Sean Penn Latest Celebrity News & Gossip

Sean Penn is doubling down on his call for the United States to supply Ukraine with modern fighter jets amid the country's war against Russia. The 62-year-old actor, who first pressed the White House on Ukraine's need for jets last March, said President Joe Biden's surprise trip to Kyiv this week to mark the one-year anniversary of Russia's invasion was "extremely encouraging." However, he stressed that the U.S. continue sending military aid, including modern aircraft, to the war-torn nation.

Good afternoon Insider team, Max Goldbart here. It has been a wild ride of a week with Berlin drawing to a close. Read below for a good ol’ recap.

EXCLUSIVE: On February 24, 2022 Sean Penn and his documentary filmmaking team got up before dawn in Kyiv in anticipation of a planned interview with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Suddenly, explosions shattered the quiet and missile fire turned the darkened sky to malevolent orange. Russia’s full-scale attack on its neighbor had begun — what President Vladimir Putin later that day euphemistically dubbed a “special military operation.”

Zack Sharf Back in 2001, Sean Penn found himself next to Jack Nicholson in a speeding car on the way to meet Russian president Vladimir Putin. The two actors were in Russia for the world premiere of “The Pledge” at the Moscow Film Festival. The Penn-directed psychological drama starred Nicholson as a retiring police detective who vows to catch the killer of a young child. Penn recently spoke to The Independent about his anxiety-inducing journey to meet Putin. “We were put in a convoy,” Penn said. “We knew that Putin was going to be the honored guest. In the nature of that time and space, we accepted the invitation. We got in this convoy, and we were going as fast as they wanted to drive, with no care for whether it might have presented danger in the villages we drove through.”

Chris Brown isn’t too happy about the negative response towards his upcoming collaboration with Chloë Bailey.

Matt Damon revealed he is in the early stages of research in a documentary project tackling the war in Ukraine at the Berlin Film Festival on Sunday.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Matt Damon revealed he was in the “early stages” on a project about Ukraine during the press conference for “Kiss the Future” at the Berlin Film Festival. Damon is a producer on the documentary which chronicles the struggle of Sarajevo citizens during the Bosnian War. World premiering in the Berlinale Special section, the politically minded documentary is directed by Nenad Cicin-Sain and based on “Fools Rush in: A Memoir” the memoir of Bill Carter, an aid worker. It shows how his determination resulted in the enlistment of the world’s largest rock band, U2, to help shine a light. Fifth Season and WME handling worldwide sales. Asked if he was considering following the footsteps of Sean Penn with “Superpower” with a film on the war in Ukraine, he said he’s “watched as everyone has with horror that unfolded there in the last year,” and although they “don’t have anything on it right now there isn’t any doubt that we’ll be doing.”

Christopher Vourlias The war in Ukraine has taken center stage this week at the Berlin Film Festival, which is taking place for the first time since Russia’s full-scale invasion last year. At Thursday’s opening ceremony, Ukrainian president Volodomyr Zelenskyy appeared via satellite to encourage festival-goers “not to remain silent” over Russia’s unprovoked war of aggression. Sean Penn, who this week premiered his docu-portrait of the Ukrainian leader, “Superpower,” lashed out at Russian strongman Vladimir Putin, who he described as a “war criminal” and a “creepy little bully.” Moral outrage has not been in short supply since the start of the war, as the global film community — in a show of near unanimous condemnation of the Kremlin’s criminal attack — has rallied behind the Ukrainian war effort. But many U.S. and foreign companies quietly continue to do business with Putin’s pariah state or have resumed the deal-making that was put on pause once the war began.

There is a particular kind of audacity reserved for the wealthy and the well-meaning. Multi-award-winning actor and humanitarian Sean Penn co-directs “Superpower” with Aaron Kaufman, known mostly for his commercial work and his collaboration with writer-director Robert Rodriguez.

Paul Wesley has filed for divorce from Ines de Ramon.According to legal documents, obtained by ET, Wesley filed for the dissolution of marriage Friday in Los Angeles County Superior Court. As for the reason behind the divorce, Wesley cited «irreconcilable differences.» The  actor, 40, and the 30-year-old jewelry industry exec tied the knot on Aug.

