World Premiere at the Castro

It was a star-studded, politico-packed evening at San Francisco's Castro Theatre last night for the World Premiere of Milk.

In a scene that would have made Harvey Milk proud, the street outside the theater was lined with hundreds of No on Prop 8 activists (placards in hand) who provided a fitting, powerful backdrop to the red carpet scene — with their steady "Vote No on 8" chants providing the backdrop for all the media coverage outside the event.

The film's star, Sean Penn (pictured above) invigorated the already boisterous crowd by shaking hands and showing his support for the cause — echoing his portrayal of Milk in the film, the ever-gregarious community leader.

Following the Hollywood-style arrivals, the sell-out crowd was greeted by SF Mayor Gavin Newsom who gave an electrifying introduction proclaiming: "San Francisco doesn't just tolerate diversity, we celebrate it!"

There was not a dry eye in the house as the lights came up two hours later and the crowd headed off for a festive celebration at City Hall. Fittingly, the very last Thank You of the film's credits went to local filmmaker Rob Epstein for his Academy Award winning 1983 documentary, The Times of Harvey Milk.