A conversation with Stuart Milk...

At Sunday night's party for "Milk" writer Dustin Lance Black and director Gus Van Sant, one of the guests I was most happy to have the chance to talk to was Harvey Milk's nephew, Stuart Milk. He's the son of Harvey's older brother, Robert, and bears a strong physical resemblance to his late uncle.

Here is our conversation, word for word:

Q. I'm interested in your reaction to all that's happened with this film including the eight Oscar nominations
Milk: "The thing about the Oscar nomination is, I was getting after the film came about about 2-3 emails a day from mostly young people who were impacted by the film. They felt they could finally be authentic in their life. Since the Oscar nominations, I'm getting 10-12 calls a day from people all over the world who go out of their way to reach out."

Q. Can you give me an example of someone you;ve heard from?
Milk: "Someone who was suicidal, a 17 year old, who said, 'Oh my Gad. I saw this film and I realized I could be accepted and actually celebrate who I am. And that's the power of this film. It's just amazing. You know, every once in awhile I used get an email from someone who saw (the documentary) "The Times of Harvey Milk" but the power of this film to reach people and let them know that our diversity makes us stronger and Harvey's message which is: "If we allow people to see who we are and we allow people to fully understand that our authentic selves makes the family stronger, the community stronger, the nation stronger." At the end of the day, we're a richer country, we're a richer world."

Q. The documentary has been out there for a long time but because of the wide reach of this movie and having a star like Sean Penn, it seems like people are learning about your uncle for the first time.
Milk: "Absolutely. (Dustin Lance Black's) writing was able to reach out to people. You could bring your parents to the film, you could bring your brother to it. You could bring your friends to it. And they could make the connection that we are there for the whole community, we are part of the whole community and we have loves and losses and celebrations just like anybody else. It helps not just the LGBT community but it also breaks down barriers to the immigrant community and any community of people who are disenfranchised and marginalized.

Q. A lot of people have said the No on Prop. 8 movement desperately needed someone like your uncle. Do you feel that way?
\Milk: "I do. Harvey absolutely went out and talked to people and said, "i'm a gay man, don;t be afraid of me. If you are, let me tell you what we're about. And we didn;t do that. We really moved away from it and tried to paint a heterosexual face on really a gay issue. And unfortunately, that lacked the basic message of Harvey and that was authenticity.

Q. You've obviously been Harvey Milk's nephew through your whole life but has your life changed since the release of this film?
Milk: "It's changed my life in that I realize we all need to do more of embracing diverse communities. I'm very frustratred that our kids today still feel they have to be in the closet, they have to hide who they are. Harvey knew that I way gay, we had conversations. But I didn't come out until he was killed. I was 17 when he was killed. So every (teenager) that has been emailing me that has said, 'This has given me the power to be authentic in my life,' I can relate on a very personal level to that. It's been very emotional and powerful."

Q. Where will you be ojn Oscar night?
Milk: "I'll be at the Oscars! I am so thrilled to be there. The whole Milk family is going to get together to watch. We're just so honored that this industry has recognized this story and the artistry of the people behind the "Milk" movie."