Sean Penn has reiterated his offer to have one of his Oscars melted down by Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky – saying his gift to the battling leader was inspired by his “continuing shame towards the Motion Picture Academy.”

Christopher Vourlias Sean Penn said he was happy to be a “propagandist” for the Ukrainian war effort and called Russian president Vladimir Putin a “creepy little bully” Saturday in Berlin, after the world premiere of his gonzo documentary “Superpower,” a gripping, courage-under-fire portrait of Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy. “This is not an unbiased film because this is not an ambiguous war,” he said, calling the conflict “extremely personal.” “I’m very happy to be considered a propagandist. I was happy to make an unbiased film because that is the true story we found.” Donning a black jacket and hoodie and sporting a camouflage trucker cap, Penn repeatedly called on the Biden administration to send precision, long-range missiles to Kyiv to support the Ukrainian war effort.

Guy Lodge Film Critic Last November, in a gesture that the actor himself described as “a symbolic, silly thing,” Sean Penn gifted one of his two Academy Awards to Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy, to mark his emotional investment in the country as they continue to fight Russia’s invasion — attracting widespread mockery from social media and the entertainment press in the process. That this moment is not included in Penn and co-director Aaron Kaufman’s “Superpower,” a disordered, distinctly Penn-centric account of recent Ukrainian history, counts as one of the film’s few moments of self-awareness. As far as the rest goes, anyone watching this doc right after emerging from a two-year coma could be forgiven for identifying the Hollywood veteran as a key player in the conflict.

Sean Penn and a gonzo documentary camera crew found themselves on the frontlines of war as they waited to see if they could interview Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Not only did he land that interview, but he continued to travel back to Ukraine to chronicle the horrors of war a total of six times for “Superpower,” a documentary Penn co-directed that premiered to a standing ovation at the Berlin Film Festival on Friday. In the nearly two-hour-long film, produced by Vice, Penn underlines America’s shortcomings in supporting Ukraine in the war. Zelenskyy, who grows increasingly comfortable around the Oscar-winning actor in a series of interviews, reveals his frustrations at the lack of support in the form of high-impact weapons received from the Biden administration.

Roughly three quarters of the way into Superpower, the documentary about the war in Ukraine directed by Sean Penn and Aaron Kaufman, the Oscar-winning actor displays a fixed-blade knife while traveling by car through the embattled country. He jokes to the camera, “All of Ukraine should feel safe now that I’m armed.” He adds, holding up fists clenched like a boxer’s, “Plus, I’ve got these.”

Hello and welcome back to your weekly International Insider. Berlin’s back and with most of our team in the German capital, it’s Jesse Whittock here bringing you the latest from the worlds of TV and film.

Kristen Stewart glams it up for the opening ceremony of the 73rd Annual Berlinale International Film Festival at the Berlinale Palast on Thursday (February 16) in Berlin, Germany.

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy delivered an empowered live video message to attendees of the opening night of the 73rd edition of the Berlin International Film Festival, urging filmmakers and culture “not to remain silent” when it comes to global politics as his country approaches a year since the Russian invasion.

The 2023 Berlin Film Festival will open Thursday with a live video message from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

A couple of weeks ago, fans went wild seeing photos of Sean Penn and Robin Wright out together.

Robin Wright is revealing the real reason why she was spotted with her ex-husband, Sean Penn, last month – and it wasn't because they rekindled their romance. The couple made headlines in January after they were seen in their first public outing together in six years. Wright spoke to E! News and explained she was with Penn because of their children: Dylan, 31, and Hopper, 29.

Manori Ravindran Executive Editor of International Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy is expected to make an appearance at the Berlinale, Variety has learned. A spokesperson for the Berlin Film Festival, which kicks off on Thursday, confirmed that the Ukrainian leader “will be present at Berlinale in some kind of form,” although “which and when is not confirmed yet.” Zelenskyy is the subject of one of the festival’s most high-profile projects: Sean Penn and Aaron Kaufman’s top-secret documentary “Superpower.” The details of the film have remained sparse for over a year, when it was first revealed that Penn had been in Ukraine when the war with Russia broke out.

