Milk is a 2008 American biographical film based on the life of gay rights activist and politician Harvey Milk, who was the first openly gay person to be elected to public office in California, as a member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors. Directed by Gus Van Sant and written by Dustin Lance Black, the film stars Sean Penn as Milk and Josh Brolin as Dan White, a city supervisor who assassinated Milk, and was released to much acclaim, earned numerous accolades from film critics and guilds. Ultimately, it received eight Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture, winning two for Best Actor in a Leading Role for Penn and Best Original Screenplay for Black.

Attempts to put Milk's life to film followed a 1984 Oscar-winning documentary of his life and the aftermath of his assassination, titled The Times of Harvey Milk, which was loosely based upon Randy Shilts's biography, The Mayor of Castro Street. Various scripts were considered in the early 1990s, but projects fell through for different reasons, until 2007. Much of Milk was filmed on Castro Street and other locations in San Francisco, including Milk's former storefront, Castro Camera.

Harvey Bernard Milk (May 22, 1930 – November 27, 1978) was an American politician who became the first openly gay man to be elected to public office in California when he won a seat on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors. Politics and gay activism were not his early interests; he was not open about his homosexuality and did not participate in civic matters until around the age of 40, after his experiences in the counterculture of the 1960s.

Milk moved from New York City to settle in San Francisco in 1972 amid a migration of gay men to the Castro District. He took advantage of the growing political and economic power of the neighborhood to promote his interests, and ran unsuccessfully for political office three times. His theatrical campaigns earned him increasing popularity, and Milk won a seat as a city supervisor in 1977, part of the broader social changes the city was experiencing.

Milk served almost 11 months in office and was responsible for passing a stringent gay rights ordinance for the city. On November 27, 1978, Milk and Mayor George Moscone were assassinated by Dan White, another city supervisor who had recently resigned but wanted his job back. Milk's election was made possible by and was a key component of a shift in San Francisco politics. The assassinations and the ensuing events were the result of continuing ideological conflicts in the city.

Nick Heyward (born Nicholas Heyward, 20 May 1961, Beckenham, Kent) is an English singer, songwriter and guitarist. He is best known for being the frontman of the early 1980s band Haircut One Hundred, and also had a briefly successful solo career after he left the band in 1983.

Nick Heyward formed Haircut One Hundred after the demise of a previous band, Moving England. The band had four UK Top 10 singles and their debut album, Pelican West (1982), reached #2.

During the sessions for their second album Heyward became unwell and Mark Fox took over vocal duties with the band as songwriters. Heyward departed at the end of 1982.

Heyward's solo career took off in March 1983 with the single 'Whistle Down The Wind', with the album North of a Miracle, produced by Geoff Emerick. The album reached #10 in the UK and contained a further singles three Top 20 hits. In 1984, he released two new singles, "Love All Day" and "Warning Sign", which were both minor Top 40 hits.

The singles featured on his second solo album, 1986's Postcards From Home. By 1988, he had moved to Warner Bros. Records and released his third album, I Love You Avenue. For the next four years, Heyward concentrated on his second career as a graphic artist, until returning to music in 1993 with a new album for Epic Records and tour dates alongside Squeeze, Paul Weller. Over the next two years, he toured regularly, particularly in the US, where he supported Belly, The Lemonheads, Mazzy Star and Therapy?.