BROLIN, HIRSCH, FRANCO DRINKING IN 'MILK' (THR, VAR)
By Nancy Vialatte
Josh Brolin, Emile Hirsch and James Franco are in final negotiations to appear opposite Sean Penn in Gus Van Sant�s biopic �Milk.� The film is a Focus Features/Groundswell Prods. production which stars Penn as Harvey Milk, the country�s first openly gay elected official who was assassinated in 1978.
Brolin will play Dan White, the rival politician and supervisor who shot Milk and San Francisco Mayor George Moscone to death at City Hall.
Hirsch, meanwhile, has been cast as gay rights activist Cleve Jones, an intern and close ally of Milk�s. Franco is in as Scott Smith, Milk�s lover and campaign manager.
Focus is co-financing �Milk� with Michael London�s Groundswell and will distribute it worldwide. Shooting is set to being in January in San Francisco.
Dustin Lance Black wrote the script for the feature. A rival pic, developed by Craig Zadan and Neil Meron is based on an adaptation of �The Mayor of Castro Street.� However, that project is in strike limbo. Bryan Singer is attached to direct it for Warner Independent, but Chris McQuarrie didn�t turn his script in before the WGA strike deadline.
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