Dustin Lance Black | |
|---|---|
 Black at the 2019 British Podcast Awards | |
| Born | (1974-06-10)June 10, 1974 (age 51)[1] |
| Education | University of California, Los Angeles (BA) |
| Occupation(s) | Screenwriter, film director, film producer |
| Years active | 2000–present |
| Notable work | Big Love (2006–09) Milk (2008) 8 (2011) |
| Board member of | American Foundation for Equal Rights |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 2 |
| Signature | |
 | |
Dustin Lance Black (born June 10, 1974)[1] is an American screenwriter, director, producer, andLGBTQ rights activist. He is known for writing the filmMilk, for which he won theOscar forbest original screenplay in 2009. He also wrote the screenplay for the filmJ. Edgar and the 2022 crime miniseriesUnder the Banner of Heaven.
Black is a founding board member of theAmerican Foundation for Equal Rights[2] and writer of8, a staged re-enactment of thefederal trial that led to a federal court's overturn of California'sProposition 8.[3]
Black's father walked out on his mother, who hadpolio,[4] Roseanna, and his two brothers, Marcus Raul and Todd Bryant, when he was young. They grew up in aMormon household,[5][6] first inSan Antonio, Texas, before moving toSalinas, California.[7][8]
Growing up in his family'sMormon culture and living onmilitary bases, Black worried about his sexuality. When he found himself attracted to a boy in his neighborhood at the age of six or seven, he told himself "I'm going to hell. And if I ever admit it, I'll be hurt, and I'll be brought down".[7] He says that his "acute awareness" of his sexuality made him shy and at times suicidal. Hecame out in his senior year of college.[7]
While attendingNorth Salinas High School, Black began to work in theater atThe Western Stage inSalinas[7] and later worked on productions includingBare at Hollywood's Hudson Main Stage Theater.[9] Black attended theUniversity of California, Los Angeles, School of Theater, Film, and Television (UCLA) while apprenticing with stage directors, taking acting jobs, and working on theater lighting crews.[10] He graduated with honors in 1996.
In 2000, Black wrote and directedThe Journey of Jared Price, a gay romance film, andSomething Close to Heaven, a gay coming-of-age short film. In 2001, he directed and was a subject in the documentaryOn the Bus about aNevada road trip and adventure atBurning Man taken by six gay men.[6] Raised asMormon, he was hired as the only such writer on theHBO drama seriesBig Love about apolygamous family. He served on season one as a staff writer, executive story editor in season two, and was promoted again, to co-producer, for season three.[10][11][12]
Black first visited San Francisco in the early 1990s, while AIDS was devastating the city's gay community. Black said that, "Hearing about Harvey was about the only hopeful story there was at the time."[13] He had first viewedRob Epstein's documentaryThe Times of Harvey Milk when he was in college, and thought, "I just want to do something with this, why hasn't someone done something with this?"[7] Researching Milk's life for three years,[10] Black met with Milk's former aidesCleve Jones andAnne Kronenberg, as well as former San Francisco MayorArt Agnos,[13] and began to write a feature film screenplay encompassing the events of Milk's life.[7] The screenplay was writtenon spec,[14] but Black showed the script to Jones, who passed it on to his friendGus Van Sant, who signed on to direct the feature.[13] Black is an old friend ofMilk producerDan Jinks, who signed on to the biopic after he called Black to congratulate him and discovered that the project did not have a confirmed producer.[15]
Black's filmPedro, profiling the life of AIDS activist and reality television personalityPedro Zamora, premiered at the2008 Toronto International Film Festival.
