Tag: James Franco (61-70 of 78)

Nov 29 2010 12:42 PM ET

Sarah Palin, Justin Bieber, 'Jersey Shore' cast on this year's Most Fascinating People list

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Barbara-Walters-fascinating-peopleImage Credit: Donna Svennevik/ABCBarbara Walters has revealed eight of the 10 people on her Most Fascinating list, and as usual, it’s a puzzling mix. The list includes:

Justin Bieber: I really hope he sings a version of “Baby” in which he replaces the word “baby” with “Barbara.” Barbara, Barbara, Barbara, oooooh! That would indeed fascinate me.
Sandra Bullock: Agree! The whole first half of 2010 was Sandra Bullock time. Also, everyone loves her.
LeBron James: Was that ESPN special “fascinating” to you?
Jennifer Lopez: Hm.
Kate Middleton: Agree. A new, real-life princess. How fascinating.
Sarah Palin: This is her third year in a row on the list. For someone who despises the “mainstream media,” she sure gets a lot of coverage.
Betty White: It might seem like ages ago that Betty White hosted Saturday Night Live, but that was technically this year!
The cast of The Jersey Shore: Oy.

Usually ABC reveals nine people before the show airs, leaving just the numero uno most fascinating person a mystery, but I guess this year they want to build extra intrigue into the Dec. 9 airing.

So who does that leave us with? READ FULL STORY »

Nov 17 2010 12:12 AM ET

'Your Highness': James Franco gets stoned, Natalie Portman gets raunchy in red band trailer

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Two of this year’s award season darlings look like being the James Franco-starring 127 Hours and the Natalie Portman-starring Black Swan. As it happens, Franco and Portman will be seen together next spring in Your Highness, a movie that I don’t think it’s rude to suggest has little hope of currying a whole lot of favor with Oscar voters. Instead, judging by the new red band trailer you can find after the jump, the movie is firmly aimed at people who believe that watching the foul-mouthed offspring of Pineapple Express and Monty Python and the Holy Grail would be a splendid way of spending a couple of hours. Certainly, it features more things unsuitable for young eyes and ears than I could shake a pair of coconut halves at.

Take a look and tell us what you think.

READ FULL STORY »

Nov 7 2010 08:10 AM ET

'127 Hours': Were you able to watch the amputation scene?

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127-hoursA strange phenomenon occurred at the theater when I went to watch 127 Hours yesterday — and I’m not talking about the baffling fact that some steel-stomached moviegoers walked into the film with snacks in-hand, apparently unfazed by reports of audience members fainting at screenings from the gore.

The oddity in question came just as this movie’s protagonist was about to cut off his own arm with the aid of a dull pocket knife. (That’s not really a spoiler, right?) As James Franco (playing trapped adventure junkie Aron Ralston) stuck his finger inside a puncture wound in his arm to begin the horrifying amputation process, I saw a wave of heads in the crowd disappear from my line of sight and settle into the shoulder of the person next to them. My non-scientific estimate — based on my observations from my seat at the back of the theater — would be that roughly one-third of the audience had little interest in seeing the rest of that scene.

The reaction would have come as less of a shock to me had the movie’s graphic scene come without warning, but we knew it was coming and that it was an important part of the story. (Personally, it was also the main reason my morbid curiosity and I bought a ticket.)

Perhaps my fellow audience members’ realistic estimates about their ability to handle the gruesomeness helped prevent any major incident during the screening. (Yes, no one fainted.) While that level of self-awareness should be applauded, I still think they kind of missed out.

What do you think, PopWatchers? Did you go watch 127 Hours this weekend? If so, were you able to watch the amputation scene? And did anyone faint at your screening?

Related:
EW Review: ’127 Hours’

On Twitter @EWSandraG

Oct 19 2010 06:30 PM ET

'127 Hours': Is fainting a compliment?

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127-HoursImage Credit: Chuck ZlotnickI knew I’d never be a doctor because of TLC. Back when the name still stood for “The Learning Channel” — because you would learn things other than “little people are just like us” or “how many babies can fit in one uterus” — the cable network would air what seemed like hours of surgery footage. Open heart, liposuction, colonoscopy: My continued reaction of blearggghh! helped narrow the list of possible career paths. While that may no longer be the case for TLC, there’s a new round of squeamishness-testing, courtesy of the upcoming film 127 Hours. Directed by Danny Boyle and starring James Franco, it tells the story of Aron Ralston, the mountain climber and outdoorsman who, in 2003, was forced to amputate his right arm after spending five days with it trapped by a boulder.

While the film doesn’t even come out until Nov. 5, the centerpiece scene of self-surgery has already left a few early audiences feeling a little light-headed. News of people fainting at a special Pixar-hosted screening join reports of paramedics being called to the Toronto Film Festival premiere. Ralston, who’s seen the film six times at this point, confirmed to EW that he himself was at more than one screening at which audience members fainted. (For more from Ralston and Franco on 127 Hours and its side effects, see next week’s issue of EW.)

Having seen 127 Hours, I can tell you that the scene is indeed intense, but I definitely wouldn’t call it gratuitous. READ FULL STORY »

Oct 10 2010 10:53 AM ET

NYC Comic Con: James Franco and Danny McBride talk medieval marijuana for 'Your Highness'

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your-highness-FrancoTalk about a high concept. James Franco and Danny McBride are breaking out the bongs once more for another David Gordon Green joint. The Pineapple Express stars and director appeared at New York Comic Con yesterday to discuss and show footage from their upcoming stoner comedy Your Highness, about a pair of princes, one a deadbeat smoker of “wizard’s weed” (McBride), the other his more knightly brother (Franco) . They are sent on a quest to save Zooey Deschanel from the clutches of an evil wizard, and Natalie Portman also stars as the warrior princess who is McBride’s love interest.

