Sean Penn took Ukranian soliders to ‘Top Gun: Maverick’ screening
It has been revealed that Sean Penn took Ukranian soliders to a screening of Top Gun: Maverick while shooting Superpower, his new gonzo documentary about the Russian invasion. Work on the documentary began the same day as the Russian invasion of Ukraine when Penn and a documentary camera crew suddenly found themselves on the frontline.
Having conducted an interview with the TV comedian-turned-wartime leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Penn and the crew returned to Ukraine in an attempt to chronicle the horrors unfolding there. Superpower, which received a standing ovation at the Berlin Film Festival yesterday, is the result of those six trips to the war-torn country
Penn has explained that his decision to take Ukrainian troops to a screening of Top Gun: Maverick was part of a mission to boost their morale. According to Variety, Penn enlisted Maverick star Miles Teller to speak to the troops over FaceTime. Footage of the screening plays over the doc’s end credits.
During Superpower, which depicts Penn’s attempts to flee Ukraine following the invasion (he eventually walked to Poland), Penn and Zelenskyy form a close bond, with the Ukrainian President even joking about wanting to visit Santa Monica once his nation emerges victorious.
At a Q&A after the Berlin screening, Zelenskyy addressed the audience to urge support for Ukraine. Penn echoed the President’s determination: “It’s not so much about what if Ukraine loses, because they won’t,” he told the audience. “If Russia wins, we are all fucked. Just dead-set fucked. As Americans, I can say we’re going to have to take on board a level of shame for not having scaled up sooner with the weapons.”
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