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This week, James Franco gives arguably the greatest – and inarguably one of the most bizarre – performances of his career in The Disaster Artist, a bonkers account on the making of the worst movie ever made. The 39-year-old actor, who also directed the film, plays Tommy Wiseau the mysterious figure behind The Room, an incomprehensible fever-dream of a drama that's become a midnight-movie staple and a cult classic since its release in 2003. (Franco says he stayed in character for the entire performance, speaking in Wiseau's unplaceable...

During the early 60’s to the mid 80’s Italian horror was in its heyday – directors such as Mario Bava, Dario Argento, Lucio Fulci, Antonio Margheriti, Umberto Lenzi, Joe D’Amato, and Enzo. G. Castellari directed some of the most outrageous terror films ever. Films that, at the time, pushed boundaries, depicting some of the most stylish and horrific on screen images. But at the same time these films included some of the most elegant and beautiful scores, scores which gained a cult following then and to this day – and they remain as popular now as they’ve ever been.

In comes Vault of Horror – The Italian Connection from Demon Records…

Featuring twenty of the most amazing film Italian genre themes ever, it is a heady mix of funk, disco, electronic and prog rock; featuring composers such as Stelvio Cipriani, Franco Micalizzi, Roberto Donati, Carlo Rustichelli, Nico Fidenco, Ennio Morricone, Fabio Frizzi,...

It has been a while since we checked in with James Franco's blogging escapades, but today we must alert you to a gem: James Franco has written an ode to Harmony Korine and to his own Spring Breakers character, Alien. Oh yes! There's a Lolita reference, a mini Britney Spears dissertation, and at least one example of glorious name-dropping: As Harmony Korine’s friend Werner Herzog said to me on the phone call of all phone calls—I was out in North Carolina, sitting in a little Mexican restaurant called Cocula that I frequent on my lunch breaks from the low-residency writing Mfa program at Warren Wilson College, just staring out the window that’s frosted over with a map of Mexico, at the dirty field across the roadway—when he told me that my performance in the film made De Niro in Taxi Driver look like a kindergartener.

Yesterday, James Franco received his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and will shortly appear in Harmony Korine’s Spring Breakers. So here at WhatCulture!, we decided to compile a list of all our favourite crazy Franco moments.

If you haven’t heard by now, James Franco is a little cray cray. But in a way that makes you wonder if he’s screwing with us and the nature of celebrity. Or in reality, just being a giant douche. Thus lays the beauty of Franco’s persona, never quite letting on if he’s smiling because he’s solved Fermat’s theorem or just remembered the forgotten stash of vintage Twinkies in the basement.

Over the course of this article, we’ll explore the craziest stunts pulled by our man Franco. Afterwards, you can make up your own mind and let us know in the comments section what you...

Actor and director's debut poetry collection, Directing Herbert White, will deal with 'successes and failures within Hollywood'

Not content with conquering the acting world, the musical world, the directing world and the art world, James Franco is continuing his bid for world domination with the news that he is set to publish his first poetry book.

Ideally suited to the world of poetry – he has an Master of Fine Arts degree in poetry from Warren Wilson College in North Carolina, and played Allen Ginsberg in the film Howl – Franco has been signed by small Minnesota publisher Graywolf Press for his debut collection, Directing Herbert White. The poems will be published in April 2014, with the title taken from a poem about a short film that Franco directed and wrote, which in turn was adapted from Frank Bidart's disturbing poem Herbert White.

Graywolf poetry editor Jeffrey Shotts described Franco's poetry as...

James Franco's epithet is still in the making, but "jack of all trades" wouldn't be far off. Last week, the actor, artist, screenwriter, blogger, musician, author, and newly deemed professor tacked on another title: poet.

Franco's first chapbook of poetry, Strongest of the Litter, was published last week by Hollyridge Press. The publisher calls the poems "beautiful and spare," and explains that they center on the theme of the self-consuming role of power in Hollywood.

Unsurprisingly, the publication of this collection doesn't mark Franco's first foray into poetry. He played Allen Ginsberg in a movie rendition of Howl, has lectured at New York University about translating poetry into film, and attended poetry classes at Warren Wilson College in North Carolina.

The poems in the book are written in a myriad of voices, a style adopted by modernist poet Williams Carlos Williams. Oh, and the cover inexplicably features hip hop...

James Franco, actor, Yale student, Risd student, Nyu grad, Warren Wilson student, and HuffPost Blogger, can now add one more line to his resume. He has been invited to teach a class at USC in their film department. He will now be a teacher at a college!

