James Franco: Dean & Now

He was so credible and convincing as the title role in the TNT James Dean biopic — earning rave reviews and industry-wide attention, and winning a Golden Globe for Best Actor in a Motion Picture Made for Television and a nomination for an Emmy and a Screen Actors Guild Award — that people seem to have forever identified James Franco with the screen legend (dead at 25 in a car crash, with a promising career cut short after only three starrers — Rebel Without a Cause, Giant and East of Eden).

You can’t blame them.

In person as in that telemovie, James is a deadringer for his namesake, from the way he talks (he sometimes mumbles, perhaps unconsciously, like Dean would do) to the way he squints a bit and furrows his forehead. In short, he’s like a welcome reincarnation of "the rebel without a cause."

But the similarity ends there as I soon found out during a Conversation with James at last week’s (April 16-17) press junket in Tokyo for Columbia Pictures’ Spider-Man 3 (opening on Wednesday, May 1, around the world; again directed by Sam Raimi, and starring Tobey Maguire as Peter Parker/Spider-Man and Kirsten Dunst as Mary Jane "M.J." Watson).

James reprises his role as Harry Osborne, Peter Parker’s rich-boy schoolmate and friend, who becomes his mortal enemy (Spider-Man 1 and 2) and, in Spider-Man 3, Peter Parker’s friend again and ally.

His other film credits include The Dead Girl, Pineapple Express, An American Crime, In The Valley of Elah, Camille, Flyboys, Annapolis, Tristan & Isolde, The Company, Sonny, City By The Sea, Deuces Wild, the critically-acclaimed NBC TV series Freaks and Geeks, and The Great Raid (the story of a daring rescue of American soldiers held captive by the Japanese in Nueva Ecija), with the help of Filipino guerillas, during the Second World War) in which he co-starred with Benjamin Bratt and Cesar Montano.

You guessed it: I opened this Conversation by asking James about Cesar Montano.

Cesar Montano is one of the Philippines’ finest actors. What are your memories about him during the movie’s shooting in Australia?

"He’s a very serious actor, and a very, very nice guy. We had to do two weeks of boot-camp training in the wilderness with other actors playing soldiers. Cesar is a very sweet man. I heard that he’s running for public office."

He’s running for senator.

(Joking) "Get out of here!"

I’m serious. He is.

"Is he a good shot?"

Maybe.

"When is the election?"

May 14. Several other actors are in the race.

"Really? He’s very popular there, huh?"

Yes, he is. I heard that you and Cesar bonded very beautifully on the set.

"Yeah. I’m trying to get him to try his luck in Hollywood."

Do you think he has a good chance of making it in Hollywood?

"He’s a great actor."

(Asked about his impressions of James, Cesar said, "It was hard but we had fun at the boot camp. We would jog five miles every morning. We were trained to live in the jungle and taught how to stage an ambush and other war tactics. We addressed each other not by our names but by the names of the characters we were playing. I played Juan Pajota, a guerilla." After the shooting, James sent Cesar this letter: Cesar, I wanted to let you know what a joy it is to work with you. Your reputation preceded you and you’ve done nothing but fulfill the excellent name you’ve made for yourself. You and the rest of your squad are a pleasure to work with and a pleasure to be around. I appreciate greatly your work ethic and the wonderful easy spirit that each of you possesses. I’m honored and grateful to be on this movie with you. James Franco.)

Talking about Spider-Man 3...You’re on your third Spider-Man movie and your character, Harry Osborne...should I say it? Well, he dies. Does it mean you won’t be in any future Spider-Man movie, perhaps playing another character?

"Hmmmm. Nothing is certain. It’s a successful franchise and, who knows, there might be a fourth or a fifth or a sixth. Who knows?"

What are your memorable moments working with Tobey through almost eight years?

"Oh, it has been a great experience. He’s a funny guy. I don’t think any of or all three Spider-Man movies have ever captured his sense of humor."

You were great in the James Dean movie. In the Spider-Man movies, you play a villain-type character. How did you find the transition from a good guy to a bad guy?

"Harry Osborne is not really a bad guy; he’s just a confused young man. He is not after world domination or mind control. He is misinformed about the death of his father (played by Willem Dafoe in Spider-Man 2). Harry’s story picks up from the end of Spider-Man 2 when he learned the awful truth about his father and his friend, although he doesn’t have the full story. Harry is a troubled soul; he lived his whole life for his father, and when his father was taken from him, the only thing he had left in his life was to avenge his father’s death."

A "villain" that earns a bit of our sympathy, should I say?

"Harry’s main dilemma comes down to this: How much does he love his friends? If he accepts the fact that he loves Peter and M.J., he also has to accept that his life up until now has been a lie — he’s living only for hate, loving the evil man that was his father and doing his bidding."

Would you consider Spider-Man 3 the hardest to do, especially your fight scene with Tobey in the air?

"My role in this one is the most extensive. I had to do a lot more action scenes. Sometimes, it would take a month or two to finish just one fight scene."

Is it true that you originally auditioned for the Peter Parker/Spider-Man role?

"I remember that day, yes. It was a very huge screen test and there were many applicants. I went in and I was made to act a few scenes. Everything went really well. I was shooting the James Dean movie at that time. They made me wait six weeks. We were shooting parts of the James Dean movie at the Sony lot when I learned that Tobey had his screen test. Well, he got the role. As we’ve seen, Tobey is perfect for the role; he has been doing a fantastic job. So they asked me if I wanted to audition for the Harry Osborne role and, well, you know what happened..."

In the movie, Harry sends M.J. flowers. Do you do the same thing in real life?

"Do I? Yes, sometimes."

In the movie, Harry has an eye on M.J. (who eventually ends up with Peter). Are you "eyeing" any girl in real life?

"Not just ‘eyeing.’ Yes, I have a girlfriend. She’s an actress. We grew up in the same city but we went to different schools. She’s as young as I am."

You’ve done several other movies but you are forever identified with James Dean. How do you feel about it?

"Well, it doesn’t hurt; it doesn’t bother me to be always identified with him. But you know, he died when he was, I think, 25. I’m turning 29 on April 19 (Aries, born in Palo Alto, California), so I’m older than him."

Happy birthday in advance. Are you celebrating your birthday here in Tokyo?

"I wish I could but we’re going back to L.A. where I reside before Thursday. I have a soft spot for Japan because my grandfather, a war surgeon, was stationed here back in the ’50s, so my mother and my aunt actually traveled here quite often. My grandmother and my aunt were fond of Japanese art. I’ve traveled with them a few times. This time around, I wish I had some time to see more of Tokyo but all I see are the four corners of my hotel room (Ritz Carlton in the Roppongi Hills area)."

You act in television and movies, and you also write and direct short plays. (He’s currently doing post-production work on Good Time Max which he wrote, directed and stars in.) What else do you do?

"I’ve gone back to school, in UCLA. I’m an English major, specializing in fiction-writing."

Do you get any special treatment in school simply because you are James Franco?

"I guess the only special treatment I get is the way they understand my work schedule. Otherwise, I’m treated the way everybody else is."

What are you busy with in school now?

"With my thesis. I’m drafting a novel. As an actor, I feel that so many things are out of my control. I love the craft, no doubt about it. But it’s a very collaborative process. But it’s also nice to do something of my own, and writing the novel is what it is."

What’s the novel about?

"It’s based on a guy I know when I was younger... someone who got into a lot of trouble. A troubled kid who grew up doing better than everybody else."

Aside from James Dean, is there any other person, living or dead, whom you want to portray in a movie?

(Thinks hard) "I can’t think of any."

(E-mail reactions at [email protected])