Bars & Parties

Dustin Lance Black returns to D.C.

Published

14 years ago

January 22, 2010

A gay rights activist and one of the more politically outspoken members of the film industry is bringing his message to Washington that the time for federal action on gay civil rights is here and now.

Dustin Lance Black, Oscar-winning gay screenwriter for “Milk,” the 2008 biopic about the life and death of San Francisco city supervisor Harvey Milk, will speak Monday at the Jewish Community Center, 1529 16th St., N.W.

Black will speak with the center’s audience at 8 p.m. General admission is $20; a $50 ticket includes a 7:30 p.m. private reception with Black. The event is sponsored by the JCC’s Gay & Lesbian Outreach & Engagement program.

Black shot to sudden celebrity last year at the Academy Awards when he won for best original screenplay. He wore a white knot to the ceremony as a symbol of solidarity with same-sex marriage supporters and declared in his acceptance of the award that, “I heard the story of Harvey Milk and it gave me hope … to live my life openly as to who I am, and that one day I could even fall in love and maybe even get married.”

Noting that he first heard of Milk “when I was 13 years old [and] my beautiful mother moved me and my family from a conservative Mormon home in Texas to California,” Black told the audience that “most of all, if Harvey had not been taken from us 30 years ago, I think he would want me to say to all the gay and lesbian kids out there tonight who have been told they are less by their churches, or by the government, or by their families, that you are beautiful, wonderful creatures of value, and that no matter what anyone tells you, God does love you and that very soon, I promise you, you will have equal rights federally across this great nation of ours.”

Black grew up in a Mormon household in San Antonio, and later moved to Salinas, Calif., when his mother remarried. His father was a former Mormon missionary who had baptized Black’s mother earlier, and he grew up surrounded by Mormon culture. He has said that “my father vanished, literally just took off one day” and that they were “welfare kids” until his mother remarried for the second time. Black was then reared in a military culture as his stepfather was in the Army.

He struggled with his sexual orientation, telling himself he would surely go to hell when he felt attracted to a neighborhood boy at the age of six or seven and that his sexual anguish made him dark, shy and even suicidal until he finally came out in his senior year at UCLA’s School of Theater, Film & Television where he graduated with honors in 1996.

After seeing Rob Epstern’s documentary “The Times of Harvey Milk,” Black has said he decided to do something with the material, wondering why no one had done so yet. In fact, gay filmmaker Gus Van Sant had been working on script ideas for several years. Black devoted three years to researching Milk’s life, then wrote a film on spec and showed it to Milk’s protege, Cleve Jones, who took it to Van Sant, a friend, who decided to make the film based on Black’s script after Sean Penn signed on to the starring role. The rest is Oscar history.

Black also wrote “Pedro,” a documentary profile of AIDS activist and MTV “Real World” personality Pedro Zamora, a film for which Black was just nominated for a Writers Guild of America screenwriting award to be decided at the WGA ceremony in Hollywood and New York in mid February. And he is now moving ahead on the script for Van Sant’s next film, an adaptation of Tom Wolfe’s “The Electric Koolaid Acid Test,” about Ken Kesey and the Merry Pranksters of the LSD-saturated biker culture in the San Francisco Bay Area of the 1960s.

Black is also preparing to direct his first full-length feature, “What’s Wrong with Virginia?” which he wrote five years ago. He has called it “a very personal story,” one loosely based on his childhood. The drama is about a boy taking care of his impoverished, schizophrenic mother — although the idea is based on another of Black’s family members, not his mother.

Up Next

Westenhoefer gets totally inappropriate

Don't Miss

Kathy Griffin on her ‘Official Book,’ CNN and more

FUND LGBTQ JOURNALISM

Bars & Parties

Support HIV research with a drag show

Tara Hoot, Evry Pleasure, TrevHER to perform

Published

3 weeks ago

April 5, 2024

Tinashe Chingarande

Tara Hoot performs at Cherry Sundays on Sunday, April 7 at 11 a.m. (Washington Blade file photo by Michael Key)

El Techo will host, in partnership with Cherry Fund, a special edition of “Cherry Sundays” on Sunday, April 7 at 11 a.m.

This event is a one-day fundraising bottomless brunch. There will be performances by Evry Pleasure, Tara Hoot and TrevHER, with DJ Lemz. All tequila shot purchases will be donated to the Cherry Fund.

