From Coming Out to Steven Spielberg to Working With the Obamas, the Producer of ‘Rustin’ on His Activism for LGBTQ Stories
variety.comBruce Cohen In 1992, being out at work in Hollywood wasn’t really much of a thing and yet, I found myself coming out to Steven Spielberg in his office.
I had started my career in film as the DGA trainee on “The Color Purple” in 1985, keenly aware of how astonishing it was not only to have Steven as my boss on my first movie but also to have it feature such a bold and beautiful portrayal of LGBTQ+ representation.
Producing along with Steven and Quincy Jones were Kathy Kennedy and Frank Marshall. They have since gone on to win the Thalberg Award, Kathy is President of Lucasfilm and Frank is the most recent member of the EGOT club, but at the time they had recently left Amblin, Steven’s company which they had co-founded, to go out on their own.
I was with them in the mountains of British Columbia filming “Alive,” which I was co-producing, when Steven’s office called saying that he wanted to meet with me about a possible producing deal and could I come in?
