Dustin Lance Black
Screenwriter
Dustin Lance Black is a screenwriter, producer and director, having won the 2009 Academy Award and Writers Guild of America Award for Best Original Screenplay for MILK, the Gus Van Sant-directed biopic of the late gay rights activist Harvey Milk starring Sean Penn.
An honors graduate of UCLA's School of Film and Television, Black began his professional career as an art director, and quickly transitioned to directing documentaries, television series, commercials and music videos. Black's first two documentaries ON THE BUS (2001) and MY LIFE WITH COUNT DRACULA (2003) debuted to acclaim and subsequent festival success. These lead to a successful stint producing and directing TLC's hit program FAKING IT, based upon the famous BBC series about ordinary citizens spending time in a field far removed from their normal lives. The program received notices for its unflinching sociological commentaries.
In 2004, Black signed on to draw on his devout Mormon childhood experiences in San Antonio, Texas as a writer and co-producer on HBO's Emmy and Golden Globe nominated polygamist drama BIG LOVE. He continued to write for the show until the third season wrapped in 2008.
Mr. Black also penned the screenplay for PEDRO, the first scripted project from Bunim-Murray Productions about the life and legacy of famed openly gay, HIV positive REAL WORLD cast member Pedro Zamora. The film premiered at the 2008 Toronto International Film Festival and earned Mr. Black his second WGA Award nomination when it premiered on MTV and VH1 in 2009.
Recently, Black completed production on his feature directorial debut WHAT'S WRONG WITH VIRGINIA, which stars Jennifer Connelly and Ed Harris. It is due to premier this fall. In addition, Mr. Black has teamed up with director Clint Eastwood and Imagine Entertainment to pen HOOVER, the story of famed FBI director J. Edgar Hoover. Production is set to begin at the end of 2010.
Beyond his film work, Black is also a civil rights activist. He is currently on the board of the American Foundation for Equal Rights (AFER), which is leading the Federal Case against Prop 8 in CA with lawyers David Boise and Ted Olson, and is on the Board of the Trevor Project, an LGBTQ teen suicide hotline.
Since winning the Oscar in 2009, Black has been on a equal rights speaking tour across the country, and was one of a handful of organizers of the LGBT March on Washington in October 2009 where he spoke to an audience of over 150,000 demonstrators in front of the Nation's Capitol.
Black has had two books published, has written for every major screenwriting magazine, contributes to The Daily Beast, the Huffington Post, recently topped the list of OUT Magazine's 40 under 40, and was named one of the 50 most powerful LGBT people in America today by that same publication.
A topical, relevant celebrity speaker, Mr. Black brings a unique perspective to his public speaking engagements. Equally adept at speaking about the struggles of an up-and-coming screenwriter as he is the struggles of young gay Americans in the 21st century, he brings something to the table for everyone in your audience.
To Book Dustin Lance Black as an LGBT speaker, contact CAA Speakers
