Greg In Hollywood catches up with Oscar winner and LGBT activist Dustin Lance Black

It was great to see Dustin Lance Black recently at the GLAAD Media Awards. He is a true talent and such an articulate voice in the fight for LGBT equality.

Lance is in the process of completing the film What’s Wrong With Virginia which he wrote and directed. It’s about a sheriff (Ed Harris) sees his state senate bid slide out onto the ice when his daughter (Emma Roberts) begins to date the son of a charming but psychologically disturbed woman (Jennifer Connelly) with whom the sheriff has engaged in a two-decades-long affair.

It’s the most ambitious directorial project yet for the Oscar winning screenwriter (Milk) who several years ago directed the documentary On the Bus and the indie film The Journey of Jared Price as well as some episodic television and a short film.

Here is our recent conversation:

Q. You moved to New York! How is that going?

Lance: New York is good, I survived the winter. It was freezing, freezing cold.

Q. Why did you leave LA?

Lance: I was here for 17 years and I thought I might take a little change. But I’m [in LA] often because my work is still here.

Q. You’ve directed your first major film. How did it go?

Lance: We should be finished with it [in May], that’s why I’m here now doing final mixing. I’m hoping for a Venice or Toronto [film festivals] premiere.

Q. I know you directed a few smaller films earlier on. How was it this time around now that you’re an Oscar winner and all that? I imagine there were more expectations and bigger stars and stuff.

Lance: Yeah, way bigger stars than the earlier stuff: Jennifer Connelly and Ed Harris and Amy Madigan. They are fantastic in the film. I can’t wait for people to see Jennifer Connelly in this. I think no one has ever seen her like this.

Q. Maybe another Oscar for her?

Lance: I can’t say that! (laughs) But I think she should be and will be recognized for her work on this.

Q. It’s been a year since you won your Oscar for Milk. What kind of year has it been for you? Obama’s in office, you participated in the March on Washington. Do you feel there’s been some progress or that there is still so much work still to do?

Lance: I feel like there has been some progress but I feel like it’s small steps. I feel like we need to start doing things like demanding full action from the federal government. I think it’s time for us to demand our full equality. Although we appreciate small steps toward partial equality, that’s not really the end goal.

It’s been an exciting year because I think a lot of young activists have stood up and said that it’s time for full federal equality. I really hope that continues. Until it’s full equality in all matters governed by civil law in all 50 states I won’t be happy.

Earlier post: Dustin Lance Black at LifeWorks event: “It took a turn of luck to discover that I had someone I could look up to, and a turn of luck to save my life.”