Focus on Propostion 8

How did you connect with the film’s narrator, Dustin Lance Black?
We were in preproduction and I knew that there would be a narrator for the film. I watched him stand to accept the Oscar for Milk. Before he ever opened his mouth, I said to my partner, “There’s a Mormon boy.” Then he spoke. When he finished his acceptance speech, I turned to my partner and said, “There’s our narrator.” There was nobody else on the planet.

How do you think Prop. 8 can be overturned?
Prop. 8 will be overturned when it is eradicated from the hearts of those who created it, crafted it, who brought it to life and who voted it into reality. You have to start with hearts, with the mind, and with the soul. You cannot affect hearts and minds and souls and eventually a vote until you tell your story. Every life has a story; every story has a lesson; every lesson has the power to change the world. My movie is about the lives of the people who are affected. It’s about their stories, and their stories, if you watch with an open heart and an open mind, can change the world.

What can we as a community do going forward?
We’re really good when we are pissed to go out and march, but then we tend to get lulled back to sleep. We need to stay insistent on our rights — not only when a march is scheduled but in our everyday life. We have to continue holding hands, letting the world see who we are and what we are. I also think that young people should get involved and engage our straight allies to march together, because this is a fight for human rights. It’s not a fight for gay rights. Until every member of the human community is involved, we’re not going to win this.