In brief: Exhausted Penn wants time out

Super-busy Sean Penn has thrown in the towel and wants to take time out from the Hollywood treadmill. Filming on All The King's Men, the political thriller based on Robert Penn Warren's bestselling novel, which is itself based on the career of governor Huey Long of Louisiana, reportedly left him with such severe exhaustion that he wants to retire from the movie industry for several years to recover. The actor has been in a string of high-profile roles in recent years, including his Oscar-winning turn in Mystic River and critically-acclaimed performance in 21 Grams. British audiences are soon to see him in The Assassination of Richard Nixon and The Interpreter. (From the Guardian)