From what was shown, it looks to be something like The Princess Bride after a couple of harsh tokes. Green explained the genesis of the idea came on the set of a decidedly more serious movie, the indie All the Real Girls, which he made with McBride in 2003. Back then they said that if the two of them ever made it big they would somehow convince a studio to make this movie. Seven years later, and, voila!

While the premise is more conceptual than that of Pineapple Express, it looks like the comedy will have a similar improvisatory feel. “Despite all the spectacle and the action we have in this movie,” Franco told the packed IGN Theater. “[Green] does create a space for the actors to just discover stuff on the set.” While he was there, Franco also answered some questions about his other work, including the origin of his much-discussed stint on General Hospital. “I was talking to an artist friend of mine and we were talking about soap operas and somehow it came up, ‘Well, what if I actually did one?’” explained Franco. “So we approached General Hospital.” He also joked about the perception that he appears to be working on approximately 3.5 million different projects at once, quipping, “This is actually James’ brother.”

Overall, the Comic Con crowd seemed to like what they saw. What do you think, PopWatchers? Does this news give you the munchies for Your Highness?

Oct 8 2010 12:55 PM ET

'127 Hours' new trailer: Gravity sets in

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The full trailer for 127 Hours is out, and it paints a much scarier, more emotional picture than the previous teaser. James Franco stars as adventurous mountain climber Aron Ralston, who amputated his own arm after being trapped under a boulder in a canyon for over five days. I gasped, oh, 11 times during this trailer: READ FULL STORY »

Sep 13 2010 09:22 AM ET

James Franco and Danny Boyle's '127 Hours' gets gasps and a standing ovation in Toronto

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james-francoImage Credit: Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty ImagesLast night, at the first public screening since its world premiere at Telluride last week, Danny Boyle’s 127 Hours had an audience of eager Toronto Film Festival-goers squirming in their seats — and then jumping t0 their feet for a standing ovation. Based on the true story of outdoorsman Aron Ralston (played by James Franco), who was forced to amputate part of his own arm after it got stuck under a boulder, the film (out Nov. 5) is an intense, graphic, and (at around 90 minutes) compact experience that had plenty of viewers peeking at the screen through parted fingers. The climactic amputation scene in particular drew a a few muffled yelps from moviegoers who broke out in applause when the limb was finally severed. READ FULL STORY »

Sep 10 2010 04:30 PM ET

James Franco talks about why he likes playing gay characters

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james-franco-milkImage Credit: Phil BrayThough it might have seemed boundary-breaking just a few years ago for a handsome young heartthrob to talk about his preference for gay roles, James Franco’s interview with The Advocate has a pleasantly unfussy feeling. The A-lister has spent the past year remaking himself as a meta-celebrity: appearing on General Hospital, debuting an art exhibit, writing fiction, making movies about TV shows. He’s also enrolled in about a billion grad school programs and is available to do yard work at competitive rates. In his Advocate interview, Franco talks about the way he approaches gay roles with that same sense of frank curiosity, like it’s just one more feather in his actor’s cap. “In this history of cinema, there are so many heterosexual love stories,” says Franco, who played Harvey Milk’s lover in Milk and will play a young Allen Ginsberg in the upcoming Howl. “It’s more interesting to me to play roles and relationships that haven’t been portrayed as often.”

It’s no secret that right now is a somewhat firebreathing moment in the history of gay rights — and given today’s ruling about “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” the gasbaggery is probably just beginning — but there’s something incredibly hopeful in Franco’s nonchalant exploration of male sexuality. READ FULL STORY »

Aug 25 2010 09:46 AM ET

'127 Hours' trailer: A Danny Boyle Joint

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When did Danny Boyle become a brand? James Franco is the undeniable star of 127 Hours, the courageous story of injured adrenaline junkie Aron Ralston, but the new trailer for the film (embedded below) leads with the Oscar-winning director of Slumdog Millionaire. “Danny Boyle has taken us places we’ve never seen,” is splashed across the opening shots, followed by cuts of Slumdog, 28 Days Later, and Millions. Franco takes over from there, racing his bike through the desolate southwest, rescuing Kate Mara and Amber Tamblyn and showing them a good time, and ultimately slipping into a horrific, life-threatening trap that will last, yes, 127 hours. Call it Into the Wild with a happier ending. READ FULL STORY »

Jul 20 2010 12:59 PM ET

Man vs. Inflatables: Blow-up dolls replace extras in 'Salt'

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The economy isn’t what it used to be, and even Hollywood has to make cuts. That includes saving money on film extras. The solution? Use blow-up dolls instead of real people. (Peter Savodnik of The New Yorker writes of the trend in this fascinating article here.) Just when I think I’ve heard it all, Hollywood trots out blow-up dolls. Really?!

Apparently they’ve been using this “technology” since 2003′s Seabiscuit. These realistic inflatables, with airbrushed faces, stand in when real people don’t make the cut. (Is anyone else interested in a work/school version? I definitely could have used one of those in college.) And you might be able to spot the blow-up dolls this summer — Angelina Jolie’s Salt makes use of the fake extras. Something tells me I will now spend the entire movie trying to point out one of the dolls to my fellow moviegoers rather than, you know, actually paying attention to the plot.

But this could be good news for James Franco: Maybe next summer they’ll cast his body pillow!

What do you think, PopWatchers? Is this the most ridiculous thing you’ve heard all day? And do you think you have the skills to spot one of these fake extras?

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