Yesterday a co-worker and I were strolling past the outdoor area of the Pacific Design Center that is along San Vicente Blvd and near the satellite MOCA location when we noticed various scaffolding and a myriad of workers. We assumed they were assembling an event for the weekend, as it is not uncommon for that area to host such a spectacle. And then we noticed numerous signage that simply said, "Franco." I joked that it probably had to do with James Franco, the actor who has suddenly blossomed into a full blown multi-media force of nature, but it was exactly that, a joke.
Shortly after I discovered this was no joke, and this display was indeed for James Franco. You may have heard or even watched when Franco appeared in a stint on the ABC's General Hospital, late last year, playing a psychotic artist named...yes, Franco. He was seen in only a handful of episodes but perhaps what made his involvement with the show entirely genius is that in nearly every scene when he wasn't on-camera, the other characters would do nothing but talk about Franco....how dangerous he is, how maniacal, how manipulative.
Well beginning June 30, the man known as Franco is coming back for another run on the classic soap, and the show will be incorporating the scene from the Pacific Design Center into the actual storyline. Franco will be seen as his character, Franco, at the opening of his gallery show, live audience included. It's been said that Franco is making a film about this experience that will screen, where else, but MOCA. So for a few moments, I just want to reflect on what has become a pretty remarkable and unprecedented career for a young actor who got his start in the highly acclaimed, yet criminally under seen Judd Apatow series, Freaks and Geeks.
In addition to somehow morphing an out of left field soap opera role with a sort of performance art, Franco has managed to win a Golden Globe (for his portrayal of James Dean in a TNT biopic), have a prominent role in the blockbuster Sam Raimi Spider-Man trilogy, successfully balance a comedic (Pineapple Express, the upcoming Your Highness) and dramatic (the upcoming Eat, Pray, Love with Julia Roberts and Milk, the latter for which he snagged an Independent Spirit Award) film career, and become the face for Gucci fragrance.
Anything else? How about a guest star turn on an Emmy Award-winning comedy? Check. Franco again playing a twisted and warped version of himself , this time on 30 Rock. Finding time to take writing courses and garner English degrees at UCLA and Columbia University with enrollment at Yale on the horizon? Done. It has gotten to the point that if we read in our latest Urban Thrillist Candy that Franco will be starting a food truck next week, we wouldn't be too surprised and in all likelihood, we would be soon lining up without a doubt that he's peddling some good eats. Franco soon opening his own artisan cheese shop? I'm in. The man could probably run for some kind of office and not only would no one would question it, he would secure the popular vote. And why not? After all, he is...Franco.
Shortly after I discovered this was no joke, and this display was indeed for James Franco. You may have heard or even watched when Franco appeared in a stint on the ABC's General Hospital, late last year, playing a psychotic artist named...yes, Franco. He was seen in only a handful of episodes but perhaps what made his involvement with the show entirely genius is that in nearly every scene when he wasn't on-camera, the other characters would do nothing but talk about Franco....how dangerous he is, how maniacal, how manipulative.
Well beginning June 30, the man known as Franco is coming back for another run on the classic soap, and the show will be incorporating the scene from the Pacific Design Center into the actual storyline. Franco will be seen as his character, Franco, at the opening of his gallery show, live audience included. It's been said that Franco is making a film about this experience that will screen, where else, but MOCA. So for a few moments, I just want to reflect on what has become a pretty remarkable and unprecedented career for a young actor who got his start in the highly acclaimed, yet criminally under seen Judd Apatow series, Freaks and Geeks.
In addition to somehow morphing an out of left field soap opera role with a sort of performance art, Franco has managed to win a Golden Globe (for his portrayal of James Dean in a TNT biopic), have a prominent role in the blockbuster Sam Raimi Spider-Man trilogy, successfully balance a comedic (Pineapple Express, the upcoming Your Highness) and dramatic (the upcoming Eat, Pray, Love with Julia Roberts and Milk, the latter for which he snagged an Independent Spirit Award) film career, and become the face for Gucci fragrance.
Anything else? How about a guest star turn on an Emmy Award-winning comedy? Check. Franco again playing a twisted and warped version of himself , this time on 30 Rock. Finding time to take writing courses and garner English degrees at UCLA and Columbia University with enrollment at Yale on the horizon? Done. It has gotten to the point that if we read in our latest Urban Thrillist Candy that Franco will be starting a food truck next week, we wouldn't be too surprised and in all likelihood, we would be soon lining up without a doubt that he's peddling some good eats. Franco soon opening his own artisan cheese shop? I'm in. The man could probably run for some kind of office and not only would no one would question it, he would secure the popular vote. And why not? After all, he is...Franco.
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