Sean Penn has accused the organisers of the Oscars of being cowards who, in effect, limit the kinds of films that can be funded and made.
The 64-year-old actor said at the Marrakech Film Festival that he gets excited about the Academy Awards only on the rare occasion that films he values are nominated.
“The producers of the academy have exercised really extraordinary cowardice when it comes to being part of the world of expression and, in fact, have largely been part of limiting the imagination and limiting different cultural expressions,” Penn said at the festival, where he received a career achievement award this week.
“I don’t get very excited about what we’ll call the Academy Awards,” he said, noting exceptions when certain films grace the ceremony, including Sean Baker’s The Florida Project, Walter Salles’ I’m Still Here and Jacques Audiard’s Emilia Perez.
Penn’s remarks dovetail with longstanding criticisms of The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for lacking diversity within the ranks of its members and the films that they celebrate with awards.
The institution has in recent years taken steps to reform and rebrand itself, but has faced criticism for not going far enough.
Penn also lauded Iranian-Danish director Ali Abbasi and his latest film The Apprentice about US President-elect Donald Trump.
It faced difficulty finding an American distributor in the lead-up to the US election in November.
“It’s kind of jaw dropping how afraid this ‘business of mavericks’ is when they get a great film like that with great, great acting,” he said.
“They too can be as afraid as a piddly little Republican congressman.”
As part of a career tribute, the Marrakech Film Festival is screening four of Penn’s films this week in Morocco’s tourism capital.
Local media in Morocco reported several audience members exiting a screening of Milk during a scene that depicted two men in bed.
Homosexuality is illegal under Morocco’s penal code, although cases are not frequently prosecuted.
The actor, whose 2023 film Superpower documents war in Ukraine, also voiced support for President Volodymyr Zelensky and called himself a “patriot in crisis” in response to a question about the American political landscape.
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel