To the millions of people that paid money to go see “A Star is Born” and bawled their eyes out, and praised the film for months after, I got news for you – Sean Penn is a much bigger fan of the film than you are. Honestly, Sean Penn is probably a bigger fan of “A Star is Born” than anyone is a fan of anything in the history of the world. If “A Star is Born” was a cake, Penn would devour it in about 5 seconds and bite the hand of anyone that came close to grabbing it away from him. His love knows no bounds, as we can see in a new essay he wrote about the film on Deadline.
However, it’s that endless love for Bradley Cooper’s film that leads him down a rabbit hole of frustration. You see, the actor knows that for as good as “A Star is Born” is, it probably won’t be the big winner on Oscar night. Why? Well, according to Penn, it’s because Cooper is a big-time movie star that will have opportunities in the future, which means he won’t be recognized later this month.
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Penn writes, “If this, as I suspect, explains outcomes in other awards voting, voters will have certainly missed the point. This isn’t Bradley Cooper’s opportunity, it’s theirs to appreciate the depth and value of this film before its legacy outlasts their chance to participate in it.”
The two-time Oscar winner goes on to rave about “A Star is Born” and why he feels the film should be the type of nominee that is more than the directorial debut for the actor-turned-filmmaker Cooper.
“In these silly-ass soul damaging times, a film like ‘A Star is Born’ brings people together without saccharine, sugar, or salesmanship,” Penn continues. “It is the achievement of one artist who had the courage to stand naked and jump from the edge of a vertical cliff, bringing his whole cast and crew with him, and simultaneously catch their fall. It’s a triumph.”
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Penn also goes on to describe how the Oscars should go. “There are many really good films and performances nominated this year. There are also many perishable trend-pieces that, win or lose, will be lost to memory,” says the actor. “In a fair world, ‘A Star is Born’ sweeps the awards. It’s just such a gift. Clear minds and hearts cannot possibly deny it it’s due. It’s over and over again one of my favorite films of all time, harkening back to the essential filmmaking of Hal Ashby.”
The Oscar winner assumes, as most of us do, that “A Star is Born” is likely to only win a couple of awards later this month. And in preparation for his disappointment, Penn has an idea, saying, “To spare myself potential disappointment, I’m raising a glass in advance to Bradley Cooper and ‘A Star is Born.’ Surely a raised glass is as legitimate as a globe of gilded gold or a male statuette minus a penis (also gold gilded). God forbid it have balls this year!”
He concludes, “‘A Star is Born’ is simply everything that movies should be. If we honor anything, this should be it.”
For those single folks out there, and many in relationships, you gotta find yourself someone who loves you as much as Sean Penn loves “A Star is Born.” If this isn’t the proof that true love exists, then I don’t know what else will convince you.