*snip*
Bottled water was available for free, but extras were warned to pitch the bottles when the cameras were on. People drank H2O out of the tap in the '70s.
A production assistant followed Penn around the front of City Hall with a large navy blue umbrella. She held it over his head to shield him from the sun. Seeing he had a captive audience, Penn broke loose of the umbrella to deliver an impromptu speech that Milk would have loved.
"I almost wish Jerry Falwell were alive to see this. Almost," Penn shouted to the crowd. After dropping some names of conservatives who are still with us - "Bill O'Reilly, who is too stupid to talk about," and "Sean Hannity, the butt boy of Rupert Murdoch," Penn said, "We know something more. We know their end is near."
What was fun about having "Milk" shot here is how "in" it made locals feel. They could go home that Sunday and tell friends that Penn gave a speech just for them. Keen observers might have caught a glimpse of Robin Williams, who at one point was to play Milk, and Oliver Stone, who was to direct one version of the biopic. Both stopped by to watch Penn and director Gus Van Sant, whom Williams worked with on "Good Will Hunting."
Thousands of San Franciscans marched in a simulation of the Gay Freedom Parade that was held on June 25, 1978, and of the vigil in November that year to commemorate the deaths of Milk and Mayor George Moscone, both murdered by Supervisor Dan White.
The cast and crew have been all over town spending money in restaurants and hotels and generally adding to the San Francisco economy. There were other ways in which the local population benefited from the "Milk" people being here.
the full story is here
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/03/18/DDNDVJJHL.DTLand check out the ratings on Drudge right under this story
CABLE NEWS RACE MONDAY, MARCH 17, 2008
VIEWERS
FOXNEWS O'REILLY 3,040,000
FNC HANNITY/COLMES 2,337,000
FNC GRETA 1,862,000
FNC SHEP 1,583,000
FNC HUME 1,508,000
CNN DOBBS 1,227,000
CNN KING 983,000
CNN COOPER 976,000
MSNBC OLBERMANN 962,000
CNN BLITZER 839,000
CNNHN GRACE 663,000
MSNBC HARDBALL 604,000
