Danny Boyle
Boyle in November 2008
Born	Daniel Boyle (1956-10-20) 20 October 1956 (age 55) Radcliffe, Lancashire
Occupation	Director/Producer
Years active	1980–present
Awards	Academy Award for Best Director 2009 for Slumdog Millionaire

Daniel "Danny" Boyle (born 20 October 1956) is an English filmmaker and producer. He is best known for his work on films such as Slumdog Millionaire, Shallow Grave, 127 Hours, 28 Days Later, Sunshine and Trainspotting. For Slumdog Millionaire, Boyle won numerous awards in 2008, including the Academy Award for Best Director. Boyle was presented with the Extraordinary Contribution to Filmmaking Award at the 2008 Austin Film Festival, where he also introduced that year's AFF Audience Award Winner Slumdog Millionaire. On 17 June 2010, it was announced that he will be the Artistic Director for the 2012 Olympic games opening ceremony.^[1]

Early life and background[link]

Boyle was born on 20 October 1956 in Radcliffe, Lancashire, (now in the modern day metropolitan borough of Bury, Greater Manchester)^[2] into a working-class Irish Catholic family. His mother was from Ballinasloe in County Galway, and his father was born in England to an Irish family.^[3]

It was a very strict, Catholic family. I was an altar boy for eight years, I was supposed to be a priest and really, it was my mother's fondest wish that I would become one.^[3]

When he was 14 years old, Boyle applied to transfer from his local school to a seminary near Wigan, but was dissuaded from doing so by a priest. During an interview with The Times for his film Millions, he said:

I was meant to be a priest until I was 14, I was going to transfer to a seminary near Wigan. But this priest, Father Conway, took me aside and said, ‘I don’t think you should go’. Whether he was saving me from the priesthood or the priesthood from me, I don’t know. But quite soon after, I started doing drama. And there’s a real connection, I think. All these directors — Martin Scorsese, John Woo, M. Night Shyamalan — they were all meant to be priests. There’s something very theatrical about it. It’s basically the same job — poncing around, telling people what to think.^[4][5]

In a 2007 interview, Boyle said he no longer practiced Catholicism and described himself as a "spiritual atheist."^[6]

He studied at Thornleigh Salesian College in Bolton,^[7] and at Bangor University.^[2] While at university Boyle dated the actress Frances Barber.^[8] Boyle has three children with ex-girlfriend Gail Stevens who is the casting director on his films.^[9]

Boyle is a trustee of the UK-based, African arts charity Dramatic Need.^[10]

Boyle is also a fan of the football team Bury FC.

Career[link]

Theatre[link]

Upon leaving school he began his career at the Joint Stock Theatre Company, before moving onto the Royal Court Theatre in 1982 where he directed The Genius by Howard Brenton and Saved by Edward Bond. He also directed five productions for the Royal Shakespeare Company.^[11] In 2011 he directed Frankenstein for the National Theatre.^[12] This production was broadcast to cinemas as a part of National Theatre Live on 17 March 2011.^[13]

Television[link]

In 1982 Boyle started working in television as a producer for BBC Northern Ireland where he produced, amongst other TV films, Alan Clarke's controversial Elephant before becoming a director on shows such as Arise And Go Now, Not Even God Is Wise Enough, For The Greater Good, Scout and two^[14] episodes of Inspector Morse. These were Masonic Mysteries, and Cherubim and Seraphim. He was also responsible for the BBC2 series Mr. Wroe's Virgins.^[11] Danny Boyle is not to be confused with a different Daniel Boyle, who is not related, who scripted five original teleplays for Inspector Morse at about this time, and who has continued to write and adapt crime stories for television including much of the popular series Hamish Macbeth.^[15]

In between the films The Beach and 28 Days Later Boyle directed two TV movies for the BBC in 2001 – Vacuuming Completely Nude In Paradise and Strumpet.^[16] He has also appeared on Top Gear and drove the fastest wet lap at that time.

Films[link]

Boyle's love for film began with his first viewing of Apocalypse Now:

It had eviscerated my brain, completely. I was an impressionable twenty-one-year-old guy from the sticks. My brain had not been fed and watered with great culture, you know, as art is meant to do. It had been sandblasted by the power of cinema. And that’s why cinema, despite everything we try to do, it remains a young man’s medium, really, in terms of audience.^[17]

The first movie Boyle directed was Shallow Grave.^[11] The film was the most commercially successful British film of 1995^[18] and led to the production of Trainspotting, based on the novel by Irvine Welsh.^[19] Working with writer John Hodge and producer Andrew Macdonald, Shallow Grave earned Boyle the Best Newcomer Award from the 1996 London Film Critics Circle.^[18] Shallow Grave and Trainspotting caused critics to claim that Boyle had revitalised British cinema in the early 90's.^[11]

He then moved to Hollywood and sought a production deal with a major US studio. He declined an offer to direct the fourth film of the Alien franchise, instead making A Life Less Ordinary using British finance.^[20][21]