Malina Saval Associate Editor, Features Sean Penn went to war and a movie broke out. That is, in effect, the story behind the making of the documentary “Superpower,” a gripping cinematic portrait of Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky on the eve of Russian president Vladimir Putin’s military invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.  Co-directed by Penn and Aaron Kaufman, who helmed the 2021 documentary “Crusaders: Ex-Jehovah’s Witnesses Speak Out,” “Superpower” bows Feb. 17, out of competition, as a Berlinale Special Gala at the Berlin Film Festival. Fifth Season and Vice Studios are behind the film, with Fifth Season selling worldwide rights. “Superpower” was not conceived as a war story. Rather, Penn and Kaufman, as well as producer Billy Smith, endeavored to chart the trajectory of Zelensky’s unusual career trajectory — from actor-comedian-producer playing a history teacher elected as Ukraine’s president in the satirical TV series “Servant of the People,” to a rising political star elected as the real-life president of Ukraine in 2019. The intent was to relay a tale about an everyman — in Zelensky’s case, a Ukrainian, Russian-speaking Jew born under Soviet rule in the late 1970s — who finds himself at the helm of a fledgling democratic nation burning to embrace freedom. A Ukrainian president elected on an anti-corruption platform who, very soon post-election, finds himself in the crosshairs of an American president’s impeachment. 

EXCLUSIVE: More additions to the cast of Blumhouse-Morgan Creek-Universal-Peacock’s The Exorcist with Raphael Sbarge joining as the pastor in the feature.

The Berlin Film Festival today announced that Sean Penn will debut the documentary he shot in Ukraine with Volodymyr Zelenskyy at Berlin next month.

The Berlin Film Festival unveiled the titles selected for its official competition as well as its sidebar Encounters competitive section this morning. Scroll down for the full lineup.

Old flames! Sean Penn and ex-wife Robin Wright were spotted out together for the first time in years after their splits from Leila George and Clément Giraudet, respectively.

The Oscars declined to give a platform to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky last year, but the Golden Globes made up for it tonight, offering him an opportunity to speak directly to an American and world audience.

The Golden Globes return to NBC after a year’s hiatus and are set to air Tuesday, January 10 at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT live on the network as well as on the Peacock streaming service. Jarrod Carmichael will host the ceremony taking place at the Beverly Hilton.

The Hollywood Foreign Press Association has announced its second string of presenters for tomorrow night’s 80th Golden Globe Awards including Claire Danes, Cole Hauser, Jennifer Hudson, Harvey Guillén, Henry Golding, Hilary Swank, Glen Powell, Jay Ellis, Jenna Ortega, Jennifer Coolidge, Letitia Wright, Mo Brings Plenty, Regina Hall and Salma Hayek Pinault.

CBS’ broadcast of the 45th annual Kennedy Center Honors — which recognized George Clooney, U2, Tania León, Gladys Knight and Amy Grant — took home a Wednesday night ratings win for the network.

footsteps and going blonde? Everyone's favorite (no, really, we love her) was just spotted with a platinum bob, but since she's on a movie set, it miiiight be a wig.Johnson is best known as a brunette, keeping her hair somewhere in the “chocolate” range ever since her Fifty Shades days. But true DakotaHeads know that she started her career as a blonde! See the short-lived sitcom , her , and her .

Watching a love story unfold! Brad Pitt and Ines de Ramon are a confirmed item after first being linked to each other in November.

Moving right along. One month after they were first linked, Brad Pitt and Ines de Ramon were already celebrating milestones together.

John Cho and Katherine Waterston will headline Sony-Blumhouse-Depth of Field’s They Listen, directed by Chris Weitz. A theatrical release of Aug. 25, 2023 has been set; it’s the only wide release that weekend. You’ll remember the Cho thriller Searching debuted in late summer and was a microbudget hit grossing over $26M stateside, and north of $75M WW off a less than a million production cost.