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It Wasn't His Fault! James Franco on the Failure of Your Highness and the Expected Failure of Rise of the Planet of the Apes

By Dustin Rowles | Posted Under Miscellaneous | Comments (34)

0310_james_franco_sleeping-1.jpg

On Your Highness, which Franco concedes was a bad film.

“I didn’t write that movie. I was just doing my job. I think I’m fine in it. They knew there were problems with that movie a year ago. Just because it comes out after the Oscars, it’s like ‘Oh, here’s backlash.’

“Well, you have the year’s Best Actress Oscar winner in it, so wouldn’t that boost ticket sales? And people want to blame me for that? It’s just ridiculous. There’s this feeling about me like, ‘He’s doing too many things. Let’s get him.”

On Planet of the Apes

“Critics will be out to kill this movie and blame me for it just because they are out to kill me. Last year people were pretty nice. This is the year when people are going to have fun going after me.”

(Source: IMDb)









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Comments

What a crybaby! I hate this guy.

Posted by: logan at July 13, 2011 10:33 AM

So when did Franco morph into Heigl?

Posted by: John W at July 13, 2011 10:37 AM

Man do I hate James Franco, glad to know he's now given me a reason for it.

Posted by: TheMaskedEmu at July 13, 2011 10:54 AM

whinning baby?

Posted by: carrie at July 13, 2011 10:55 AM

Didn't he also go off about the Oscars broadcast and how that wasn't his fault either? Franco needs to shut his face and do better work.

Posted by: Kballs at July 13, 2011 11:07 AM

Aw, anyone who now complains that Franco is a crybaby and a whiner automatically proves his point.

Hard to deny that that's a smart move.

Posted by: Zirze at July 13, 2011 11:11 AM

i love james. and i liked your highness. come on it was lowbrow stoner humor and those of us into that humor liked the movie. it wasn't golden cinema by any standards but it was a fun date movie plus yummy Zooey in it. BUT James has come off like an asshole lately and that concerns me. Maybe its all his high falutin art friends?

Posted by: Alyson at July 13, 2011 11:18 AM

Maybe some of those high falutin' art friends should have told him that Oscar broadcasts and movies like Your Highness and RotPotA aren't exactly high art.

Maybe James doesn't think he was the problem in any of those, but at some point he's gotta say, "I'm an A-list actor. I really ought to be able to find better projects like this." And if it's just about the paycheck, then I wouldn't suggest biting the hand that writes your checks.

Posted by: Socrates_Johnson at July 13, 2011 11:23 AM

wait, everyone hates James Franco now? man you people are flippant. how do u even know he's whining? those are just quotes out of context and ONLINE. you aren't even hearing how he said it. grow up.

Posted by: Littlejon2001 at July 13, 2011 11:32 AM

Shouldn't James have to at least attempt to devise a rationale for why last year people were "pretty nice" and now they "want to kill me"?

Posted by: , at July 13, 2011 11:34 AM

I always thought Franco seemed like a "good guy" (i.e., who knows, but he gave off that vibe), but I never saw him as a particularly good actor. Not sure why anyone ever did.

He pretty much just plays James Franco in everything.

Posted by: Kerminy at July 13, 2011 11:42 AM

Franco has always been a mixed bag of awesomeness and hipster-doucheyness. When the stars themselves stop being so fickle, we might stop being so flippant. Eh...probably not actually.

Posted by: Socrates_Johnson at July 13, 2011 11:43 AM

He's right about Your Highness. That wasn't his fault, it was just bad. And I love stoner movies, good ones. That wasn't one of those. Maybe if they'd hired actual comedians instead of actors, but the script was still lousy. If Apes is terribad, it won't be his fault either.

That said, he did agree to be in these movies. That is his fault.

Posted by: RobP at July 13, 2011 11:45 AM

Welcome to Pajiba, littlejon, where sometimes other people may have opinions that differ from yours, upsetting as that may be. This is the nature of opinion, in that it is unique to the individual subject, and does not carry the weight of fact.

What DOES carry the weight of fact is the spelling of the word "you". It contains -- count them -- THREE letters, not one, regardless of context or location online. Once you've mastered basic spelling and capitalization, which are hallmarks of adult communication, then you can start telling people to "grow up". You'll still get slapped down on here, but you'll look marginally less silly when it happens.

Posted by: Craig at July 13, 2011 11:52 AM

Welcome to Pajiba. Those with poor grammar need not apply.

Posted by: Socrates_Johnson at July 13, 2011 12:01 PM

I don't know, these quotes don't seem so bad. Especially out of context. I still like him.

Posted by: THRILLHO at July 13, 2011 12:10 PM

He makes a valid point though, bad grammar not withstanding. Seems like a standard case of bandwagon hate to me.

Posted by: Socraz6 at July 13, 2011 12:21 PM

James, you're making it extremely hard to be sexually attracted to you when you're talking silliness like that. People are out to get you? Be glad that you're in that position. Ooh, backlash! Very scary. You want to feel hurt and suffering, Franco? Get in the Financial Aid line at one of the several universities that you have attended. Nothing is more frightening than having the future of your education in the hands of an apathetic cafeteria lady who is blankly staring at you while contemplating which vending machine delicacy she'll have for lunch that day.

If a movie tanks or a critic bashes you, just nod your head and smile. Be gracious. It's not that much to ask for. Christ.

