11/20/2008
James Franco Not Afraid to Play Gay Twice
And why should he be?
Although NYDN's Rush & Molloy seem to think there are some "wicked" rumors going around about James Franco on the web that should make him concerned about playing gay on film again, Franco will do it again anyway, they say:
"But at a time when Hollywood still seems to like its heroic gay characters played by straight men, Franco isn't bothered by perceptions. Back-to-back gay roles 'don't make any difference to me,' he told us at Monday's Cinema Society screening of 'Milk.' 'Ginsberg has been one of my heroes, and this movie' - about the 1957 obscenity trial over Ginsberg's most famous poem - 'is just so important.' Never mind that Franco doesn't look much like the tubby, balding, bearded Ginsberg of the hippie era. 'I'm playing him when he was in his late 20s, just after he went to Columbia,' said Franco, who happens to be a student at the same university. (The girls moon over him in Butler Library.) 'We work with the old pictures. He has hair, he doesn't have a beard and he's not huge.'"
(image from GQ's "Men of the Year" portfolio)
Sphere: Related ContentPosted 8:31 AM EST by Andy in Allen Ginsburg, Film, James Franco, News, Playing Gay | Permalink
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I am gay everyday and am not afraid. I know plenty of actual gay people who have actual reasons to be afraid.
Are we suppsoe to give Franco a medal for playing something that many of us just "are"?
Let's celebrate real heroes.
Posted by: kujhakwer | Nov 20, 2008 9:00:15 AM
Besides being ONE FABULOUS BABE Franco is a very thoughtful and serious guy. Not like an actor at all. He has a lot of intellectual interests that will prove a boon for thoughtful filmmakers lucky enough to work with him.
Plus he marched for us in the anti- Prop 8 protests, so quit griping Kujhakwer
Posted by: David Ehrenstein | Nov 20, 2008 9:08:45 AM
Ditto Kujhawker. Maybe one day, in the far future, gay and lesbian actors will get to play gay and lesbian characters.
Yes, I know it's a strange concept. But could you actually imagine that happening?
It might be like Chow Yun Fat being able to play a Chinese man!
Frankly, I think it's lame that an article has to be written that is laudatory of Franco playing gay. In terms of heroic, it would be far more heroic, given the state of bigotry in the world, if there were a famous, young gay actor could play a gay character without fear that his career would be limited to gay roles.
Other than T.R. Knight and Neil Patrick Harris, how many openly gay actors play heterosexual characters?
Posted by: noah | Nov 20, 2008 9:22:10 AM
It is dangerous on his part to play a gay man twice in a row. Unfortunately we still live in a time with no major young openly gay stars, in particular a major box-office star.
That’s why they remain closeted, it’s both a career and box-office issue. I don’t think I live to see an openly gay man chosen by People Magazine as the sexist man alive.
I give him credit, especially in a time when rumors of all aspects of one’s life spread like wildfire on the internet.
Posted by: Bob West | Nov 20, 2008 9:37:55 AM
Noah, it seems to me that you are suggesting a step backward, not forward. I would find it very insulting if, at auditions, actors were asked their sexual orientation. Tom Hanks played a gay role and then thanked his (female) partner at the awards. Around the same time, Not much later, the womanizing Bulldog Briscoe from Frasier goes on Larry King to talk about his real life need for equal rights for him and his husband.
Prejudices are dispeled more, I think, when those who are naive among the viewing public are thrown for a loop than when gay and straight actors are pigeonholed.
People begin to realize that they never really know who is gay and who is straight and that it really shouldn't matter in the acting world or anywhere else.
Posted by: GregV | Nov 20, 2008 11:23:02 AM
every time i see a picture of franco, i get weak in the knees. i am so glad to know that his heart is as beautiful as his face.
guys, guys, guys, not everything has to be overthunk.
Posted by: nic | Nov 20, 2008 11:43:45 AM
I would play gay with him anytime, and I know how to have a LOT of fun doing it.
♥
Posted by: ELI | Nov 20, 2008 11:55:56 AM
Ginsberg was an admitted teen chaser, so this is dicey on that level too.
Posted by: anon | Nov 20, 2008 2:27:02 PM
That photo is a different look for him. Usually he's either doing the stoned grin or the sultry stare.
And still, I've not found a JF picture that doesn't make me want to strip him down and throw him on my bed.
Oops. Maybe said too much there.
Posted by: sparks | Nov 20, 2008 7:02:13 PM
Yes, ANON, it is true. Ginsberg was an ephebophile. It can be debated how "dicey" that is or isn't. It doesn't take away that Ginsberg was a major force in the Beat movement and was instrumental in a major, landmark Supreme Court decision regarding free speech.
Posted by: mike | Nov 23, 2008 11:11:35 AM