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The leading men of Eat, Pray, Love, reveal where they find pleasure and peace. Watch now!

“Is James Franco for Real?” That was the question posed in the July 25 cover story of New York magazine that focused on the mercurial actor whose latest film, Eat Pray Love, opens Friday.

The author of the piece, book critic Sam Anderson, comes off as part serious investigator, part fawning fan who is reduced to following the actor into a New York University bathroom to do an interview and later is frustrated that Franco can’t talk more to him since he has a previous commitment with another publication.

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“Good Morning America” weekend co-anchor Bianna Golodryga recently sat down with award-winning actor James Franco in Los Angeles, where he was filming a scene for “General Hospital” at the Pacific Design Center. Reprising his role as artist “Franco,” the actor discussed what draws him to the structure of soap operas, telling Golodryga, “…there are performances with different levels of intension, different levels of being genuine, that can get audiences thinking in a different way than just about a fictional story. And I thought…if I went on a soap opera, maybe that would add something, maybe that would shake something up.” He also discussed his return to school and his reputation as a “renaissance man,” who’s not only an actor but a director, producer, and artist as well.

The interview will air on “Good Morning America” on Saturday, July 17, 2010.

Watch the hilarious trailer for Gary Shteyngart’s new novel, SUPER SAD TRUE LOVE STORY with guest star James Franco, and others!

The author of two critically acclaimed novels, The Russian Debutante’s Handbook and Absurdistan, Gary Shteyngart has risen to the top of the fiction world. Now, in his hilarious and heartfelt new novel, he envisions a deliciously dark tale of America’s dysfunctional coming years—and the timeless and tender feelings that just might bring us back from the brink.

James Franco (Milk, Pineapple Express) is a tad mysterious, mainly because we all want to know why he’s doing so many things on top of his acting. Well, this Saturday at the Palm Springs Shorts Fest, which showed Franco’s three 2009 shorts, he told Variety’s Peter Bart how he came to write and direct the films, star on the currently running soap opera General Hospital, study at NYU, Columbia and Yale, and prep a show of his art, on top of all his film work. He was charming and engaging—and finally it all started to make sense.

After wrapping Danny Boyle’s 127 Hours (about Aron Ralston, who was trapped in a remote hiking accident and had to saw off his arm with a knife), and before starting his role in the upcoming Fox prequel Rise of the Apes (which will be made using the same Weta Digital performance capture technology as Avatar), Franco wedged in a back-breaking 20-episode three-stint on General Hospital, shot at MOCA last week. “We shot 77 pages in one day,” he said. “That would be half a feature film.”

All this started when Franco had a revelation about his acting. “After eight years of acting, five or six years ago I wanted to start directing,” he said, “in part motivated by my need to be in control.” He had some “weird experiences” with directors, he said, and realized that “I would never be able to express what I wanted to express as an actor.” He thought more would be asked from him as a contributor to the process. “I was trying to direct the film I was in as an actor,” he said. “I wouldn’t want to work with me.” So he decided that from now on he’ll give directors what they want, in the spirit of helping them achieve their visions. “That’s my job,” he said, and it’s “more enjoyable,” too, to give his trust to someone like Boyle.

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James Franco made an appearance at L.A. Pride on Saturday to shoot footage for a project he’s working on with performance artist Kalup Linzy. Franco and Linzy were interviewed by World of Wonder’s Michael Lucid, yet the project, which seems to be a meta-film involving the two men’s performances in ABC’s General Hospital, remains rather ambiguous. “There are a lot of layers,” Franco says. Franco can be seen in movie theaters in September in the film Howl, in which the actor plays famed Beat poet Allen Ginsberg.

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Lots of rumored future projects today for James…

20th Century Fox has set James Franco to star in Rise of the Apes, the Rupert Wyatt-directed prequel that the studio has dated for a June 24, 2011 release. Chernin Entertainment’s Peter Chernin and Dylan Clark are producing with Amanda Silver and Rick Jaffa. Silver and Jaffa wrote the script.Production begins July 5. Franco and Wyatt met last week and sparked to a collaboration, giving production president Emma Watts a whopping tent pole for summer, 2011. It’s the second in recent weeks, after she set Matthew Vaughn to direct X-Men: First Class, which is set for June 3, 2011 release.

The film is set in contemporary San Francisco, where a genetic engineering experiment leads to the creation of intelligence in apes, causing an inevitable conflict between species. Fox has already partnered with Peter Jackson’s WETA Digital for the cutting edge visual effects. Franco plays a young scientist who becomes a crucial figure in the war between humans and apes.

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James Franco, thriving as an actor in mainstream dramas, comedies, micro-budget indies, and soaps, is back on the laugh track.He is attached to play the title role in the Jeff Bushell-scripted comedy Ricky Stanicky. Summit Entertainment is negotiating to finance the movie. The premise: a couple of pals who invented a fake friend they employ when they want to get away from their spouses get called on their BS when the wives insist on meeting Ricky Stanicky at a party they are throwing.  The guys hire an actor (Franco) to play Stanicky. Michael De Luca is producing with John Jacobs. Bushell wrote Beverly Hills Chihuahua. WME is brokering the deal.

The Summit deal comes just after Franco committed to spend the summer emoting in the ABC soap General Hospital, reprising as the bad boy performance artist, Franco.

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Sunday night, James Franco gave a surprise performance at Campari’s 150th-birthday celebration at NYC’s Bowery Hotel. The dapper actor offered a spirited duet with drag artist Kalup Linzy, who collaborated with the Proenza Schouler boys on two videos last year. While Franco suited up in a tux for the occasion, Linzy donned a gold lamé costume created by LaQuan Smith (the designer behind Rihanna’s “Rude Boy” catsuit).

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- Appearances > 2010 > CAMPARI’s 150th Birthday Celebration