Do you want to know more about the class? We thought so. The La Times has more:

The class, which will be co-taught by Franco's business partner Vince Jolivette, will require students to direct a short film of no more than 10 minutes. Eventually, the eight total shorts produced will be combined into one longer film.

The movies created in the class -- referred to as "The Labyrinth" -- are meant to explore "the unknown, the unexplained and the unimaginable," the email said. Franco's publicist did not return a request for comment.

Franco is not an inexperienced teacher. Last year, he also taught a course at Nyu.

In case you were wondering how James Franco managed to attend all the classes necessary to get masters’ degrees from Nyu, Columbia and Warren Wilson College, in addition to enrolling on Yale for a PhD program, the answer is: he…um…he almost didn’t. Now it’s emerged that Franco’s lack of attendance has allegedly resulted in the termination of an Nyu professor, at least according to said instructor José Angel Santana. In a new lawsuit he filed against the school, Professor Santana claims that he was unjustly canned for giving a Franco a D in his “Directing The Actor” course. Um, we don’t see what the problem is quit yet? D is for Diploma, James! Embrace it!

We have to assume this is the same D Franco complained about to the press back in September 2010. “I did the work, I did well in everything else,” Franco...

In case you were wondering how James Franco managed to attend all the classes necessary to get masters’ degrees from Nyu, Columbia and Warren Wilson College, in addition to enrolling on Yale for a PhD program, the answer is: he…um…he almost didn’t. Now it’s emerged that Franco’s lack of attendance has allegedly resulted in the [...]...

A former professor at Nyu has filed a lawsuit against the university, claiming he was fired for giving Hollywood's most notable academic a 'D' in his class.

The New York Post reports Jose Angel Santana has filed a lawsuit against New York University in an effort to get his job back. Santana says he gave James Franco a bad grade because he missed 12 out of 14 'Directing the Actor II' classes, while the actor was pursuing his master's in fine arts.

"The school has bent over backwards to create a Franco-friendly environment, that's for sure," he told the paper. "The university has done everything in its power to curry favor with James Franco."

The former prof's lawsuit claims Franco missed just as many classes in other courses, but other professors still gave him good grades -- alleging it was all part of conspiracy.

After graduation, Franco went on to teach a...

HollywoodNews.com: James Franco recently revealed that he and longtime girlfriend, Ahna O’Reilly, have called it quits. Reportedly, the low-profile couple were together for five years.

The actor has been studying at Yale University, New York University, Warren Wilson College in North Carolina, Brooklyn College and Columbia University, according to Hollyscoop.com. In the new issue of Playboy magazine, James confessed: “It’s over. That lasted about four or five years. We’d been living together in Los Angeles and then came to New York to go to school for two years. Then I signed up for more school at Yale. I think that was it for her.”

What do you think about James’ newly-single status?

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James Franco has split from his long-term girlfriend. The 127 Hours actor has confirmed his five-year romance with Ahna O'Reilly has ended because he is so busy with his other education commitments, although he did not reveal when they ended their relationship. James - who has been studying at Yale University, New York University, Warren Wilson College in North Carolina, Brooklyn College and Columbia University - told the new issue of Playboy magazine: 'It's over. That lasted about four or five years. We'd been living together in Los Angeles and then came to New York to go to school for two years.

James Franco has earned a master's degree in filmmaking. The "127 Hours" actor graduated from New York University's Tisch School of the Arts on Monday, May 16, and a fellow graduate took a photo of him standing among his peers in a traditional purple robe and black mortarboard.

The graduation ceremony won't be James' last appearance on the campus. The 33-year-old Oscar nominee is expected to return as a graduate instructor at the university's Kanbar Institute of Film & Television in the fall. New York Daily News reported he will be advising students on how to make a film adaptation of a Louise Gluck poem.

Having graduated from UCLA with an undergraduate degree in English in June 2008, James got a degree in creative writing from Columbia University, and studied poetry at Warren Wilson College in North Carolina. He currently works towards a Ph.D. in English at Yale, and will begin his doctoral...

That's one degree down, 86 to go. Or something like that. The man addicted to higher education got a quick hit yesterday, as James Franco joined his peers (his slightly less glamorous group of peers) in graduating from New York University. Franco donned the standard cap and purple gown for his matriculation from the Tisch School of the Arts. Well, at least now that he's got a degree he can finally go out and do something with his life. Like, uh, get more degrees. The Oscar nominee, who in addition to his newly-acquired Mfa in filmmaking from Nyu, also holds the same degree in creative writing from Columbia, studied fiction writing at Brooklyn College, poetry and Warren Wilson College...

