Interview: James Franco

Probably most recognizable to audiences as Harry Osborn, son of Norman Osborn (AKA The Green Goblin) in Sam Rami’s blockbuster Spiderman franchise, James Franco (Sonny, The Great Raid, Annapolis) launched his career with his portrayal of James Dean in TNT’s biopic based on the movie icon’s short but legendary life (Franco’s performance earned him a Golden Globe award, as well as Emmy and Screen Actor’s Guild nominations). The breakthrough role also caught the interest of Robert De Niro, who asked Franco a play his son in City By the Sea. A talented filmmaker in his own right, Franco has also written and directed three films: Fool’s Gold, The Ape, and the upcoming Good Time Max.

In writer/director Karen Moncrieff’s sophmore feature film outing The Dead Girl, a film in five episodes that revolves around the ripple effect of the lives surrounding the brutal murder of a young woman, Franco plays Derek, a handsome but goofy forensic science grad student who helps classmate Leah (Rose Byrne) cope with a delusional mother who refuses to let go of the possibility that Leah’s sister is alive, though she’s been missing for fifteen years.

I had the chance to speak with James Franco while he was in New York promoting the release of The Dead Girl.

James Franco

Question: When you saw this film completed, is it what you thought it would become? Everyone acted in these sort of self-contained units.

James Franco: Yeah, I was drawn to the movie because of the script. Initially, I just thought it was very unusual and very creative. And brave, it kind of took a very unflinching look at the subject. And then I watched Karen’s first film, Blue car, and was very impressed. So I thought it would be something very interesting, and then when I saw it… it seems like the first thing people say when they first see it is, ‘Wow, it’s very dark.’ And it is. The subject is very dark, but also, it’s shot very dark, and everything about it is dark. And I guess my experience working on it was very easy and pleasant, and Karen is very easy to work with. And Rose, who I had my scenes with, is very sweet, so it was a very easy experience. So when I watched it, I guess like a lot of movies do, it became something more, deeper in a way, I guess. Like on Spiderman, we’ll spend weeks and weeks and weeks on a scenes, or doing tedious things on blue screen, and then you watch the final product and you’re like, ‘Oh, that’s what we were doing?’ Because it didn’t feel like that. And in it’s own way, this was kind of like that. It was so pleasant and easy, and then you watch it and you’re like, ‘Wow, I was part of that dark movie?’ But I’m very happy with the final [product].

Q: How long were you on set and how did you prepare for it?

JF: This movie was a little odd, or different, because it had five segments, and so most of the actors never met. The only actor I met was Rose, and most actors didn’t work more than three days. I think the longest any actor worked was eight days, maybe less. So there was no rehearsal process, I had met with Karen a bunch of times before, we just kind of talked about the character, and…. He’s based on a real guy that she had met. I was filming Spiderman 3 at the time, so I couldn’t go and meet him, he was in the Midwest or the south. But she showed me photographs of him, and what I gathered was that he was very scientifically minded, but outside of work he seemed kind of like a goofball. He wore Hawaiian shirts to work and had bleached hair and had all these sock monkey puppets all over his office, and he’s dealing with corpses, but he’s got all these fun little toys. And I like that, I liked that combination especially because my character serves the purpose of helping Rose’s character come out of her shell or the shadow she’s been living under, because of the lose of her sister. So Karen and I talked about that, and went to set, and met Rose, and then… had a sex scene with her [laughs]. One of the odd things about acting is often times you meet somebody, and then – they always do it – they always seem to put the sex scene on the first or second day. [laughing] on this movie I only worked two days so it had to fall on the first or second day. But it’s always kind of a surreal experience, but Karen and Rose made it easy.

Q: You’re working more and more on big-budget films. Is it important to you to kind of come back and take a smaller role when you have the opportunity?

JF: I love working on Spiderman. Although it’s huge, Sam makes it very fun, and I love working with Tobey and Kirstin. I guess there’s two issues: there’s the process, it’s kind of different working on a big one and then a small one; and then there’s the result, there’s a commercial film and then there’s an independent film. Essentially, working on a movie is similar, whether it’s a big film or a small film. You still have a director and you still have actors, and once the camera’s rolling it’s pretty much the same process. On a big film you have more time to shoot a scene and explore a scene, and then there’s maybe like action elements or special effects elements. But the basics are all the same. And then the other difference is there’s a lot better food on Spiderman [laughs]. But as far as what movies I want to do, this past year I did a lot of smaller parts in movies that I believed in, The Dead Girl being one of them, and I think in the past I did films that although I worked very hard on, they didn’t quite satisfy me artistically, and I hope from this point on to just do films I really believe in, whether it be a big part or a small part, or whether it be a commercial film or and independent film. And I find that’s the only way I can continue to enjoy doing what I do.

