Time once again for occasional Lost in Showbiz feature Where's Sean?, a variation of the classic children's book Where's Wally?, wherein we look at a big picture of somewhere right-on and attempt to spot into which corner of it Sean Penn has inserted himself.
Got him! Yes, this week, we have located the avowedly non-self-regarding actor in Venezuela.
Sean - who once laughed in 1987 and still curses himself for the foolishness of the moment - has been touring the Venezuelan countryside with president Hugo Chavez, whose eye he has apparently caught because he is "anti-Bush". It's as good a reason as any, though you'd have to hope Hugo wouldn't have extended the the invitation had he been aware of Sean's work in the screamingly ghastly I Am Sam.
For Sean, the visit makes a watchable sequel to his earlier highly successful trip to New Orleans to assist the victims of Hurricane Katrina, during which he was pictured bailing his small boat out with a red plastic beaker, as it threatened to sink under the weight of his entourage, which included someone referred to as "his personal photographer".
Tantalisingly, though, the precise conclusions of Sean's Venezuelan mission must remain shrouded in secrecy for now.
"I'm also here as a journalist," he explained to some journalists, "so I owe it to that medium to wait until I've digested, fact-checked, and finished my journey here."
Till he's what? Lost in Showbiz has no clue what Sean's on about, but suspect he may have fundamentally misunderstood the requirements of his new career. Just file it and get down the pub, you beguiling old bore!
