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Dustin Lance Black

Born into a Mormon family in 1974, Dustin Lance Black escaped into the world of the theater and graduated from UCLA Film School. In 2000 he wrote and directed the gay soft-core classic, The Journey of Jared Price elevating an otherwise pedestrian form with wit and style. In 2001, he directed On the Bus, a reality-style film about six gay men on a bus trip. In 2006 Black became a staff writer and producer for the HBO series "Big Love," about a polygamist Mormon family. He is still listed a producer and writer of the terrific hit series. In 2009, Black won an Academy Award for his original screenplay for the Gus Van Sant film, Milk about a personal hero, the slain gay San Fransisco supervisor. In his beautiful acceptance speech, Black made an eloquent plea for equal marriage rights. Black was also the writer of "Pedro," the made-for-cable biopic about Pedro Zamora, the first openly gay person on MTVs hit series "The Real World."