james franco Tagged Articles at Cinematical

As much as I love James Franco (for reasons both personal and professional) I sometimes worry he's going to wear out his welcome with these shorts that keep popping up wherever you look. So far, we've had acting lessons, re-enactments of The Hills, commencement speeches, and even abstract art ... and now we've got Gucci. Over at Funny or Die, they have the latest comedy short which is presented as outtakes from the actor's turn as a spokesmodel for Gucci, and even though you know what to expect from the moment you hit play, that doesn't mean that it won't make you laugh (in my case there was even a little snorting involved).

But maybe the genius of Franco is that you can never quite guess what he's going to do next (I mean, I don't think anyone saw the General Hospital stint coming). He's still a movie star after all, though, and his upcoming roles in the Steve Carell and Tina Fey comedy Date Night, along with his portrayal of Beat poet Allan Ginsberg in Howl, guarantees that his comedic and dramatic skills won't be going to waste any time soon. But as this short proves, maybe his most memorable attribute will always be that he's never afraid to make a complete ass of himself -- a lovable quality if there ever was one.

After the jump: what Gucci didn't want you to see and another Franco classic....

The hooker with a heart of gold is a Hollywood staple, but usually when we're talking about the 'pay to play' types, we're dealing with the female species. So who better to take a role as 'man candy' than Chris Evans? I mean, just look to your right -- is it any surprise he's the crush of girls and guys everywhere? In an interview with Prestige, Sharon Stone told them she would be working with Evans in the somewhat poorly named drama, Satisfaction, where Evans will play a male prostitute whose career has hit the skids.

According to Stone, the story will center on Evans' character as he's beginning to lose his cache with his agency, but when he hooks up with a new client (played by Stone), his career soon begins to take off again. This is no Pretty Woman tale, though, because what starts off as a partnership between the two turns into a vicious battle of the sexes ... with plenty of, ahem, sex.

Evans is still filming the comic book adaptation The Losers, but then it's off to start work on Satisfaction which will start shooting this January on location in Europe.

After the jump: Evans joins the ranks of these famous Hollywood hustlers...

Usually, soap operas provide the gateway to bigger gigs. One could go on and on about the big-time names that popped up in the overly dramatic worlds of the soaps. Brad Pitt was in Another World; Kevin Bacon drank a lot on Guiding Light; Leonardo DiCaprio spent time on Santa Barbara; and Meg Ryan dealt with life As the World Turns. General Hospital alone let loose Demi Moore, Rick Springfield, John Stamos, Jack Wagner, and Mark Hamill. And now the famous hospital in Port Charles is attracting Hollywood talent.

Collective jaws dropped yesterday as word hit that James Franco would be picking up a guest spot on the popular ABC soap General Hospital. We're not talking a 1-off appearance. SoapNet reports that he'll start on November 20 and be there for a number of weeks, making life difficult for Jason Morgan. But that's not the kicker. They claim Franco was the one who came up with the idea. (Although that could just be misinterpreting a quote expressing the surprise that someone of his "caliber would choose to spend some of his valuable time" on the soap.)

None of this makes sense. There's been a lot of chatter about the struggles of soap operas these days, so it's not exactly an irresistible sort of gig. While the economy is bad, Franco has been busy with a lot of projects, so he can't be strapped for cash. So what makes a popular Hollywood actor decide to (maybe) approach a soap opera and sign on for a pretty long stint? There has been mention of Franco having the same manager as Steve Burton (Jason Morgan), but that's a pretty weak reason.

Are we witnessing a new, and baffling, trend?

I am trying to keep my expectations very low for Your Highness, the medieval comedy headed by Danny McBride and James Franco, but it's so hard, especially since they keep adding such promising cast members. Now The Hollywood Reporter says they have added another fair maiden to keep the testosterone levels down: Zooey Deschanel.

