- Sam Raimi Wants to 'Get Back to the Basics' on Spider-Man 4 (111 Comments)
- Must Watch: Teaser Trailer for A Nightmare on Elm Street! (109 Comments)
- Must Watch: Intense Trailer for Mel Gibson's Edge of Darkness (81 Comments)
- Must Watch: Second Official Trailer for Lee Daniels' Precious (78 Comments)
- Check These Out: High Res New Na'vi Photos from Avatar! (77 Comments)
- Paul Blart Director Steve Carr Hired for the Short Circuit Remake (Oct 27, 2009)
- Hitman's Xavier Gens Set to Direct Action Thriller 'The Fallout' (Oct 27, 2009)
- Bruckheimer & Straczynski Adapting 2K's Shattered Union (Oct 27, 2009)
- Steve Carell on Par for Rick Reilly Golf Comedy 'Missing Links' (Oct 26, 2009)
- Jason Reitman Calls Edgar Wright's Scott Pilgrim 'Matrix for Love' (Oct 26, 2009)
- Matt Damon & Josh Brolin Joining the Coen Brothers' True Grit (Oct 26, 2009)
- Ricky Gervais to Host the 67th Annual Golden Globe Awards (Oct 26, 2009)
- Woody Allen's New Film Titled 'You Will Meet A Tall Dark Stranger' (Oct 26, 2009)
| Inglourious Basterds | 10/10 |
| It Might Get Loud | 9/10 |
| Inglourious Basterds | 8.5/10 |
| Star Trek | 9/10 |
| Monsters vs Aliens | 5/10 |
James Franco Goes to Star in Sympathy for Delicious and Howl
July 29, 2008
Source: MTV
by Kevin Powers
You would think James Franco going to grad school at NYU this fall would slow his acting career. No so for the 30-year-old who just played Saul Silver in the highly hysterical Pineapple Express. With Nights in Rondanthe and Milk set to release soon, MTV reports that Franco has just signed on to star as a band member and beatnic in, respectively, a dramedy called Sympathy for Delicious and an Allen Ginsberg documentary titled Howl as the legendary poet. Having just finished his undergrad at UCLA last month, Franco seems to be hitting a bit of a stride in his career and education. Two strong roles confirmed and much more in the works - Franco is definitely being put on the map.
Howl is appropriately titled after Ginsberg's famous 1956 poem, which is described as "celebrating his friends of the Beat Generation and attacking what he saw as the destructive forces of materialism and conformity in the United States at the time." Franco says of the project, "It's by a two time Oscar Award winner named Rob Epstein, he's actually a documentary film director. So I'm gonna play the young Allen Ginsberg, the days before he went bald and gained weight. The early 'Howl' days. I was very into the beatniks when I was in high school, and I still am. So I certainly have read 'Howl' many times." For those who are hazy on the whole Beat Generation thing, hop on over to Wikipedia.
Nothing against the literary sect, but I'm more interested in Sympathy for Delicious. Franco will play the lead singer of a band, who competes for the spotlight against an unlikely band member. "[Delicious] is a DJ. This DJ character was written for [Mark's] friend who's actually paraplegic in real life, Chris Thornton, and he's this DJ that has kind of a gift. He joins up with my band and then starts getting more attention than me, the lead singer. So I start getting upset about that." That's kind of vague, but okay. As for the Mark that Franco mentions, that's actually actor Mark Ruffalo (Zodiac, Blindness). "Mark is gonna direct his first movie… [a] drama that’s got comedy in it," which Ruffalo has apparently been kicking around since 2004. Sympathy for Delicious seems a might vague at this point, so we'll continue to keep an eye out.
So what do you think of Franco's future? I have to admit, I never really took to him in the Spider-Man series and ignored him in Annapolis. I am, however, anxious to see him in Pineapple Express and Milk. All in all, these projects sound like some pretty solid diversification for the young actor. But where do you think he's strongest?
•  |
Related Articles
- » Werc Werk Works to Bring Us Howl with James Franco
- » First Look: James Franco as Allen Ginsberg in Howl
- » James Franco is Everywhere - Features in USA Today and New York Times
- » James Franco and Danny McBride Re-Team for Your Highness
- » Jesse Eisenberg Joins Kill Your Darlings as Allen Ginsberg
- » Mark Wahlberg, James Franco to Crash Tina Fey's Date Night
Reader Feedback - 6 Comments »
1
Loved him in PINEAPPLE but SYMPATHY FOR DELICIOUS???? Is ti me or does it sound like the same plot for THE ROCKER?
Ryan on Jul 29, 2008
2
He should have been Anakin Skywalker, dammit.
Bobby on Jul 29, 2008
3
Everything I have seen him in is great. He is a talented actor. Best of his age.
Cherub on Jul 29, 2008
5
I liked him in the first two Spider-Man…ses. Spider-Men. Spider-Man films.
Sympathy for Delicious sounds like that South Park episode when Jimmy joined that band for the LaLaPaLaLaZaZa festival.
kevjohn on Jul 30, 2008
6
hello? havent u seen "freaks and geeks?" he's so great in that, and that was in '99. im surprised it took so long for his career to take off actually.
tiffster on Aug 1, 2008