The drama between, “Crossing Over,” its director Wayne Kramer, actor Sean Penn and producer Harvey Weinstein will not go away.
You’ll recall a stink was made in December when Hollywood Elsewhere reported that Sean Penn disliked the immigration drama so much he allegedly asked to be removed from the picture and the Weinstein’s — reportedly afraid to mess with stars they might need in the future (Penn) — obliged the request much to the chagrin of the director Kramer.
True or false, regardless we do know that Penn did not ever appear in the picture and, it was widely panned by most critics when it came out in February.
The story however, has reared its ugly head again, and mostly because someone’s reps are still trying to feed the beast by giving info to the New York Post a few days ago. According to a rep for the actor:
“Sean’s portion of the film was somewhat experimental as it had a mystical quality that the rest of the film did not have. His not being in the final edit was a creative decision of which he was aware.”
Why Penn’s rep would bring this up now is beyond any real logic (since the drama has seemingly passed), but it has prompted an anonymous rant that Hollywood Elswhere has published (“anonymous” — Jeffrey Wells has been in bed with Kramer and “Crossing Over” for some time and by that we mean, sympathetic to his plight and the subsequent flawed film, which is totally understandable considering the shitty circumstances he had to endure. But, all we’re saying is that it seems like this is Kramer).
The anonymous source claims that Penn told a “blatant lie” and he did specifically asked to be cut from the film.
The pissed-off heckler in the dark says that Penn’s role was “integral” to the plot of the film and somewhat tampered with the film’s impact. He also claims even though Penn, “knew the script he was signing on for,” he pulled out because of an “honor-killing storyline.”
Kramer — sorry, the anonymous source — adds that even though Penn asked to be omitted to the film, he conveniently did not return the $1 million dollar fee he was paid for his one day of work.
The anonymous boobird also demanded that Harvey Weinstein should be “pressured” into having the Penn footage reinstated onto the DVD. However, will those scenes — which reportedly add up to about six minutes — really salvage the film if they’re cut back in? If it does happen, time will tell. – Nick Duval