The Cherry Fund raises money for LGBTQ non-profits whose primary goal is to stop the spread of HIV/AIDS with prevention, treatment and education, and mental health services.

The event costs $45, inclusive of bottomless brunch on margaritas, mimosas, Bloody Marys and Tecates.

Bars & Parties

MAL kicks off Jan. 11 with Bootcamp

Mid-Atlantic Leather begins with party at Bunker

Published

4 months ago

January 5, 2024

Tinashe Chingarande

MAL Weekend kicks off next week. (Image courtesy of Bunker)

Mid-Atlantic Leather Weekend arrives next week with a kickoff event Thursday, Jan. 11 from 10 p.m.-3 a.m. at Bunker. Organizers at Kinetic promise a surprise drill sergeant who will whip you into shape. Joshua Ruiz DJs the event. This event is for VIP pass holders only; visit kineticpresents.com for details.

Bars & Parties

A roundup of New Year’s Eve parties in D.C.

Celebrate the start of 2024 in style

Published

4 months ago

December 29, 2023

Tinashe Chingarande

Xavier Entertainment LLC will host the seventh annual Times Square NYE Celebration at 10 p.m. at Ivy City Smokehouse. Tickets start at $20 and can be purchased on Eventbrite.

New Year’s Eve 2024 at Lost Society will be at 7 p.m. at Lost Society. There will be unique entertainment all night along with a journey of the senses through captivating light shows and LED displays, music, and bottle service presentations throughout the evening. Tickets start at $25 and can be purchased on Eventbrite.

Busboys and Poets will host New Year’s Eve Open Mic and Party at 10 p.m. at 2021 14th St., N.W. This will be an evening of poetry, live DJ, dancing, food, and good company in a vibrant atmosphere where local artists take the stage, showcasing their talents in various genres. The night will be hosted by the talented Charity Blackwell and will feature award-winning poet Black Chakra. Dyanna Monet will deejay. Tickets start at $15 and can be purchased on Eventbrite.

QueerTalk DC will host Sapphic New Year’s Celebration at 8 p.m. at FigLeaf Bar & Lounge. The event will celebrate Sapphic, trans, and non-binary communities and feature complimentary hors D’oeuvres, a Champagne toast and DJ sets by DJ Clamazon and DJ Q. For more details, visit Eventbrite.

The Queers Upstairs will host Heels & Ties: A Queer New Years Eve Surprise at 9 p.m. at Aliceanna Social Club. This evening will be an unforgettable LGBTQ New Year’s Eve party where you can sip your favorite cocktails and enjoy small bites while dancing the night away with music from DJ Rosie & DJ Missy. Tickets start at $30 and can purchased on Eventbrite.

BuffBoyzz Gay-Friendly Male Strip Clubs will host a male revue that caters to men and women at 8 p.m. at Buffboyzz Male Strippers. The event will be an exciting, entertaining and sexy show of exotic male dancers in that will entertain your pants off. Tickets start at $10 and can be purchased on Eventbrite.

International Events Washington DC will host the 2024 Black Tie New Year’s Eve Gala at 7:30 p.m. at the Willard InterContinental Washington, D.C. There will be free-flowing Champagne, an open bar, a spectacular balloon drop in the Euro Discotheque Ballroom and live bands and DJs. For dinner, guests can choose from an elegant sit-down, three-course dinner with Champagne or a dinner buffet of international cuisine. Tickets start at $189 and can be purchased on Eventbrite.

Social Architects will host the 12th Annual New Year’s Eve Casino Night at 8 p.m. at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Arlington, Va. There will be six rooms of entertainment spread across three floors. The DJs will spin hip hop, R&B, salsa, Afrobeats and old school music. Tickets start at $60 and can be purchased on Eventbrite.

Pitchers and A League of Her Own will host a NYE party with complimentary Champagne toast at midnight, party favors, and a DJ all night long.

Shaker’s plans a drag extravaganza with Tatianna and Crystal Edge among others starting at 10:30 p.m.; the $10 cover includes a glass of Champagne.

Bunker hosts a 12-hour masquerade ball with several DJs, including Joe Gauthreaux. The party starts at 9 p.m. and goes until 9 a.m. on Jan. 1. Tickets start at $45 and are available at bunkerdc.com.

DJ Alex Love spins NYE at Dirty Goose with drink specials at midnight.