How Sean Penn is re-inventing himself

One can't help the past couple of days two headlines featuring Sean Penn, as an interview:  first with kingpin druglord and then squashed interview with ISIS Chief (as reported by The New Yorker):

ISIS Chief Abruptly Cancels Meeting 

with Sean Penn

BY ANDY BOROWITZ

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CREDITPHOTOGRAPH BY STEPHANE MAHE / REUTERS

HOLLYWOOD (The Borowitz Report)—Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the leader of the terror group known as ISIS, has cancelled a long awaited meeting with the actor Sean Penn, a spokesman for the group announced on Sunday.

The spokesman gave no reason for the abrupt cancellation, but said that al-Baghdadi no longer felt that meeting with Penn would be “prudent.”

A publicist for the film actor said that he was “disappointed” by the sudden termination of his appointment with the ISIS chief, and noted that Penn had gotten himself outfitted in brand new desert-camo attire in preparation for the meeting.

For his part, the ISIS spokesman said that al-Baghdadi hoped that Penn would harbor “no hard feelings” toward him, and emphasized that he remained an “enormous fan” of the actor.

“Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi loves all of Sean’s films, even that one he did with Madonna,” the spokesman said.

Sean Penn Under Fire for ‘Crazy’ El Chapo Interview

Sean Penn Interviews Mexican Drug Lord ‘El Chapo’ While Fugitive

“Why didn’t Sean Penn ask El Chapo how many real journalists his organization has killed?” a New Yorker reporter writes on Twitter

Sean Penn is taking heat on multiple fronts for his bombshell interview with Mexican drug kingpin Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman.

Rolling Stone published Penn’s interview on Saturday night, one day after Mexican authorities recaptured the Sinaloa cartel boss. In his article, Penn detailed traveling to Mexico with actress Kate del Castillo to sit-down with El Chapo, but not everyone was impressed.

“If one of these American actors who have benefited from the greatness of this country, who have made money from our free enterprise system, want to go fawn all over a criminal and a drug trafficker in their interviews, they have a Constitutional right to do it,” Republican presidential candidate Marco Rubio said Sunday on ABC’s “This Week.” “I find it grotesque.”

Also Read: 7 Takeaways From Sean Penn's Rolling Stone Interview With El Chapo

During Penn’s interview, El Chapo talked about GOP frontrunner Donald Trump, who has described Mexican immigrants in the U.S. as “rapists” and “criminals.”

Trump appeared on NBC and Fox News on Sunday, but the conversations were taped and did not include his reaction to the article. However, White House chief of staff Denis McDonough did weigh in on the story.

“It poses a lot of very interesting questions both for him and for others involved in this-so-called interview, so we’ll see what happens on that – I’m not going to get ahead of it,” McDonough told CNN.

Also Read: Sean Penn, Kate del Castillo Sought for Questioning After 'El Chapo' Interview

The journalism world was much more critical of Penn and Rolling Stone.

Washington Post executive editor Marty Baron took aim at the Hollywood actor, by tweeting a link to an article that said real journalists who cover Mexican drug traffickers often end up dead.

New Yorker writer Ben Taub tweeted a similar response: “Why didn’t Sean Penn ask El Chapo how many real journalists his organization has killed?””

Also Read: El Chapo's Favorite Sean Penn Movies? Hollywood Weighs In

Meanwhile, New Yorker editor Nicholas Thompson called Penn’s story “crazy.”

“Every single sentence here is crazy in one way or another,” he tweeted.

Read below for a compilation of tweets.

Is Sean Penn's interview with Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi in the next issue? https://t.co/zIJQo77ac3

— Luke Russert (@LukeRussert) January 10, 2016

I still don't understand how Sean Penn, of all the possible writers, is who secured the only interview ever with El Chapo.

— deray mckesson (@deray) January 10, 2016

Every single sentence here is crazy in one way or another. https://t.co/hJdnrWZhIA pic.twitter.com/mjouhCX5e0

— Nicholas Thompson (@nxthompson) January 10, 2016

El Chapo contacts Sean Penn thru @katedelcastillo because he wants to make a movie????? Resulting in his subsequent arrest. #hollywooddreams

— Gabriel Salvador (@RealGSalvador) January 10, 2016

The pen is mightier than the sword. Unless it is Sean Penn's pen.

— John Lurie (@lurie_john) January 10, 2016

Sean Penn can’t write.

— Jamil Smith (@JamilSmith) January 10, 2016

I don’t think it was worth @RollingStone giving up editorial control to a murderer for Sean Penn’s diary entry and a short Q&A at the end.

— Jamil Smith (@JamilSmith) January 10, 2016

Why didn't Sean Penn ask El Chapo how many real journalists his organization has killed?

— Ben Taub (@bentaub91) January 10, 2016

Good moment to remember what happens to real journalists who cover Mexican drug traffickers https://t.co/xb7OASMTNe

— Marty Baron (@PostBaron) January 10, 2016

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Personally, I like how Sean is stepping out and recreating himself.  That is a healthy mode for survival in this topsy turvy world we live in where what matters can spin on a dime.  

I've enjoyed his ground breaking roles that have made us all go "WOW" at some point.  He appears to be anti-establishment.  He plays by his own rules, and makes them up as he goes along.

It takes courage to be true to oneself.  You have to develop a thick skin when you put yourself out there.  Controversy definitely sells.  However, my first reaction when I read about his meeting with El Chapo:  he's preparing for a role.  Why not?  Villains have been made into film since the beginning of the industry.

Now, I think Sean Penn is shedding Hollywood's skin and getting really comfortable in his own.  It is a great example for those trying to sort out their greater purpose.

If you're curious about something or someone, why not try to interview them?  If your career isn't going in the direction (or no direction) you want it to be, take a risk and just go for it.  It worked for Dennis Rodham meeting with basketball fan Kim Jong Un didn't it?  

Granted it was short lived.  Who are we to judge when so many would love a chance to have a chat with these unique villains of our day?  It sells ads, newspapers, magazines and television ratings.  So why not take a chapter out of media and make your own mark.  

Have a listen to this great Canadian group:  The Sheepdogs from Saskatchewan, an emerging favorite of mine: