There was barely a dry eye in the house at the Los Angeles premiere three decades ago of HBO’s landmark AIDS’ film “And the Band Played On.” During the end credit sequence set to Elton John’s “The Last Song” was a montage of well-known people who had died of AIDS or were HIV positive including Ryan White, Rock Hudson, Anthony Perkins, Rudolf Nureyev, Arthur Ashe, Michael Bennett, Liberace, Halston, Peter Allen, Denholm Elliott, Brad Davis, Amanda Blake and Robert Reed.
No wonder emotions were running high. Deaths were rising every year. According to Social Security Administration, some 37,000 people died of HIV Illness in 1993. And it would be three years before the introduction of Haart-highly active antiretroviral therapy-that is often called the anti-hiv “cocktail.”
Based on Randy Shilts’ 1987 best-seller, “And the Band Played On: Politics, People, and the AIDS Epidemic,” the acclaimed film, which premiered on HBO on Sept.
No wonder emotions were running high. Deaths were rising every year. According to Social Security Administration, some 37,000 people died of HIV Illness in 1993. And it would be three years before the introduction of Haart-highly active antiretroviral therapy-that is often called the anti-hiv “cocktail.”
Based on Randy Shilts’ 1987 best-seller, “And the Band Played On: Politics, People, and the AIDS Epidemic,” the acclaimed film, which premiered on HBO on Sept.
- 9/11/2023
- by Susan King
- Gold Derby
Regarded as one of the finest actors of his generation, Sir Ian McKellen had been a pillar of British theatre for decades before venturing to Hollywood. After his early days in London theatre, including a stint in the 1970s with the prestigious Royal Shakespeare Company, he crossed the pond in 1981 to play Antonio Salieri in a Broadway production of "Amadeus" — and took home a Tony Award. The movies beckoned, bringing McKellen to a new level of fame that crested when he was tapped to play the wise and courageous wizard Gandalf in Peter Jackson's "Lord of the Rings" trilogy. Meanwhile, McKellen also made headlines in 1988 when he came out as openly gay in 1988 and was then knighted by the Queen in 1991.
While Gandalf is the most iconic of his many roles, by no means is it his only memorable performance in film and television. For a refresher course on his extraordinary career,...
While Gandalf is the most iconic of his many roles, by no means is it his only memorable performance in film and television. For a refresher course on his extraordinary career,...
- 2/5/2023
- by Brent Furdyk
- Slash Film
National Coming Out Day is this Thursday (October 11), and I can think of no better way to commemorate it than by revisiting The Times of Harvey Milk, the 1984 Academy Award winner for Best Documentary Feature that tells the story of that ebullient and righteous San Francisco Board Supervisor who was responsible for passing a stringent gay rights ordinance, earned the fitting nickname "the Mayor of Castro Street," and didn't mind shaking hands with political adversaries while telling them, "You never know where my hand has been." There's no other way to put it: Harvey Milk ruled. His energy was infectious, his message was raw, and it's impossible not to wonder what else he'd have accomplished if jilted, Twinkie-tweaking Dan White hadn't murdered him (and Mayor George Moscone) on November 27, 1978. Sure, we'll always have Sean Penn's deeply accurate portrayal from Milk to remind us of his power, but The Times of Harvey Milk...
- 10/9/2012
- by virtel
- The Backlot
Chicago – Harvey Milk was the sort of grassroots political hero that would’ve never fit into our modern world of corporately controlled politics. He was a man of his word, and he had many of them. His fundamental belief in equal rights for all citizens provided the fuel for his tireless work ethic, intoxicating exuberance and extraordinary bravery.
In the opening moments of Rob Epstein’s profoundly moving 1984 documentary, “The Times of Harvey Milk,” the titular San Francisco supervisor fearlessly rides atop a car waving to supporters, well aware that he’s an open target. The footage is juxtaposed with a taped will Milk recorded a year before his assassination in November 1978, when he was gunned down by a former colleague, Dan White (the city’s Mayor Moscone was also killed in the bloodbath). Considering Milk’s status as one of the first openly gay politicians elected to public office in America,...
In the opening moments of Rob Epstein’s profoundly moving 1984 documentary, “The Times of Harvey Milk,” the titular San Francisco supervisor fearlessly rides atop a car waving to supporters, well aware that he’s an open target. The footage is juxtaposed with a taped will Milk recorded a year before his assassination in November 1978, when he was gunned down by a former colleague, Dan White (the city’s Mayor Moscone was also killed in the bloodbath). Considering Milk’s status as one of the first openly gay politicians elected to public office in America,...
- 3/25/2011
- by adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
- HollywoodChicago.com
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