Boyle's next project was an adaptation of the cult novel The Beach. Filmed in Thailand with Leonardo DiCaprio in a starring role, casting of the film led to a feud with Ewan McGregor, star of his first three films.^[11] He then collaborated with author Alex Garland on the post-apocalyptic horror film 28 Days Later.^[22]

He also directed a short film Alien Love Triangle (starring Kenneth Branagh), and was intended to be one of three shorts within a feature film. However the project was cancelled after the two other shorts were made into feature films: Mimic starring Mira Sorvino and Impostor starring Gary Sinise.^[23]

In 2004 Boyle directed Millions,^[4] scripted by Frank Cottrell Boyce.^[24] His next collaboration with Alex Garland^[4] was the science-fiction film Sunshine, featuring 28 Days Later star Cillian Murphy, and was released in 2007.^[25]

Boyle at the 2008 Toronto International Film Festival

In 2008 he directed Slumdog Millionaire, the story of an impoverished child (Dev Patel) on the streets of Mumbai who competes on India's variant of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?, for which Boyle won an Academy Award. The film won eight Academy Awards in total.^[26] "To be a film-maker...you have to lead. You have to be psychotic in your desire to do something. People always like the easy route. You have to push very hard to get something unusual, something different."^[11] Andrew Macdonald, producer of Trainspotting, said "Boyle takes a subject that you've often seen portrayed realistically, in a politically correct way, whether it's junkies or slum orphans, and he has managed to make it realistic but also incredibly uplifting and joyful."^[11]

In 2010, Boyle directed the film 127 Hours, starring James Franco, Amber Tamblyn and Kate Mara. It was based on Aron Ralston's autobiography Between a Rock and a Hard Place, which detailed his struggle of being trapped under a boulder while canyoneering alone near Moab, Utah and resorting to desperate measures in order to survive. The film was released on 5 November 2010 to critical acclaim and to which Franco received an Oscar nomination.

Boyle's next film will be another installment of the 28 Days Later franchise.^[27] Boyle has stated previously that in theory it will be a sequel titled 28 Months Later, but alluded to a film taking place somewhere else in the world he created in 28 Days Later & 28 Weeks Later. He will also help produce the upcoming film Paani.

In a webchat interview with Empire Magazine, Boyle stated on more than one occasion his enthusiasm to work again with Ewan Mcgregor on his next feature film.

Recurring collaborators[link]

Awards[link]

Boyle at Ryerson University, Toronto, Canada, 10 September 2008

[edit] Shallow Grave

• 1995 Angers European First Film Festival
  • Audience Award, feature film.
  • Best Screenplay, feature film.
  • Liberation Advertisement Award.
• 1995 BAFTA – Alexander Korda Award for best British film (shared with Andrew Macdonald).^[18]
• 1995 Cognac Festival du Film Policier
  • Audience Award.
  • Grand Prix.
• 1994 Dinard British Film Festival
  • Golden Hitchcock.
• 1996 Empire Award
  • Best Director.
• 1996 Evening Standard British Film Award
  • Most Promising Newcomer.
• 1995 Fantasporto (Portugal)
  • International Fantasy Film Award, Best Film.
• 1994 San Sebastian International Film Festival
  • Silver Seashell, Best Director.

[edit] Trainspotting

• 1997 BAFTA Scotland Awards
  • Best Feature Film.
• 1997 Bodil Award (Denmark)
  • Best Non-American Film (Bedste ikke-amerikanske film)
• 1997 Czech Lions
  • Best Foreign Language Film (Nejlepší zahraniční film)
• 1997 Empire Award
  • Best Director.
• 1996 Seattle International Film Festival
  • Golden Space Needle Award, Best Director.
• 1996 Warsaw International Film Festival
  • Audience Award.

[edit] 28 Days Later

• 2003 Fantasporto (Portugal)
  • Grand Prize of European Fantasy Film in Silver.
  • International Fantasy Film Award, Best Director.
• 2003 Neuchâtel International Fantasy Film Festival
  • Best International Film.

[edit] Slumdog Millionaire

• 2009 Academy Awards
  • Best Director
• 2008 Austin Film Festival
  • Audience Award, out of competition feature.
• 2009 BAFTA
  • Best Director
• 2008 British Independent Film Awards
  • Best Director
• 2009 Broadcast Film Critics Association Awards
  • Best Director
• 2008 Chicago Film Critics Association Awards
  • Best Director
• 2008 Chicago International Film Festival
  • Audience Choice Award
• 2009 Golden Globes
  • Best Director – Motion Picture
• 2008 Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards
  • Best Director
• 2008 Satellite Awards
  • Best Director
• 2008 Southeastern Film Critics Association Awards
  • Best Director
• 2008 St. Louis International Film Festival
  • Audience Choice Award – Best International Feature
• 2008 Toronto International Film Festival
  • Audience Choice Award

Career awards[link]

• Mayor's Career Achievement Award: Presented by Starz Denver Film Festival^[28]

Filmography[link]

Released films

Filmography by awards[link]

As Director[link]

