Despite showing fewer films than last year, among the 249 features, 116 are premieres and 61 are first features. Films from as many as 64 countries were screened, with more than 340,000 admissions expected. "Canadian Open Vault", which always highlights
1080-545: The 19th century when the British Empire was at its peak. As of 2018, more than half of the 71 countries that criminalised homosexuality were former British colonies or protectorates. In 2001, the Netherlands was the first country in the world to legalize same-sex marriage . Note that for simplicity the table below does not distinguish between 'legal' and 'lawful'. An action can only be legal or illegal where
1125-667: The GLAAD Media awards in San Francisco and spoke out on discrimination in the LDS Church and meeting with the church to make it more LGBT-inclusive. Black wrote the screenplay for J. Edgar , a biographical drama released November 11, 2011, directed by Clint Eastwood and starring Leonardo DiCaprio . In 2011, Black wrote the play 8 , which portrays the actual events in the Hollingsworth v. Perry trial and
1170-504: The Lord" and the death penalty was prescribed to its inhabitants – and to Lot's wife , who was turned into a pillar of salt because she turned back to watch the cities' destruction. In Deuteronomy 22:5, cross-dressing is condemned as "abominable". In Assyrian society, sex crimes were punished identically whether they were homosexual or heterosexual. An individual faced no punishment for penetrating someone of equal social class ,
1215-603: The North American premiere of Stone of Destiny written and directed by Charles Martin Smith , the true story of four Glasgow university students who try to restore the 300-pound Stone of Scone to its rightful Scottish home. With the film Fifty Dead Men Walking , Rose McGowan expressed support for the cause of the Irish Republican Army (IRA), with the reports of her comments being released into
1260-557: The autonomous state of Jubaland ) and the United Arab Emirates . LGBT people also face extrajudicial killings in the Russian region of Chechnya . Sudan rescinded its unenforced death penalty for anal sex (hetero- or homosexual) in 2020. Fifteen countries have stoning on the books as a penalty for adultery , which (in light of the illegality of gay marriage in those countries) would by default include gay sex, but this
1305-513: The bride (with a freedman Pythagoras ) and once as the groom. His consort Sporus appeared in public as Nero's wife wearing the regalia that was customary for the Roman empress. Apart from measures to protect the prerogatives of citizens, the prosecution of homosexuality as a general crime began in the 3rd century of the Christian era when male prostitution was banned by Philip the Arab . By
1350-704: The college announced Black had not been officially invited and the unofficial invitation was "an honest error". After talks between attorneys for Black and PCC, the college board of trustees apologized and formally invited him. In 2023, Black pleaded not guilty to a charge of assault. The charges were later dismissed by the presiding judge due to inconsistencies and weakness in evidence from the accuser. Producer (4 episodes): As Co-producer (5 episodes): Director (1 episode): Writer (4 episodes): LGBT rights Rights affecting lesbian , gay , bisexual , transgender and queer ( LGBTQ ) people vary greatly by country or jurisdiction—encompassing everything from
1395-413: The documentary film Hollywood to Dollywood (originally released in 2011). Black published his autobiography Mama's Boy: A Story From Our Americas in 2019. Paris Barclay was slated to direct Black's screenplay A Life Like Mine . From 2007 to 2011, Gus Van Sant was set to direct a film adaptation of Tom Wolfe 's book The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test , for a time working with Black. Black
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1440-548: The early 1990s, while AIDS was devastating the city's gay community. Black said that, "Hearing about Harvey was about the only hopeful story there was at the time." He had first viewed Rob Epstein 's documentary The Times of Harvey Milk when he was in college, and thought, "I just want to do something with this, why hasn't someone done something with this?" Researching Milk's life for three years, Black met with Milk's former aides Cleve Jones and Anne Kronenberg , as well as former San Francisco Mayor Art Agnos , and began to write
1485-608: The end of the 4th century, after the Roman Empire had come under Christian rule , passive homosexuality was punishable by burning . "Death by sword" was the punishment for a "man coupling like a woman" under the Theodosian Code . Under Justinian , all same-sex acts, passive or active, no matter who the partners are, were declared contrary to nature and punishable by death. The United Kingdom introduced anti-homosexuality laws throughout its colonies, particularly in
1530-651: The following: Ayoni or non-vaginal sex of all types is punishable in the Arthashastra . Homosexual acts are, however, treated as a smaller offence punishable by a fine, while unlawful heterosexual sex carries much harsher punishment. The Dharmsastras , especially the later ones, prescribe against non-vaginal sex like the Vashistha Dharmasutra . The Yājñavalkya Smṛti prescribes fines for such acts including those with other men. Manusmriti prescribes light punishments for such acts. Vanita states that
