Sean Penn Bails on 2 Movies

Staff / Truthdig Jun 18, 2009 Sean Penn has pulled out of two upcoming film roles and may be taking a year off from acting. No word yet on his politicking schedule. The star had been set to appear in "Cartel" and "The Three Stooges." Yes, those Three Stooges. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

One Step Closer to Harvey Milk Day

Staff / Truthdig May 15, 2009 Friends and admirers of the late San Francisco supervisor and gay rights activist have been rallying to establish an annual commemorative day in his honor, and on Thursday, the California Senate approved a bill that would officially make Milk's birthday, May 22, Harvey Milk Day in the Golden State. Dig deeper ( 2 Min. Read )

Bill O’Reilly Boycotting Sean Penn Films

Staff / Truthdig Mar 31, 2009 How will Sean Penn sleep at night knowing that Fox News' own talking points champion, Bill O'Reilly, has declared that he will never see another one of Penn's movies? Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Sean Penn Calls for ‘Harvey Milk Day’

Staff / Truthdig Mar 4, 2009 Having been resoundingly honored for his onscreen portrayal of Harvey Milk, Sean Penn is now calling for a high honor for Milk, asking for an official "Harvey Milk Day" in California to commemorate the slain San Francisco politician and gay rights activist. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Penn May Take On Plame ‘Game’

Staff / Truthdig Feb 24, 2009 Here's a melding of celebrity and politics that might just be a natural: Academy Award™-winning actor and sometime international political analyst Sean Penn is in talks to play former Ambassador Joseph Wilson, husband of outed CIA agent Valerie Plame, in director Doug Liman's dramatic retelling of Plame's story, currently known in deal-making circles as "Fair Game." Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Sean Penn Schools Prop. 8 Supporters in Oscar Speech

Staff / Truthdig Feb 23, 2009 Lest he miss an opportunity to speak his mind, Sunday night's Best Actor Oscar winner took a moment on the podium to encourage those who voted last November for California's Proposition 8, the anti-gay-marriage initiative, to rethink their choice. Turns out the Academy is actually made up of commie, homo-loving sons of guns. Update: Video Dig deeper ( 2 Min. Read )

Yet Another Oscar Snoozer?

Staff / Truthdig Jan 23, 2009 Well, the Academy has spoken, picking this year's Oscar nominees, and they couldn't be safer or more boring except for those categories in which "Milk" figures in somewhere At least that's what the San Francisco Chronicle's completely unimpressed critic Mick LaSalle thinks. Dig deeper ( 2 Min. Read )

Globes Cool to ‘Milk’

Staff / Truthdig Dec 11, 2008 Despite widespread acclaim and gushing praise from some tough critics, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association largely overlooked Gus Van Sant's "Milk" in choosing this year's Golden Globe nominees, although Sean Penn is among the HFPA's picks for best actor. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Hollywood’s Closet Still Closed for Business

Larry Gross / Truthdig Nov 26, 2008 Gus Van Sant's "Milk" is the first major Hollywood "gay themed" film since “Brokeback Mountain,” and moreover (unlike “Brokeback”), this one is about openly gay activists, not tortured closet cases. Yet, once again, the lead gay roles couldn't be filled by openly gay actors. What's going on here? Dig deeper ( 14 Min. Read )

Milk Comes to Life on the Big Screen

Staff / Truthdig Sep 6, 2008 Just in time to remind some Americans that the fight for gay rights is about much more than driving Wedge IssuesTM between political parties every election year, Sean Penn and what looks to be a promising lineup of co-stars are bringing the story of San Francisco city councilman and gay activist Harvey Milk to movie screens this fall. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Sean Penn Talks Politics at Cannes

Staff / Truthdig May 16, 2008 Actor Sean Penn has already made waves at the Cannes Film Festival, where he's leading this year's jury, by weighing in about the presidential race back home -- and by pointedly bucking the local smoking ban. Suffice it to say that Penn won't be joining Oprah on one of her pep rallies for Barack Obama anytime soon. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Penn: ‘End Is Near’ for Fox Pundits

Staff / Truthdig Mar 20, 2008 Filming one of his last scenes as Harvey Milk, San Francisco's first openly gay politician, who was assassinated by City Hall colleague Dan White in 1978, Sean Penn got all Method on the crowd of extras assembled to reenact the scene of an important speech Milk made on Gay Freedom Day 30 years ago. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )