Thursday, January 15, 2009


Milk Played a Cop in Downey Sr Film;
Poles Not Marketing 'Milk' as Gay

For an earlier generation of film buffs such as myself, the name Robert Downey is synonymous with "Putney Swope," a wicked satire of the advertising world in which a black executive is put in charge of an ad agency. But for younger movie lovers, the name is only attached Downey's son, star of "Iron Man" and "Tropic Thunder."

Downey, Sr, is getting the retrospective treatment this weekend here in San Francisco and the Chronicle interviewed the director, who divulged a highly amusing tidbit about Harvey Milk's (very) cameo appearance in one of his flicks. From the Chron:

On the phone with a reporter from San Francisco, filmmaker Robert Downey Sr. was taking a trip down memory lane - of the city he first visited in the 1950s while in the Navy, and of the Harvey Milk he knew in the days when the future Mayor of Castro Street was working on Wall Street.

"I remember this vividly: We were going down the street with Tom O'Horgan (Milk's friend and a composer for Downey's films)," Downey said. "And Harvey said, 'You guys go ahead. I'll catch up.' So I looked back ... and he was helping a bum. Givin' him some money and helping the guy to his feet. That was it. That was who he was." ...

In tonight's zany double feature, a man undergoes a breakdown, has a hysterectomy, discovers hundreds of dollars growing inside his body and carries on a passionate affair with his mother in "Chafed Elbows" (1966, in which Milk appears as, believe it or not, a cop, "for like 2 seconds," Downey said). In 1964's "Babo 73," the president of the United States deals with a communist plot to curtail the birthrate of the United States by distributing condoms. One New York critic said the film looked like it was shot on Scotch tape ...


Who knew before Gus Van Sant's biopic that Milk had an early brush with the cinema?

In other Milk related news, my friend Lukasz Palucki writes from Poland this week that "Milk" is not being marketed as gay movie. Lukasz says from Warsaw:

Three times I email BestFilm distributor and call them and please to change description of this film. On there website ( click here ) they wrote that MILK is film about visioner who died in 1978 and he was amazing man (and this is all). They did not use word "gay" or "homosexual". They did not inform that MILK is film about gay man or gay people at all. Results: now whole polish internet is full of stupid informations like here at this site.

I even call Tomasz Raczek (femous polish film critic and open gay person, well respected in Poland) he saw this film and he said it is FANTASTIC ! He spoke with BestFilm and they confirm they dont want to cooperate with gay media (ads) but they are not homophobic. But they did not change desciption !

Finally I was very angry...

I called director of marketing dept in BestFilm (Ms Magorzata Dworakowska) and I said:
- Ms Dworakowska, please change this descritpion. It looks bad. Like you afraid to write that this film is about gay activist ! We (lgbt media) can not cooperate with homophobic company. Please put even one word "gay" and it will be ok !

and she answer:
- Ms Palucki, we want change subscription of this film on our website. This is Poland, conservative country. We dont want to have problems.
Me: I can not belive what you have said. i thought your company want to earn money on this film. I thought your company sell films. Even if somebody will attack this movie it will be better for audience (free promotion). Why You want to hide information about film you have to promote ?!?
Ms Dworakowska: This is not Brokeback Mountain, it want be hit
Me: This will be probobly better than Brokeback Mountain, I really dont understand you. This is wird...


What exactly does the Polish distributor's site say about the film, titled "Obywatel Milk," or "Citizen Milk," as translated into English?

When in 1978 was murdered Harvey Milk, the world has lost one of the greatest visionaries and leaders fighting for justice.

Winner of many awards, Gus Van Sant, with Sean Penn and unparalleled galaxy of stars in minor roles represent the history of life of this unusual man.


Good for Lukasz for serving as a one-man direct action gay advocate. He's right to push the Polish distributor to stress the central theme of gayness of "Obywatel Milk" and give more visibility to gay movies. We need more activist like Lukasz, making complaints to media companies the world over.

5 comments:

DavidEhrenstein said...

Great catch about Harvey Milk in Chafed Elbows, Michael!

Babo '73 starred gay beat icon Taylor Mead as the President of the United States.

Poland is so homophobic once they discoer what Milk is really about I'm sure they'll set fire to any theater that plays it.

Anonymous said...

I'm not so sure. I'd rather see people in seats getting their homophobic brains cracked open and coming out with a more human perspective on gays. And if leaving out the fact that the "visionary" main character was gay helps do that, what the fuck?

Civic Center said...

I'm with anonymous. If you don't know it's a "gay" film, the opening credits of all the well-dressed young men being arrested for no reason whatsoever in 1960s gay bars would make no sense at all until the opening scene where Sean Penn is seducing James Franco in the New York subway. And yes, Poland is very Catholic and conservative, so it would be a perfect "brain crack." They'll identify with Dan White but the hero is very definitely the other guy, who happens to be Jewish and gay.

Anonymous said...

Hi! I am a men from Poland and I am so surprised you posted so many not verified information on your blog. Everybody knows Milk is a gay movie. In every trailer in Polish movies you may see and hear it, in press realieses as well. I think Mr. Lukasz Palucki (a well known person for his difficult character who is fighting with everybody even with gay organistions in Poland) gave you wrong data and made an argument that is not true.
Poland is a catholic country it is a fact but it is rapidly changing in a good direction. Do not destroy it by accepting any negative (and not true) comment.
I live in Poland, speak both Polish and English and can tell you that I am totally shocked by what I read on your blog. It is simply not true.

BTW - have you checked with the distributor of the film if any of the "facts" quated by Mr. Palucki is a real fact? Because I belive you will get totally different answer.

It is so easy to accuse people ond/or companies especially from this part of the world of not being open enough but for me the fact that there is a distributor who wants to pay for the film (MILK) and to promote it is a great thing. Please do not destroy my believes by posting not veryfied opinions.
Regards,
Adam from Poland
xico@gazeta.pl

Unknown said...

I emailed this note to Adam earlier today:


Hello Adam,

Thanks for writing.

There is nothing wrong with difficult gays who make trouble. Harvey Milk himself was criticized by many gays and gay publications for his difficult ways.

If you saw "Milk" you saw many scenes were Harvey is dismissed by nice gays for being a trouble-maker.

I myself am a proud trouble-maker and support Lukasz very much.

It is verified that Best Film distributor is not saying in promotion web site that "Milk" is about a gay man.

All the attention Lukasz brings to Best Film and "Milk" is a good thing. He has done nothing wrong.

Best regards,
Michael