Ron Lamothe (born 1968) is a director of documentary films and the founder of Terra Incognita Films.

In 2000, Lamothe began pre-production on The Political Dr. Seuss, a documentary on the life and "political" works of Theodor Geisel. In 2004, the documentary aired nationwide on PBS as the season premiere of Independent Lens. It was subsequently nominated for a George Foster Peabody Award in documentary television.

Starting in 2005, Lamothe spent two years shooting and editing his next documentary, The Call of the Wild, on the self-proclaimed "aesthetic voyager" Christopher McCandless, a filmmaking odyssey that took him through thirty U.S. states, two Canadian provinces, and parts of Mexico.

Credits[link]

• The Call of the Wild (2007)
• The Political Dr. Seuss (2004)

External links[link]

• Terra Incognita Films Official Site
• "Independent Lens: THE POLITICAL DR. SEUSS - PBS". Public Broadcasting System. http://www.pbs.org/independentlens/politicaldrseuss/index.html. Retrieved January 2, 2009. 
• Ron Lamothe at the Internet Movie Database

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Christopher Johnson McCandless (February 12, 1968 – August 1992) was an American adventurer who adopted the name Alexander Supertramp and hiked into the Alaskan wilderness in April 1992 with little food and equipment, hoping to live simply for a time in solitude. Almost four months later, McCandless' remains were found, weighing only 67 pounds (30 kg; 4 st 11 lb); he died of starvation near Lake Wentitika in Denali National Park and Preserve.

In January 1993, author Jon Krakauer published McCandless' story in that month's issue of Outside magazine. Inspired by the details of McCandless's story, Krakauer wrote and published Into the Wild in 1996 about McCandless' travels. The book was adapted into a film by Sean Penn in 2007 with Emile Hirsch portraying McCandless. That same year, McCandless's story also became the subject of Ron Lamothe's documentary The Call of the Wild.

A full-length article on McCandless also appeared in the February 8th, 1993 issue of the The New Yorker magazine.^[1]

Early years[link]

McCandless was born in El Segundo, California, the first of two children to Walter "Walt" McCandless and Wilhelmina "Billie" Johnson. Chris had one younger sister, Carine. In 1976, the family settled in Annandale, Virginia, a suburb of Washington, D.C., after his father was employed as an antenna specialist for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). His mother worked as a secretary at Hughes Aircraft and later assisted her husband with his successful home-based consulting company in Annandale. Despite the McCandless family's financial success, Walt and Billie were often fighting and sometimes would contemplate divorce. Chris and Carine had six half-siblings living in California from Walt's first marriage. Walt was not yet divorced from his first wife when Chris and Carine were born, however Chris did not discover his father's affair until a summer trip to Southern California^[2] in 1986.

At school, teachers noticed McCandless was unusually strong-willed. In adolescence he coupled this with intense idealism and physical endurance. In high school, he served as captain of the cross-country team, urging teammates to treat running as a spiritual exercise in which they were "running against the forces of darkness ... all the evil in the world, all the hatred."^[3]

On June 2, 1986, McCandless graduated from Wilbert Tucker Woodson High School in Fairfax, Virginia. On June 10, McCandless embarked on one of his first major adventures in which he traveled throughout the country in his Datsun B-210, arriving at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia two days prior to the beginning of fall classes. His upper middle class background and academic success were drivers for his contempt of what he saw as the empty materialism of society. McCandless was strongly influenced by Jack London, Leo Tolstoy, W. H. Davies and Henry David Thoreau. In his junior year, he declined membership in the Phi Beta Kappa Society, on the basis that honors and titles were irrelevant. McCandless graduated from Emory in April 1990 with a Bachelor's degree in history and anthropology. He envisioned separating from organized society for a Thoreauvian period of solitary contemplation.

Travels[link]

In May 1990, McCandless donated the remaining $25,000 of the $47,000, given to him by a family friend for his law degree, to Oxfam International, a hunger charity. Towards the end of June, he began traveling under the name "Alexander" McCandless until later adopting the last name of "Supertramp" (Krakauer notes the connection with Welsh author W. H. Davies and his 1908 autobiography The Autobiography of a Super-Tramp). Most people he encountered regarded him as intelligent and one who loved to read. By the end of the summer, McCandless made his way through Arizona, California and South Dakota, where he worked at a grain elevator in Carthage. He survived a flash flood, but allowed his car to wash out (although it suffered little permanent damage and was later reused by the local police force as an undercover vehicle) and disposed of his license plate.^{[citation needed]} In 1991, McCandless paddled a kayak down remote stretches of the Colorado River to the Gulf of California. He took pride in surviving with a minimum of gear and funds, and generally made little preparation.

Alaskan Odyssey[link]

For years, McCandless dreamed of an "Alaskan Odyssey" wherein he would live off the land of the Alaskan wilderness, far away from civilization, and "find himself". He kept a journal describing his physical and spiritual progress as he faced the forces of nature. In April 1992, McCandless hitchhiked from Enderlin, North Dakota to Fairbanks, Alaska. He was last seen alive on April 28, 1992 by Jim Gallien, a local, who gave him a ride from Fairbanks to the head of the Stampede Trail. Gallien was concerned about "Alex", who had minimal supplies (not even a compass) and no experience surviving in the Alaskan bush. Gallien repeatedly tried to persuade Alex to defer his trip, and even offered to drive him to Anchorage to buy suitable equipment and supplies. However, McCandless ignored Gallien's warnings, refusing all assistance except for a pair of Wellington rubber boots, two tuna melt sandwiches, and a bag of corn chips.

