Filed under: Awards, Cannes, Celebrities and Controversy
Between upcoming high-profile work as an actor (including a role as Harvey Milk and his voice work for the English dub of Persepolis), and the honors, acclaim and awards nominations for Into the Wild, it's been a great year for Sean Penn professionally. And now it seems 2008 is going to be just as interesting for the writer-actor-director, as Variety brings news that Penn will serve as the head of the Cannes jury for the 2008 edition of the international event. Penn's quote about the honor suggests he's facing his duties with enthusiasm: "In the last few years it seems there has been a rejuvenation of cinema building worldwide; increasingly thoughtful, provocative, moving, and imaginative films by talented filmmakers: that a new generation of filmmaking may have begun." The Cannes jury is comprised of nine people; jury presidents of the recent past at Cannes have included Stephen Frears, Wong Kar-Wai and Quentin Tarantino. As Variety notes, this isn't he first time Penn's been honored by Cannes; he received a prize for best Male Performance in 1997 from that year's jury (headed by Isabelle Adjani) for his work in Nick Casavettes's She's So Lovely. Permalink | Email this | Comments
