Sean Penn is planning to shoot a new movie in Venezuela, the country's President Hugo Chavez has revealed.
Penn shared his plans with the controversial leader during a meeting on Wednesday (28Oct09) at the presidential palace in the capital Caracas.
The movie will be based on Cuban author Alejo Carpentier's 1953 novel The Lost Steps.
Speaking on state television Chavez says "(He) told me was very interested in a film project... that would most likely be shot in part in Venezuela."
The Mystic River actor has been heavily criticised for his connections to Chavez and former Cuban leader Fidel Castro.
Penn will be writing about his trip to Cuba and Venezuela as part of an upcoming Vanity Fair article.
Into The Wild, based on the real life adventures of Christopher McCandless, in 2007 was the last time that Penn stepped behind the camera. The movie opened to critical acclaim but missed out at the major awards.
Since then Penn has moved back in front of the camera for biopic Milk, which saw him scoop his second Best Actor Oscar earlier this year.
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