Sean Penn took time out from his humanitarian work in Haiti to host a fundraiser for the earthquake ravaged country at the Cannes Film Festival on Friday night (May 18, 2012). The Oscar-winning actor presided over the black-tie event, which included celebrities who had paid up to $100,000 for a table, reports Reuters.
The A-listers in attendance included Ewan McGregor, Diane Kruger, Ben Stiller, Chris Rock and the designer Girogio Armani. Penn is said to have raised around $2 million for Haiti with a series of auctions, including a 'Golden Globes Weekend' package featuring a date with actor Gerard Butler. Much to the Scottish actor's dismay, the winning bidder - who paid $127,000 - shouted out that he wanted the package without the date. On a more serious note, Penn used the event to lash out at the media for parachuting into Haiti but not helping with the rebuilding, saying, "It's not only celebrities that just went for the day. It's the whole ... world. It's the entire media. It's all of you.The reason people get Haiti fatigue is because they never committed in the first place".
Penn recently completed work on the crime-drama 'The Gangster Squad', with Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone. The movie chronicles the Lapd's fight to keep the East Coast Mafia out of Los Angeles in the 1940s and 50s.