Toying with celebrity
Is James Franco the new Andy Warhol? And yes, you can call him (fake) professor
- Doesn't this guy look like a genius? By James Franco, he does.
- Obviously, the pot head in Pineapple Express deserves to teach a class ...
- Yale.
There have been many announcements by actor James Franco that haven't made much sense — some that make many think his sanity may be in danger. Yet, he continues to determinedly play the artist card.
Much like Andy Warhol, Franco uses fame to make art; point, then laugh at the rest of us who thought Franco would be happy with his Hollywood movie career. May that art be soap operas or posing in an androgynous-like-performance art show, Franco's decisions are one that would make the standard celebrity's PR team balk every time.
Lately, Franco playing the academia card (again): Specifically, the idea that he's going to be teaching a class at Yale. He told Good Morning America "It's in the works. I have a very special class I will be teaching next January."
Franco didn't disclose the subject matter — and Yale itself never confirmed any of this, in fact university officials promptly told the Yale Daily News that it's not happening — which of course, has brought out the Internet critics. There were earlier reports of Franco simply being a teacher's assistant at Yale. But even that turns out to be a stretch.
The Pineapple Express pot-movie actor is continuing his own education at Yale, working toward a Ph.D. in English and Film Studies. In the meantime, Franco stars in this summer's Eat Pray Love and is playing Allen Ginsberg in the bio-pic Howl, which has a fall release.
Of course, his real full-time job is messing with the media. Can't you get a doctorate in that?