Posted by: Kala at July 13, 2011 12:25 PM

James, you ARE doing too many things. You don't have to do everything. Especially if it's a crappy movie that you'll only regret doing later and end up sounding like a whiny brat in the press. Take some time off. Sleep. You remember sleep, don't you? I can see from the header picture that you used to sleep. Maybe start doing that again.

Posted by: MelBivDevoe at July 13, 2011 12:32 PM

Well...he's not wrong. I remember last year everyone wanted him to be in everything, then he did the Oscars for some reason and now everyone hates him. Why doesn't anyone yell at Natalie Portman more, for the same movie he was in, and where her sole contribution seems to be her bony butt?

I don't feel strongly about the guy one way or the other, but he's not wrong in those quotes.

Posted by: Figgy at July 13, 2011 12:35 PM

I'd be willing to give him the benefit of the doubt about his raging douchiness if this was the first time he said something like this. Dude refuses to let anyone pin any blame on him ever.

Posted by: Sefa at July 13, 2011 12:38 PM

Okay, I'm starting to get tired of him. Own up to your shit. Own up to the bad job you did hosting the Oscars. Stop blaming people.

Posted by: Sofia at July 13, 2011 12:38 PM

I thought Your Highness was pretty funny. I wish more people would give it a shot.

Posted by: asdff at July 13, 2011 1:12 PM

"Why doesn't anyone yell at Natalie Portman more, for the same movie he was in, and where her sole contribution seems to be her bony butt?"

Because as far as I know, Natalie Portman hasn't run around doing press about how the movie sucking wasn't her fault? I don't give Franco a free pass for doing the same annoying crap Shia TheBeef and THE HEIGL do just because he's pretty.

Ever notice how James Franco catches all the scorn for the Oscars, and Anne Hathaway doesn't? That's because, despite the complete lameness of the material she was given, Anne Hathaway committed to the job 100% and it showed, especially when set against Franco mumbling and half-assing it. Dude, it's the OSCARS. The lameness of the Oscars has been on record for decades now, and the best hosts have succeeded DESPITE the material they were given, not because of it. Trying to dodge blame now when you were obviously feeling you were above it all is just whiny and entitled.

Frankly, the ubiquity of James Franco has reached the annoyance boiling point. I was already really tired of the constant "James Franco is quirky!" stories, so the latest influx of "Also whiny!" stories is falling on stony ground.

Posted by: Craig at July 13, 2011 1:38 PM

littlejon, one thing this is not is a fan site. You might want to catch up on your reading. There isn't just one quote taken out-of-context on one website. Multiple sources have him complaining about everything lately because of "poor writing". Whether that's the case or not, he certainly had the opportunity to turn down the script or simply say "No, I won't do this". When he took the money, he also agreed to take the criticism.

Posted by: Jim at July 13, 2011 1:52 PM

so everyone is talking bout how bad he was at the Oscars but not the possible reasons behind it?

did anyone read bout Franco and his crew not getting the green light to shoot the Oscars they way they wanted to at the very last minute?

apparently, he wanted to do a lot of behind the scenes live filming, talking to the stars and stuff during the Oscars bcoz he's trying to direct now.

so can we go easy on Franco now?

Also, can we cool it wit the ad hominem? i thought the scathing stopped wit the reviews.

Posted by: haplo at July 13, 2011 2:10 PM

It's going to take more than some glib remarks to dislodge the admiration I have for him, which dates back to Freaks and Geeks.

And it's Hathaway who ruined that Oscar broadcast, from what I've seen of it. Annoying, strident and shrill are way worse than laconic, stoned and bored in my book.

But that's just me. Plus, I get the feeling he's holding 24/7. Never a bad thing.

Posted by: klingonfree at July 13, 2011 2:41 PM

I do think he's trying to do much, but I actually thought he was his regular charming stoner self on the Oscars and I found it entertaining.

If anyone needs to get flack for Your Highness, it's David Gordon Green. He is capable of so much more.

Posted by: Mel C. at July 13, 2011 2:49 PM

You know what I dislike more than a celebrity dissing a badly reviewed movie of theirs? When they complain about their lack of privacy. You made the deal with the devil now live up to it.
These actors get paid insane amounts of money, not for the "hard work" that they put into filming a movie, but for giving up their anonymity. Beautiful homes, clothes, cars, jewels, traveling the world, several exotic vacations a year, meeting the worlds most famous people, doing a job you love, or being able to go to the grocery store in peace? You can't have it all.

Posted by: kirbyjay at July 13, 2011 4:53 PM

I just saw an ad for the Apes movie.

I am currently drinking heavily.

Posted by: The Wanderer at July 13, 2011 6:05 PM

Well, James, it was fun while it lasted.

Posted by: James S at July 13, 2011 6:44 PM

Ehhh, I'd still do him. And I agree with some of the backlash.

Posted by: Rest In Peace at July 13, 2011 11:03 PM

Rowles, if you're trying to make us all anti-Franco... you're an even greater evil than I imagined.

Posted by: ssarah at July 14, 2011 2:27 AM

I dunno, he's got a point. I tend to agree with what he's saying. Unfortunately, no one wants to hear that crap and he should just shut up about it. I guess it's difficult when you're asked that specific question though. He does need to scale it back a bit. The man looks like he's on 2 hours sleep and slammin 5 hour energy shots.

Posted by: Protoguy at July 14, 2011 4:16 AM