Celebrity Mound

The actor, who plays gay martyr Harvey Milk in his next movie, first hit it off with Chavez when he visited Caracas in August 2007 as a “freelance journalist.” Chavez – who has replaced his ailing idol, Fidel Castro, as the US’s most vitriolic critic – praised Penn at the time for his criticism of the war in Iraq. The state-run news agency reported Penn accompanied Chavez on an inspection of a natural gas pipeline on Sunday. But Chavez didn’t mention the visit during a televised address, nor did the state media broadcast images of Penn. Starstruck Chavez has hosted several celebs, including Danny Glover, Kevin Spacey and Naomi Campbell. But none have been so admiring as Penn, who called Chavez “a fascinating guy” last year and told a reporter, “He is much more positive for Venezuela than he is negative.”

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ROBIN Wright Penn now no longer wants to get a divorce from cranky ladies man Sean Penn. “Extra” confirmed that a dismissal was filed and granted in court Tuesday. Robin filed for divorce from her husband of 11 years on Dec. 21. On the eve of the reconciliation, the couple showed up at an Eddie Vedder concert in Berkeley, Calif., where Penn took the stage to wish his wife a happy birthday. Monday, Penn’s ex-girlfriend, Petra Nemcova, whom he’d squired all over LA during the Oscars, celebrated her single status at the Food Bank for NYC gala at Pier 60, where she flirted up a storm. Also at the event was Gwyneth Paltrow (left, at a separate event), who was honored for her involvement with the organization. When accepting her award, Paltrow planted a big kiss on Mario Batalli’s cheek and told the audience that she was “trashed” since she had been there for five hours.

It’s over for Sean Penn and Robin Wright Penn — but is the actor, 47, already moving on?

Four days before she filed divorce papers in Marin County, California, on December 21, he was spotted dining on Christmas with a “very young, very attractive” brunette at San Francisco’s Café de la Presse restaurant.

“He seemed nervous and on edge,” fellow diner Rob Seide told Usmagazine.com of the actor. “He didn’t seem very happy.”

Penn originally filed divorce papers in Marin County December 7, his attorney Mindy Ross told Us, but the petition was dismissed December 18.

On December 21, Robin Wright Penn, 41, filed her own request for divorce, citing irreconcilable differences. Penn’s divorce papers listed November 30 as the date of their separation; she listed the split date as December 1.

The couple, who have been married for over 11 years, have two kids: Dylan Francis, 16, and Hopper Jack, 14.

“It was bound to happen,” added a source of their split. “He always seemed like a bachelor at heart and the kind of guy who just couldn’t be married for long.”

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