Thompson on Hollywood

Cannes Review: James Franco's 'As I Lay Directing'

Reviews

Back in her “Pretty Women” days, I interviewed the young Julia Roberts and at one point she mentioned her dog, which she called Faulkner. Well, that’s one way to add some intellectual heft to your resume. Is it so different with James Franco? He says he loved the book when he first read it back in high school. Well, I loved a girl named Becky but I didn’t make a film about her.

By Tom Christie
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May 21, 2013 2:35 AM
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James Franco Reviews Luhrmann's 'Great Gatsby,' Calls Out Negative Reviewers as 'Hypocrites'

News

Insatiable multi-tasker James Franco is back at film criticism again, and this time has a few words to impart on Baz Luhrmann's "The Great Gatsby," which opens the Cannes Film Festival today before the film's European roll-out. Franco's a fan, and calls out the critics who "ravaged the film for not being loyal to the book [as] hypocrites." Highlights below.

By Beth Hanna
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May 15, 2013 1:49 PM
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WATCH: Cannes Trailer for James Franco's 'As I Lay Dying'

Video

Just before its premiere in Un Certain Regard at Cannes this year, the trailer for James Franco's "As I Lay Dying" has emerged. This is Franco's adaptation of William Faulkner's 1930 novel. Franco has written and directed the film and will star as Darl Bundren.

By Maggie Lange
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May 13, 2013 6:16 PM
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Review: Likable 'Oz the Great and Powerful' Is Overstuffed With Digital Wizardry

Reviews

Disney’s “Oz the Great and Powerful” is a $190-million prequel to the turn-of-the-century L. Frank Baum 14-book series. Directed by Sam Raimi, the film is bloated in length and overstuffed with digital 3-D wizardry, yet somehow manages to be a horse of a pleasing -- if not particularly different -- color.

By Beth Hanna
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March 6, 2013 6:07 AM
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Lena Dunham Talks Success, Image Misconception, Franco, Fey and Poehler in New EW

News

In the new issue of Entertainment Weekly (on newsstands February 1), "Girls" creator and recent Golden Globe winner Lena Dunham talks her surprise meteoric rise, the misconception that she comes from a rich family, James Franco as a TV critic, Globes hosts Tina Fey and Amy Poehler and more.

By Beth Hanna
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January 31, 2013 2:32 PM
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Berlinale Adds 'Les Mis,' Campion's 'Top of the Lake,' Winterbottom's 'Look of Love,' Double Franco and More

Festivals

The Berlinale continues to add to the lineup for its February 7-17 fest. Tom Hooper's "Les Miserables" will play in the Berlinale Special showcase, as will Jane Campion's "Top of the Lake" miniseries, Giuseppe Tornatore's "The Best Offer," "Michael Winterbottom's "The Look of Love," Yoji Yamada's "Tokyo Family"...

By Sophia Savage
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January 15, 2013 4:05 PM
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Trailer Watch: The Land of 'Oz: The Great and Powerful' with Franco, Kunis, Williams & Weisz

Video

A second trailer for Sam Raimi's "Oz: The Great and Powerful" has landed, this time with more from brunette witch sisters Theodora and Evanora (Mila Kunis and Rachel Weisz), crows that caw "Die!"...

By Beth Hanna
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November 14, 2012 1:44 PM
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Harmony Korine's 'Spring Breakers' Goes to Annapurna Pictures

News

Harmony Korine's "Spring Breakers," which premieres at Venice in competition tomorrow, September 5, before heading to Toronto two days later, has been acquired by Annapurna Pictures. The film stars James Franco and a handful of girls gone wild on spring break - Selena Gomez, Vanessa Hudgens, Ashley Benson...

By Sophia Savage
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September 4, 2012 3:59 PM
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Venice Trailer: 'The Iceman' Stars Michael Shannon, Winona Ryder, and Many Gunshots

Video

"The Iceman" stars Academy Award nominee Michael Shannon ("Revolutionary Road," "Boardwalk Empire") as a notorious hit man - responsible for the death of 100 men associated with different crime rings around New York. While his career provides the action, his split from his family life provides the drama: the devoted father and husband managed to keep his career a secret from his wife (Winona Ryder) and children over the decades he acted as a brutal mercenary.

By Maggie Lange
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August 30, 2012 7:46 PM
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First Poster for Sam Raimi's 'Oz The Great and Powerful'

News

Sam Raimi's "Oz The Great and Powerful" releases its first poster, complete with ominous tornadoes. The Disney film, which re-imagines L. Frank Baum's Wizard of Oz character before he was great and powerful...