Spicoli Realizing Useful Idiocy Has a Price

Poor Sean Penn. It's finally occurred to him that sucking up to dictators and thugs might be affecting his career. Sure, the guy's a pretty good actor, but his films aren't making any money, he's a constant source of ridicule and even left-leaning groups want nothing to do with him. Now he's in damage control mode.

SEAN Penn is getting worried that his cozying up to Marxist dictators might cost him an Academy Award. We reported last month how Penn was smacked by the gay Advocate magazine over his visits to Fidel and Raul Castro, whose regime murdered and imprisoned gays. Last week, Penn called José Miguel Vivanco, head of Human Rights Watch's Latin America division, and asked for a meeting. Vivanco flew to San Francisco to dine with the star Thursday and brief him on the situation in Cuba and Venezuela. Vivanco was thrown out of the latter country by Penn pal President Hugo Chavez. "Tom Cruise let Scientology make him a household name for weirdness. Sean is entering into similar territory as a p.r. stooge for left-wing dictatorships," said a Hollywood insider.

Maybe journalist Sean Penn can do an exclusive interview with actor Sean Penn and reveal his inner torment.