To refresh your memory, Highness centers on a lazy, arrogant prince (played by McBride, naturally) who must go on a knightly quest to save his father's kingdom. Joining him is his heroic brother, played by James Franco. (And he's so perfect for this with those Pre-Raphaelite looks of his.) Natalie Portman plays a warrior princess, who wins the heart of McBride, while Deschanel plays Belladonna, Franco's virginal bride. It's not clear if she goes along on the quest, but something tells me she's probably left behind in a tower, and abandoning her chastity belt.

Directed by David Gordon Green, it's set to begin shooting this month in Northern Ireland. I'm keeping my expectations low because fantasy / medieval comedy is one of those things that sounds great in theory, but often comes off pretty lame. (Who has pulled it off besides Chaucer and Danny Kaye?) But McBride and Franco just keep hitting it out of the park, so bring on those hobbit weed jokes. And the photos. I can't wait to see the costumes.

You know, I've always gotten an irrational thrill from watching good old fashioned physical destruction -- rock stars trashing hotel rooms, Gallagher sledge-hammering watermelons, you name it. Sure, it's a little immature of me, but I place the blame on my 'inner child', who's been known to be a little destructive now and again. So, personal idiosyncrasies aside, I have to ask: is there anyone who wouldn't enjoy watching lovable stoner James Franco wield a staple gun?

The Room Before and After is a 32-minute short film that appears in the latest issue of Wholpin (McSweeney's DVD magazine), and was directed by McSweeney's founder, Dave Eggers. There are other films included in the issue for the Room series starring Creed Bratton from The Office and comedian Maria Bamford, but I don't know if they contain quite the same level of mayhem as Franco's installment. The clip is the perfect combination of McSweeney's (and presumably Franco's) style of high-art mixed with abstract silliness, and it's a great of example of how Franco has slowly become one of the most interesting actors working today. He has the same great sense for silly comedy that he does for dramatic work -- and without the usual hang-ups of so many 'serious' actors. Not to mention, you have to love a guy that can go from likable weirdo to just plain weird in 51 seconds flat.

After the jump: Franco lays waste to a studio apartment and another of his famous 'freakouts'...

Last Wednesday, I threw on Jeff Buckley - Live in Chicago and got to work. One of the times I glanced at the TV screen, a thought occurred to me: Robert Pattinson could pull off a decent Jeff Buckley. He's only a few years younger than the musician was during the creation of Grace; he's a got a slew of musical talents; and has a similar look. Heck, I even tweeted about it. Only a few days later, in a turn that taps into my collective conscience/coincidence question, there's a mass of buzz about a Buckley biopic.

ABC News reports that Pattinson and James Franco are in a showdown to play the musician in the upcoming biopic. There's not much beef to this account, and they get it wrong that "Hallelujah" was released posthumously (it was on Grace), so it doesn't seem definitive. However, an older news release down under explains things in detail. The Sunday Mail reports that Buckley's mother Mary Guibert is overseeing the project, with producers Michelle Sy (Finding Neverland) and Orion Williams (Control !!) and screenwriter Ryan Jaffe (the less-promising The Rocker). (With the inclusion of Sy and Guibert, this must be the project that began cooking three years ago, although writer/director Brian Jun is not mentioned.)

I like this James Franco chap. Always have. Part of it, I think, is that he never seems like he's slumming. It would have been real easy to phone in Harry Osborne in Spider-Man -- it seems like such a thankless role -- but he wound up giving one of the most finely calibrated performances in the franchise. It would have been even easier to milk his heartthrob qualities for a banal and lucrative career. Instead, he's constantly doing something challenging. And even when he's not, e.g. in total junk food like Annapolis, he tries to add value.

I think I like the guy even more after this story. Franco is enrolled in the masters program in directing at NYU -- points for both ambition ("I want to direct") and humility ("I need to learn how"). (Apparently he's also, simultaneously, getting his masters in English from Columbia, which is sort of insane.) Before heading off to film David Gordon Green's follow-up to Pineapple Express, Franco will headline a low-budget project directed by his professor, Jay Anania.

