Acting with Daughter, Sean Penn Explores Family Ties in Cannes Film

Director Sean Penn and cast member Dylan Penn at Cannes. (Reuters)
Director Sean Penn and cast member Dylan Penn at Cannes. (Reuters)
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Acting with Daughter, Sean Penn Explores Family Ties in Cannes Film

Director Sean Penn and cast member Dylan Penn at Cannes. (Reuters)
Director Sean Penn and cast member Dylan Penn at Cannes. (Reuters)

Sean Penn said on Sunday he nearly passed up the chance to act opposite his daughter Dylan for the first time in “Flag Day”, his latest movie which is vying for awards at the Cannes Film Festival - until actor Matt Damon egged him on.

Oscar-winning Penn plays John Vogel, a real-life wheeler-dealer who lurched from one failed business venture to another, causing heartbreak for daughter Jennifer, who reveres him.

Based on a book by journalist Jennifer Vogel, Penn told a news conference in Cannes that he had an image of daughter Dylan when reading the script - but took some convincing to step into Jennifer’s father’s shoes, when he was already down to direct.

“The last effort I made to not play it was when I sent the script about a month and a half before shooting started to Matt Damon, who called me, not to say that he could do it, not to say that he can’t do it, but to say that I was a stupid schmuck not to do it,” Penn said.

Vogel was a notorious petty criminal who ended up involved in counterfeiting, although “Flag Day” is more interested in how he dupes those he loves and lies to himself.

The “Into The Wild” director’s latest effort behind the camera has so far earned him mixed reviews, with critics at Screendaily pointing to holes in the way the characters are presented, including Jennifer’s transition from an angst-ridden teenager to a budding journalist.

Most reviewers praised the acting duo at its center, however, including Dylan’s performance, and Sean Penn as the exuberant, fun-loving father who tries to keep up his great illusion as his American dream goes awry.

‘Both alpha’
The film is competing against entries from other big name directors such as Wes Anderson, in the festival’s return to the French Riviera after it was cancelled in 2020 due to COVID-19.

Dylan Penn is also joined by her real-life brother Hopper Jack Penn on screen. Their mother Robin Wright, also an actress, divorced Sean Penn in 2010.

“I went into this project looking at it as this is my job, ... this is my boss,” Dylan Penn said, adding that their relationship was very different in real life to that of John and Jennifer Vogel. “We’re both alpha, that can sometimes clash, but think it worked out in the end.”

Penn, who is also involved in philanthropy and organized a COVID-19 testing and vaccination campaign and sites in the United States, lambasted former US President Donald Trump’s handling of the pandemic during the news conference.

“When my team and I would come home from test and vaccinations sites at night ... to maddening news - it really felt like there was someone with a machine gun gunning down communities that were most vulnerable from a turret at the White House,” Penn said.

He said the Trump administration’s main contribution to tackling the health crisis before the late 2020 election had been to pre-order vaccine doses.



Brazilian Judge Orders Adele Song Removed over Plagiarism Claim

British singer Adele poses on the red carpet upon her arrival for the BRIT Awards 2022 in London on February 8, 2022. (AFP)
British singer Adele poses on the red carpet upon her arrival for the BRIT Awards 2022 in London on February 8, 2022. (AFP)
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Brazilian Judge Orders Adele Song Removed over Plagiarism Claim

British singer Adele poses on the red carpet upon her arrival for the BRIT Awards 2022 in London on February 8, 2022. (AFP)
British singer Adele poses on the red carpet upon her arrival for the BRIT Awards 2022 in London on February 8, 2022. (AFP)

A judge in Rio de Janeiro has ordered the global removal of a 2015 song by British singer Adele due to a plagiarism claim by a Brazilian musician, which Universal Music is fighting on appeal. The ruling, made public on Monday, came in a case filed this year by Toninho Geraes, whose compositions were made famous by some of Brazil's most acclaimed samba singers.

Geraes accused Adele of copying his song "Mulheres", a national hit since the 1990s. His lawyers uploaded to YouTube a comparison of that song and Adele's "Million Years Ago".

"The ruling shows that the Brazilian justice system is strong and that injuries to Brazilian artists won't be ignored," said Fredimio Biasotto Trotta, a lawyer for Geraes.

The decision orders Sony Music Entertainment and Universal Music to immediately cease "using, reproducing, editing, distributing, or commercializing" the song by any means on streaming or sharing platforms, without Geraes' consent. It set a fine of 50,000 reais ($8,080.94) if the companies fail to comply with the order.

The Berne Convention, an international treaty, orders other signatory countries, including the US, to comply with legal decisions regarding copyright, Trotta said.

Geraes' lawyers are now notifying streaming services, such as Spotify and Deezer, to withdraw the song in Brazil and globally. On Wednesday morning, the song was still widely available.

Universal appealed the decision on Tuesday, arguing there was no plagiarism, only an "accidental melodic similarity" due to the use of "musical clichés."

Both Adele and Geraes have contracts with Universal, but the Brazilian musician has been trying to terminate his contract with the company due to his plagiarism claim, his lawyer said.

"I felt very disrespected," Geraes told Reuters. He is asking the courts for compensation of more than $150,000. Lawyers representing Universal Music declined to comment, and Sony Music did not immediately reply to a request for comment.

Geraes learned of the similarities between the two songs after a friend, who is also a composer, heard Adele's "Million Years Ago" at a party in 2021.