GLASGOW FILM FESTIVAL G L A S G O W F I L M F E S T I VA L 1 7 – 2 7 F E B R U A R Y 2 0 1 1
FRANCO
MY DEAR . . .
Oscar-nominated actor, presenter, artist, student,i author, producer and soap star . . . Is there nothingi
James Franco can’t do, wonders Kaleem Aftabi
J ames Franco wears as many hats off-screen as he has essayed characters on screen. You can see a prime example of his multitasking at this year’s Oscars on 27 February, when the 32- year-old will be presenting alongside Anne Hathaway, while simultaneously waiting to see if he’ll pick up the best actor gong for his remarkable turn in Danny Boyle’s 127 Hours. Not only that but the California-born star promises he’ll be hosting a big Oscar after-after party at a bar that he is opening in Los Angeles.
With so many irons in the fire, it is surprising to find he is also studying for a PhD in literature and film studies. He’s currently at Yale, having returned to university four years ago, retreating from the limelight to California’s UCLA at a time when he had begun to have stellar success as an actor, most notably as Peter Parker’s best friend Harry in Sam Raimi’s Spiderman trilogy. It was a desire not to be defined just as an actor that made him step back
even as his acting career started to fly.
Contributing to Franco’s February takeover, the Allen Ginsberg biopic, Howl, in which he plays beat generation poet, is showing at the Glasgow Film Festival before a selected national release. ‘I have a lot of interests,’ he says. ‘Before I started acting, I was a major at UCLA and I’d come to accept that, as an actor, my job is to serve the director’s vision, which is fine, but I also like other aspects of filmmaking
12 THE LIST 17 Feb–3 Mar 2011 3-17 Feb 2011 THE LIST 12