After hiking along the snow-covered Stampede Trail, McCandless found an abandoned bus (about 25 miles west of Healy) used as a hunting shelter and parked on an overgrown section of the trail near Denali National Park, and began to live off the land. He had a 10-pound bag of rice, a Remington semi-automatic rifle with 400 rounds of .22LR hollowpoint ammunition, a book of local plant life, several other books, and some camping equipment. He assumed he could forage for plant food and hunt game. McCandless poached porcupines and birds. He managed to kill a moose; however, he failed to preserve the meat properly, and it spoiled. Rather than thinly slicing and air-drying the meat, like jerky, as is usually done in the Alaskan bush, he smoked it, following the advice of hunters he had met in South Dakota.^[2]

His journal contains entries covering a total of 112 days. These entries range from ecstatic to grim with McCandless' changing fortunes. In July, after living in the bus for three months, he decided to leave, but found the trail back blocked by the Teklanika River, which was then considerably higher and swifter than when he crossed in April. Unknown to McCandless, there was a hand-operated tram that crossed the river only ¼ of a mile away from where he had previously crossed. In the 2007 documentary The Call of the Wild, evidence is presented that McCandless had a map at his disposal, which should have helped him find another route to safety.^[4] McCandless lived in the bus for a total of 113 days. At some point during that time, presumably very near the end, he posted an S.O.S. note calling on anyone passing by to help him because he was "injured" and "too weak". The full note read:

"S.O.S. I need your help. I am injured, near death, and too weak to hike out. I am all alone, this is no joke. In the name of God, please remain to save me. I am out collecting berries close by and shall return this evening. Thank you, Chris McCandless. August?"^[5]

Death[link]

On August 12, 1992, McCandless wrote what are apparently his final words in his journal: "Beautiful Blueberries."

He tore the final page from Louis L'Amour's memoir, Education of a Wandering Man, which contains an excerpt from a Robinson Jeffers poem titled "Wise Men in Their Bad Hours":

Death's a fierce meadowlark: but to die having made

Something more equal to centuries

Than muscle and bone, is mostly to shed weakness.

The mountains are dead stone, the people

Admire or hate their stature, their insolent quietness,

The mountains are not softened or troubled

And a few dead men's thoughts have the same temper.

On the other side of the page, McCandless added, "I HAVE HAD A HAPPY LIFE AND THANK THE LORD. GOODBYE AND MAY GOD BLESS ALL!"

His body was found in his sleeping bag inside the bus by Butch Killian, a local hunter, on September 6, 1992.^[6] McCandless had been dead for more than two weeks and weighed an estimated 67 pounds (30 kg). His official, undisputed cause of death was starvation. Krakauer suggests two factors may have contributed to McCandless's death. First, he was running the risk of a phenomenon known as "rabbit starvation" due to increased activity, compared with the leanness of the game he was hunting.^[7] Krakauer also speculates that McCandless might have ingested toxic seeds (Hedysarum alpinum or Hedisarum mackenzii) or a mold that grows on them (Rhizoctonia leguminicola produces the toxic alkaloid swainsonine).

However, an article in Men's Journal stated that extensive laboratory testing showed there was no toxin present in McCandless's food supplies. Dr. Thomas Clausen, the chair of the chemistry and biochemistry department at UAF said "I tore that plant apart. There were no toxins. No alkaloids. I'd eat it myself."^[8] Analysis of the wild sweet pea, given as the cause of Chris’s death in Sean Penn's film, turned up no toxic compounds and there is not a single account in modern medical literature of anyone being poisoned by this species of plant.^[4] As one journalist put it: "He didn't find a way out of the bush, couldn't catch enough food to survive, and simply starved to death."^[8] However, the possibility of death through the consumption of the mold, which grew on the seeds in the damp bags which McCandless stored them in, was considered a suitable explanation by Krakauer.^[2]

Criticism[link]

McCandless has been a polarizing figure ever since his story first broke following his death along with Krakauer's Outside article on him in January 1993. While Krakauer and many readers have a largely sympathetic view of McCandless,^[9] others, particularly Alaskans, have expressed negative views about McCandless and those who romanticize his fate.^[10]

The most charitable view among McCandless's detractors is that his behavior showed a profound lack of common sense. He chose not to bring a compass, something that people in the same situation would have considered essential. McCandless was also completely unaware that a hand-operated tram crossed the otherwise impassable river ¼ mile from where he attempted to cross. Had McCandless known this, he could easily have saved his own life.^[3] Additionally, there were cabins stocked with emergency supplies within a few miles of the bus, although they had been vandalized and all the supplies were spoiled. There has been some speculation (particularly in details given in the Lamothe documentary) that the vandalism may have been done by McCandless himself; however, Ken Kehrer, chief ranger for Denali National Park, denied that McCandless was considered a vandalism suspect by the National Park Service.^[11] His venture into a wilderness area alone, without adequate planning, experience, preparation, or supplies, without notifying anyone and lacking emergency communication equipment, was contrary to every principle of outdoor survival and, in the eyes of many experienced outdoor enthusiasts, nearly certain to end in misfortune.

Alaskan Park Ranger Peter Christian wrote:

When you consider McCandless from my perspective, you quickly see that what he did wasn't even particularly daring, just stupid, tragic, and inconsiderate. First off, he spent very little time learning how to actually live in the wild. He arrived at the Stampede Trail without even a map of the area. If he [had] had a good map he could have walked out of his predicament [... ] Essentially, Chris McCandless committed suicide. Retrieved August 26, 2007.