Planned films

• Trance (2012)
• Midnight Express (2012 or 2013)
• Untitled 28 Weeks Later Sequel (TBA)^[30]
• Ponte Tower (TBA)^[31]
• Trainspotting sequel (TBA)^[32]
• Paani (producer)^[33]

Due to his interest in music, Boyle has mentioned in interviews that he has considered a musical film with original compositions. Boyle has also expressed interest in an animated movie.^[34]

Further reading[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Danny Boyle

• Danny Boyle at the Internet Movie Database
• Danny Boyle biography and credits at the British Film Institute's Screenonline
• Interview about Slumdog Millionaire on MyNorthwest.com
• Podcast with Danny Boyle on Intent.com
• Slumdog Millionaire

James Franco
Franco in October 2011
Born	James Edward Franco (1978-04-19) April 19, 1978 (age 34) Palo Alto, California, U.S.
Alma mater	University of California, Los Angeles
Occupation	Actor, artist, and filmmaker
Years active	1997–present

James Edward Franco (born April 19, 1978) is an American actor. His first prominent role was a lead part on the short-lived cult hit television program Freaks and Geeks; he later achieved recognition for playing the titular character in the TV biographical film James Dean (2001), for which he was awarded a Golden Globe Award. He achieved international fame with his portrayals of Harry Osborn in Sam Raimi's Spider-Man trilogy.

Franco has won or been nominated for a number of awards. He has done both dramatic and comedic work in projects and has appeared in an eclectic range of films since the 2000s, ranging from period to contemporary pieces, and from major Hollywood productions to less publicized indie films, as well as fantasy films to biopics and soap operas. Other notable films include Pineapple Express, a 2008 stoner comedy that earned him his second Golden Globes nomination; the 2008 Harvey Milk-biopic Milk; and Danny Boyle's 2010 drama film 127 Hours, about real-life mountain climber Aron Ralston's struggle to free his hand from a boulder. His performance in 127 Hours earned him nominations for many high-profile awards, including the Academy Awards, Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild Awards. In 2011, he starred opposite Andy Serkis in Rupert Wyatt's successful science fiction film Rise of the Planet of the Apes, a reboot of the Planet of the Apes franchise. Since 2009, he has played a recurring role in the ABC daytime soap opera General Hospital.

Franco has hosted Saturday Night Live twice, as well as the 83rd Academy Awards with Anne Hathaway. He volunteers for the Art of Elysium charity. Franco currently teaches a class at New York University about transferring poetry to film.^[1]

Early life and family[link]

Nicknamed "Ted," James Edward Franco was born in Palo Alto, California. His mother, Betsy Lou (née Verne), is a poet, author, and editor, and his father, Douglas Eugene "Doug" Franco (1948–2011),^[2] ran a non-profit agency and a shipping container security company. The two met as students at Stanford University.^[3][4][5] Franco's father was of Portuguese (from the Madeira island) and Swedish descent;^[6] Franco's mother is Jewish, a descendant of immigrants from Russia (her family's surname had been changed from "Verovitz" to "Verne").^[7][8] His paternal grandmother, Marjorie (Peterson) Franco, is a published author of young adult books;^[5][9] his maternal grandmother, Mitzie (Levine) Verne, owns the Verne Art Gallery, a prominent art gallery in Cleveland, and was an active member in the National Council of Jewish Women.^[10][11][12]

Franco's family upbringing was "academic, liberal and largely secular."^[13] He grew up in California with his two younger brothers, Tom and Dave ("Davy"), the latter of whom is also an actor.^[14] Talented at mathematics, Franco interned at Lockheed Martin.^[3] Franco was often encouraged by his father to get good grades and did well on his SATs.^[13] He graduated from Palo Alto High School in 1996, where he acted in plays.^[3][15] In his high school years, Franco was arrested for underage drinking, graffiti, and for being a part of a group that stole designer fragrances from department stores and sold them to classmates.^[16] These arrests led to him briefly becoming a ward of the state. Facing the possibility of juvenile hall, Franco was given a second chance by the judge.^[6] "It was teen angst. I was uncomfortable in my own skin. I was shy. I changed my ways just in time to get good grades," he recalled of his troubles with the law.^[13]

Although the idea of becoming a marine zoologist interested him, Franco had always secretly wanted to become an actor but feared rejection.^[6] He enrolled at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) as an English major,^[17] but dropped out after his freshman year against his parents' wishes^[3] to pursue a career as an actor, since he would have to have waited two years to audition for their acting program.^[6] Franco instead chose to take acting lessons with Robert Carnegie at the Playhouse West.^[15] Around this time, Franco took up a late-night job at McDonald's to support himself since his parents refused to do so. He was a vegetarian until working there.^[16] While working at the establishment, for his acting classes, he would practice accents on customers.^[6] Knowing that the aspiring actor was doing his best to follow his passion, Carnegie told Franco to pay him what he could and later on pay him back.^[6]

Acting career[link]

Early work[link]

