Sean Penn’s recent regular visits in gossip columns regarding his on again, off again marriage with Robin Wright-Penn has taken its toll.
The actor has announced he is taking an undetermined leave of absence to focus on his family effectively immediately.
The announcement comes despite Penn being locked into two upcoming projects, both of which will have to cope without him. The first, Cartel, is set to film this fall. Director Asger Leth is expected to recast Penn’s role prior to cameras rolling.
Penn’s second project, The Three Stooges, is a messier situation. The Farrelly brothers had managed to pull together the likely cast of Penn, Jim Carrey and Benicio Del Toro to portray Larry, Curly and Moe, respectively. With Penn out of the picture, MGM and the Farrelly’s will have to decide whether to wait for Penn’s unknown return and risk losing Carrey or Del Toro should their schedules fall out of favor, or to recast Penn with another big name actor and avoid another shooting setback.
Family always comes first so I stand behind Penn’s decision to set work aside and take care of business.
