CBS’s Smith Reviews Harvey Milk Movie: ‘A Must-See’

NewsBusters ^ | December 10, 2008 | Kyle Drennen

[Zakeet]

On Wednesday’s CBS Early Show, co-host Harry Smith interviewed actor James Franco, who stars opposite Sean Penn in a new movie about gay San Francisco politician Harvey Milk: "Actor James Franco is here to talk about his role in the much-talked-about new movie, 'Milk.' He is amazing in it." At the end of the show, Smith thanked Franco for being a guest and offer this review of the movie: "James Franco in 'Milk,' amazing performance. Sean Penn, off the charts. It's a must-see for everybody."

On November 30, CBS’s Sunday Morning offered a similar glowing description of the film, describing Milk as a "rebel with a cause." In the Wednesday interview, Smith described Franco’s role in the movie as a career-maker: "...there’s this completely other performance here. I mean, there's a part of you that's go to be, ‘this means I have a career,’ and 'I'm not just -- I'm not the pretty face on the Gucci ads, I get a career now.’"

The full transcript of the Wednesday segment is contained at the end of the article.

[Borges]

That is equivalent to saying that if I do not visit a whorehouse then I cannot condemn what goes on inside.

Come on that's a facile answer. And the presence of 'obscene' words isn't always out of place. Shakespeare's plays are larded with obscenity. If a character speaks that way that's how they speak. As for naming some ,'Rachel Getting Married', 'Synechodche NY', 'Transsiberian', 'Wall*E'. The latter in particular is a stirring call for individualism.

[Inkie]

I haven’t seen it, but don’t I recall that the killer picked Milk because he saw Milk as responsible for his firing? This film seems to be adopting Milk (what were his accomplishments, again?) as a gay martyr.