Milk, The Movie Starring Sean Penn

Milk. The adaptation of one name is a legendary figure's initiation into icon status. Milk, however, isn't the name of the latest Billboard artist or reality star; it's a quick reference to the late gay activist and politician Harvey Milk.

In late 2008, director Gus Van Sant will resurrect Harvey Milk on the screen in the movie, Milk. Actor Sean Penn plays Harvey Milk in the biographical story along with a powerhouse cast: Josh Brolin as Dan White, Milk's killer, James Franco and Diego Luna star as two of Milk's ex's, Emile Hirsch is Milk's aide and Denis O'Hare acts out the life of Senator John Briggs.

Milk was the first openly gay man to hold a major political position as a member of San Francisco's board of supervisors. Milk, an eager gay advocate, believed that the "invisibility" of gays contributed to the negative social stigmas of the 1970s. His activism was monumental in the history of gay rights and he was made a martyr after his assassinated along with San Fransisco Mayor George Moscone in 1978. Prior to his death, Milk once said, "If a bullet should enter my brain, let that bullet destroy every closet door."