11/18/2008
Van Sant: Milk Camera Shop Visited by Harvey's Ghost
I'm not sure from what interview this story originated, but it's an interesting companion to this short film by Jenni Olson, shot at 575 Castro, where Harvey Milk's camera shop and campaign headquarters was recreated for Milk in the same space where it existed 30 years ago.
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"Director Gus Van Sant claimed that Milk's spirit turned up at the set recreation of his Castro Camera Shop, where a gift store now stands.
'The gift store owners were very into the legacy of the store and willing to let us close their shop down and move our set in. They had a mural of Harvey Milk,' Van Sant said. 'During a shot at night there was a take where we were using most of the room and there were three or four actors in the scene. Some people were sitting on the sofa which was outside of the shot and during one of the takes somebody walked in from outside and sat down on the sofa during the shot.'
'After the shot was over, he apparently got up and walked out. The actors were like, 'Did you see that guy?' I didn't see anybody, but they kept describing Harvey, so I figure it was the ghost of Harvey walking into the store for a brief second," he added.
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Olson shot the following film on the set, and added the famous Harvey Milk recording that was to be played in the event of his death by assassination.
Watch it, AFTER THE JUMP...
Ghost or not, Milk's words have a power that will linger well into the future.
UPDATE: I met Gus at a party tonight (11.19.08) and asked him about the ghost story. He repeated it exactly as above, but it's just kind of a casual story. Take it for what it is. Everyone has their own mythologies and you're free to think what you think. It has nothing to do with marketing. I respect the memory of Harvey Milk wholeheartedly. I'm sure Van Sant does too. Milk's words are beautiful to listen to and should inspire anyone who listens to them. The short film about the camera is beautiful Jenni, and no doubt, though it's a set, you've captured it authentically. Nice work.
Sphere: Related ContentPosted 1:30 PM EST by Andy in Film, Gus van Sant, Harvey Milk, News | Permalink
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I wish he would come back. We really need him right now.
Posted by: JJ | Nov 18, 2008 2:15:05 PM
Argh!!! Why do publicists push this kind of crap?
If there were ghosts, wouldn't the ghosts of the murdered victims of genocide, for instance, haunt their killers? Seriously, where were the ghosts of African slaves during the years of slavery? Why didn't they rise up and haunt their former tormenters? After the Nazis killed a few thousand innocent Jews, why were there no ghosts taking vengeance? Why did the ghosts of the victims of the Trail of Tears not find their way back to haunt Andrew Jackson? Etc. Etc. Etc.
If Harvey Milk's ghost were around, wouldn't he more likely be haunting the anti-gay leaders?
Crappy stories like this do nothing more than to serve up a shovel full of superstition, ignorance, and media manipulation to serve the interest of a some desperate living, breathing cretins.
Posted by: noah | Nov 18, 2008 2:23:05 PM
Noah, dude, calm down. Consider meditation or something...anything that will simmer you down...because your response was so ridiculous, it was kind of frightening.
Posted by: ERB | Nov 18, 2008 2:54:53 PM
ERB,
No, calm yourself. This is crap. It's just the lame, pathetic attempts of a film company to traffic in superstition to promote a film. Almost every time a movie about a beloved dead person is made, stories of ghosts are trotted out for publicity. That's wrong. I don't care if it's Milk or MLK, it's an attempt by a business to manipulate people.
And, it's disrespectful of the memory of Milk. If you can't figure that pushing superstition to manipulate others is wrong, then you've missed out on why the Yes on 8 campaign was successful.
Posted by: noah | Nov 18, 2008 4:15:13 PM
Thanks for posting my movie, Andy! I would love to hear any comments from people about what they think of my short (aside from complaining about the ghost story). Thanks!
Posted by: Jenni Olson | Nov 18, 2008 6:58:28 PM
I agree with Erb, you really need to calm down. For one thing, there's no proof one way or the other that there aren't people that have haunted their murderers or whatever, like the stuff that you listed. Ghosts aren't really "superstition" like if you walk under a ladder or open an umbrella in doors you're going to get bad luck. Many people believe in ghosts and there's a lot of scientific evidence out there that suggests they may actually exist.
In any case, what's really disrespectful to Milk is the his school. Not because there is a school in his honour, but because of the way it's ran and who they have attending it. I used to have a friend that went to it for a short while and she told me some nightmare stories about how the kids were all a bunch of little sh*ts and the teachers didn't give a crap about anything and that it was just a terrible school. Things could have changed, though. And I hope they have. It was relatively soon after the school first opened when she went and that was, now that I think about it, some time ago.
Posted by: Andy | Nov 18, 2008 6:58:31 PM
Thanks Andy and many thanks Jenni for this lovely piece. The ghost story aside, there is a haunting beauty to the film that is illuminating. I particularly am struck by Milk's comment that he didn't see himself as a candidate, that the movement was the candidacy. It just goes to show how little he was in it for just himself. He was in it for US.
Posted by: domo | Nov 18, 2008 9:18:41 PM