Sherry Simpson, writing in the Anchorage Press, described her trip to the bus with a friend, and their reaction upon reading the comments that tourists had left lauding McCandless as an insightful, Thoreau-like figure:

Among my friends and acquaintances, the story of Christopher McCandless makes great after-dinner conversation. Much of the time I agree with the "he had a death wish" camp because I don’t know how else to reconcile what we know of his ordeal. Now and then I venture into the "what a dumbshit" territory, tempered by brief alliances with the "he was just another romantic boy on an all-American quest" partisans. Mostly I’m puzzled by the way he’s emerged as a hero^{[12][dead link]}

Jon Krakauer defends McCandless, claiming that what critics point to as arrogance was merely McCandless's desire for "being the first to explore a blank spot on the map." Krakauer continues that "In 1992, however, there were no more blank spots on the map—not in Alaska, not anywhere. But Chris, with his idiosyncratic logic, came up with an elegant solution to this dilemma: He simply got rid of the map. In his own mind, if nowhere else, the terra would thereby remain incognita."^[13] Others have pointed out that a map of the area (although apparently not including the location of the hand-powered tram) was found amongst McCandless's belongings, and refute the accusations that he intentionally discarded this map.^[14]

Cultural legacy[link]

Krakauer's book, Into the Wild, made Christopher McCandless a heroic figure to many. By 2002, the No. 142 abandoned bus on the Stampede Trail where McCandless camped had become a tourist destination.^[8][15] Sean Penn's film Into the Wild, based on Krakauer's book, was released on September 21, 2007 to positive critical reviews and also earning several awards including a Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song by Eddie Vedder. In October 2007, a documentary film on McCandless's journey by independent filmmaker Ron Lamothe, The Call of the Wild, was also released.^[16] McCandless's story also inspired an episode of the TV series Millennium,^[17] the album Cirque by Biosphere, and folk songs by singer Ellis Paul.^[18]

See also[link]

• Carl McCunn, wildlife photographer who became stranded in the Alaskan wilderness and eventually committed suicide when he ran out of supplies
• Richard Proenneke, who survived in the Alaskan wilderness for 30 years
• Everett Ruess, solitary wilderness traveler in American west
• Robert F. Scott, South Pole explorer whose party succumbed to hunger
• Survivalism
• Anarcho-primitivism

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Christopher McCandless

• Christopher McCandless – The Official and Informative website on Christopher McCandless.
• Memorial Foundation – C J McCandless Memorial Foundation.
• Google Earth Community – Aerial photo of the bus, Google Earth Overlay of the region and downloadable KMZ file.
• Dispatches from the Wild – Excerpts of McCandless's own articles published in the Emory Wheel student newspaper.

Coordinates: 63°52′06″N 149°46′09″W / 63.8684°N 149.7693°W / 63.8684; -149.7693 (accident site)

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Jerry Lamothe is an African American writer/director/producer/actor, of Haitian descent, Born to parents, Frantz and Marlene Lamothe who are from Port-au-Prince Haiti. Lamothe was born October 16, 1972 in Brooklyn, New York where he was raised in East Flatbush. In 2000, he wrote, produced, directed and starred in his directorial debut, Amour Infinity. Shot on a single DV camera in twenty-two days for $45,000, the film is regarded by many as an urban underground classic. Amour Infinity premiered at the 2000 Urbanworld film festival to sold out crowds and was a festival favorite. It would go on to win “best feature” at the 2000 Jamerican film and music festival and the “Audience choice award” at the 2001 Hollywood Black Film Festival. It was also ranked “highest rated film”, during the Black cinema café run.

In 2003, Lamothe directed Nora's Hair Salon starring, Jenifer Lewis, Lil' Kim, Tamala Jones, Tatyana Ali, Bobby Brown, Jean-Claude La Marre and Whitney Houston. That same year, he was listed on Blackfilm.com’s top ten people to watch list.

In 2006, Lamothe wrote/directed and produced the independent film, Blackout. The film boasted an impressive ensemble which included Jeffrey Wright, Zoe Saldana, Saul Rubinek, Jamie Hector, Latanya Richardson-Jackson and film maverick, Melvin Van Peebles. The film was loosely based on his experience living on Parkside Ave. Brooklyn, during the blackout of 2003. The feature premiered in New York City and was an official selection at the 2007 Tribeca Film Festival. Blackout received positive reviews and was a festival success as all four screenings in Tribeca would sell out. The film was also an official selection at the 2007 Chicago International Film Festival and 2007 Urbanworld film festival, where Lamothe was awarded the directors spotlight award. The same year, the movie premiered internationally at the Zurich international film festival. Blackout is the first original film to ever be acquired by BET home video/Paramount.

Lamothe also wrote the screenplay to Loso's Way (the movie), Rap star Fabolous' debut film. The movie was released as a bonus package along with the rap superstar's album, also titled the same name. The CD/DVD was released July 28, 2009 and debuted #1 on the Billboard Top 200.

References[link]

External links[link]

• http://www.blackfilm.com/20030613/features/onestowatch2003.shtml
• http://www.bvonmovies.com/2007/04/25/director-on-the-rise-jerry-lamothe-blackout-tribeca-film-f/

Sean Penn
Penn at the premiere for Milk at the Castro Theatre, San Francisco, October 2008
Ambassador-at-large for Haiti
Incumbent
Assumed office January 31, 2012
President	Michel Martelly
Personal details
Born	Sean Justin Penn (1960-08-17) August 17, 1960 (age 51) Los Angeles County, California, U.S.
Nationality	American
Political party	Democratic
Spouse(s)	Madonna (1985–1989) Robin Wright (1996–2010)
Relations	Aimee Mann (sister-in-law), Leo Penn (father), Eileen Ryan (mother), Chris Penn (brother), Michael Penn (brother)
Children	1 son, 1 daughter
Residence	Los Angeles, California
Alma mater	Santa Monica College
Occupation	Actor, screenwriter, director, producer
Religion	Agnostic
Awards	Academy Award, Golden Globe, Screen Actors Guild Award, Christopher Reeve First Amendment Award

Sean Justin Penn (born August 17, 1960) is an American actor, screenwriter and film director, also known for his left-wing political and social activism (including humanitarian work). He is a two-time Academy Award winner for his roles in Mystic River (2003) and Milk (2008), as well as the recipient of a Golden Globe Award for the former and a Screen Actors Guild Award for the latter.

