James Franco

JAMES FRANCO TAUGHT A MASTER CLASS IN “SEX SCENES”

James Franco’s career might be somewhat stalled, but he can console himself with the fact that he still has a good head of hair. In 2018, Franco was churning out low budget indie films that he directed, as well as teaching acting classes. Naturally his classes were a hot ticket, but some of the female students accused him of sexual misconduct. He told his students that he would have parts for them in his small films, but it turned out the roles were almost always for “prostitutes or hookers “ involving nudity. The young actresses were desperate to be in his films, and some claimed he took advantage of them. Interesting that Franco also taught a Master Class in sex scenes. Use your imagination. He did apologize for his crass behavior, but certainly his reputation lost some lustre.

Above, James Franco had brunch with friends in New York

Photo Credit: BACKGRID-USA

JAMES FRANCO IS STILL SMARTING FROM BAD BEHAVIOR CHARGES, BUT HE’S ADJUSTING

James Franco has been disgruntled every since he was accused of inappropriate behavior by several actresses just in time to squash his Oscar hopes. He’s obviously struggling to understand just WHAT he did wrong – taking various advantages of young actresses in Hollywood has been accepted for a long time. However, Deuce star Franco IS smart enough to realize that questionable behavior will no longer be tolerated. His girlfriend of nine months, actress Isabel Pakzad (“Ghosted”) never lost faith in him, but she IS fifteen years younger…

Above James Franco and Isabel Pakzad out for the evening in NYC

Photo Credit: BACKGRID-USA

SNUBBED BY OSCAR, JAMES FRANCO IS LUCKY IN LOVE

James Franco, 40, looks like he’s still very much in character for his role as a 1970’s pornographer in The Deuce. He’s in New York with his girlfriend of six months, Isabel Pakzad, 24. She’s still in school – grad school at USC to be exact. Apparently she was undaunted by the sexual misconduct allegations that five women charged him with last fall. (The allegations may or may not have messed up his chances during award show season.) Basically he was accused of taking advantage of young actresses at auditions by asking them to take their clothes off etc. We’re guessing he’s wised up and his future dealings with women will be more respectable.

Photo Credit: Pacific Coast News

JAMES FRANCO IS ONE OF THE LUCKY ONES

James Franco plays twin characters on The Deuce and this season both are sleazier than ever. That hair! That mustache! That COAT! (It appears to be a woman’s.) The second season just started filming in New York where a disreputable looking Times Square in the 70’s has been rebuilt. Franco was on a roll toward the Oscars with The Disaster Artist when five women accused him of inappropriate sexual behavior. Everything ground to a halt and Franco disagreed with his accusers, but didn’t outright call them liars. Whether the scandal ruined his chances for an Oscar nomination is unknown, but his did keep his job on The Deuce. The series producers investigated his behavior on the set and found no problems, so he’s back at work. And wiser, we hope.

Photo Credit: BACKGRID-USA

THE DISASTER ARTIST: TRUTH IS FUNNIER THAN FICTION

Usually we recommend to filmgoers that they avoid reading too much about a movie before seeing it because it spoils the element of surprise. But “The Disaster Artist” is the exact opposite – read all you can about it ahead of time and it will be even FUNNIER. James Franco directed and stars and he does a bang-up job for a change. It’s about a very peculiar and eccentric aspiring filmmaker who happens to have enough money to make his own feature film and proceeds to do so without any experience. The resulting film is called “The Room” and has been described as one of the worst movies ever made and a cult classic. Knowing this twisted story is true makes it extremely entertaining.

JAMES FRANCO EASILY PASSES FOR A SLEAZY PORNOGRAPHER

James Franco and Zoe Kazan REALLY look 1970’s authentic on the set of the upcoming HBO series “The Deuce.” The series is all about the proliferation of the sex industry – porn and prostitution- in New York’s Times Square from the 70’s to the HIV riddled 80’s. The neighborhood was NOT family friendly in those days – it was more of a sex cafeteria with a double order of drugs. Franco’s sideburns and mustache give him the classic pornographer look, and Zoe appears to be a vulnerable recruit. Richard Price (The Night Of) is one of the writers so we have high hopes for this.

Photo Credit: AKM-GSI

JAMES FRANCO: NOT QUITE AS HOT AS HE USED TO BE

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James Franco is REALLY getting into character for his upcoming film “Zeroville.” Not only did he gain a few pounds and shave his head, but he had a temporary tattoo of Elizabeth Taylor and Montgomery Clift in “A Place in the Sun” applied to his head. (The mustache is fake.) He’s directing himself in “Zeroville,” which was a bestselling novel about a student obsessed with movies who moves to Hollywood in the 70’s to find his way in the film business. Franco shot scenes on the red carpet at the Venice Film Festival, above, for his movie. A number of 70’s stars like Ryan O’Neal and Ali MacGraw and Martin Scorsese and Robert DeNiro are expected to appear in cameos, which sounds like fun.

Photo Credit: Pacific Coast News

IS JAMES FRANCO BETTER ON INSTAGRAM THAN HE IS IN REAL LIFE?

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James Franco is not gonna be happy. LA Times critic Charles McNulty gave his Broadway performance in “Of Mice and Men” (with Chris O’Dowd and Leighton Meester) a blistering review. Franco is noted for his almost ridiculously busy schedule – he acts, he teaches, he writes, he directs, he makes appearances everywhere. The Times critic pointed out that this play exposes the limits of his dilettantism and that his intelligence doesn’t serve him here. Franco “seems to be going through the motions and saves his best acting these days for Instagram.” Indeed, before the play opened in New York, Franco admitted that he was rushed, and on his ONLY day off each week he flew back and forth to LA to teach a class. THAT’S how overbooked he is. But he still LOOKS good – McNulty said Franco’s character looked more like a Gap ad than a California migrant worker. And the girls are lined up outside the stage door.

THIS IS THE END: WHAT’S BETTER THAN ACTORS MAKING FUN OF THEMSELVES?

If you’re in the mood to laugh out loud, see This is the End this weekend. It’s about a bunch of actors facing the end of the world and everybody plays caricatures of themselves! James Franco’s movie persona is a pretentious pseudo intellectual with a big dose of vanity. Seth Rogan is an arrogant pothead and Jonah Hill is a fawning fussbudget. Imagine these actors, plus Michael Cera, Rihanna, Paul Rudd, and Jason Segel, among many other famous faces, at a huge party at James Franco’s Hollywood Hills compound on the night the world suddenly erupts in a fury of explosions, fire and monsters. Half the actors are lost in a giant sinkhole outside and a few are left to barricade themselves inside the house and see what happens. Some of the dialog making fun of “actors” is hilarious and the guys skewer their own reputations. It’s vulgar and the plot is iffy, but the one-liners are priceless and you”ll definitely have fun.

IS JAMES FRANCO LIVING UP TO EXPECTATIONS?

James Franco made a fierce and lasting impression when he debuted as James Dean back in 2001, but has he lived up to his promise? Granted he’s expanded his repertoire – he’s been a graduate student, a published writer, a director of documentaries, a teacher. A real jack of all trades. But his acting career is somewhat disappointing – with the exception of Milk and 127 Hours (which we couldn’t bear to watch.) Now he’s starring in “Oz: the Great and Powerful” and it’s nothing to brag about. Can someone give James a decent script?

Photo Credit: Pacific Coast News