THE BELIEVER: I was talking to one of the bellboys about people’s experiences with hauntings in this hotel, and he told me about all this footage he’d seen from cameras here. Things moving on their own.

JAMES FRANCO: Oh, right. Yeah.

CARTER: Surveillance cameras?

BLVR: Surveillance cameras.

JF: Well, I have to say, I stayed here when we were doing press for Pineapple Express, and I was feeling fine, and then I got into the room, and—didn’t you visit? That was that night!

C: Yeah. We were up at the corner…

JF: I just felt so depressed that night. Everything was good, going well—

C: And then I showed up. [Laughs]

JF: No, but after you left, I felt so bad—to the point where I was calling Seth Rogen, and I never call him. He wasn’t answering, and I was calling him to get some support or something because I was feeling so bad about myself. And I was like, What is going on? And then I went down in the morning and was like, “Does anyone ever complain about this place being haunted?” And I don’t even think that way, but I woke up in the morning thinking I was just haunted. And they were like, “Yeah, there’s that graveyard in the back.” This is built on the one of the oldest graveyards in Manhattan.

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On Sunday afternoon, Oscar-nominated actor James Franco strode onto the stage of Irvine Auditorium as over a thousand Penn students greeted him with enthusiastic cheers.

The Social Planning and Events Committee brought the prominent film star to Penn as this year’s annual Connaissance fall speaker, with Cinema Studies lecturer Meta Mazaj moderating the talk. Franco, who has starred in movies such as Spiderman, Pineapple Express and 127 Hours, spoke about his devotion to both the acting craft and his enthusiasm for learning.

“I have a lot of interests,” Franco explained as he revealed his passions for not just acting, but also for writing, literature, painting and filmmaking.

After taking a hiatus from his acting career, Franco graduated from the University of California at Los Angeles as an English major. He went on to simultaneously study at Columbia and New York universities and Brooklyn College. Currently, Franco is also earning his Ph.D. in English at Yale University and teaching a course at NYU’s Tisch School for the Arts.

“I wanted to go back and really give my other interests as much consideration as the acting,” he said about his decision to return to academia.

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GALLERY LINK:
- Magazine Scans > Scans from 2011 > VMan (Winter)

James Franco covers Vman magazine’s Decades Issue, on newsstands Thursday (October 27).

Here’s what the 33-year-old actor had to share:

On life on and off the big screen:
“There is a bit of a dichotomy between my work on camera as an actor and off-camera. I am still hired as an actor in commercial narrative films and my responsibility there is to create characters that are believable and entertaining in each given project. I don’t see my participation in films like Milk or 127 Hours as anything other than storytelling devices among many such devices for the directors of those films. I am a collaborator, but a collaborator serving a director’s vision.”

On people’s skepticism of the concept of celebrity:
“You know, I’ve embraced it now. I actually like this sort of superficial criticism of the work, because in a way it becomes this sort of beautiful reflection of our culture.”

Actor James Franco hit the red carpet Sunday in Austin to debut a film he wrote, directed and starred in called, “Sal.”

Hundreds lined up at the Paramount Theatre to watch the film and get a glimpse of the actor.

The film focuses on the last day that Hollywood actor Sal Mineo was alive. Mineo acted alongside James Dean in the film, “Rebel Without a Cause.” Mineo was brutally murdered outside his apartment at the age of 37.

“I was aware of his work and his new biography just came out,” Franco said on the red carpet. “He was an actor I admire, but I just thought he had a particularly tragic story.”

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Playboy and Bombay Sapphire are looking for a film that inspires self expression and ignites Imagination – an uplifting force that allows us to unlock the beauty and potential hidden in the world around us. When acted upon, the effects of Imagination ripple outward, influencing and inspiring other acts of Imagination. And when Imagination is expressed with the spirit of Freedom of Expression, it becomes even more powerful.

Screencaps from the interview have also been added to the gallery.

GALLERY LINK:
- Screencaps > Conan (August 9, 2011)

Lots more press junket videos coming soon!

Screencaptures from the interview have been added to the gallery along with 4 stills as well. Enjoy!

GALLERY LINKS:
- Screencaps > Jimmy Kimmel Live! (August 4, 2011)
- Appearances > 2011 > “Jimmy Kimmel Live” – Stills