On February 22, 2009, Black won the Oscar forBest Original Screenplay forMilk at the81st Academy Awards. He wore aWhite Knot to the ceremony as a symbol of solidarity with themarriage equality movement.[16]
On October 11, 2009, Black marched in theNational Equality March and delivered a speech in front of theUnited States Capitol to an estimated crowd of 200,000 LGBT rights activists.[17]
In 2010, Black directed his own scriptVirginia, starringJennifer Connelly.[18]
Also in 2010, Black narrated8: The Mormon Proposition, a documentary about the involvement ofthe Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS) in California'sProposition 8. Black accepted the award for best documentary for8: The Mormon Proposition at the GLAAD Media awards in San Francisco and spoke out on discrimination in the LDS Church and meeting with the church to make it more LGBT-inclusive.[8][19]
Black wrote the screenplay forJ. Edgar, a biographical drama released November 11, 2011, directed byClint Eastwood and starringLeonardo DiCaprio.[20]
In 2011, Black wrote the play8, which portrays the actual events in theHollingsworth v. Perry trial and the testimony which led to the overturn of California'sProposition 8. He created the play in response to the federal court's refusal to allow release of video recordings from the trial and to give the public a true account of what transpired in the courtroom.[21] It is written and performed using original transcripts from the trial and journalist records, along with first-hand interviews of the people involved.8 first opened at theEugene O'Neill Theatre in New York City on September 19, 2011, and later broadcast to a worldwide audience onYouTube from theEbell of Los Angeles Theatre on March 3, 2012.[22][23]
TheAmerican Foundation for Equal Rights (AFER) and Broadway Impact, sponsors of8, have released and licensed the play for readings nationwide on college campuses and in community theaters free of charge.[3][24][25][26]
Black appears as himself in the documentary filmHollywood to Dollywood (originally released in 2011).[27]
Black published his autobiographyMama's Boy: A Story From Our Americas in 2019.[28]
Paris Barclay was slated to direct Black's screenplayA Life Like Mine in 2009.[29]
From 2007 to 2011,Gus Van Sant was set to direct afilm adaptation ofTom Wolfe's bookThe Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test, for a time working with Black.[30][31]
Black was the top entry on a list ofopenlygay influential people inThe Advocate's "Forty under 40" issue of June/July 2009 and was featured on the cover of the magazine.[32] He was one of the Official Grand Marshals in the 2009NYC LGBT Pride March, produced byHeritage of Pride joiningAnne Kronenberg andCleve Jones.[33]
Black's brother, Marcus, died ofcancer in January 2012.[34][35]
Black started a relationship with the British Olympic and World champion diverTom Daley in spring 2013.[36] The couple lived in the London Borough ofSouthwark[37] but moved toLA in 2024.[38] They were engaged in October 2015 and married atBovey Castle inDevon in May 2017.[39][40]
In February 2018, Black and Daley announced they were expecting their first child and subsequently announced the birth of a son bysurrogacy in June 2018.[41][42] Facing criticism for their choice of surrogacy, Black and Daley started a podcast in which they discussedthe ethical issues surrounding surrogacy and the experience as a whole.[43] The couple do not share pictures of their child's face online due to privacy concerns. Daley said, "That might change in the future, but for right now, we wanted to enjoy the first year with him."[44] Daley and Black's second son was born in March 2023.[45]
In 2014, Black was one of eight potential commencement speakers invited byPasadena City College, and he accepted. After school officials learned nude pictures of Black engaged in unprotected sex were leaked online five years prior, the college announced Black had not been officially invited and the unofficial invitation was "an honest error".[46] After talks between attorneys for Black and PCC, the college board of trustees apologized and formally invited him.[47]
In 2023, Black pleaded not guilty to a charge of assault. The charges were later dismissed by the presiding judge due to inconsistencies and weakness in evidence from the accuser.[48]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | Something Close to Heaven | Writer–director | Short film |
| The Journey of Jared Price | Writer–director | ||
| 2001 | On the Bus | Director, producer, editor, cinematographer | Documentary |
| 2003 | Faking It USA | Director Producer (4 episodes):
| |
| My Life with Count Dracula | Director, producer and editor | Documentary The President's Memorial Award | |
| Kiss and Tell | Editor | Short film | |
| The Singing Forest | Editor and actor | as Bill | |
| 2004 | Faking It (UK series) | Director (1 episode):
| |
| 2006–2009 | Big Love | As writer (5 episodes):
As co-producer (5 episodes):
| |
| 2008 | Pedro | Story and screenplay | Nominated–Writers Guild of America Award for Television Long Form – Original Nominated–Humanitas Prize for 90 Minute Category |
| Milk | Writer | Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay Boston Society of Film Critics Award for Best Screenplay Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics Association Award for Best Screenplay Independent Spirit Award for Best First Screenplay San Francisco Film Critics Circle Award for Best Original Screenplay Writers Guild of America Award for Best Original Screenplay Hollywood Film Festival for Screenwriter of the Year PEN Center USA Literary Award for Screenplay Nominated–BAFTA Award for Best Original Screenplay Nominated–Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Writer Nominated–Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Original Screenplay Nominated–Online Film Critics Society Award for Best Original Screenplay Nominated–Satellite Award for Best Original Screenplay Nominated–Humanitas Prize for Feature Film Category | |
| 2010 | Virginia | Writer–director | |
| 2011 | 8 | Writer | |
| J. Edgar | Writer | ||
| 2015 | "Songs I Can't Listen To" byNeon Trees | Actor | Music video |
| 2017 | When We Rise | Creator, writer, producer Director (2 episodes) | Miniseries about the LGBT civil rights movement in the United States[49] |
| 2022 | Under the Banner of Heaven | Creator and executive producer Director (1 episode):
Writer (4 episodes):
| Crime drama television miniseries |
| 2023 | Rustin | Writer and executive producer |
