tMF has been patiently waiting for the new trailer of Gus Van Sant's film 'Milk' for some time now, and it's just been officially released today! The trailer looks great, with an even greater ensemble cast which includes Sean Penn, Josh Brolin, Emile Hirsch, James Franco and Diego Luna. You can also check out the new 'Milk' trailer in HD HERE. Milk will be in limited theatres on November 26, 2008, and then will open wide on December 5, 2008.

OFFICIAL SITE FOR 'MILK'

Academy Award nominee Gus Van Sant directs Academy Award winner Sean Penn as gay-rights icon Harvey Milk. Mr. Milk (1930-1978) was an activist and politician, and the first openly gay man to be elected to public office in America - in 1977, he was voted to the city supervisors' board of San Francisco. The following year, both he and the city's mayor George Moscone were shot to death by another city supervisor, Dan White. Mr. Milk was previously the subject of the Academy Award-winning documentary feature The Times of Harvey Milk, but Milk is the first non-documentary feature to explore the man's life and career.

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Back to Daniel. While many of his fans were disappointed for the abrupt change in the release of the latest Harry Potter sequel, Radcliffe seems to take everything in stride. In fact, this is another chance for the young actor to talk about what roles he might do in future projects. From his latest Details mag interview (via Aceshowbiz):

"I think part of me would love to play a drag queen," Radcliffe told the October issue of the men's magazine. "Just because it would be an excuse to wear loads of eye makeup."

In addition to embracing his feminine side, Radcliffe in the meantime is preparing himself to play a more mature role in the upcoming drama flick "Journey," which story tells about the experiences of photographer Dan Eldon, one of four journalists who was stoned to death by a hate mob during a war in Somalia in 1993.

A number of top actors played gay (or performed as drag queens, for that matter) some time in their film careers. Cillian Murphy played Kitten, a drag queen in Neil Jordan's Breakfast on Pluto. Murphy went on to be nominated for his role at the Golden Globes and 12 other major and minor awards. Jake Gyllenhaal, Colin Farrell, Dylan McDermott, Clive Owens and Javier Bardem also played gay roles.

Latest News/Updates: We just created a sub-forum to organize all info about the promotional blitz we plan for the movie, How To Be. Hopefully you can all join this voluntary project. Film producer Justin Kelly is busy making some finishing touches on their promo materials and the movie's director Oliver Irving is just about to attend the prestigious Talent Lab at the Toronto International Film Festival, and once he gets back to London, it's full speed ahead. In the meantime, you can still join and do your share in making sure people know more about this amazing indie film.

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It's really hard to market an independent film. While the big studios continue to funnel millions of dollars into marketing - - including the proliferation of viral marketing that originated on the internet - - small independent productions find it hard to market their films. However, thanks to the growing numbers of film festivals all over the world, they are getting the chance to show their movies which in turn means they manage to get the attention of people involved in film distribution. There is also a growing audience who are in love with indies and tMF plans to feature some good ones that people can look forward to and enjoy!

The case is the same for How To Be, as we quote a part of their film background:

The budget (under £1m), was raised by hosting investment evenings at which private investors were asked to buy shares in the new company – How To Films Ltd. How To Be was shot in 25 days in early 2007 on S16mm in London, England with cast and crew working for reduced and deferred fees. The film came in on schedule and on budget.

You might ask: How come you get to do another project when you have yet to launch the Little Ashes promotion? Well, we're actually done with the promotional website for Little Ashes and we're planning an official launch this coming 5th September. I hope that's enough to pique your curiosity.

In a quick follow-up to our feature on Aaron Johnson, I've just discovered this gem of a movie by Matthew Thompson entitled Dummy.

Dummy is a coming of age drama about two young brothers whose lives are thrown into turmoil when their mother dies suddenly, leaving them to fend for themselves.

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While Danny loses himself in music, sex and drugs, his younger brother Jack takes action – transforming, with the help of some make up and his mother’s old clothes, a life size mannequin into a brand new ‘mummy’ for him to talk to. Jack’s obsession with this new member of the family leads to both comic misunderstandings and bitter antagonism as the pair battle through grief, anger and denial. Finally, the boys intense struggle to survive in an upside-down world leads to a new understanding that gives them both hope for the future.

Right this minute, these guys are two of the hottest young actors making a lot of buzz in Hollywood - Zac Efron and Aaron Johnson - and they're from both sides of the Atlantic!

