The Playlist

Watch: Trailer For James Franco's Co-Directed Sundance Film 'Interior. Leather Bar.' Inspired By 'Cruising'

By Kevin Jagernauth
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December 19, 2012 1:49 PM
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0 Comments

News

Guys, sit down, because we're not sure you're going to be able to handle this. James Franco has made an art project. No, seriously. But kidding aside, it still seems like not a film festival can go by without Franco showing up with cannisters under his arm, and indeed, he'll be at the Sundance Film Festival for something that is truly...Franco-ian.

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Rome Review: 'Tar' With James Franco Is A Dreamy Collage Of Pretty But Overfamiliar Aesthetics

By Jessica Kiang
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November 17, 2012 1:53 PM
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14 Comments

Reviews

It's difficult to know quite what to make of 'Tar,' a multi-authored project seemingly coaxed into being by the sheer force of James Franco's current artistic cachet. Playing In Competition in the XXI sidebar of the Rome Film Festival, the film represents the work of twelve newbie directors -- NYU film students all -- and attempts to create an impressionistic interpretation of the work of poet CK Williams, who himself appears occasionally, reading from his collection. Championed by and starring Franco, amongst a starry cast including Mila Kunis, Jessica Chastain, Henry Hopper, Bruce Campbell and Zach Braff, the film shifts around in time and mood, using four different actors (Franco one of them) to depict Williams at different stages in his life, with the scenes sometimes playing out with internal dialogue and mini-storylines, and other times played mute, with snatches of poetry voiced over.

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Watch: James Franco-Directed, Lindsay Lohan-Featuring Video For R.E.M.'s "Blue"

By Kevin Jagernauth
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November 16, 2012 3:05 PM
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1 Comment

News

So remember this summer when it was reported that James Franco was collaborating with Lindsay Lohan on some vaguely described "video/art" project? Well, it looks like we now have the fruits of their labors, and it's certainly unexpected.

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Venice Review: Michael Shannon Vehicle 'The Iceman' Is A Tired Take On The Mob Flick

By Oliver Lyttelton
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August 30, 2012 10:12 AM
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6 Comments

Reviews

Are we living in a post-gangster movie age? From the early talkies to the Oscar-winning success of “The Departed,” the genre has been ever-popular and responsible for seminal films from “White Heat” and “The Godfather” to “Goodfellas” and “Pulp Fiction.” But one struggles to think of a standout film in the genre since Scorsese's Oscar winner, with memorable mobsters now coming from television rather than the movies. We’re sure that someone will come along and give the form new life one of these days, but that reinvention of the wheel doesn’t come from Ariel Vroman’s “The Iceman,” which is decent enough, but fails to cover ground that hasn’t already been covered many times before.

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James Franco Has Sort-Of-Remade William Friedkin's 'Cruising' For An Art Project

By Oliver Lyttelton
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August 22, 2012 10:25 AM
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28 Comments

News

Is it just us who find it increasingly hard to get enthused about James Franco's new projects? We appreciate his broad-mindedness; the way he can go from blockbusters like "Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes" to cheap action movies like the Jason Statham vehicle "Homefront" to indies like "About Cherry" to his own experimental directorial efforts like "Sal." But it's partly the sheer volume of the announcements -- with something new coming every few days, seemingly -- and partly how obscure some of them sound, that's given us something close to Franco fatigue.

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Danny McBride, Logan Marshall-Green & Ahna O'Reilly Join James Franco's 'As I Lay Dying'

By Simon Dang
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August 21, 2012 9:02 AM
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News

For all his prolific work across a number of mediums, James Franco's ability to write and direct is, for the most part, still an unknown quantity. He's done a few shorts, and two documentaries, but his three feature films so far -- the comedy "The Ape," the Sal Mineo biopic "Sal," and Hart Crane tale "The Broken Tower" -- haven't exactly become big hits or critical favorites. However, his latest endeavor might change that.

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Watch: James Franco Directs Samsung Galaxy Note Ad Starring James Franco

By Kevin Jagernauth
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August 20, 2012 5:47 PM
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2 Comments

News

Well, you gotta give the folks over at advertising firm Cheil USA a hand, because if you're going to come up with a campaign around the Samsung Galaxy Note touting its multitasking capabalities, there are few celebrities more equipped to deliver that message than James Franco. Hell, in the past week or so alone we've seen a pretty shitty trailer for the indie flick "The Letter" (quantity isn't always quality), and learned that he's casting up his feature film adapatation of William Faulkner's "As I Lay Dying" and producing some kind of art project about fame riffing on himself and Lindsay Lohan.

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It's Jason Statham Vs. James Franco In The Sylvester Stallone-Penned Actioner 'Homefront'

By Gabe Toro
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July 31, 2012 4:45 PM
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4 Comments

News

The last few actioners in Jason Statham's CV have been pretty disappointing, box office-wise. But can you blame the audience? It's hard to find the proper enemy for the musclebound Brit, with him taking out Aiden GIllen in "Blitz," smacking up faceless mafia goons in "Safe" and eating Clive Owen's lunch in "Killer Elite." But thanks to an assist from "The Expendables" buddy Sylvester Stallone, Statham's about to match up with Hollywood's great puzzle box that is James Franco.

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Watch: Eye-Popping Trailer For Sam Raimi's 'Oz The Great And Powerful'

By Kevin Jagernauth
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July 12, 2012 6:44 PM
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21 Comments

News

Comic-Con kicked off in full force today, and you don't have to be in San Diego to get the goodies. Not long after they showed off a sizzle reel to the crowd in Hall H, Disney went ahead and dumped the first trailer for "Oz The Great And Powerful" online, and yeah, it's actually pretty impressive.

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James Franco To Team With 'I Want Your Love' Helmer Travis Mathews On "Homo-Sex-Art-FIlm"

By Simon Dang
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July 10, 2012 9:22 AM
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3 Comments

News

After delving into the world of erotic gay cinema with his film school short adaptation of Anthony Hecht's "Feast Of Stephen," which portrayed one man's viewing of a pick-up basketball game in New York, all around multi-hyphenate James Franco has now set up a teaming with filmmaker Travis Mathews (who wrote/produced/directed "I Want Your Love") for what's being described as a "homo-sex-art-film" that's sure raise a few eyebrows.

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