Penn began his acting career in television with a brief appearance in a 1974 episode of Little House on the Prairie, directed by his father Leo Penn. Following his film debut in 1981's Taps and a diverse range of film roles in the 1980s, Penn emerged as a prominent leading actor with the 1995 drama film Dead Man Walking, for which he earned his first Academy Award nomination and the Best Actor Award at the Berlin Film Festival. Penn received another two Oscar nominations for Sweet and Lowdown (1999) and I Am Sam (2001), before winning his first Academy Award for Best Actor in 2003 for Mystic River and a second one in 2008 for Milk. He has also won a Best Actor Award of the Cannes Film Festival for She's So Lovely (1997), and two Best Actor Awards at the Venice Film Festival for Hurlyburly (1998) and 21 Grams (2003).

Penn made his feature film directorial debut with 1991's The Indian Runner, followed by the drama film The Crossing Guard (1995) and the mystery film The Pledge (2001). In 2002, Penn directed one of the 11 segments of 11'09"01 September 11, a compilation film made in response to the September 11 attacks. His fourth feature film, Into the Wild (2007), garnered critical acclaim and two Academy Award nominations.

In addition to his film work, Penn is known for his political and social activism, most notably his criticism of the George W. Bush administration, his contact with the Presidents of Venezuela and Cuba, and his humanitarian work in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina and the 2010 Haiti earthquake. Penn also attracted media attention for his previous marriages to pop icon Madonna and actress Robin Wright.

Early life[link]

Penn was born in Los Angeles County, California,^[1] the middle son of actor and director Leo Penn and actress Eileen Ryan (née Annucci). His older brother is musician Michael Penn. His younger brother, actor Chris Penn, died in 2006. His paternal grandparents were Jewish emigrants from Lithuania and Russia,^[2][3][4] while his mother is a Catholic of Italian and Irish descent.^[4][5] Penn was raised in a secular home^[2] and is an agnostic.^[6] He attended Santa Monica High School^[7] and began making short films with some of his childhood friends, including actors Emilio Estevez and Charlie Sheen, who lived near his home.^[8]

Career[link]

Acting[link]

Penn appeared in a 1974 episode of the Little House on the Prairie television series as a then blond-haired extra when his father, Leo, directed some of the episodes.

Penn launched his film career with the 1981 action-drama Taps, where he played a key role, as a military high school cadet, opposite protagonist Timothy Hutton.^[8] Tom Cruise also made one of his first film appearances, as another cadet. A year later, Penn appeared in the hit comedy Fast Times at Ridgemont High, in the role of surfer-stoner Jeff Spicoli, with his character helping popularize the word "dude" in popular culture.^[8] In 1983, Penn appeared as Mick O'Brien, a troubled youth, in the drama Bad Boys.^[8] The role earned Penn favorable reviews and jump-started his career as a serious actor.

In 1985, Penn played Andrew Daulton Lee in the film The Falcon and the Snowman, which closely followed an actual criminal case.^[8] Lee was a former drug dealer by trade, convicted of espionage for the Soviet Union and originally sentenced to life in prison, later being paroled in 1998. Penn later hired Lee as his personal assistant, partly because he wanted to reward Lee for allowing him to play Lee in the film; also, he was a firm believer in rehabilitation and thought Andrew Lee should be successfully reintegrated into society, since he was a free man again.^[9]

At the 1997 Cannes Film Festival.

In 1986, he starred in the drama At Close Range, opposite Christopher Walken.^[8] The film featured his then-wife Madonna's single "Live to Tell". The music video for the song, which featured clips from the film, played heavily on MTV and helped promote the film. Penn stopped acting for a few years in the early 1990s, having been dissatisfied with the industry, and focused on making his directing debut.^[8]

Penn, nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor five times, has won the award twice. The Academy first recognized his work in nominating him for playing a racist murderer on death row in Tim Robbins' 1995 drama Dead Man Walking. Penn was nominated again for his comedic performance as an egotistical jazz guitarist in Woody Allen's 1999 release Sweet and Lowdown. He received his third nomination after portraying a mentally-handicapped father in 2001's I am Sam. Penn finally won for his role in Clint Eastwood's 2003 Boston crime-drama Mystic River. In 2004, he played a disturbed man bent on killing the president in The Assassination of Richard Nixon. He was invited to join the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in 2004.^[10]

In 2006, he portrayed populist governor Willie Stark (based on Huey Long) in an adaptation of the classic American novel All the King's Men, though the film was a critical and commercial failure. In November 2008, Penn earned rave reviews for his portrayal of real-life gay-rights icon and politician Harvey Milk in the biopic Milk and was nominated for best actor for the 2008 Independent Spirit Awards.^[11] The film also earned Penn his fifth nomination and second win for the Academy Award for Best Actor. In 2010 he starred as Joseph Wilson in Fair Game, a film adaptation of Valerie Plame's 2007 memoir. Penn co-starred with Brad Pitt and Jessica Chastain in the drama The Tree of Life which won the Palme d'Or at the 2011 Cannes Film Festival.

