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James Franco's Hart Crane Biopic 'The Broken Tower' Picked Up By Focus Features, Heading To TIFF

  • By Simon Dang
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  • August 8, 2011 1:37 AM
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  • 0 Comments
With his latest starring vehicle "Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes" earning unexpected critical acclaim and box office gold, James Franco doesn't look like stopping any time soon. With his in-the-can directorial effort "Sal" confirmed for the Venice Film Festival, the actor-director's biopic on poet Hart Crane is now set to appear soon after at the Toronto Film Festival with Focus Features already reportedly acquiring rights to the pic as well.
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More: Films, Actors, Biopic, The Broken Tower, James Franco, Sal

Weekend Box Office: 'Apes' Rise With Massive $54 Million, Audiences Rise Against Ryan Reynolds

  • By Gabe Toro
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  • August 7, 2011 4:33 AM
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  • 12 Comments
“The Planet Of The Apes” saga is one of the healthier franchises in movie history. All the sequels occurred within a reasonable time frame, and while they were of varied quality, each one had their own separate reason to exist, and none were truly embarrassing. By comparison, the remake in 2001 was so far removed from the series’ original ethos that most won’t even acknowledge it as part of any continuity. Nevertheless, that atrocity opened to $68 million, which nears $100 million when adjusted for inflation. So while some may have been burned by the series thanks to Tim Burton, ten years might have been the appropriate time to reboot and still retain a base that remains aware of “The Planet of The Apes” as a sketchy form of “cinema history.”
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More: Films, Actors, Film Studios, Weekend Box-Office, Genre Films, Comedies, Ryan Reynolds, James Franco, Chris O'Dowd, Rise of the Planet of the Apes, The Change-Up, 20th Century Fox, Bellflower

Review: 'Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes' Monkeys Around, Showcases Action Over Nuance

  • By Gabe Toro
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  • August 4, 2011 2:19 AM
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  • 3 Comments
When blockbuster films deal with conflict that poses a global threat, the question hangs over them: why is humanity worth saving? It’s the drug-film conundrum: 95 minutes of injections and hard-living make a stronger impression than the therapy and lessons of the remaining 10. Why bother presenting a human population worthy of life, love and discovery when the audience and filmmakers can take more pleasure in annihilating them?
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More: Films, Actors, Review, Rupert Wyatt, Genre Films, Andy Serkis, James Franco, Rise of the Planet of the Apes

James Franco Says Judd Apatow Wrote Jokes For The Oscars That Were Not Used By The Producers

  • By Kevin Jagernauth
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  • July 11, 2011 5:09 AM
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  • 0 Comments
Wait, we're still talking about the Oscars? Take a time warp back a few months to the Kodak Theater and you might remember an extremely awkward awards show hosted by James Franco and Anne Hathaway. While it was an interesting move by the Oscar producers to enlist two younger hosts, presumably in a bid to engage a younger audience, they kept their stock staff of terrible writers on hand resulting in a show that was woefully unfunny and resorted to cross-dressing to try and wring some kind of laughter out of the easy audience there looking for a good time. Well, in an interview in Playboy (not online, via 24 Frames) Franco addresses the fiasco and admits that he knew the show was doomed.
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More: Actors, Judd Apatow, James Franco

Listen: James Franco's Musical Act Kalup and Franco, Debut EP Hits July 12th

  • By Kevin Jagernauth
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  • June 9, 2011 6:25 AM
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  • 4 Comments
Short Gucci-Sponsored Film 'Rebel' (Maybe) About Brad Renfro Gets An Amazing BillboardThe man of a thousand trades, James Franco, is already quite the renaissance man so why not add musician to his already lengthy list of various artistic activities? Frankly, we're surprised it hasn't happened sooner.
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More: Actors, James Franco

James Franco, Heather Graham, Dev Patel & Lilli Taylor To Star In Porn Drama 'Cherry'

  • By Oliver Lyttelton
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  • May 19, 2011 2:10 AM
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  • 6 Comments
Guessing James Franco's next step is an entirely foolhardy pastime. The absurdly busy polymath star jumps from project to project seemingly at random, with recent movements including playing a guy who chops his own arm off, a blockbuster about super-intelligent monkeys, a stint on a soap opera, making his directorial debut, teaching a college class about himself, a collection of short stories, a Julia Roberts vehicle adapting a self-help book, a stoner comedy parody of 1980s fantasy movies, a mega-budgeted Disney prequel to "The Wizard of Oz," and fucking up the Oscars.
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More: Films, Actors, Actresses, James Franco, Dev Patel, Lili Taylor, Heather Graham, About Cherry

Michelle Williams To Make Tentpole Debut As Good Witch Glinda In 'Oz The Great & Powerful'

  • By Oliver Lyttelton
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  • May 17, 2011 10:32 AM
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  • 0 Comments
Well, while we might roll our eyes slightly when it comes to the idea of "Oz The Great & Powerful," a prequel to classic "The Wizard of Oz," it's hard to deny that director Sam Raimi has landed a mightily impressive cast. The "Spider-Man" helmer might have lost Robert Downey Jr., who was originally intended for the lead role of Oscar Diggs (aka Oz), a conman who ends up being transported to the magical land seen in the 1939 Judy Garland musical, and becomes embroiled in a conflict between three witches, but he managed to replace him with newly anointed Oscar-nominee James Franco.
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More: Films, Actors, Actresses, Sam Raimi, Genre Films, James Franco, John C. Reilly, Michelle Williams, Rachel Weisz, Mila Kunis, Oz The Great And Powerful

Indecisive Ape Spotlighted In Riveting New Photo From 'Rise Of The Planet of The Apes'

  • By Gabe Toro
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  • May 12, 2011 1:30 AM
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  • 2 Comments
And that indecisive ape would be Caesar, as performance-captured by Andy Serkis, in this brand new shot from "Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes." Caesar appears to be having a hard time deciding whether he wants his beverage to taste great, or to be less filling. He could just ask a human but - oh, crap, no he totally can't because that would just be another attempt for the human to undermine him and his kind. Less filling, you flesh-hogging two-legged miscreants!
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More: Films, Actors, Rupert Wyatt, Genre Films, Andy Serkis, James Franco, Rise Of The Apes, Rise of the Planet of the Apes

'Green Lantern,' 'Drive,' 'A Better Life' Lead New Los Angeles Film Festival Additions

  • By Oliver Lyttelton
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  • May 11, 2011 8:22 AM
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  • 1 Comment
Guillermo Del Toro Announced As Guest Director, Will Premiere "Don't Be Afraid Of The Dark'Considering it's the world center of the movie industry, it's surprising that historically speaking, Los Angeles never really had a film festival to rival the likes of Cannes, Venice and Berlin. But a quarter of a century ago, things started to change: the excellent AFI Festival celebrated its 25th year in its most recent incarnation, while the Los Angeles Film Festival, goes from strength to strength every year.
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More: Films, Actors, Guillermo del Toro, Julie Taymor, Super Hero Films, Drive, A Better Life, James Franco, Green Lantern

James Franco Casts Val Lauren As Sal Mineo In Forthcoming Biopic

  • By Kevin Jagernauth
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  • May 11, 2011 1:46 AM
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  • 4 Comments
James Franco Will Direct, But Won't Be Starring In The FilmBookies could make serious money laying odds on which of the many James Franco-associated projects will go in front of cameras first. It always seems to be a bit of a surprise, and today's news is definitely a bit out of left field.
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More: Films, Actors, Biopic, James Franco, Val Lauren, Sal

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