GH: James Franco Joins The Cast

[Cat]

LOL! Actually, I think LW owns her figure and I like that she's slightly more curvaceous than the average GH stick insect (KeMo's -- and MB's -- twin moneymakers notwithstanding). But please don't misinterpret my avatar -- I would not want Snarly with my lovely James Edward Franco. Come to think of it, is there anybody on GH I want to see acting opposite him? Hmmmmmmm. Guess not. He'll just have to strip off and read poetry aloud onscreen, then.

[KSlater]

Just to jump in about Franco. I used to manage an arthouse movie theatre and still keep in touch with people there. Franco has loads of mainstream and independent cred and name recognition -- and having him in a movie helps at least in the independent film world. IMO, what he is doing is totally in the independent vein. Are there any other mainstream actors are asking to be on a US soap when the genre is considered to be at death's door? People are looking at Franco and saying, "WTF?" That's what actors like him do, things that people don't expect. I don't know that it will make a ratings impact on GH, but he's thinking out of the box with joining the cast of a soap and I say, "Go for it dude!"

[DeeeDee]

:lol: :lol:

[SFK]

If what they're saying is true, is it "right" for a popular/successful film actor to drop in on a soap just for the purposes of research? How do you guys feel about that?

[marceline]

They drop into lots of other occupations for research (cops, doctors, the military...)so why not soaps? I'm curious about what kind of research he's doing. What's he going to be exposed to on soaps that he couldn't see anywhere else?

[SFK]

Right, but they're not actually performing surgeries and serving active duty I mean he could hang out on set and shadow Steve Burton. I'd almost rather not know that he was doing this for research, I think that fact is a little distracting, maybe even a little insulting. I'm curious too, just what is this film role he's got coming up?

[Juliajms]

If it it's true and I have to wonder, it really doesn't matter to me. As long as he plays his part the best he can and takes it seriously, his motives don't matter to me.

[Cyberologist]

I am a Franco fan

but just more pimping of Jason and his paramour

Frons is pulling every rabbit out of his hat using every trick in the book

publicity stunts what ever for his "designed preferred pairing"

yes

I am an embittered pissed off

Jason and Elizabeth fan who got nothing but horrid writing

and no support from Frons or Guza

so sue me!

Also its said that he and Burton share agents maybe that

helped them along....

[SFK]

Exactly, as long as he takes it seriously and doesn't use this as an acting exercise, an opportunity to "workshop" if you will. I mean he can do whatever the hell he wants to do in off-screen preparation, but what happens on-screen shouldn't in any way be distracting, disrupting the flow of a show he's visiting.

[Cyberologist]

I am a Franco fan he is studying film its said he approached Jill F-Phelps

because he wanted to experience the uniqueness of soaps which are supposedly

very fast paced etc...it makes sense to me.

I've since learned that this was a rumor and is not the case according SOD explained how they got Franco.

however he does study film at NYU or whatever that is true...

“There have been reports that James is doing this to research a movie role but it’s just not true,” says GH head writer Bob Guza. “As bizarre as it sounds, he really wanted to do a soap and we didn’t go easy on him. His first day on the set we shot 130 pages. In the movies, that’d take six months! The memorization alone was a killer, but James has been fantastic.”

He's challenging himself..to do something he's never done before. He will also be on 30 Rock.

[SFK]

I guess my "issue" if this research thing is true is the idea of a film star thinking he or she can just drop in on a soap opera and have a role created for them merely for the sake of research. One could argue that the pluses outweigh the minuses if there's an increase in ratings and the public perception of soaps is improved. And I know that theatre and TV producers are all star whores these days, you have plenty of film stars with no theatre background on Broadway for example, so he could have very well approached a long-running musical like Chicago or a primetime series and just as easily been offered a gig on one of those too. So who knows. He seems like an intelligent, respectful guy and he and Steve Burton have the same manager, so I doubt he'll go on Letterman and sh!t talk his soap experience once this is over or anything, but maybe in the back of my mind it's that kind of reaction that I'm afraid of. Not that soaps don't deserve to be called out every now and then, but there's a difference between criticism and disrespect.

[Southofnowhere]

Most actors refuse to even talk about their soap days. I think this will open things up for more lower level tv&film stars to do soaps.

[DRW50]

I think with the economy the way it is now, more lower level film and TV stars will still move to soaps (if soaps are still around that is), but it would be nice if soaps got more respect from semi-major or major actors. It's nice to have Josh Duhamel, Vanessa Marcil, etc. who are still proud of their soap work, but the big names, I don't know. Even recently, Julianne Moore seemed somewhat disdainful of her ATWT work when they showed a clip on Ellen.

The sad part is that for the most part soaps really aren't that good now, whereas for many of the years they were looked down on, they WERE good.

[marceline]

But that's because they don't have the skills or knowledge to actually perform those jobs. That's why they're doing research. Franco has the skills. It's not like he doesn't how to be an actor at the mercy of hack writers and/or corporate interference.

I don't think its so much a lack of pride as it is a desire to live in the present. I'm not ashamed of the fact that I worked at Burger King but I sure as hell wouldn't want to be defined by it. Who wants to still be talking about the job they had 15 years ago?

[DRW50]

That's true, but actors talk about previous work all the time. It seems like when they are asked about soap work is when they are more likely to recoil.