Ok divorce isn’t funny or pretty, but you’ve obviously heard that Sean Penn is calling it quits with his wife of ten years, Robin Wright Penn.
On the plus side, this frees up Penn’s schedule which will be needed when he heads the 61 annual Cannes Film Festival Jury later this year (May 14-25).
The festival, which has already been accused of having left-wing leanings (see the Palme D’or top prize for “Fahrenheit 9/11” in 2004 for a recent example), will likely receive more flack for putting in a pink0-commie like Penn in charge of the festival (often this is code for: why no love for mainstream American movies and all this fondness for foreign art films? The answer is fucking easy: it’s a cineaste’s festival, not the Leonard Maltin fun-time movie festival).
Last month, Penn’s “Wild” topped the list of nominees for the SAG Awards (Screen Actors Guild), which is often a strong bellwether for the Oscars (more on that in another post, we’re behind). So yeah, despite only decent critical praise, this could be another year where the Academy ignores the buzz and goes with their own, more populist fare. We’ll see. Either way, strong indication for a Emile Hirsch nomination (which most of us expected).
Yet Another Into The Wild Sountrack
Couldn’t get enough of Eddie Vedder’s throaty ‘Wild’ yodelling on his soundtrack album? Well if you’re one of this films devotees (we’re not), you can go over to Itunes to pick up the “Into The Wild” original score by composer Michael Brook (it came out quietly in mid December). Currently only available digitally (physical plans are up in the air so far) the album features 36 tracks of Brook’s rustic instrumental score, which we actually liked better than Vedder’s music (especially within the film).
Penn and Hal Holbrook BFF?
And finally, apparently ‘Wild’ co-star Hal Holbrook (whose Oscar nominations hopes seem to have cooled off lately, at least until the SAG’s were announced) hearts Sean Penn and the feeling is mutual. Apparently Holbrook shot a TV movie with Penn nearly 30 years ago and the upstart’s acting caught his eye immediately. The elder statesman was so moved he made a point of letting Penn know he was impressed. Which led Penn to send him a letter months later thanking him for the encouragement and how much it meant.
“It was so beautifully written. I have never forgotten it,” Holbrook said. Aww, such a nice and surprising feel good moment. Let’s all hug.