NPR: "James Franco is a Crazy Genius"!

By J Bernard Jones on November 20, 2009

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After weeks of speculation and hype, Emmy nominated and Golden Globe winning movie star James Franco makes his much-anticipated debut on General Hospital as a mysterious artist/assassin set to mix it up with uber-hit man Jason Morgan (Steve Burton).

A great many media outlets have heaped everything from thinly veiled amusement to downright sarcasm about Franco's decision to appear on the venerable mob-opera-masquerading-as-a-hospital-drama, but at least one unabashedly declares that this admittedly highly unusual move is far more than the sum of its parts, the august & widely respected National Public Radio. Here is part of what NPR has to say:

This all apparently has something to do with other art projects [Franco] has going, and it's all related to image and deconstruction and so forth, but from a strictly pragmatic perspective, this move is absolute genius. Even soap snobs aren't going to think this is because James Franco has to do General Hospital. No, this is clearly because he chooses to. And that choice is a genuine fake-left, go-right maneuver in a world where publicity tends to make everything seem utterly predictable.

While Linda Holmes' piece has its own fair share of bemusement about the whole Franco/GH affair, it is clear that not all media-types hold Mr. Franco's decision to do a soap opera with disdain or ridicule. For more, read the entire article here.

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Submitted by PST on November 20, 2009 - 4:04pm

Member since:
24 June 2009

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5 days 5 hours

He's awesome! He reminds me of Heath Ledger's Joker in "The Dark Knight" in a way. I stopped watching GH and tuned back in for him. So far so good.

Submitted by Belinda on November 20, 2009 - 5:32pm

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30 September 2007

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12 weeks 10 hours

Another assassin. yay?

Submitted by troymcclure on November 20, 2009 - 8:18pm

Member since:
25 December 2008

Last activity:
3 hours 40 min

J. Bernard, thanks for the NPR article. The article sums up exactly how I feel about this whole thing.

I love how they brought up Nathan Fillion returning and not spitting on the genre that gave him his break like so many other actors do.

I agree that james Franco choosing to do this, certainly distinguishes him from every other A-list actor out there.
My favorite part was this:
"he gets exposure to some of the most devoted television viewers in existence"
It is so true. I always liked James Franco before but now, due to his support of the daytime community and wanting to try something new I will be a fan of his for life.