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 an activist who works for equal rights. He is famous for writing the movie Milk. For this film, he won an Oscar in 2009 for best original screenplay.

Black has also written other important works. These include the film J. Edgar and the TV series Under the Banner of Heaven. He helped start the American Foundation for Equal Rights. He also wrote 8, a play about a court case that helped change a law in California.

Early Life

Dustin Lance Black was born on June 10, 1974. His father left when he was young. He grew up with his mother, Roseanna, and two brothers. His mother had polio.

His family lived in a Mormon home. They first lived in San Antonio, Texas. Later, they moved to Salinas, California.

While at North Salinas High School, Black started working in theater. He worked at The Western Stage in Salinas. He also helped with plays in Hollywood. He went to the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). He learned from stage directors and worked on lighting. He graduated with honors in 1996.

Career Highlights

Early Projects

In 2000, Black wrote and directed two films. One was The Journey of Jared Price, a romance film. The other was Something Close to Heaven, a short film about growing up. In 2001, he directed a documentary called On the Bus. It was about a road trip with six men.

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

The Film Milk

Black visited San Francisco in the early 1990s. At that time, AIDS was affecting many people there. He learned about Harvey Milk, a hopeful story from that time. He had seen a documentary about Harvey Milk in college. He wanted to make a film about Milk's life.

Black spent three years researching Milk's story. He met with people who knew Milk well. He then wrote a screenplay for a film. The director Gus Van Sant joined the project. The film Milk was released in 2008.

Black also wrote the film Pedro. This film was about Pedro Zamora, an activist who worked to raise awareness about AIDS. It was shown at a film festival in 2008.

On February 22, 2009, Black won an Oscar for Milk. He won for Best Original Screenplay. He wore a White Knot at the ceremony. This was a symbol to support equal rights for all people.

Activism and Other Works

On October 11, 2009, Black marched in the National Equality March. He gave a speech in front of the United States Capitol. About 200,000 people were there to support equal rights.

In 2010, Black directed his own script called Virginia. It starred Jennifer Connelly. Also in 2010, Black narrated 8: The Mormon Proposition. This documentary was about the involvement of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in California's Proposition 8. Black spoke about working with the church to be more welcoming to all people.

Black wrote the screenplay for J. Edgar. This was a biographical drama released in 2011. It was directed by Clint Eastwood and starred Leonardo DiCaprio.

In 2011, Black wrote the play 8. This play shows what happened in a real court trial. This trial led to the overturning of California's Proposition 8. Black created the play because videos of the trial were not released. He wanted the public to know what happened. The play uses actual court records and interviews. 8 first opened in New York City in 2011. It was later shown online for people around the world.

The American Foundation for Equal Rights and Broadway Impact support 8. They allow colleges and theaters to perform the play for free. Black also appeared in the documentary film Hollywood to Dollywood in 2011. In 2019, he published his autobiography, Mama's Boy: A Story From Our Americas.

Personal Life

In 2009, The Advocate magazine listed Black as an influential person. He was also a Grand Marshal in the 2009 NYC LGBT Pride March.

Black's brother, Marcus, passed away in January 2012.

Black started a relationship with Tom Daley in 2013. Daley is a British Olympic diver. The couple lives in London. They got engaged in 2015 and married in May 2017. In 2018, Black and Daley announced they were having a child. Their son was born in June 2018.

Filmography

Awards and Recognition

Dustin Lance Black has received many awards for his work:

• 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
• Human Rights Campaign, Visibility Award September 15, 2012
• Equality Arizona, The Barry Goldwater Human Rights Individual Award Sept. 2013
• Writers Guild of America West, 2018 Valentine Davies Award for Civil and Human Rights Efforts, February 11, 2018

See also

In Spanish: Dustin Lance Black para niños