After 15 months of training he began auditioning in Los Angeles, and started professionally acting in 1997 with guest roles on television shows. His first break came in 1999, after he was cast in a leading role on the short-lived but well-reviewed television series Freaks and Geeks.^[18] The program, which ran for 18 episodes and was canceled due to low viewership, later became a cult hit among audiences.^[19] He has since described the series as "one of the most fun" work experiences that he has had.^[20] In another interview, Franco said: "When we were doing Freaks and Geeks, I didn’t quite understand how movies and TV worked, and I would improvise even if the camera wasn’t on me ... So I was improvising a little bit back then, but not in a productive way."^[21] Franco made his film debut in a brief role in the 1999 Drew Barrymore-starring Never Been Kissed and his first major movie was the romantic teen comedy Whatever It Takes (2000), in which he played popular jock Chris. The latter is a modern day remake of the 1897 play Cyrano de Bergerac.^[22][23]

He was subsequently cast as the title role in director Mark Rydell's 2001 TV biographical film James Dean.^[24][25] To immerse himself in the role, Franco went from being a non-smoker to smoking two packs of cigarettes a day, dyed his dark brown hair blond, and learned to ride a motorcycle as well as play guitar and the bongos.^[24] To have a greater understanding of Dean, Franco spent hours with two of Dean's associates. Other research included reading books on Dean and studying his movies.^[24] While filming James Dean, the actor, to get into character, cut off communication with his family and friends, as well as his then-girlfriend. "It was a very lonely existence," he notes. "If I wasn't on a set, I was watching James Dean. That was my whole thinking. James Dean. James Dean."^[24] Despite already being a fan of Dean, Franco feared he might be typecast if he'd captured the actor too convincingly. Ken Tucker of Entertainment Weekly wrote: "Franco could have walked through the role and done a passable Dean, but instead gets under the skin of this insecure, rootless young man."^[26] He received a Golden Globe Award and nominations for an Emmy Award and a Screen Actors Guild Award (SAG).^[27][28][29]

2002–2007[link]

Franco achieved worldwide fame and attention in the 2002 superhero film Spider-Man, when he played Harry Osborn, the son of the villainous Green Goblin (Willem Dafoe) and best friend of the title character (Tobey Maguire). Originally, Franco was considered for the lead role of Spider-Man/Peter Parker in the film,^[30] though the lead went to Maguire. Todd McCarthy of Variety noted that there are "good moments" between Maguire and Franco in the film.^[31] Spider-Man was a commercial and critical success.^[32] The movie grossed $114 million during its opening weekend in North America and went on to earn $822 million worldwide.^[33] He next starred in Sonny, a 2002 release in which he was directed by fellow actor Nicolas Cage. It was Cage's involvement that had attracted Franco to the film.^[34] Set in 1980s New Orleans, Sonny follows the titular character (Franco) returning home after just being discharged from the Army. To prepare for his role, he met with sex workers or people who had previously been prostitutes.^[34] The movie was panned by critics, with the New York Posts Lou Lumenick calling it an "instant candidate for worst movie of the year."^[35] Franco was cast as a homeless drug addict in the drama City by the Sea (2002) after co-star Robert De Niro saw a snippet of his work in James Dean.^[24] He lived on the streets for several days to better understand the subject of the matter^[36] as well as talk to former or still using drug addicts.^[34] Both projects were released in September.

Franco at the Spider-Man 3 premiere, April 2007

Following City by the Sea, he co-starred alongside Neve Campbell in Robert Altman's ballet movie The Company (2003).^[13] The success of the first Spider-Man film led Franco to reprise the role in the 2004 sequel, Spider-Man 2. The movie was well received by critics,^[32] and it proved to be a big financial success, setting a new opening weekend box office record for North America.^[37] With revenue of $783 million worldwide, it became the second highest grossing film in 2004.^[33] The following year he made and starred in the black comedy The Ape^[13] and the 2005 war film The Great Raid, in which he portrayed Robert Prince, a captain in the United States Army's elite Sixth Ranger Battalion. In 2006, Franco co-starred with Tyrese Gibson in Annapolis and played legendary hero Tristan in Tristan & Isolde, a period piece dramatization of the Tristan and Iseult story also starring British actress Sophia Myles. For the former, he did eight months of boxing training and for the latter, he practiced horseback riding and sword fighting.^[38] He then completed training for his Private Pilot Licence in preparation for his role in Flyboys,^[16] which was released in September 2006; the same month, Franco appeared briefly in The Wicker Man, the remake of the seminal horror film. Also in 2006, he made a cameo appearance in the romantic comedy The Holiday.^[25]