Directing[link]

In 1991, Penn made his directorial debut with The Indian Runner, a film based on Bruce Springsteen's song "Highway Patrolman", from the Nebraska album.^[8] He also directed music videos, such as Shania Twain's "Dance with the One That Brought You" and Lyle Lovett's "North Dakota" in 1993, and Peter Gabriel's "The Barry Williams Show" in 2002. He has since directed three more films, all of which^{[citation needed]} were well-received by critics: The Crossing Guard in 1995, The Pledge in 2001, and Into the Wild in 2007.

Personal life[link]

Penn with Robin Wright in 2006

Penn was engaged to actress Elizabeth McGovern, his co-star in 1984's Racing with the Moon. Penn's personal life began to attract media attention when he married pop star Madonna in 1985. The two starred in the panned and much-derided Shanghai Surprise, directed by Jim Goddard, and Madonna dedicated her third studio album True Blue to Penn, referring to him in the liner notes as "the coolest guy in the universe".^[12] The relationship was marred by violent outbursts against the press, including one incident for which he was arrested for assaulting a photographer on a film set; Penn was sentenced to 60 days in jail in mid-1987, of which he served 33 days.^[13] It is also alleged that when Penn discovered the paparazzo in his hotel room, he hung him by his ankles from the ninth-floor balcony.^[14] Later in the marriage, Penn was charged with felony domestic assault, a charge for which he pleaded to a misdemeanor.^[15] Penn and Madonna divorced in 1989.

He soon began a relationship with actress Robin Wright, and their first child – a daughter named Dylan Frances – was born in 1991. Their second child, a son whom they named Hopper Jack, was born in 1993. Penn and Wright married in 1996 and lived in Ross, California. The relationship went through on-and-off periods in the late 2000s (decade).^{[citation needed]} The couple filed for divorce in December 2007, but reconciled several months later, requesting a court dismissal of their divorce case.^[16] In April 2009, Penn filed for legal separation, only to withdraw the case once again when the couple reconciled in May.^[17][18][19] On August 12, 2009, Wright Penn filed for divorce again.^[20][21] The couple's divorce was finalized on July 22, 2010, with the couple reaching a private agreement on child and spousal support, division of assets, and custody over their underage son.^[22]

Political and social causes[link]

Penn has been active in supporting several political and social causes. On June 10, 2005, Penn made a visit to Iran. Acting as a journalist on an assignment for the San Francisco Chronicle, he attended a Friday prayer at Tehran University.^[23]

On January 7, 2006, Penn was a special guest at the Progressive Democrats of America, where he was joined by author and media critic Norman Solomon, Democratic congressional candidate Charles Brown, and activist Cindy Sheehan. The "Out of Iraq Forum", which took place in Sacramento, California, was organized to promote the anti-war movement calling for an end to the War in Iraq.

In August 2008, Penn made an appearance at one of Ralph Nader's "Open the Debates" Super Rallies. He protested the political exclusion of Nader and other third parties.^[24]

In October 2008, Penn traveled to Cuba, where he met with and interviewed President Raúl Castro.^[25]

In March 2010 he called for the arrest of those referring to Hugo Chávez of Venezuela as a dictator ^[26]

In February 2012, he stood beside Hugo Chávez while Venezuela supported the Syrian government during the 2011–2012 Syrian uprising.^[27]

Criticism of President Bush[link]

Penn at an anti-war rally in Washington, D.C., January 27, 2007

On October 18, 2002, Penn placed a US$56,000 advertisement in the Washington Post asking then President George W. Bush to end a cycle of violence. It was written as an open letter and referred to the planned attack on Iraq and the War on Terror.^[28] In the letter, Penn also criticized the Bush administration for its "deconstruction of civil liberties" and its "simplistic and inflammatory view of good and evil."^[29] Penn visited Iraq briefly in December 2002.^[28]

This advertisement was cited as a primary reason for the development of his relationship with Venezuelan president Hugo Chávez. In one of his televised speeches, Chávez used and read aloud an open letter Penn wrote to Bush.^[14] The letter condemned the Iraq War, called for Bush to be impeached, and also called Bush, Vice President Dick Cheney, and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice "villainously and criminally obscene people.".^[30] In August 2007, Penn met with Chávez in Caracas for two hours, after which Chávez praised him for urging Americans to impeach Bush. Penn also visited a new film studio on the outskirts of Caracas, though he did not speak publicly.^[30]

On April 19, 2007, Penn appeared on The Colbert Report and had a "Meta-Free-Phor-All" versus Stephen Colbert that was judged by Robert Pinsky. This stemmed from some of Penn's criticisms of Bush. His exact quote was "We cower as you point your fingers telling us to support our troops. You and the smarmy pundits in your pocket– those who bathe in the moisture of your soiled and blood-soaked underwear– can take that noise and shove it."^[31][32] He won the contest with 10,000,000 points to Colbert's 1.^[33]

On December 7, 2007, Penn said he supported Ohio Congressman Dennis J. Kucinich for U.S. President in 2008, and criticized Bush's handling of the Iraq war. Penn questioned whether Bush's twin daughters supported the war in Iraq.^[34]

Hurricane Katrina[link]

In September 2005, Penn traveled to New Orleans, Louisiana, to aid Hurricane Katrina victims. He was physically involved in rescuing people,^[35] although there was criticism that his involvement was a PR stunt as he hired a photographer to come along with his entourage.^[36] Penn denied such accusation in an article he wrote for The Huffington Post.^[37]

Director Spike Lee interviewed Penn for his documentary When the Levees Broke: A Requiem in Four Acts, about Hurricane Katrina.