Q: You play one of the only likeable male characters in the film….

JF: I think I got pretty much the only decent male character… the rest are scummy or weird or very… evil. And…. What was the question?

Q: Did that play a part in your decision to take the role?

JF: Karen really wanted to deal with violence towards women, how women in certain lifestyles are treated, or specific situations, and really deal with that. So she chose situation that involve men who are… irreprehensible. I don’t really look at a script and go…. It’s not a popularity contest, I don’t want to be the guy that everybody likes, its just what she offered me. I would be happy playing Giovanni’s weird guy, or even a killer if it served the project that I believed in. But it’s just how it turned out.

Q: If you were going to be cast in the role of a killer, how would you approach the role?

JF: There’s a difference in how you feel about a character in the process or portraying him, and then how you feel about him while watching the movie. While you’re acting him, it’s best not to judge, and to really just… you find their motivation, you find out what their life is like, and why do they do the things that they do. And you have to play him without judgment or you’re commenting on the character while playing him and it’s not going to be a truthful performance, it’s almost something you do in extreme comedy in a way. But if you’re doing a realistic piece you need to play them without judgment. And then once the project is finished you can look at it and say, ‘Okay, that person is evil, that person is wrong because of this. They’re a killer.’ But while doing it you need to let all of those judgments go.

Q: That said, what do you think about your character, Harry Osborn, in Spiderman?

JF: Well I think the great thing about Harry is although in the past couple films he’s turned to the dark side, he has reasons for it. And although the audience knows what the truth is, they can still understand why Harry does what he does, and his ignorance of the truth. And it’s great because it’s not like he turns dark because it’s fun, he has very justifiable reasons for what he does, and so it’s a great arc that has been set up for all three films.

Q: There’s been pictures published of you flying around as the new and improved Goblin. What was that like to shoot?

JF: Are you sure it’s been published?

Q: Yeah.

JF: When I was a teenager I was caught doing graffiti under this bridge, and my friend got caught, or we both got caught, and they took us and separated us and said, ‘We know you did it. Your friend admitted it.’ And I fell for it that time. And I hope to never fall for it again.

Q: How different is your process preparing for a role where you’re going to be onset filming for two days, and preparing for Spiderman where you’re going to be filming for months and months?

JF: I try to do research in every character I do, some require more than others. I think if a character is close to me it can be damaging to do too much research. But I try to take each part seriously, whether it’s a big one or a small one.

Q: Was Derek’s part close to you?

JF: No.

Q: Not at all?

JF: I don’t think so. I mean yeah I know what it’s like to be attracted to a girl and flirt with her. Derek works in a world of corpses and science, and it’s very far from me. I also don’t share his sense of style, but the basics of human interaction, having a crush on a girl, I guess I can relate. It’s just that he and I have different ways of flirting.

Q: What are the differences?

JF: He’s just kind of a goof. I hope to be a little more [smooth].

Q: It’s nice to see a ‘Freaks and Geeks’ reunion with you and Judd and Seth. Can you talk about that? That was great television.

JF: It was. I didn’t realize it at the time I was doing it, but I’m really grateful to have been a part of that. But Judd and I met up last year, actually at a film festival. We’d been talking, but we were in Austin, the first film I directed, The Ape, was playing there, at the festival, and it’s kind of a dark comedy. And he said, ‘Wow, I miss, I love Funny Franco, and we should do something.’ And so this was a script Seth had written a long time ago with his partner. And he said, ‘Why don’t we do this.’ And we did some readings, and it went very well, and we put it together.

Q: So did it feel like work or did it feel like old times?

JF: It’s a very different experience on those movies. The way he has developed his process is that they have a script, and then on set, they’ll do the script, and there’s ton’s of improvising, they’ll just let the cameras roll. And it’s not only actors improvising, but Seth and Evan and the whole crew of guys will be back there writing alternative lines and they’ll throw them out, and you can use them as you like. And I enjoyed it very much, it’s a very kind of liberating process.

First Look Pictures release Karen Moncrieff’s The Dead Girl exclusively on December 29th with a wide release coming on January 19th.