Screenwriter Dustin Lance Black said he was highly inspired by Harvey Milk and it made a real difference in his life. He was born to Mormon parents and he grew up amid the military communities of San Antonio, Texas. Dustin Lance also mention that when he finally came to know about the Milk's story it helped him summon the courage to come out to his family and friends. Sean Penn stars in Gus Van Sant's new biopic Milk, which speaks the story of an out gay politician who inspired a community with his courage, and whose 1978 murder made headlines across the country. Dustin Lance has been a writer on the HBO series Big Love. He also wrote a documentary about Pedro Zamora, the out gay Cuban-American AIDS activist who became famous as a third-season cast member on MTV's The Real World.