1575-550: The issuance of the report, the United Nations urged all countries which had not yet done so to enact laws protecting basic LGBT rights. A 2022 study found that LGBT rights (as measured by ILGA-Europe 's Rainbow Index) were correlated with less HIV/AIDS incidence among gay and bisexual men independently of risky sexual behavior. The 2023 Equaldex Equality Index ranks the Nordic countries , Chile , Uruguay , Canada ,
1620-633: The late Republic and throughout the Imperial period , there is increasing evidence that men whose lifestyle marked them as "homosexual" in the modern sense served openly. Although Roman law did not recognize marriage between men, and in general Romans regarded marriage as a heterosexual union with the primary purpose of producing children, in the early Imperial period some male couples were celebrating traditional marriage rites . Juvenal remarks with disapproval that his friends often attended such ceremonies. The emperor Nero had two marriages to men, once as
1665-537: The legal recognition of same-sex marriage to the death penalty for homosexuality . Notably, as of May 2024 , 37 countries recognize same-sex marriage . By contrast, not counting non-state actors and extrajudicial killings, only two countries are believed to impose the death penalty on consensual same-sex sexual acts: Iran and Afghanistan . The death penalty is officially law , but generally not practiced , in Mauritania , Saudi Arabia , Somalia (in
1710-568: The life of AIDS activist and reality television personality Pedro Zamora , premiered at the 2008 Toronto International Film Festival . On February 22, 2009, Black won the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay for Milk at the 81st Academy Awards . He wore a White Knot to the ceremony as a symbol of solidarity with the marriage equality movement . On October 11, 2009, Black marched in the National Equality March and delivered
1755-654: The media on September 11, 2008. After starring in Fifty Dead Men Walking , she was quoted as saying "I imagine had I grown up in Belfast, I would 100% have been in the IRA. My heart just broke for the cause. Violence is not to be played out daily and provide an answer to problems, but I understand it." Her comments were attacked by the original author Martin McCartlend. McCartland had general objections against
1800-438: The testimony which led to the overturn of California's Proposition 8 . He created the play in response to the federal court's refusal to allow release of video recordings from the trial and to give the public a true account of what transpired in the courtroom. It is written and performed using original transcripts from the trial and journalist records, along with first-hand interviews of the people involved. 8 first opened at
1845-611: The verses about punishment for a sex between female and a maiden is due to its strong emphasis on a maiden's sexual purity. The ancient Law of Moses (the Torah ) forbids people from lying with people of the same sex (i.e., from having intercourse ) in Leviticus 18 and gives a story of attempted homosexual rape in Genesis 19 , in the story of Sodom and Gomorrah , after which the cities were soon destroyed with "brimstone and fire, from
Dustin Lance Black - Misplaced Pages Continue
1890-524: Was Me and Orson Welles helmed by American "slacker" Richard Linklater , the Spike Lee -directed World War II film, Miracle at St. Anna as well as the Jonathan Demme directed film Rachel Getting Married . Other festival highlights are screenwriter Charlie Kaufman 's first film, Synecdoche, New York , a slice of experimental filmmaker James Benning 's Americana RR was featured in
1935-525: Was a subject in the documentary On the Bus about a Nevada road trip and adventure at Burning Man taken by six gay men. Raised as Mormon , he was hired as the only such writer on the HBO drama series Big Love about a polygamous family. He served on season one as a staff writer, executive story editor in season two, and was promoted again, to co-producer, for season three. Black first visited San Francisco in
1980-477: Was heavy on Canadian fare as well as featuring prominent indie films and worldwide as well as North American debuts including: Adoration directed by Canada's own Atom Egoyan , Appaloosa the second film from Ed Harris (who directed Pollock ), Blindness from screenwriter-director, Fernando Meirelles , Iraq war thriller The Hurt Locker directed by Kathryn Bigelow , and veteran filmmaker Barbet Schroeder 's Inju, la bête dans l'ombre . Scheduled
2025-602: Was the top entry on a list of openly gay influential people in The Advocate ' s "Forty under 40" issue of June/July 2009 and was featured on the cover of the magazine. He was one of the Official Grand Marshals in the 2009 NYC LGBT Pride March , produced by Heritage of Pride joining Anne Kronenberg and Cleve Jones . Black's brother, Marcus, died of cancer in January 2012. Black started
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