He again played Harry Osborn in Spider-Man 3 (2007). In contrast to the previous two films' positive reviews, Spider-Man 3 was met with a mixed reception by critics.^[32] Nonetheless, with a total worldwide gross of $891 million, it stands as the most successful film in the series, and Franco's highest grossing film to date.^[33] In this same year, Franco made a cameo appearance as himself in the Apatow-directed comedy Knocked Up, which starred Freaks and Geeks alumni Seth Rogen, Jason Segel and Martin Starr.^[16] Franco co-starred with Sienna Miller in the low-budget independent films Camille, a dark fantasy dramedy about a young newly wed couple and Interview, where he appears in a voice only role, both 2007 movies that were ignored by audiences and critics alike. Among his other 2007 projects were Good Time Max, which Franco wrote, directed and starred in. The movie premiered at the 2007 Tribeca Film Festival and centers around two talented brothers who take very diverse paths in life, one going on to become a doctor whilst the other sibling (Franco) experiences unemployment and uses drugs. The actor chose to cast himself in that role because, "It was really just a process of elimination. I was better suited for this role than the responsible surgeon."^[39]

2008–2010[link]

He next starred in Pineapple Express (2008), a stoner comedy co-starring and co-written by Rogen and produced by Apatow.^[20][40] Of Franco's character, Apatow said, "You tell him, 'Okay, you're going to play a pot dealer,' and he comes back with a three-dimensional character you totally believe exists. He takes it very seriously, even when it's comedy."^[41] In her New York Times review, critic Manohla Dargis wrote: "He’s delightful as Saul, loosey-goosey and goofy yet irrepressibly sexy, despite that greasy curtain of hair and a crash pad with a zero WAF (Woman Acceptance Factor). It’s an unshowy, generous performance and it greatly humanizes a movie that, as it shifts genre gears and cranks up the noise, becomes disappointingly sober and self-serious."^[42] His performance earned him a second Golden Globe nomination, for Best Actor in a Musical or Comedy.^[27] He has stated in some interviews that he no longer uses cannabis (although he has occasionally alluded to his smoking marijuana, most notably during an extended segment on The Colbert Report.^[43]) He was awarded High Times magazine's Stoner of the Year Award for his work in Pineapple Express.^[44] In 2008 he also appeared in two films by American artist Carter, exhibited at the Yvon Lambert gallery in Paris.^[45] On September 20, 2008, he hosted the sketch comedy show Saturday Night Live (SNL),^[46] and a second time on December 19, 2009.^[47]

Franco starred opposite Sean Penn, Josh Brolin, and Emile Hirsch in Gus Van Sant's Milk (2008).^[48] In the film, he played Scott Smith, the boyfriend of Harvey Milk (Penn). Kenneth Turan of the Los Angeles Times, in review of the film, wrote: "Franco is a nice match for him [Penn] as the lover who finally has enough of political life."^[49] For his performance in the film, Franco won the Independent Spirit Award in the category for Best Supporting Actor.^[50] In late 2009, he joined the cast of the daytime soap opera General Hospital on a recurring basis. He plays Franco, a multimedia artist much like himself,^[3] who comes to Port Charles with unfinished business with mob enforcer Jason Morgan (Steve Burton).^[51] Franco has called his General Hospital role performance art. In March 2011, he will reprise his role in two episodes of General Hospital.^[52] In September 2011, Franco will reprise his role as Robert "Franco" Frank for an extended stay.^[53]

2010 was a prolific year for Franco. He kicked off the year by making an appearance on the sitcom 30 Rock where he played himself and carried on a fake romance with Jenna Maroney (Jane Krakowski) in a scheme concocted by their respective agents.^[54] After appearing in the commercial successes Date Night, an action comedy, and Eat Pray Love, an adaption of a novel, Franco played poet Allen Ginsberg in the drama Howl, released on September 24.^[8] The latter, about his most known poem and the trial about the work, premiered at the Berlin Film Festival and earned modest reviews.^[32]

His next project was 127 Hours, directed by Academy Award winner Danny Boyle, where Franco portrayed real-life mountain climber Aron Ralston. It was given a limited release starting on November 5, 2010.^[56] 127 Hours centered on Ralston trying to free his hand after it became trapped under a boulder in a ravine while canyoneering alone in Utah and resorting to desperate measures in order to survive, eventually amputating his arm. During the five-week, 12-hours-per-day shoot, Franco would only leave the gully set to use the lavatory and would read books such as academic textbooks to keep busy.^[57] Franco later called making 127 Hours a once in a life time experience.^[55] To date, 127 Hours is one of his most well-reviewed movies^[32] and was also a commercial success, commissioning $57.5 million against an $18 million budget.^[56] His performance earned him universal acclaim from critics. Subsequently, he was nominated for most of the high-profile awards, notably an Academy Award, Golden Globe and SAG as well as winning an Independent Spirit Award.

