Sean Penn has an intense new interview with The Telegraph. It’s always interesting to see how the “good” British press outlets treat American stars, and how those Americans treat British journalists. What I’ve noticed is that British outlets are more quick to point out when an American star is being coddled by publicists, managers and the like, and the journalists will often say outright “his publicist told me not to ask this or that.” That happens a few times in this Penn interview, although Penn ends up talking about what he wants to talk about, and I have to think he went off-message several times. He’s still promoting The Gunman, which did not receive great reviews. You can read the full piece here. Some highlights:
His cigarettes: “I quit while I was doing the movie. You can’t do that stuff and smoke a lot of cigarettes.” Why did he start again? “It’s a beast. A stupid beast. You quit and have a hole in your life. Missing it. That’s the trap.”
His gun collection: “I never had a gun collection. I did, though, amass, for a period of time, what amounted to a gun collection. But ‘collection’ insinuates you are a collector, whereas in my case I had either purchased them for particular movie projects or inherited then from my younger brother, who has passed. [Chris Penn] had a number of weapons. I ended up with a lot of those but, about a year ago, I gave them all away.”
Whether The Gunman promotes violence: “I don’t think you can put something on a 40ft-wide screen with Dolby stereo and not be stimulated by it, whatever it is, a car going fast, a weapon firing. The only obligation of the film-maker is to show that there is a price to pay for violence. If it excites people in a negative way then I think that’s in the audience, not in the presentation.’
He’s watched all of the ISIL beheading videos: “Uh-huh. I’ve watched them. And anyone who sees them and claims that they were anaesthetized by violent movies, that they weren’t horrified by what they saw, on the most primal level, is intellectually dishonest or existentially unpresent.”
His thoughts on Clint Eastwood’s American Sniper: “Here’s the thing. I don’t see the same problems with it [as others do], not because of my relationship with Clint. I don’t see the glorification. I probably go into a zone when it comes to military films, where I am assessing the technical aspects of the film-making more than the political message. Clint and I have had some political discussions and he is a committed libertarian. I don’t think he is by any means a conventional Republican.”
I like how he nitpicks about his “gun collection” – he never collected, y’all. He amassed. He was a gun amasser. As for Penn’s admission that he watches all of the ISIL beheading videos… I know what he’s getting at and it actually makes sense in the context of the conversation he’s having with this interviewer about violence and whether we become anaesthetized to it, but I still don’t know how anyone could really seek out those videos and watch them all the way through. Just the clips they show on the news are horrifying enough. But I guess that’s the point Penn is trying to make – those videos still have the power to horrify. So we are not desensitized to violence.
Photos courtesy of WENN.
Oh my god – I cannot believe I am going to say this but Sean actually sounds sane here.
He’s not stupid, he’s just …. unpleasant. Also, a great actor whose work I admire but would never want to meet or interact with.
I agree with both of you. He’s definitely not stupid. That said, I couldn’t make it past the cage, in one of the first videos. Certainly not something to seek out.
I mean… I see what he’s getting at. However the actions of ISIS seem the MOST extreme of the extreme. Just because the worst of the worst still incites terror and fear doesn’t mean we’re somehow desensitized to a lot of violence.
I’ve seen them too. I’m a broadcast journalist, and I think it’s important that I watch them so my audience doesn’t have to. It’s almost like a protective instinct. Here, trust me, I’ve seen them, but I will not show them to you.
Bless you, Savu. I spent years as a f/t print journalist and that is exactly the sort of thing a good journalist does. Thank you for being one of the good ones.
Thank you Cannibell! You and I both know we don’t get that often. Meanwhile, I just did a story about a girl who got to meet the first responders who saved her life when she should’ve died after being hit by a drunk driver, and no one notices. The nature of the beast, but I’m still so happy to do my job.
there is a difference between collecting and amassing guns. my uncle does both—he amasses guns that are still in mass production that have no historical significance and he also collections historical guns that are no longer in production and were used in specific times of war (i.e. he goes on searches for specific japanese sniper rifles that were used in WWII).
