Sean Penn blames Hollywood’s “extraordinary cowardice” for “limiting” film

Sean Penn has taken aim at the “extraordinary cowardice” of Hollywood, claiming it is “limiting the imagination”.

The actor took exception with Oscar voters in particular, despite the fact that he has picked up two gongs himself, for his performances in Mystic River and Milk.

Speaking at the Marrakech Film Festival, where he received the lifetime achievement award, he said (via Variety): “The Academy have exercised really extraordinary cowardice when it comes to being part of the bigger world of expression, and in fact, have largely been part of limiting the imagination and very limiting of different cultural expressions.”

“So I don’t get very excited about what we’ll call the Academy Awards [except for] when a film like The Florida Project, or I’m Still Here [are nominated], or, you know, Emilia Perez, of the things that are likely to happen this year.”

Penn added that the industry is “afraid” of addressing controversial political topics, referencing the recent Donald Trump biopic The Apprentice, which is expected to miss out in the coming awards season.

“It’s jaw-dropping how afraid this business of mavericks is of a great film like that, one with great, great acting,” Penn said. “[It’s amazing] that they too can be as afraid as a piddly little Republican congressman.”

“Around the world [there is] this demand for diversity – but not diversity of behavior and not diversity of opinion or language,” he continued. “I would just encourage everybody to be as politically incorrect as their heart desires and to engage diversity and to keep telling those stories.”

Among the films expected to be in the running at the Oscars early next year are Sean Baker’s independent drama Anora, Netflix’s experimental musical Emilia Perez and A24’s historical epic The Brutalist, as well as more mainstream fare such as Wicked, Gladiator II and Dune: Part Two.

Penn, meanwhile, spoke earlier this year about the rumours that he hit Madonna with a baseball bat during their marriage in the 1980s.

He said: “I didn’t know what the hell she was talking about. Now, I think it’s fair to say that I’m not the biggest guy in the world. But if I hit Mike Tyson in the head with a baseball bat, he’s going to the hospital.”

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