Nov 21, 2008  |  By: CHRIS JOHNSON  | COMMENTS     

It’s not just a movie. It could be the extension of a legacy.

That’s what people who knew Harvey Milk are hoping the new Gus Van Sant film, “Milk,” starring Sean Penn as the slain gay rights pioneer, will do for the first openly gay man elected to public office.

People who took part in San Francisco’s gay rights activism in the 1970s anticipate that the film on city Supervisor Harvey Milk, which opens Wednesday, will reinvigorate the figure’s legacy for another generation.

“Milk” chronicles the life of the first openly gay person elected to public office from when he moved to California in 1972 to his assassination in 1978.

In addition to portraying Milk, the film depicts those who helped him win election to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors and who continue to work to improve their communities today.

One such person is Dan Nicoletta, shown in the film as a teenager working at Milk’s camera store on Castro Street. Nicoletta, who met Milk when he stopped into the store to drop off his Super 8 films, said in addition to working at Milk’s shop, he helped with Milk’s last three campaigns by answering phones, registering voters and distributing leaflets.

“I’ve been a point person for information and photographs about Harvey Milk since I met him really, which is a long time ago now,” Nicoletta said during a phone interview.

Nicoletta, who’s gay, continues to work on chronicling the gay rights movement through photography and other media. He was part of a committee that arranged for a statue of Milk to be erected in San Francisco City Hall.

Nicoletta said he’s “been waiting a long time for this movie” and is pleased that his “friend’s legacy will be solidified in history in such a tangible way.”

“The struggle for LGBT civil rights is far from over and these things are potent tools in terms of advancement of discourse and knowledge about it,” he said.

In addition to being depicted in the movie by actor by Lucas Grabeel, Nicoletta makes a cameo
appearance as Carl Carlson, an aide to Milk who was one of the last people to see him alive.

Nicoletta also was an adviser for filmmakers. Because of his background in photography, he was often asked to provide visual material to use for costuming and set design.

Nicoletta said the excitement shown in the movie matched the excitement felt by those working on Milk’s campaigns in the 1970s. He recalled celebrating Milk’s victory in the camera store and said, “it was as exciting if not more than what’s depicted in the movie.”

“We were out of our minds with joy,” Nicoletta said. “We kind of really didn’t believe it could happen because that was a close race.”

Another person depicted in the film and anticipating its release is Anne Kronenberg, who worked as campaign manager for Milk’s last run for a seat on the Board of Supervisors in 1977. Kronenberg helped Milk finally win his election in 1977 after three defeats.

Similar to Nicoletta, Kronenberg met Milk when she dropped off film for development in his camera store. She had a job at a wholesale seafood company, which Kronenberg said she hated, and became Milk’s campaign manager when he called her “out of the blue” after her friend recommended her to him.

“When I walked into the campaign, it was a tight-knit little group of men and then there was me, and so it was interesting in the first couple of weeks just finding my niche,” she said. “There was a lot of suspicion of me when I walked in, but we became a family. It was a turning point in my life.”

Kronenberg is now deputy director of San Francisco Department of Public Health and is working to implement for the city a plan to provide medical coverage of those lacking health insurance.

While Kronenberg identified as a lesbian in the 1970s, she said she now considers herself straight because in the 1980s she moved to D.C. and met a man with whom she fell in love and later married. She has a stepson, a son and a daughter — all in their 20s.

“I just tell people I went to the dark side and I know that would be OK with Harvey because he was there for acceptance for all,” she said.

Kronenberg said she thinks Milk’s legacy is “giving people hope” and that the movie will spread his message to another generation who was not yet born when Milk was alive.

“Hopefully this [film] will be a legacy for the next generation of people that ...