Looks like the Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes star might be adding the title “Doctor” to his name (in addition to “weird yet hot” or “Worst Oscars host ever”), as James Franco is getting his doctorate at University of Houston. Someone got a peak at the incoming student list and noticed a doctoral candidate named James Franco with an M.F.A. from Nyu, Columbia and Warren Wilson College: just the exact number of programs an eccentric actor might have enrolled in. It would be pretty unlikely that another student would have precisely the same name and academic resume, though we’re sure if he did, the actor version of James Franco would immediately turn it into a piece of perturbing performance art.

Don’t worry, though. Dr. James won’t be snapping on rubber gloves and asking you to cough anytime soon (not in a medical sense,...

James Franco is not only one of young Hollywood's favorite film stars, he's an artist, soap opera star, published author, student and much more. "Saturday Night Live" recently poked fun at Franco for his work ethic and inability to say "no" to a project.

For his role as mountain climber Aron Ralston in "12 Days," Franco earned his first Academy Award nomination.

Find out more about the talented James Franco!

James Franco Oscar Nominee Trivia FileEarly...

The road to Oscar brought a blast of expected contenders to this desert town some 100 miles east of Hollywood as the Palm Springs International Film Festival held its annual awards gala.

Among those attending the Saturday night affair was James Franco, a likely Academy Award nominee for the drama 127 Hours and also co-host along with Anne Hathaway of the February 27 Oscar telecast.

"Yeah, it's weird," said Franco, who does some of his studies at Warren Wilson College in Asheville, N.C.. "Yesterday, I was in North Carolina and it was snowing. And I flew out at 9 p.m. and landed at about 1 a.m. in L.A.. And then I met with Anne Hathaway and did some preparation for the Oscars. And now here I am in Palm Springs. And then I'm going to go back to the snows of North Carolina and study poetry. I'm sure I'm developing a split personality.

<p>Ah, Hanukah! Festival of Lights! A time for Jews everywhere to get together in a spirit of peace, give gifts and sing songs. It&#8217;s also a time for gentiles everywhere to ask questions like &#8220;So&#8230; what&#8217;s the deal with Hanukah?&#8221; and &#8220;How do you spell Chanukah?&#8221; and &#8220;Why does it keep moving around the calendar like a celebratory hobo?&#8221;</p> <p>These are good questions; deep questions. And who better to ask than Hollywood&#8217;s Jewish stars! But who&#8217;s Jewish? It&#8217;s no shock that certain actors are from the tribe (shalom, Zach Braff!), but Zac Efron? <span id="more-20642"></span></p> <p>Let&#8217;s take a look&#8230;</p> <h3>Kat Dennings</h3> <p>Born Katherine Litwack, her first major role was on HBO&#8217;s &#8220;Sex and the City&#8221; in 2000 where she played a 13-year-old who hires Samantha to do the publicity for her Bat Mitzvah. When asked if she is a practicing Jew, Kat (who broke out in...

James Franco is enrolled in several graduate programs, and he not doing great in one of them. He got a D in his Nyu acting class, Showbiz411 reports: "I did the work, I did well in everything else," he said. But the acting teacher probably felt uncomfortable with a working well known actor in his class. It was not the norm. Also, as Franco pointed out, he missed a lot of classes because he was shooting "127 Hours." This fall Franco started working towards a PhD in English at Yale and began studying art at the Rhode Island School of Design. He has attended Brooklyn College for fiction writing and North Carolina's Warren Wilson College for poetry. Last year he was snapped sleeping at a lecture at Columbia, where he was in the Mfa program for creative writing. 'Howl' opens Friday....

In the 1990s, just out of Oberlin and deeply immersed in what we called Critical Theory, I subscribed to, and religiously read, the journal Transition. Edited by Kwame Anthony Appiah and Henry Louis Gates Jr., it served up brilliant and thought-provoking essays on ethnicity and identity by the era’s great thinkers: Cornell West, bell hooks, Michele Wallace, Hilton Als. In the late 90s, a story called “Trinidad” appeared in Transition. A proudly published young short story writer myself, I didn’t remember them ever publishing fiction before, and I didn’t recognize the writer’s name, so I immediately flipped to the contributors page. The author was described as “A Ugandan-American born in 1972 and raised in Queens,” an attendee of Columbia’s Mfa program, a fellow at the Provincetown Fine Arts Work Center, and author of the forthcoming short story collection Slapboxing with Jesus. Three years my junior, loaded with accolades,...