Added a few more outtakes to the gallery. Definitely worth checking out! Also, I realized the comments weren’t working, however the problem has been fixed and you can leave comments on the posts now.

GALLERY LINKS:
- Session #31
- Session #30

Seth Rogen and James Franco have taken the pineapple express to Oscar credibility.

As if expanding the Best Picture nominee pool and potentially nixing the Best Song category wasn’t enough to modernize the usually staid Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences, surely its welcoming of cinema’s preeminent bong jokesters is.

Rogen and Franco are two of 134 new artists and movie industry executives who have been extended invitations to join the Academy and, in doing so, secure voting rights for all future Oscar ceremonies beginning in 2010.

The smokin’ Pineapple Express duo are joined by fellow Judd Apatow repertory players Michael Cera, Paul Rudd and Jane Lynch, along with Casey Affleck, Viola Davis, Anne Hathaway, Emily Blunt, Taraji P. Henson, James McAvoy, Tyler Perry, Danny Boyle, Emile Hirsch, Michelle Williams, Amy Ryan, Slumdog soundtracker A.R. Rahman, Peter Gabriel, Tom Cruise’s producing partner-in-crime, Paula Wagner, Milk man Dustin Lance Black and Mr. Oscar himself, Hugh Jackman.

“These filmmakers have, over the course of their careers, captured the imagination of audiences around the world,” AMPAS head honcho Sid Ganis said in a statement. “It’s this kind of talent and creativity that make up the Academy, and I welcome each of them to our ranks.”

The new members, which keeps the Academy’s voting membership to just under 6,000, will be welcomed at an invitation-only reception in Beverly Hills this September.

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Let’s hope James takes the win on this one.

It would be more fun if celebrities had to fight to the death for roles. Or maybe casting directors could make them compete in elaborate ropes courses? This week, some very talented celebrities are up for the same roles.

James Franco and Robert Pattinson are neck-and-neck for the honor of playing musician Jeff Buckley in a biopic. Meanwhile, producer Dan Lin has announced his plan for another installment of “Tomb Raider.” But could Angelina be out in favor of Megan Fox? Here’s how we think it will shake out:

James Franco vs. Robert Pattinson

The Role: Jeff Buckley, son of musician Tim Buckley, got popular in the ’90s playing cover songs in the East Village before focusing on his own material. In 1997, Jeff accidentally drowned in Memphis at the age of 30. Since he only had one studio album, several songs were released posthumously, including his cover of Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah,” which earned him chart success over a decade after his death.

The Candidates: James Franco is the spitting image of Buckley. Plus he’s a master of the the good-die-young shtick since he’s already played James Dean. Meanwhile, Robert Pattinson has experience playing an emo musician in “How To Be.” And he was a pretty convincing Salvador Dali in “Little Ashes.”

The Winner: My vote’s on James Franco. Pattinson may be the hot young thang, but Franco can handle the tough roles and has Hollywood staying power. Plus, there’s that eerily similar facial structure.

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New role for James apparently!

What’s one way you can ensure a 4.0 at NYU’s directing program? Take a page out of James Franco’s script and take the lead role in your professor’s film. While I am kidding about such a move getting you good grades in film school, or that Franco would even need to do such a thing, at least the core of the story is true. According to Variety, Franco will be starring in the indie drama “In Praise of Shadows,” which will be directed by his NYU professor, Jay Anania.“Shadows” is the story of a man named William Vincent (Franco), who returns to New York after four years in exile from the city. The journey that brings him home is strange and curious, and his goal is a simple and romantic one: he wants to save the woman he loves from a crime syndicate. Almost sounds like a tale from Franco’s “Spider-Man” universe, doesn’t it?

The film begins shooting on June 15, right before the young actor heads to Ireland for David Gordon Green’s “Your Highness,” and is being made on a shoestring budget of less than $10 million. Franco will also be co-producing the film under his Rabbit Bandini Productions banner.

I’ll stress again that I’m only joking about Franco’s grades. In fact, Anania is full of praise for his student. “I was immediately struck by his inventiveness and talent,” the professor said. Franco is currently doing double academic duty while pursuing his film career, studying film at NYU while working towards a Master’s degree in English at Columbia. Once he finishes playing medieval times with Danny McBride he’ll be back in New York for fall classes, turning in homework and living on caffeine. See, stars are just like us… well, except for hanging out with Danny McBride and Seth Rogen. None of us get to do that.

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EW.Com recently posted a blurb on James’ lastest film, Howl and included our first look into the film with a shiny, brand new photo.

In Howl, the big-screen drama about poet Allen Ginsberg due out next year, James Franco (right, with costar Aaron Tveit) plays Ginsberg as ”an unsure young man who’s trying to find his way,” says the actor. Produced by Gus Van Sant, the movie revolves around the titular Ginsberg work from 1956 that turned him into a literary superstar. ”All his uncertainty culminates in the poem ‘Howl’ and gives birth to the Ginsberg we know,” says Franco. ”The Beats were very important to me when I started reading literature more seriously in high school. They were some of the first writers that I read and fell in love with.”

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Also added some new photos to the gallery as well. Enjoy!

GALLERY LINKS:
- White House Correspondents Dinner After Party
- Misc On Set
- Production Stills
- Session #29

Producers of the Jeff Bucley biopic says that several young actors are expressing interest in playing the late singer on the big screen.  James is one of them!

IMDB pro lists the film as a 2010 film, but it’s still early days as the project is still in development. The Aussie Courier Mail says that Jared Leto, James Franco, Robert Pattinson and James Marsden are all interested in the part and we can confirm producers are interested in them as well.

“Whoever gets the part will need a lot of self-discipline because they won’t be able to fake it,” Guibert said in the Oz interview. “It’s going to take a phenomenal set of skills.”

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James Franco has bowed out of his opportunity to give the commencement speech at this year’s UCLA graduation.

Franco was scheduled to revisit his alma mater on June 12th to deliver a speech to the College of Letters and Science students, but has since cancelled.

James issued a statement saying, “I deeply regret not being able to keep my commitment to giving the commencement speech at UCLA’s graduation this year. Unfortunately the date conflicts with me needing to be on location to begin pre-production on my next film. I wish everyone in the 2009 class the best of luck in all of their future endeavors.”

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Added a few more pictures to the gallery.

GALLERY LINKS:
- MoMA’s Modern Mondays Presents An Evening With Carter (x6)
- Erased Stills (x2)

If you have sent in an email the past few weeks, expect a reply later today or tomorrow. Also, since we’re a bit behind on updating the site here, if we’ve missed any news regarding James, please let us know!

For James Franco, who hasn’t been to “D.C. for years,” a pre-dinner cocktail party provided him with an opportunity to meet the President — and a chance to pick up a few pointers. “I guess he’s supposed to give the commencement speech at Notre Dame and there’s been some protests, and I’m supposed to give the commencement speech at UCLA, my alma mater. There’s been some protests from my former fellow students, so he gave me some advice about the speech.” As for the presidential tips, Franco isn’t sharing. “I’m saving it for my speech!”

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