Photo: Focus Features

A biopic about a 1970s San Francisco gay activist may not sound like box-office gold. But for Milk, director Gus Van Sant (Good Will Hunting) pulled together the year's best ensemble cast. Sean Penn is uncanny as Harvey Milk, the first openly gay man to be voted into office in America. Emile Hirsch (Into the Wild) plays fellow activist Cleve Jones; James Franco is Milk's partner; and Diego Luna is Jack Lira, another Milk lover. "We started with Sean," says Van Sant. The rest of the group soon fell into place. "They're really fantastic actors that I've never worked with before," says Van Sant. "They hung out a lot and formed the group that you see in the movie — Harvey's support group." Penn also suggested Josh Brolin to play Milk's nemesis, Dan White, the deeply conflicted politician who shot Milk and San Francisco Mayor George Moscone in 1978. "Both Josh and Sean had done a lot of very hardcore scenes in their careers," Van Sant says. "They knew a lot about guns. More than I did." BRIAN BRAIKER

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