The Spotlight is on James Franco

As I set Palo Alto Stories down, I give myself a moment to reflect on the man who authored such work. James Franco. He is not your run-of-the-mill Hollywood leading man. Through the years, he has proven to be a man of substance. And nowadays, he is a ubiquitous force that shows no signs of slowing down.

I’ve had a crush on this Palo Alto native for the longest time, probably even before he played Spider Man’s frenemy, Harry Osborn, in the movie that catapulted him to celebrity status. He is winsome, charming and unpredictable. But more than these, Franco sets the bar above hundreds of screen actors with his innate metabolism for creative learning and productivity. It is interesting to see his choice of works. He has gone mainstream with movies such as Eat Pray Love, Date Night, Tristan and Isolde, Flyboys, and the widely-acclaimed Milk, indie with Pineapple Express and Howl, joined daytime TV with a short stint in General Hospital, began directorial works in NYU and even Harvard and exhibited  art shows in LA’s Glu and NY’s Clockwater galleries. His performance in 127 Hours also won him a nomination in this year’s Oscars for Best Actor. And let us not discount his being the face of the men’s fragrance Gucci by Gucci.

I find it remarkable that between all these, Franco was able to finish not one but several post-grad degrees from some of the top schools in America. He was an English major with a concentration in creative writing from UCLA. He then moved to New York to simultaneously attend Columbia University’s MFA program, NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts for film making and also finish a fiction writing degree in Brooklyn College.  He is now an English and Film Studies PhD student in Yale University. Not bad for a man of 32 years, eh?

I love the idea of a someone such as James Franco- actor, prolific artist and scholar, integrate himself in these different spheres of the Arts. Admittedly, not everyone has that ability to find such focus and drive - especially under the watchful eyes of Hollywood. Some critics even already liken him to the iconic Andy Warhol. So when Time picked Franco as the Coolest Person of the Year [2010], I could not help but wholeheartedly agree. He makes being a Thinker seem very very cool indeed. 

“[He] is the man who risked looking like an idiot over and over and yet never did. The man who was a movie star, a novelist, a soap-opera actor, a director, a visual artist, a Yale Ph.D. student in English, a Funny or Die video poster, a drag model on the cover of a magazine for transsexuals…”

 – Joel Stein on choosing Franco to be Time’s Coolest Person of the Year.

Under the lights of the Kodak Theatre on Feb 27, we will witness him add yet another to his roster of titles, that of an Academy Awards host, which he will be sharing with the equally fabulous Anne Hathaway. With their good looks and a penchant for comedy, they’re bound to bring in an unforgettable performance. The coolest person and company cannot be anything but awesome. :)