Franco Wrap-Up

     Is James Franco a weirdo? Is he a stoner? Is he gay? Is he a wannabe? Is he just a normal guy? These are the questions that the media are dying to answer. Given that Franco is notoriously enrolled in several different schools and has two highly anticipated films coming out this fall, he appears to be one of the most sought-after celebrities in Hollywood right now. And these editorials weren't just satisfied getting regular, standard interviews with him; they wanted to delve deep into the psyche of one of the most complex, mysterious figures in the public eye.

     Thus three different profiles were born in a time span of three months. New York Magazine was first with their epic 6,499-word profile on the Renaissance man. This was quickly followed by Franco covering the magazines Esquire (for their September issue) and the Advocate (for their October issue).

     Frustrations have run rampant about the bandwagon-jumping of these magazines. While many people may think the last two are just rehashing what the first profile already covered, all the profiles all take different angles. Obviously, there are details that are bound to seem redundant if you have read them all. But many people don't know what goes into the making of a magazine. Most likely, all these projects were in the works before any one of them came out.

     Yes, in the blog I posted about the Advocate's profile, I did allude to the Esquire profile regarding the similarity of the picture to the title of the Esquire feature. But that may have been purely coincidence. The thing I liked about the Advocate profile is the abundance of "gay" in the profile. The fact that the interview is taking place while San Francisco, possibly the gayest city in America, is celebrating gay pride is priceless. The profile also goes deeper into why Franco is attracted to homosexual roles, and it actually makes sense.

     At times, the Advocate profile does get a bit too ambitious, however. It digresses from being a profile when it spends more than one page going on about his upcoming movie, Howl. It then tries to pick up about his life and cram details like how he doesn't do drugs, and even a detail mentioned in the NY Mag profile about how, after finding out that a friend of the family had died at the age of four, he burst into tears, exclaiming that he didn't want to die because he had too much to do. It happens.

     Clearly, Esquire had the more dynamic feature, although it did have the most lackluster profile.

     Overall, the Advocate provided interesting details and insights, Esquire was the most entertaining, but NY Mag, in my opinion, really conveyed who James Franco was to the audience. He's a really complicated figure to understand. He's not just an artistic guy who's perplexing to the world because of his decision to return to school after he's made it; he's still a Hollywood figure. Yes, it's admirable that he has so much going on, but he does have a personal assistant to help him with all that, who says that he probably wouldn't eat if she didn't present him with food. He's not a normal college student, or even a typical guy.

     I'm cutting out a lot because I talk too much and I'm trying to wrap it up, but all in all, read these. If you like James Franco, read them. If you don't, read them. If you're an aspiring journalist/writer, READ THEM. Find out how to write about the same thing in a completely different way. Learn from their mistakes, and take away some good tips.

     They're all really good anyway. So, there you go. I've written all that to come to this simple-minded, bland, easy-way-out conclusion. Just cherry.

Discovering Franco

     I recently came across a brilliant piece of work by New York Magazine. One of the writers, Sam Anderson, wrote an intriguing, complex profile of actor James Franco. Franco is known for the insanely good looks that led him to be the face of Gucci's most recent ad campaign as well as his roles in films such as "Spiderman" and "Pineapple Express" (shout out to all my fellow "Freaks and Geeks" lovers!). In 2008, Franco impressed the world when he decided to attend graduate school at NYU, but that quickly diminshed when a risible picture of him asleep in a lecture class began circulating the internet. The world let out a big scoff, followed by arrogant cries of, "I knew it." Franco, they assumed, got a free pass because of his looks and his name. They shook their heads and brushed him off as a burnout, much like his "Freaks and Geeks" character, Daniel Desario.

     In this profile, Franco acknowledges constantly being compared to the characters he has played. From being called a homosexual for his roles in films such as "Milk" and "Howl" to being called a pothead because of his roles in "Freaks and Geeks" and "Pineapple Express", Franco is consistently misunderstood and perpetually mysterious.

     But what the world doesn't know about him is that the picture of him sleeping was not, in fact, in one of his classes, but a lecture he wanted to sit in on after an entire day of classes and work because he wanted to hear the speaker.

     Classmates, professors, and friends alike insist that Franco is one of the most hardworking people. Currently, the Renaissance man is enrolled in three different colleges, bouncing around New York just to make all of his classes, flying around the world to continue his acting, and taking on several other projects. And, much to the surprise of the world, he does not smoke, drink, or do drugs.

     In fact, he could not even possibly find the time to do so. Franco appears to be, in the most bizarre way, a kind of Superman who can take on many things at once with extreme focus. And a man who is proudly heterosexual, but not afraid to be called a homosexual and pose connfidently for the cover of Out magazine. Franco has gone from being just a pretty face to being taken seriously as an actor, scholar, and all-around artist.

   From the most mystifying gestures (see, in profile: The Wink) to the violent and obscene art show he participates in, and even the sad, sweet, humorous reaction four-year-old Franco had upon hearing about the death of a family friend, Anderson exposes Franco boldly while never really being able to solve the mystery. Nevertheless, it's a fascinating read (albeit an 8-page one), and serves as a magnificent example of what a profile should be to all aspiring journalists......and Franco lovers. =)


(Photo Courtesy of Ann.)