Support for same-sex marriage[link]

Filming Milk, 2008

On February 22, 2009, Penn received the Academy Award for Best Actor for the film Milk. In his acceptance speech, Penn said " ... I think that it is a good time for those who voted for the ban against gay marriage to sit and reflect and anticipate their great shame and the shame in their grandchildren's eyes if they continue that way of support. We've got to have equal rights for everyone!"^[38]

2010 Haiti earthquake: Manager of Relief Organization and Tent Camp[link]

After the 2010 Haiti earthquake, Sean Penn co-founded the J/P Haitian Relief Organization and has been running a 55,000 person tent camp.^[39]

Due to his visibility as an on-the-ground advocate for rescue and aid efforts in the aftermath, Penn was designated by president Michel Martelly as Ambassador-at-Large for Haiti, the first time that a non-Haitian citizen has been designated as such in the country's history. Penn received the designation on January 31, 2012.^[40]

Falkland Islands/Malvinas controversy[link]

In February 2012 Penn met with the President of Argentina, Cristina Fernández de Kirchner in Buenos Aires where he made a statement on the long-running dispute between Argentina and the United Kingdom over the Falkland Islands saying "I know I came in a very sensitive moment in terms of diplomacy between Argentina and the UK over the Malvinas islands. And I hope that diplomats can establish true dialogue in order to solve the conflict as the world today cannot tolerate ridiculous demonstrations of colonialism. The way of dialogue is the only way to achieve a better solution for both nations."^[41][42][43] The comments evoked strong reactions in the British media, with one satirical article in The Daily Telegraph requesting that Penn "return his Malibu estate to the Mexicans."^[44] Penn described the deployment of Prince William to the region as a "provocation" and a message of "pre-emptive intimidation", citing war ships that would accompany him, and stated "My oh my, aren't people sensitive to the word colonialism, particularly those who implement colonialism."^[45][46] In a piece written in The Guardian, Penn wrote that the legalisation of Argentinian immigration to the "Malvinas/Falkland Islands is one that it seems might have been addressed, but for the speculative discovery of booming offshore oil in the surrounding seas this past year."^[46][47] Of the furore, Lauren Collins wrote in The New Yorker "As of today, Sean Penn is the new Karl Lagerfeld—the man upon whom, having disrespected something dear to the United Kingdom, the British papers most gleefully pile contempt".^[48]

Pakistan[link]

Penn gained significant attention in Pakistani media when he visited Karachi and Badin in 2012.

On 23 March 2012, he visited flood-stricken villages of Karim Bux Jamali, Dargah Shah Gurio and Peero Lashari in Badin District. He was accompanied by US Consul General Willian J. Martin and distributed blankets, quilts, kitchen items and other goods amongst flood survivors.^[49][50]

On 24 March 2012, Penn also visited Bilquis Edhi Female Child Home and met Pakistan’s iconic humanitarian worker Abdul Sattar Edhi and his wife, Bilquis Edhi. He also laid floral wreaths and paid respect at the shrine of Abdullah Shah Ghazi.^[51][52]

Filmography and awards[link]

On December 18, 2006, Penn received the Christopher Reeve First Amendment Award from the Creative Coalition.^[53]

Actor[link]

Director[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Sean Penn

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Sean Penn

• Sean Penn at the Internet Movie Database
• Sean Penn at the Internet Broadway Database
• Guardian Interview, April 8, 2005
• Esquire magazine interview/profile
• Sean Penn's visit to Iran at the San Francisco Chronicle
• Smiles for Smirks by Sean Penn, The Huffington Post, April 21, 2009
• Sean Penn on Managing a Tent Camp of 55,000 Displaced Haitians – video report by Democracy Now!

This article's lead section may not adequately summarize its contents. Please consider expanding the lead to provide an accessible overview of the article's key points. (March 2012)

Eddie Vedder
Eddie Vedder on stage with Pearl Jam in Virginia Beach, Virginia, on June 17, 2008
Background information
Birth name	Edward Louis Severson III
Also known as	Ed Vedder E. Vedder Edward Mueller Eddie Mueller Jerome Turner Wes C. Adle
Born	(1964-12-23) December 23, 1964 (age 47) Evanston, Illinois, United States
Genres	Alternative rock, folk rock, grunge, hard rock
Occupations	Musician, songwriter
Instruments	Vocals, guitar, harmonica, ukulele, accordion, bass guitar, drums, mandolin
Associated acts	Pearl Jam, Bad Radio, Temple of the Dog, Hovercraft, 7 Worlds Collide, C Average
Notable instruments
Fender Telecaster Schecter PT Model Gibson SG Gibson SG Jr. Martin 0-18 Earnest Instruments Tululele, Custom Ukulele[1]

Eddie Vedder (born Edward Louis Severson III; December 23, 1964) is an American musician and singer-songwriter^[2] who is best known for being the lead singer and one of three guitarists of the alternative rock band Pearl Jam. Known for his powerful vocals, he is widely considered an icon of alternative rock.^[3]

He is also involved in soundtrack work and contributes to albums by other artists. In 2007, Vedder released his first solo album as a soundtrack for the film Into the Wild (2007). His second album, Ukulele Songs, along with a live DVD titled Water on the Road, was released on 31 May 2011.^[4]

Early life[link]

Vedder was born Edward Louis Severson III in the Chicago suburb of Evanston, Illinois, son of Karen Lee Vedder and Edward Louis Severson, Jr.^[5] His parents divorced in 1965, when Vedder was one year old. His mother soon remarried a man named Peter Mueller, an attorney, and Vedder was raised believing that Mueller was his biological father. His adopted name became Edward Mueller.^[6] While living in Evanston, Vedder's family fostered seven younger children in a group home.^[7]

In the mid-1970s, the family, including Vedder's three younger half-brothers, moved to San Diego County, California. It was at this point that Vedder, who had received a guitar from his mother on his twelfth birthday, began turning to music (as well as basketball) as a source of comfort. He particularly found solace in The Who's 1973 album, Quadrophenia.^[8] He said, "When I was around 15 or 16... I felt all alone... I was all alone—except for music."^[9] His mother and Mueller divorced when Vedder was in his late teens. His mother and brothers moved back to the Chicago area, but Vedder remained with his stepfather in California so he would not have to change high schools.