2011–present[link]

On February 23, Franco made a cameo appearance on NBC's Minute to Win It where the real-life Ralston was participating as a contestant playing for charity.^[58] After having an uncredited cameo in the opening scene of The Green Hornet (2011),^[59] he starred opposite Natalie Portman and Danny McBride in the Medieval fantasy comedy Your Highness^[60] on April 8. In it he plays Fabious, a prince who teams up with his brother (McBride) to rescue Fabious' soon to be bride (played by Zooey Deschanel). In May 2010, he was cast to star in Rupert Wyatt's $90 million budgeted Rise of the Planet of the Apes, a reboot of the Planet of the Apes series^[61] which was released on August 5. Franco has also announced that in the fall of 2011, he will appear on Broadway with Nicole Kidman in the upcoming revival of Sweet Bird of Youth by Tennessee Williams, which will be directed by David Cromer.^[62] Franco will star alongside Winona Ryder in a film entitled The Stare, which is to be directed by Jay Anania. Production began in New York on May 6, 2011. He was cast as a drug-addicted lawyer in Cherry, which will start shooting the following month in California and also star Heather Graham.^[63] He dropped out of the indie While We're Young^[64] to star in Oz: The Great and Powerful, a Disney prequel to L. Frank Baum's The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (1900), as the Wizard, superseding Johnny Depp. Filming began in July.

Franco at the "My Own Private River" Film Society Of Lincoln Center Screening & Q&A 2012

At the end of September 2010, the actor acquired the rights to Stephen Elliott's The Adderall Diaries, with the intentions to adapt, direct and star in it.^[65] It was announced in January 2011 that the actor has planned to not only star in but direct himself in The Night Stalker, a film version of author Philip Carlo's book about the 1980s serial killer, Richard Ramirez. Co-screenwriter to the screenplay, Nicholas Constantine, was initially unconvinced that Franco would be right for the movie, until he learned of Franco's desire to be a director and later watched three of his short films, one of which featured a serial killer, ultimately confirming to the writer that the actor had a darker side.^[66] One of his other upcoming projects, The Iceman, will reunite Franco with Michael Shannon, after the two worked together on the short film Herbert White. The movie is based upon real-life contract murderer Richard Kuklinski, who notoriously froze his victims.^[67] The actor also has plans to direct a film version of William Faulkner's As I Lay Dying.^[68]

Franco is currently adapting a film version of Cormac McCarthy's 1973 novella Child of God, which chronicles the depraved and violent impulses of a young Tennessee backwoodsman after he is dispossessed of his ancestral land.

He will star as Oscar Biggs/the Wizard of Oz in the film Oz: The Great and Powerful, which is a prequel to the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz. The movie will be released by Walt Disney Pictures on March 8, 2013 in theaters.

Franco is set to star alongside fellow Oscar nominee Jonah Hill and producer Brad Pitt in the upcoming film currently titled True Story. The film, which is actually based on a true story, will see Franco play Christian Longo, a man who was on the FBI's most wanted list, and had also been hiding under the identity of Michael Finkel, played by Hill, a journalist.^[69]

Other projects[link]

Franco in October 2010

Franco produced and directed a documentary titled Saturday Night documenting a week in the production of an episode of SNL.^[70] The film began as a short for an NYU class but grew due to his two episodes as host, while short stories he wrote for other classes appeared in Esquire and McSweeney's.^[3] In summer 2010, the fictional Franco from General Hospital held an exhibit at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles, while the real Franco held an exhibit at the museum based on his experiences on the soap opera.^[3] One of his short movies, The Clerk's Tale, was screened in competition at the Hamptons Film Festival at the end of 2010.^[65]

On October 19, 2010 Scribner published a collection of short stories called Palo Alto: Stories by Franco.^[71] The book is named after the California city where Franco grew up and is dedicated to many of the writers he worked with at Brooklyn College. Inspired by some of Franco's own teenage memories,^[38] Palo Alto consists of life in Palo Alto as experienced by a series of teenagers who spend most of their time indulging in driving drunk, using drugs and taking part in unplanned acts of violence. Each passage is told by a young narrator.^[72] The book has received mixed reviews; Los Angeles Times called it "the work of an ambitious young man who clearly loves to read, who has a good eye for detail, but who has spent way too much time on style and virtually none on substance."^[71] The Guardian said that Franco's "foray into the literary world may be met with cynicism in some quarters, but this is a promising debut from a most unlikely source."^[73] Writing in the New York Times, reviewer and fellow author Joshua Mohr praised Franco for how, in the story "American History", he juxtaposed historical parts with a present-day social commentary that "makes the we wonder how much we’ve actually evolved in post-bellum America."^[74]

Publishers Weekly reviewed the collection, stating "The author fails to find anything remotely insightful to say in these 11 amazingly underwhelming stories."^[75]

In January, the actor screened his multimedia project entitled Three's Company The Drama, in which he merges video and art to update the former sitcom, at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival.^[76] Franco reunited with Milk director Van Sant to make Unfinished, a project that features two movies: Endless Idaho and My Own Private River. Endless Idaho showcases edited outtakes, deleted scenes and behind-the-scenes footage from the 1991 movie My Own Private Idaho, while My Own Private River focuses on the late actor River Phoenix.^[77] The idea for the exhibition was conceived after Van Sant introduced unused footage from the 1991 film to Franco, inspiring him to turn it into something more. Unfinished opened from February 26 to April 9 at the Gagosian Gallery in Beverly Hills.^[77]

