Sean Penn to make surprise appearance at Rome film festival

Sean Penn will make a special appearance at the Rome Film Festival, organizers announced Thursday, adding his name to a star-studded list of guests. Rather than appear on the red carpet, the Oscar-winning actor is scheduled to close the festival, which opens Friday and runs through November 17. The acclaimed actor, director and screenwriter will also host a charity dinner for the Haitian Relief Organization, which he co-founded in 2010 after an earthquake killed over 300,000 people in the island nation and made another 1,000,000 homeless. Penn is the latest A-list star to sign on to the event, which marks its first year under the leadership of former Venice Film Festival director Marco Mueller. Jude Law, Bill Murray, James Franco, Sylvester Stallone and Adrien Brody are among the Hollywood actors who will be in the capital for the event, in addition to international film stars.