Dustin Lance Black facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Dustin Lance Black
Black at the Web Summit 2017
Born	(1974-06-10) June 10, 1974 (age 51) Sacramento County, California, U.S.
Education	University of California, Los Angeles (BA)
Occupation	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(s)	Tom Daley ​ (m. 2017)​
Children	2
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Dustin Lance Black (born June 10, 1974) is an American writer, director, and producer. He is also known for working to make sure all people have equal rights. He won an Oscar in 2009 for writing the movie Milk. He also wrote the movie J. Edgar and the TV show Under the Banner of Heaven.

Black helped start the American Foundation for Equal Rights. He also wrote a play called 8. This play showed what happened in a court case that helped change a law in California.

Early Life and Education

Dustin Lance Black grew up in a Mormon family. His mother had polio. He lived in San Antonio, Texas, and later moved to Salinas, California.

Growing up, Dustin had private thoughts about himself. He worried about what others might think or say if he shared these feelings. These private thoughts sometimes made him feel shy or sad. He shared his true feelings about himself with others when he was older, during his last year of college.

While in high school, Black started working in theater. He worked at The Western Stage in Salinas. He also worked on other plays in Hollywood. He went to the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). There, he learned from directors, acted, and worked on lighting for plays. He finished college with honors in 1996.

Career Highlights

In 2000, Dustin Lance Black wrote and directed two films. One was called The Journey of Jared Price, and the other was a short film called Something Close to Heaven. In 2001, he directed a documentary called On the Bus. This film was about a road trip taken by six men to Burning Man in Nevada.

Black was raised as a Mormon. He was hired to write for the HBO TV show Big Love. This show was about a family that practiced polygamy. He started as a staff writer and later became a co-producer for the show.

Writing Milk

Black first visited San Francisco in the early 1990s. At that time, a serious illness was affecting many people in the city. He learned about Harvey Milk, who was a hopeful figure during that time. Black had seen a documentary about Harvey Milk in college. He wondered why no one had made a movie about Milk's life.

Black spent three years researching Harvey Milk's life. He met with people who knew Milk, like Cleve Jones and Anne Kronenberg. He also met with a former mayor of San Francisco, Art Agnos. After his research, Black wrote a movie script about Milk's life. He showed the script to Cleve Jones, who then shared it with director Gus Van Sant. Van Sant decided to direct the movie.

Black's movie Pedro came out in 2008. It told the story of Pedro Zamora, an activist who worked to raise awareness about AIDS.

Oscar Win and Activism

On February 22, 2009, Dustin Lance Black won an Oscar for Best Original Screenplay for Milk. This award is given for the best movie script that was not based on another story. At the awards ceremony, he wore a special white knot. This knot showed his support for people having the right to marry who they love.

In October 2009, Black gave a speech in Washington, D.C. He spoke to a large crowd of people who were working for equal rights for all.

In 2010, Black directed his own script for the movie Virginia. It starred actress Jennifer Connelly.

He also narrated a documentary called 8: The Mormon Proposition in 2010. This film was about the involvement of a church in a California law. Black spoke about treating all people fairly.

Black wrote the script for J. Edgar, a movie released in 2011. It was directed by Clint Eastwood and starred Leonardo DiCaprio.

The Play 8

In 2011, Black wrote a play called 8. This play showed what really happened in a court case that led to a California law being changed. He wrote the play because the court did not allow videos of the trial to be released. He wanted the public to know the true story.

The play used actual court records and interviews with people involved. 8 first opened in New York City in September 2011. It was later shown online to people around the world in March 2012.

Organizations like the American Foundation for Equal Rights and Broadway Impact have allowed colleges and theaters to perform the play for free.

Black also appeared as himself in the 2011 documentary film Hollywood to Dollywood. In 2019, he published his autobiography, a book about his own life, called Mama's Boy: A Story From Our Americas.

Personal Life

Dustin Lance Black was recognized as one of the most influential people under 40 who openly shared their personal lives. He was featured on the cover of The Advocate magazine in 2009. He also served as a Grand Marshal in the 2009 NYC Pride March.

Black began a relationship with Tom Daley, a British Olympic diver, in 2013. They got engaged in October 2015 and were married in May 2017.

In February 2018, Black and Daley announced they were going to have their first child. Their son was born in June 2018 through surrogacy. They later welcomed their second son in March 2023. They choose not to share pictures of their children's faces online to protect their privacy.

Film and TV Work

Awards and Recognition

• Cinema for Peace Award for Most Valuable Movie of The Year 2009
• UCLA's Distinguished Achievement in Screenwriting award, 2009
• Distinguished Service to the LGBT Community by a UCLA Alumnus Award, 2009
• Bonham Centre Award, for helping people understand and learn about different kinds of people, 2011
• Human Rights Campaign, Visibility Award September 15, 2012
• Equality Arizona, The Barry Goldwater Human Rights Individual Award Sept. 2013
• Writers Guild of America West, Valentine Davies Award for Civil and Human Rights Efforts, 2018

See also

In Spanish: Dustin Lance Black para niños