After the divorce Vedder met Uncle Scott and learned the truth about his parentage, that Mueller was really his stepfather. Vedder had met his biological father briefly as a child, but had believed that Severson was merely an old friend of his parents. By the time Vedder learned the truth, Severson had died of multiple sclerosis. By his senior year at San Dieguito High School, Vedder was on his own, living in an apartment and supporting himself with a nightly job at a drug store in Encinitas.^[9] He eventually dropped out of high school in his senior year due to the pressures of balancing school with working.^[9] He joined the rest of his family in Chicago, and it was at this time that he changed his name to Eddie Vedder, Vedder being his mother's maiden name.

In the early 1980s, Vedder worked as a waiter, earned his high school GED, and briefly attended a community college near Chicago.^[6][10] In 1984, Vedder returned to San Diego, California, with his girlfriend, Beth Liebling. He kept busy recording demo tapes at his home and working various jobs, including a position as a contracted security guard at the La Valencia Hotel in La Jolla.^[11] Vedder had several stints in San Diego area bands, including Surf and Destroy and The Butts.^[7] One of those bands, called Indian Style,^[12] included future Rage Against the Machine and Audioslave drummer Brad Wilk.^[13] In 1988, Vedder became the vocalist for the San Diego progressive funk rock band Bad Radio. The music of the original incarnation of the band was influenced by Duran Duran; however, after Vedder joined Bad Radio, the band moved on to a more alternative rock sound influenced by the Red Hot Chili Peppers.^[14]

Temple of the Dog[link]

After leaving Bad Radio, Vedder was without a band, and for the rest of 1990 he worked part-time as a night attendant at a local gas station.^[15] Through the Southern California music scene, Vedder met former Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Jack Irons, who became a friend of Vedder and who would play basketball with him.^[16] Later in 1990, Irons gave him a demo tape from a band in Seattle, Washington that was looking for a singer. He listened to the tape shortly before going surfing, where lyrics came to him.^[17] Vedder wrote lyrics for three of the songs in what he later described as a "mini-opera" entitled Momma-Son. The songs tell the story of a young man who, like Vedder, learns that he had been lied to about his paternity and that his real father is dead, grows up to become a serial killer, and is eventually imprisoned and sentenced to death.^[17] Vedder recorded vocals for the three songs, and mailed the demo tape back to Seattle. The three songs would later become Pearl Jam's "Alive", "Once", and "Footsteps".

After hearing Vedder's tape, former Mother Love Bone members Stone Gossard and Jeff Ament invited Vedder to come to Seattle to audition for their new band. They were instantly impressed with his unique sound. At the time, Gossard and Ament were working on the Temple of the Dog project founded by Soundgarden's Chris Cornell as a musical tribute to Mother Love Bone's frontman Andrew Wood, who died of a heroin overdose at age 24. Soundgarden drummer Matt Cameron and newcomer Mike McCready were also a part of the project. The song "Hunger Strike" became a duet between Cornell and Vedder. Cornell was having trouble with the vocals at practice, when Vedder stepped in. Cornell later said of Vedder that "he sang half of that song not even knowing that I'd wanted the part to be there and he sang it exactly the way I was thinking about doing it, just instinctively."^[18] Vedder would provide background vocals on several other songs as well. In April 1991, Temple of the Dog was released through A&M Records.

Pearl Jam[link]

Pearl Jam was formed in 1990 by Ament, Gossard, and McCready,^[17] who then recruited Vedder and drummer Dave Krusen. The band originally took the name Mookie Blaylock, but was forced to change it when the band signed to Epic Records in 1991. After the recording sessions for Ten were completed, Krusen left Pearl Jam in May 1991.^[7] Krusen was replaced by Matt Chamberlain, who had previously played with Edie Brickell & New Bohemians. After playing only a handful of shows, one of which was filmed for the "Alive" video, Chamberlain left to join the Saturday Night Live band.^[19] As his replacement, Chamberlain suggested Dave Abbruzzese, who joined the group and played the rest of Pearl Jam's live shows supporting the Ten album.

Ten broke the band into the mainstream, and became one of the best selling alternative albums of the 1990s. The band found itself amidst the sudden popularity and attention given to the Seattle music scene and the genre known as grunge. The single "Jeremy" received Grammy Award nominations for Best Rock Song and Best Hard Rock Performance in 1993.^[20] Pearl Jam received four awards at the 1993 MTV Video Music Awards for its music video for "Jeremy", including Video of the Year and Best Group Video.^[21] Ten ranks number 207 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time,^[22] and "Jeremy" was ranked number 11 on VH1's list of the 100 greatest songs of the '90s.^[23]

Following an intense touring schedule, the band went into the studio to record what would become its second studio album, Vs., released in 1993. Upon its release, Vs. set the record at the time for most copies of an album sold in a week,^[25] and spent five weeks at number one on the Billboard 200. Vs. was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Rock Album in 1995.^[26] From Vs., the song "Daughter" received a Grammy nomination for Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal and the song "Go" received a Grammy nomination for Best Hard Rock Performance.^[27]

