James Franco
John Leguizamo Calls Out James Franco’s Casting as Fidel Castro: “He Ain’t Latino!”
John Leguizamo wasn’t shy about sharing his thoughts when it came to James Franco’s recent controversial casting as Fidel Castro. “How is this still going on?” the actor wrote on his Instagram. “How is Hollywood excluding us but stealing our narratives as well? No more appropriation Hollywood and streamers! Boycott! This F’d up! Plus seriously difficult story to tell without aggrandizement, which would be wrong! I don’t got a [problem] with Franco but he ain’t Latino!” The Encanto star shared his unfiltered thoughts alongside a screenshot of a Deadline story confirming Franco’s role in the upcoming film Alina of Cuba opposite Mía Maestro and Ana Villafañe. The movie will be the former Oscar host’s second project after taking an extended break from acting in the wake of being sued by two of...
James Franco to Play Fidel Castro in New Film Alina of Cuba
James Franco will portray Fidel Castro in an upcoming film called Alina of Cuba, Variety reports. The film centers on Alina Fernandez (Ana Villafañe), the illegitimate daughter Castro had with Cuban socialite Natalia Revuelta (Mía Maestro). Alina of Cuba follows Fernandez’s life as a critic of Castro’s regime. Fernandez, who is serving as an on-set creative and biographical consultant to the film, supported Franco’s casting as her father. The movie is directed by Miguel Bardem and written by Jose Rivera and Nilo Cruz, and is slated to begin filming in Colombia on August 15th. Behind-the-scenes footage of the film will be featured in a documentary directed by Thaddeus D. Matula entitled Revolution’s Daughter, which will also include interviews with the real-life Fernandez. Al...
James Franco Addresses Sexual Misconduct Allegations, Says He Has a Sex Addiction
James Franco recently agreed to his first interview in nearly four years, during which he addressed the sexual misconduct allegations leveled against him back in January 2018. In a sitdown with SiriusXM’s Jess Cagle, the actor claimed he is a changed man, and while he didn’t explicitly apologize, he said he’s been “doing a lot of work,” which involves being in recovery from sex addiction since 2016. Franco also continued to dismiss the accusations of sexually exploitive behavior put forth in a 2019 lawsuit from two former students of his now-defunct acting school. “There were people that were upset with me and I needed to listen,” Franco said, when asked why he has mostly remained silent about the accusations. “When something like this happens, like the natural human instinct is to just ma...
James Franco to Pay $2.2 Million to Settle Sexual Misconduct Lawsuit
Back in 2019, two of James Franco’s former film students filed a lawsuit accusing him of engaging in sexual misconduct. Now, the actor-director has agreed to pay over $2.2 million to finally settle that suit. Sarah Tither-Kaplan and Toni Gaal, the two students behind the accusations, filed their lawsuit in October 2019. They claimed that Franco and his partners “engaged in widespread inappropriate and sexually charged behavior towards female students by sexualizing their power as a teacher and an employer by dangling the opportunity for roles in their projects.” The lawsuit named Franco, his business partner, and their production company Rabbit Bandini. Franco ran a film and acting school called Studio 4 from 2014 to 2017. It was there, said Tither-Kaplan and Gall, that the actor and direc...
Freaks and Geeks’ 10 Greatest Needle Drops
Freaks & Geeks is now on Hulu. That’s great news for fans of the ’80s-set dramedy that launched the careers of James Franco, Jason Segel, Linda Cardellini, Seth Rogen, among others. Yet it’s also, in a way, a minor miracle for newcomers. While DVDs of the series remain in print, the show has been largely shelved from streaming circulation due to music clearances. These issues tend to affect variety shows that include music performances — like The Muppet Show or Saturday Night Live — but Freaks & Geeks runs into licensing challenges due to its heavy use of classic pop music. All too often, the series featured multiple hit songs from major artists like The Who or Van Halen. Rewatching the series now, it’s clear how effectively Paul Feig, Judd Apatow, and the rest of the team used thi...
