LOS ANGELES: Three-time Oscar winner Sean Penn is set to direct a film focusing on a police officer caught up in the January 6, 2021 assault on the US Capitol by supporters of then-President Donald Trump, entertainment media reported Tuesday.
Film Details
The film, which Penn has also reportedly written, is expected to star Academy Award nominee Bradley Cooper in the role of the currently unnamed officer, according to Deadline. Production is scheduled for next year and will be handled by Warner Bros., the studio behind the Oscar-winning "One Battle After Another," for which Penn received his most recent golden statuette. Representatives for the 65-year-old actor-director did not immediately respond to AFP requests for comment.
Background of the Capitol Attack
The Capitol attack remains a major fault line in American public life, occurring when thousands of Trump supporters stormed the building in an attempt to stop the certification of Joe Biden's presidential election victory. Trump continues to deny that he lost the 2020 election and has repeatedly called those who participated in the attack "patriots," issuing pardons and commutations even to those who admitted assaulting police officers.
Penn's Political Activism
Penn, known for his left-of-center politics and social activism, attended legislative hearings investigating the insurrection, where he was photographed sitting alongside officers who were caught up in the incident, including Michael Fanone and Daniel Hodges. Fanone, a former Trump supporter, has spoken repeatedly about the trauma he experienced during the uprising, including in his 2022 memoir "Hold the Line: The Insurrection and One Cop's Battle for America's Soul."
Warner Bros. Merger Context
Warner Bros. is on the verge of being acquired by Paramount Skydance, whose CEO David Ellison is the son of Trump ally Larry Ellison.
Penn's Career Highlights
Penn made his directorial film debut with the crime drama The Indian Runner (1991), followed by The Crossing Guard (1995), The Pledge (2001), and Into the Wild (2007). On stage, he acted in the Broadway plays Heartland (1981) and Slab Boys (1983). On television, he portrayed an astronaut in the Hulu drama series The First (2018) and John N. Mitchell in the Starz political thriller miniseries Gaslit (2022).
Activism Beyond Film
Penn has also engaged in political and social activism, including criticism of the George W. Bush administration, contact with the presidents of Cuba and Venezuela, humanitarian work after Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and the 2010 Haiti earthquake, and support for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy amid the Russian-Ukrainian war.