It reminds me of my husband’s giant box of Scooby Do stuffs. Once, when he was eight, he said “Yay! Scooby Do!” and then from their on, everyone and their cousin gave him related SD things for every special occasion. Rarely did he actually buy anything related. And, like a lot of us, he kept the items for sentimental reasons but not because he has a particular affinity for the franchise. That is the sort of “amassing” that Penn did I think.
Collecting is about admiring and having a special affection for a category of things by keeping the things in it. I think Penn is saying he wasn’t really into guns all that much, just the movies and people that gave them to him.
Yes isil is horrifying, however I’m still horrified by him kidnapping, raping and beating the sh!t out of Madonna. He’s a disgusting pos and it’s sickening he’s still welcomed in H’wood and praised as some sort of intellectual.
You’ll never catch me sympathizing with an abuser for their actions. But – I do think some people, on rare occasions, learn enough about themselves to change aspects of their person-hood. I’m hoping that’s the case with Penn.
Some of his life’s violent, lunk-head behavior before could have been fueled by drugs, alcohol, a life-style he was completely blind-sided by… who knows? And he may have learned to associate with healthier more compatible people and to stay away from the substances that make him turn into a grad-A A-hole. Again… hope so.
I think everyone deserves a chance to change if they seem to be making an effort. And that seems to be the case here (so far…)
In that same interview re: ISIL videos he talks about how our news doesn’t show anything close to what it did during the Vietnam War, and how those images helped lead to the huge protests back then. He’s not wrong. When you go overseas from the U.S. you see how sanitized our news is, and it absolutely not a good thing that we are so sheltered.
It’s ridiculous to think we aren’t desensitised or influenced by repeat viewings of violence and other sorts of material we view. ISIL aside, Hollywood has been able to make societal change by including stories, messages that have normalised much that was considered impolite or beyond the pale, for good or bad. It’s also been able to influence society to make change.
Those ISIL videos are snuff videos. Only a person OK with snuff videos would actively seek them out. And seeking them out indicates that they’ve become desensitised to their horror.
I’ve read somewhere recently (pity I can’t find the reference) that a child in US will have seen approx. 40.000 murders on TV by the age of 18.
I think people are moved by the beheading videos because they know it’s for real.
As long as unpleasant things happen to unknown folks somewhere far away and it takes 2 min in the news to cover it people say “Oh, how dreadful!” then change the channel and search for “reality”TV show.
It’s mostly when it’s about sitizens for “friendly” nations when it’s worth lingering on, getting enraged and pounding on the table with demands for justice
I totally agree. Journalistic reasons aside, seeking out those videos and watching them in their entirety says more about the inner workings of the heart and spirit of that person. Sean’s heart and inner spirit, IMO, are as dark and sinister as the videos.
I really don’t understand people who feel the need to watch something so horrifying as an execution. It’s enough for me to know that people are out there doing such horrible things. I don’t need to see them in action.
100%
I’ve not seen them. My imagination can do that work all by itself and the internal images depress and frustrate me. I don’t need to partake of the actual video.
Frankly, it sort of disturbs me and I don’t understand how people can or do look at them. Why? Why voluntarily subject yourself to that when you know what it is going to be? Maybe for them it’s like going to the funeral of a loved one. Maybe seeing it happen seals the deal and makes it real for them.
What really makes me sad is imagining my 7 year old niece seeing this. What on earth would her mind do with that sort of thing?
I honestly thought it was illegal for people to look up those videos and watch them. I don’t know why I thought this, or what legal grounds there are to punish someone for watching the videos, but this is the impression I had.
For me, I think it would be so disturbing but it would also be giving ISIL what it wants: an audience. They want to spread their message, they want to rack up views.
I didn’t watch the beheading videos. I watched two where ISIS were mass killing young Iraqi soldiers. That was horrifying to say the least. I have decided for my peace of mind not to watch anymore.
This is why I don’t watch the news. I have a two and four year old and even the way newscasters talk about murder can be desensitizing. I also do not want my sweet little girls (and boy eventually, he is a month old) worrying about people being murdered at their tender ages. I want them to ponder about wockets in pockets and butterflies and rainbows right now. Plus I don’t think we get an unbiased news so that makes it easy to not watch as well.
Thank GOD his (snotty, arrogant) girlfriend had talked him into his NATURAL color hair.