Anania -- little brother to Elizabeth Edwards, weird fact! -- last directed Martin Donovan and Olympia Dukakis in the little-seen Day of Fire, an avant-garde take on post-9/11 New York. The new movie, saddled with the rather precious title In Praise of Shadows, tells the story of a dude who returns to New York City after four years "in exile" (?) to rescue a woman from the mob.

I guess it helps to have a famous student -- especially one without a bloated ego.

I really enjoy Natalie Portman when she cuts loose and has some fun (albeit not in that Manic Pixie Dream Girl sort of way) outside of her dramatic indie fare. So color me happy that she's just signed onto a comedy. It's not just any comedy either, as Variety reports that she's joined Your Highness, the medieval farce starring James Franco and Danny McBride.

As you might remember, Your Highness teams McBride and Franco back up with their Pinapple Express director, David Gordon Green. McBride (who penned the script with Ben Best) plays an arrogant, lazy prince who teams up with his brother (played by Franco) to complete a quest, save the kingdom, and Franco's fiancee. Portman will play "a warrior princess" that McBride's prince falls in love with. So, you know what this means -- Portman will be clad in strategically placed leather and chainmail, and that sound you heard was the lustful groan of a million fanboys imagining her doing high kicks. Well played, McBride. Well played.

The film begins shooting this July in Ireland. As you wait for the first photos to emerge from production, you can start Photoshopping Xena: Warrior Princess and Red Sonja outfits on Portman, and see how close fantasy matches reality.

Yeah, Mark Wahlberg has come a long way since his Marky Mark days. In fact, if there is anyone that the young and cherubic pop icons should try to emulate, it's him. Wrenching your way out of your niche is one thing. Moving from a good, vibrating, spunky underwear model to notable big-screen name -- that takes talent. But these days, that's talent has been squeezed into the serious with no room left for laughs.

Until now. Five years after his Huckabees angst, The Hollywood Reporter posts that Wahlberg is signing on to 20th Century Fox's upcoming comedy, Date Night. In fact, this will be his first all-out mainstream comedy, setting aside existential detectives and Middle-East action laughs. Date Night follows a couple who go out for dinner and a movie, and then get mistaken as other people -- that leads to, one would assume, comic moments.

As Eric pointed out when the news first hit last year that Steve Carell and Tina Fey joined the project -- it's getting directed by Cheaper by the Dozen helmer Shawn Levy, which doesn't bode well. But the cast certainly does. Fey and Carell are the couple, while Wahlberg will play a black ops man in private security who offers to help them. But there's more. James Franco somehow found time in his schedule to sign on and play a "dim con man," the Oscar-nominated Taraji P. Henson will play a cop who doesn't take things at face value, Common and Jimmi Simpson will play detectives on the take, Leighton Meester will play the couple's babysitter, and Kristen Wiig will play Fey's best friend.

Could all of these names have signed on if this was going to be like other Levy features? Maybe he's ready to surprise us.

It looks like David Gordon Green has added another actor to his oft-used cast list, which already boasts the likes of Danny McBride, and it's one super-sweet addition. According to Variety, James Franco is re-teaming with Green and McBride for Universal's upcoming comedy Your Highness -- the film that kicked into gear almost a year ago.

While the project might be just one Seth Rogen away from a complete Pineapple Express re-team, this idea is quite different than killer pot and killer pot dealers -- even if the title can be interpreted in a Mary Jane sort of way. Believe it or not, Your Highness will follow "two spoiled and arrogant princes" living in a fantastical medieval setting when some evil wizard comes along, steals the older prince's fiance, and puts a spell on their dad, spurring them to go out on a quest to save their family and kingdom. Oh yes, McBride and Franco as brothers, princes, and possibly, heroes.

As a fan of Franco in anything other than Spider-Man (nothing against the guy -- the character is just too annoying to enjoy), this sounds insane enough to be fun. And while it's still a bit more mainstream than the direction Green's mentality seems to sway, at least this project has some original promise.