Actor James Franco will be the star of the future mega-box-office Disney release of Oz the Great and Powerful, a so called prequel o the classic 1939 Judy Garland version of The Wizard of Oz. When I first saw the television trailers for the film, that are blitzing every TV in America, I was intrigued and thought that perhaps this movie could be a great reworking of a genuinely profound battle between good and evil. Then I could just barely see the actor playing the Wizard; they flashed no big Hollywood names during the advertisement. Is that James Franco: the guy who was splashed all over the news when he descended upon the recent Sundance Film Festival with a a couple of porn-inspired films? Yes! While I have no problem with Franco expressing his views, I greatly dislike the fact that he has repeatedly tried to main-stream pornography; even glamorize it. This might have something to do with his early attempts to film himself having sex. He thinks it's all pretty standard fare; nothing to get stirred up about. Like most of us, he has been lulled into a false sense of ambivalence. He sees danger nowhere. Is this the role-model our children should emulate? If Oz goes big, he will become a new kiddie-superstar. Not good.
Here are excerpts from some strange interviews he has done over the last couple of years:
“I have a film coming up that I directed about the poet Hart Crane [The Broken Tower], and I give a blow job in the movie…‘Straight’ and ‘gay’ are fairly recent phenomena…Between World War I and World War II, straight guys could have sex with other guys and still be perceived as straight as long as they acted masculine. Whether you were considered a ‘fairy’ or a ‘queer’ back then wasn’t based on sexual acts so much as outward behavior. Into the 1950s, 1960s and so on, the straight and gay thing came up based on your sexual partner. Because of those labels, you do it once and you’re gay, so you get fewer guys who are kind of in the middle zone. It sounds as though I’m advocating for an ambiguous zone or something, but I’m just interested in the way perception changes behavior.”
“Every f—king love story is a dude that wants to be with a girl, and the only way they’re going to end up happy is if they walk off into the sunset together...I’m f—king sick of that s—t. So if there’s a way for me to just break that up in my own mind, I’m all for it. … Sex should be a storytelling tool, but we’re so f—king scared of it.”
“I think if anybody who has made a home sex tape knows, what feels best doesn’t always look best...I remember when I was 19 doing that, and then watching it back and thinking, oh, that looks horrible. So...you have a lot of respect for those actors in pornography, because they are really not just doing it, they’re really selling it. It’s the same thing with a kiss. It’s not just the kiss that feels best, it’s an image. Something different is happening if it’s a good kiss.”
“I was surprised at how comfortable that environment was [Kink.com studios in San Francisco.] The expectation is it would be a sleazy place. It’s because everybody who works there is on board. They’re all willing participants. Nobody’s being exploited. Everyone’s a willing participant. They gave me a tour and let me watch one of the videos being made. I thought, 'This is fascinating and important and my preconceptions have been blown away.' Just that day, I knew I wanted to make a documentary of that place.”
“Most people can’t get past that gag reflex at the back of the throat...Guess I’m a natural. It was my first time...Oh shit, you’re right! It wasn’t my first time...That was a dildo...If I’d had the guts, it woulda been real.”