On February 27, 2011, he and Anne Hathaway hosted the 83rd Academy Awards. The two were selected to help the awards show achieve its goal of attracting a younger audience.^[78] Franco had previously said that he accepted the job for the experience and because it was a once in a lifetime opportunity.^[79] Numerous media viewers criticized Franco for his discontent and lack of energy on stage and the show was widely panned, with some reviewers dubbing it the worst telecast in its history.^[80][81][82] The actor later spoke about his hosting in an interview on The Late Show with David Letterman. He explained that when accepting the job he never had high hopes, adding “It was never on my list of things to do. It doesn’t mean I didn’t care and it doesn’t mean I didn’t try, right?” Regarding allegations that he was under the influence of marijuana while hosting, Franco commented "I think the Tasmanian Devil would look stoned standing next to Anne Hathaway. She has a lot of energy!" He concluded that he tried his best and could have had "low energy" during the telecast.^[83]

In May, Franco made his dance-theater directorial debut at New York's Stella Adler studios, where he narrated all the performances. Entitled "Collage" and described as a "mixed-media piece", the show featured live dance, theater, music, and poetry. Tickets were free but were distributed on a first come, first serve basis.^[84] The actor will also direct two short films for songs ("Blue" and "That Someone Is You") by R.E.M. from their album Collapse Into Now (2011).^[85] Franco continued his career as a filmmaker with The Broken Tower, a 90-minute docudrama shot in black and white about poet Hart Crane, who committed suicide by jumping off the steamship SS Orizaba.^[86] It originally started out as his masters thesis.^[87] After being screened at 2011's Los Angeles Film Festival  – among more than 200 feature films, short projects, and music videos from more than 30 countries to be selected^[88] – it is slated for a 2012 theatrical release.

In the media[link]

Franco being interviewed in 2011

Viewed as a sex symbol, Franco was named the Sexiest Man Living in 2009 by Salon.com.^[89] There has often been frequent media coverage of Franco, particularly regarding his interest in going to colleges. In addition to that, Franco has also claimed to have been strongly misquoted by reports in the media^[90] and news outlets reporting erroneous information about him.^[91] This led to the actor being parodied in an episode of SNL's Weekend Update segment, which an Entertainment Weekly writer deemed "clever".^[92] In a 2011 interview, he stated:

I’ve been perceived as this guy yelling, 'Hey, look at me. I want attention.' I’m not going to school to get articles written about me. I’m just going to school. But the fact that I’m going to school or that someone takes a picture of me sleeping is like, 'We’re gonna jump on that and criticize him for his antics.' What antics? I write. I make movies. I’m going to school. I hosted the Oscars. I take these projects seriously.^[90]

In response to questions regarding his sexuality now that he has portrayed three gay characters during his acting career, he insists he finds plenty more dimensions to the characters than their bedroom proclivities. "Or, you know what," he quipped, "maybe I’m just gay."^[93] Those rumors led to a Gawker article linking him to a New York Post Page Six blind item about a closeted gay actor, nicknamed "the Gay Rapist". Despite the victim of the alleged attack denying that it was Franco, two magazines then contacted Franco's lawyer to alert them that they might run stories suggesting his involvement, but were unable to as at least part of their stories were fabricated.^[90] However, Gawker refused to take their article down as they were simply reporting what another outlet published and instead offered him a chance to make a comment about the speculation on its website. He declined, hoping it would die down. The actor later called the episode very offensive because he has friends who have been raped.^[90]

Personal life[link]

In 2008, he was named as the new face of Gucci's men's fragrance line.^[94][95] Regarding his secular upbringing, Franco told The Guardian that he feels as if he has "missed out on the Jewish experience", but has been told not to worry about that by his Jewish friends. He said in the same interview that he likes "the idea of religion as a source of community." When asked if he was a "believer", he responded "In God? I don't know. Yes. To a certain extent. It's a complicated question."^[13] After meeting on the set of Whatever It Takes, Franco dated co-star Marla Sokoloff for five years.^[96] He was in a relationship with actress Ahna O'Reilly since 2006.^[96][97] He confirmed their separation in an interview for Playboy magazine's August 2011 issue, saying that his interest in education got between them.^[90]

Education[link]

Franco, dissatisfied with his career's direction,^[3] Franco reenrolled at UCLA in the fall of 2006 as an English major with a creative writing concentration. He received permission to take as many as 62 course credits per quarter compared to the normal limit of 19,^[98] while still continuing to act. He received his undergraduate degree in June 2008 with a GPA over 3.5/4.0.^[98][3][99] For his degree, Franco prepared his departmental honors thesis as a novel under the supervision of Mona Simpson.^[3][100] While at the university, the actor studied French, the Holocaust, philosophy of science, and American literature among other things. To continue acting, he would study on film sets.^[13]

He was selected as the commencement speaker at his alma mater, UCLA, and was to speak at the ceremony on June 12, 2009. On June 3, however, a press release announced Franco's cancellation due to a scheduling conflict, making it the second cancellation in a row, after commencement speaker Bill Clinton had canceled the appearance.^[101] On January 26, 2011, Franco and the Harvard Lampoon released a satirical video on prominent comedy website Funny or Die mocking his last-minute cancellation.^[102]