Feeling the pressures of success, with much of the burden of Pearl Jam's popularity falling on Vedder,^[17] the band decided to decrease the level of promotion for its albums, including refusing to release music videos.^[28] Vedder's issue with fame came from what he stated as "what happens when a lot of these people start thinking you can change their lives or save their lives or whatever and create these impossible fuckin' expectations that in the end just start tearing you apart."^[29] In 1994, the band began a much-publicized boycott of Ticketmaster, which lasted for three years and limited the band's ability to tour in the United States.^[30] During the mid-1990s, Vedder faced what he called a "pretty intense stalker problem."^[31] Vedder would refer to the issue in the song "Lukin" from No Code.^[32]

Later that same year the band released its third studio album, Vitalogy, which became the band's third straight album to reach multi-platinum status. It was at this time that Vedder began to be featured more on rhythm guitar. Many of the songs on Vitalogy appear to be based by Vedder around the pressures of fame.^[33] The album received Grammy nominations for Album of the Year and Best Rock Album in 1996.^[34] Vitalogy was ranked number 492 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.^[22] The lead single "Spin the Black Circle" won a Grammy Award in 1996 for Best Hard Rock Performance.^[26] Although Abbruzzese performed on the album Vitalogy, he was fired in August 1994, four months before the album was released.^[31] The band cited political differences between Abbruzzese and the other members; for example, he disagreed with the Ticketmaster boycott.^[31] He was replaced by Jack Irons, a close friend of Vedder and the former and original drummer of the Red Hot Chili Peppers.^[7]

Regarding the approach Pearl Jam took after its initial success, Vedder stated, "We've had the luxury of writing our own job description...and that description has basically been cut down to just one line: make music."^[35] The band subsequently released No Code in 1996 and Yield in 1998. In 1998, prior to Pearl Jam's U.S. Yield Tour, Irons left the band due to dissatisfaction with touring.^[36] Pearl Jam enlisted former Soundgarden drummer Matt Cameron as Irons' replacement on an initially temporary basis,^[36] but he soon became a permanent replacement for Irons. "Do the Evolution" (from Yield) received a Grammy nomination for Best Hard Rock Performance.^[37] In 1998, Pearl Jam recorded "Last Kiss", a cover of a 1960s ballad made famous by J. Frank Wilson and the Cavaliers. It was released on the band's 1998 fan club Christmas single; however, by popular demand, the cover was released to the public as a single in 1999. "Last Kiss" peaked at number two on the Billboard charts and became the band's highest-charting single.

In 2000, the band released its sixth studio album, Binaural, and initiated a successful and ongoing series of official bootlegs. The band released seventy-two such live albums in 2000 and 2001, and set a record for most albums to debut in the Billboard 200 at the same time.^[38] "Grievance" (from Binaural) received a Grammy nomination for Best Hard Rock Performance.^[39] The band released its seventh studio album, Riot Act, in 2002. Pearl Jam's contribution to the 2003 film, Big Fish, "Man of the Hour", was nominated for a Golden Globe Award in 2004.^[40] The band's eighth studio album, the eponymous Pearl Jam, was released in 2006. The band released its ninth studio album, Backspacer, in 2009.

On Pearl Jam records, Vedder uses the pseudonym "Jerome Turner" for his non-musical (usually design and artwork) contributions. He has also at times used the pseudonym of "Wes C. Addle" ("West Seattle").

Other musical projects[link]

Eddie Vedder performing at the premiere for Body of War at the 2007 Toronto International Film Festival

Soundtrack contributions[link]

Vedder has contributed solo material to several soundtracks and compilations, including the soundtracks for the films Dead Man Walking (1995), I Am Sam (2001), A Brokedown Melody (2004), Body of War (2007), and Reign Over Me (2007). Vedder collaborated with Pakistani musician Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan for his contributions to the Dead Man Walking soundtrack. He covered The Beatles' "You've Got to Hide Your Love Away" for the I Am Sam soundtrack. Vedder wrote "Man Of The Hour" that Pearl Jam recorded for Tim Burton's Big Fish Soundtrack (2003). Vedder wrote two songs for the 2007 feature documentary, Body of War, produced by Ellen Spiro and Phil Donahue: "No More" (a song referring to the Iraq War) and "Long Nights". Vedder and the supergroup The Million Dollar Bashers, which includes members from Sonic Youth, Wilco, and Bob Dylan's band, covered Dylan's "All Along the Watchtower" for the biopic film, I'm Not There (2007). Pearl Jam recorded a cover version of The Who's song "Love, Reign o'er Me" for the film Reign Over Me, which takes its title from the song. In 2010, Vedder recorded a new song, "Better Days", which appeared on the soundtrack to the 2010 film Eat Pray Love.^[41][42]

[edit] Into the Wild

Vedder contributed an album's worth of songs to the soundtrack for the 2007 film, Into the Wild. The soundtrack was released on September 18, 2007 through J Records. It includes covers of the Indio song "Hard Sun" and the Jerry Hannan song "Society".^[43] Vedder said that having to write songs based on a narrative "simplified things." He said, "There were fewer choices. The story was there and the scenes were there."^[44] Vedder's songs written for the film feature a folk sound. Thom Jurek of Allmusic called the soundtrack a "collection of folksy, rootsy tunes where rock & roll makes fleeting appearances."^[45] Vedder won a 2008 Golden Globe Award for the song "Guaranteed" from Into the Wild.^[46] He was also nominated for a Golden Globe Award for his contributions to the film's original score.^[47] At the 2008 Grammy Awards, "Guaranteed" received a nomination for Best Song Written for a Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media.^[48] "Guaranteed" was also nominated a 2008 World Soundtrack Award in the category of Best Original Song Written Directly for a Film.^[49] At the 2009 Grammy Awards, "Rise" received a nomination for Best Rock Vocal Performance, Solo.^[50]