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One of Zac Efron's latest flick, Me and Orson Welles, will soon hit the festival circuit with scheduled early screenings for Toronto International Film Festival. Directed by Richard Linklater, Zac plays a teenager cast in the Orson Welles directed play "Julius Ceasar" in 1937 who starts a torrid affair with the character played by Claire Danes. Says ScreenDaily:

Teen heart-throb Zac Efron gets to prove his acting chops alongside Claire Danes, Ben Chaplin and newcomer Christian McKay.

Not to be outdone, British teen actor Aaron Johnson, is making girls scream, as one of the leads in the British teen flick, Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging. He is also slated to play lead as Dave Lizewski in Kick-Ass, with Nicholas Cage. Here's more info about the movie:

Dave Lizewski is an unnoticed high school student and comic book fan with a few friends and who lives alone with his father. His life is not very difficult and his personal trials not that overwhelming. However, one day he makes the simple decision to become a super-hero even though he has no powers or training.

John Maybury’s wartime romance ‘The Edge of Love’ focuses on the tangled relationship between poet Dylan Thomas (Matthew Rhys) and the two most important women in his life. The film covers four years of Thomas’ life during World War II, a time when he was in love with both his wife Caitlin (played by Sienna Miller) and his childhood lover Vera Phillips (Keira Knightley).

Spotlight review by Cilla Benjamin

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This movie is much less about Dylan Thomas, the famous Welsh poet, and much more about Dylan Thomas, the lover. It would’ve been interesting to be shown more about the work of this fascinating poet who died from heavy drinking in New York when he was only 39 years old.

Nevertheless, we aren't given much more than a few snippets of his poems. The equilibrium of the love-triangle between Thomas and his two women is shattered by the arrival of Captain William Killick , portrayed brilliantly by Cillian Murphy. Killick charms Vera into marrying him and she eventually does, albeit reluctantly.

IMDb reports that Ben Whishaw is rumored to be part of the cast in the upcoming 2009 film adaptation of Shakespeare's comedy The Tempest. The film adaptation is reported to be under the direction of Julie Taymor, who also directed 2007's Across the Universe.

Julie Taymor will also act as producer and writer for the film. Ben Whishaw is rumored to be playing the character Ariel, an airy spirit.

"In Julie Taymor's version of 'The Tempest,' the gender of Prospero has been switched to Prospera. Going back to the 16th or 17th century, women practicing the magical arts of alchemy were often convicted of witchcraft. In Taymor's version, Prospera is usurped by her brother and sent off with her four-year daughter on a ship. She ends up on an island; it's a tabula rasa: no society, so the mother figure becomes a father figure to Miranda. This leads to the power struggle and balance between Caliban and Prospera; a struggle not about brawn, but about intellect."

As a backgrounder, here more from Wiki about William Shakespeare's play, 'The Tempest':

"The Tempest is a comedy written by William Shakespeare. It is generally dated to 1610-11 and accepted as the last play written solely by him, although some scholars have argued for an earlier dating. While listed as a comedy in its initial publication in the First Folio of 1623, many modern editors have relabelled the play a romance. It did not attract a significant amount of attention before the closing of the theatres in 1642, and after the Restoration it attained great popularity only in adapted versions. Theatre productions returned conclusively to the original Shakespearean text in the mid-nineteenth century. In the twentieth century, the play received a sweeping re-appraisal by critics and scholars, to the point that it is now considered one of Shakespeare's greatest works."

People have been asking, why not do a piece on Kristen Stewart? Actually we already did, many weeks ago, when we featured her new movie called Yellow Handerchief, but we are always happy to oblige. So in celebration of Miss Stewart's budding career as an actress, we've come up with our own look into her work so far...

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The young actress has yet to prove her mettle when it comes to leading roles, especially in terms of her ability to attract audiences and do something with box office receipts and the like. But if we look back at some of her previous roles, we'll see that there is something special about this young girl - and it's what keeps the Twilight fans asking for more.

I first saw Kristen in David Gordon Green's Undertow with Jamie Bell. It was a supporting role but her presence lingered. She may not be the most glamorous young actress in Hollywood today, but she definitely has screen presence. Her short but memorable role made me curious. Who is Kristen Stewart?

Not just because I worked with her but Jodie Foster is obviously a role model. She's not just an actress, she's not one-dimensional. She has more than one creative outlet. She's a writer, a producer, a director. She has a pretty level head on her shoulders and I like the idea that she can keep her personal life private and separate from what she does. I admire most of her values. She's pretty cool.

I think that says a lot about Kristen. Having worked with Jodie Foster certainly made a big impression on the actress, and some of her roles actually mirror the early career choices made by Oscar-winning actress herself.