8. Milk Releases Three Weeks After Gay Marriage Is Repealed In California
The Movie: Gus van Sant chronicles the life and times of Harvey Milk (Sean Penn), the first openly gay person to be elected to public office in California, including his successful battle against the homophobic Proposition 6 initiative, and his tragic 1978 assassination. The Release: The film premiered two weeks before the controversial Proposition 8 bill was to be voted on (which would repeal gay marriage rights throughout California), and was theatrically released three weeks after the vote took place, in which the bill was unfortunately passed. Though some insist that the film could've swayed the vote had it been released earlier, it arguably served a more potent purpose by coming after the vote was rejected, illustrating the destructive power of homophobia and, with Sean Penn's Oscar win over the possibly more-deserving Mickey Rourke, making a loud statement about which side Hollywood stood on with the bill. Thankfully, Proposition 8 was eventually ruled to be unconstitutional in 2010 and this ruling was finally put into effect in 2013.