Sean Penn takes time off for family

Sean Penn has decided to take an indefinite hiatus from Hollywood to spend some time with his family, specifically, with daughter Dylan, 18, and son Hopper, 15, People.com reports.

Penn, who won an Oscar for his performance in "Milk" earlier this year, filed for a legal separation from wife Robin Wright Penn, only to rescind it later.

The projects affected most by his decision are the Farrelly brothers' "The Three Stooges," where he plays curly-haired Larry to Jim Carrey's Curly and Benicio Del Toro's Moe, and mafia thriller "Cartel."

Mara Buxbaum, Penn's publicist said,"We indeed informed both productions that Sean was not available now. If for whatever reason the start dates on these productions were to be postponed, Sean would happily remain involved."

The Farrelly Brothers are reportedly going to wait for Penn to start production, though it was supposed to start shooting in August 2009 and was eyeing a 2010 release.

Universal and Imagine Entertainment, producers of "Cartel," however, have decided that they will recast Penn's part.