Franco, just before he gets a ride in the Blue Angels No. 7, with Patrick Palma in a two-seat FA-18B, in August 2006

He moved to New York to simultaneously attend graduate school at Columbia University's MFA writing program, New York University's Tisch School of the Arts for filmmaking,^{[94][103][104][105]} and Brooklyn College for fiction writing,^[98] while occasionally commuting to North Carolina's Warren Wilson College for poetry.^[3] He received his MFA from Columbia in 2010.^[106] Franco is a PhD student in English at Yale University^[107] and will also attend the Rhode Island School of Design.^[3] The actor opted against watching the 2011 Academy Award nominees be announced (where he was a top contender) in favor of attending class. "I’m not gonna miss class to go and presume that I’m going to be nominated, but if you want to bring out a camera crew to Yale and wait and see if I get nominated, I’d be happy to step out of class and say I’m very grateful", he commented.^[108]

He has been accepted to the University of Houston for the doctoral program in literature and creative writing but is not going to attend UH after all.^[109] Having previously shown a desire to teach, in March 2011, it was announced that Franco will teach a fall semester course on modifying poetry into short films to ten to twelve third-year graduate film students at NYU. The course will focus mainly on production, meaning that the students will be in charge of creating their own film based on poetry. At the time of the announcement the actor had yet to put together a syllabus, but has until the summertime to do so.^[110]

When asked about his education, Franco said that he loves school and that it keeps him focused as well as grounded. "I go to school because I love being around people who are interested in what I’m interested in and I’m having a great experience... I’m studying things that I love so it’s not like it’s a chore", he told the Washington Post, according to a New York Magazine article.^[111] Franco has also credited his education for helping him "take acting seriously" when his parents did not see it as a successful post-college career.^[6] Franco developed an aptitude for art—painting in particular—during his high school years while attending the California State Summer School for the Arts (CSSSA).^[15] Franco has said painting was the "outlet" he needed in high school, and he "has actually been painting longer than he has been acting."^[112] His paintings were displayed publicly for the first time at the Glü Gallery in Los Angeles, from January 7, through February 11, 2006.^[15][113] He launched his first European art exhibition in 2011 at Peres Projects in Berlin.^[72]

He enjoys reading on the set of his films. Pineapple Express producer Judd Apatow has said of him: "He's a very education-minded person. We used to laugh because in between takes he'd be reading The Iliad on set. We still haven't read The Iliad. It was a very difficult book. With him, it was always James Joyce or something."^[114]

In an interview with Showbiz411, on September 23, 2010, Franco made the erroneous public announcement that he received a "D" grade in "Acting" class at the NYU Graduate Film School. It was in fact a "Directing the Actor" class. Franco admitted to missing most all of his classes that semester. A professor at New York University alleges that Franco did not earn his grades while attending that school. He states that Franco missed over 80% of his classes and only received high marks and a degree because of his celebrity as an actor.^[115]

Charitable work[link]

Franco has said aiding others is "the key to life, the key to happiness" and, "as an actor, you can get wrapped up in yourself and your career...A little secret is one of the greatest ways to break that is to stop thinking about yourself for a second."^[116] When Franco was at a point in his life where he wanted to give back but was unsure how, he asked his Spider-Man co-star Kirsten Dunst for advice. At the suggestion of Dunst, he started volunteering at the charity Art of Elysium, where she also volunteers, which helps children with serious medical conditions. He said the experience helped save his life. In January 2011, at the Art of Elysium Heaven Gala in Los Angeles, Franco was honored for his work at the hospital, receiving the Spirit of Elysium accolade.^[117]

On March 31, 2011, the actor took part in "An Evening with James Franco", a Washington DC dinner benefit for 826DC, a non-profit foundation created to help neighborhood students reach their goals, as well as provide after-school literature programs and workshops which encourage them to improve their writing skills. Franco became involved with Dave Eggers' 826 National after Eggers asked him to do a conceptual idea for the program, and he directed a documentary for them and has since been a supporter of them. At the event, Franco spoke about how he thought schools needed to be more original with their literature programs. "Writing can do things that video cannot", he added.^[118]

In April, Franco autographed a T-shirt that will be auctioned-off through the Yoshiki Foundation, with the proceeds being donated for the Japanese tsunami relief occurring in 2011.^[119] On June 14, he was honored by amfAR, the foundation for AIDS research, at the Museum of Modern Art. Franco received the Piaget Award of Inspiration for his humanitarian work and contributions to men’s style.^[120]

Filmography[link]

Selected works[link]

• Franco, James. "A Star, a Soap and the Meaning of Art." The Wall Street Journal, December 4, 2009.
• Franco, James. "Just Before the Black." Esquire, March 24, 2010.
• Franco, James (2010). Palo Alto: Stories. Scribner. ISBN 978-1-4391-6314-6. 

References[link]