Petrelis Files

Full-Page SF Chron Ad:

Penn's 'Milk' = President Obama

The distributor of Gus Van Sant's "Milk" movie starring Sean Penn, today runs a full-page ad on page A-13 of the SF Chronicle, that obliquely equates the inauguration of President Barack Obama with the life and times of Harvey Milk.

Did the ad appear in any other newspaper today? I checked the NY Times' national edition and didn't see it in any of the Gray Lady's sections.

It's difficult to read the full quote above the images of the triumphant Sean Penn as Milk before a cheering throng crowded into San Francisco Civic Center Plaza, so here is the quote from NY Times film critic A.O. Scott's year-end analysis of the film:

Everything is happening here — votes are tallied, hearts broken, lives risked and saved, tactical decisions made, emotions expressed and suppressed — but only one thing is happening. What makes all of this cohere is art, and history. THIS IS HOW CHANGE HAPPENS. THIS IS WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE.

And at the very bottom of the ad, this appears:

CELEBRATE HOPE - SEE IT IN THEATRES NOW.

Sure, let's all celebrate hope for our new president, his family and cabinet, and our nation, but it doesn't take spending money to see a terrific flick in the theatres to celebrate this new dawn. All you have to do is go out on the streets to see the celebrating. But there is nothing wrong either with catching this movie and driving up its profits.

I've got my fingers crossed "Milk" scores a few Oscar nominations tomorrow.