There’s something to be said about learning from greatness. Hearing a person you admire speak—say a favorite artist, or well a respected professor—and peering into their creative process, be it through documentary, memoir, or street-side ambush, can be very fulfilling. It allows a tangibility for potential; an almost reassuring pat on the back right before your eyes. Like saying, “hey, if this other human being can do this, then so can I.” It can also be extremely intimidating. The new short film Inspiring Creativity by illy, makers of delicious coffee with a bite of pretension, and Liberatumfalls just somewhere between those marks. Featuring 21 impressively-successful (and pretentious in their own right) artists (Inez van Lamsweerde, Vinoodh Matadin, Tracy Emin), fashion experts (Joan Smalls, Johan Lindeberg, Karim Rashid), and just general geniuses (Moby, Hans Ulrich Obirst, Lee Daniels), the exhaustingly-motivating piece is the perfect video homage to the never-give-up attitude that is ripe in New York City. Also the inevitable bitterness that comes with its territory. We invite you to watch Inspiring Creativity above, feel entirely awful about your life thus far, and then get back on that horse. Because creativity, like caffeine, is something you can always keep increasing.
James Edward Franco, actor of such films as Never Been Kissed, Deuces Wild, Tristan & Isolde, Eat Pray Love, and Oz the Great and Powerful, is speaking out fervently denouncing both his involvement in, and the mere production, of Spring Breakers: The Second Coming. The sequel, which according to press notes finds the girls doing battle against “an extreme militant Christian sect that attempts to convert them,” will be directed by Swedish filmmaker Jonas Åkerlund (whose directing credits include Madonna’s Ray Of Light, Christina Aguilera’s Beautiful, and Lady Gaga’s Telephone). Franco, never one to not speak his mind, is not on board for the second round, calling the film a “weak sequel” in a diatribe he released on… Instagram, of course.
“STATEMENT ABOUT SPRING BREAKERS 2: This is not being done with Harmony Korine or my consent. The original was wholly Harmony’s creation and these producers are capitalizing on that innovative film to make money on a weak sequel. I want everyone to know that whoever is involved in the sequel is jumping on board a poison ship. It will be a terrible film, with a horrible reason d’être: to make money off someone else’s creativity. Can you imagine someone making the sequel to “Taxi Driver” without Scorsese and De Niro’s consents? Insanity! I’m speaking up for Harmony and his original vision and for any creative person who cares about preserving artistic integrity.”
“Hi everyone and welcome to Ew! — I’m Sara and if your’e wondering that’s S-A-R-A, no H, cause H’s are ew!”
If you haven’t seen Jimmy Fallon’s stint as Sara on Ew!, a recurring sketch on The Tonight Show, hold out for just a few more sentences and we’ll remedy that. On last night’s installment, Sara was joined by one of her “besties” Allison Donaway (played by Seth Rogen, complete with a venti, soy, cinnamon, dolce, and cream fratraccino).
Everything was going “amazeballs” during the skit until Brittany Anderson (played by Zac Efron) showed up, super excited, ’cause she got a new phone with a new camera with 8 megapixels (“so it’s perfect for selfies”). From there, a whole lot of nothing happened — usually the trejectory of Ew — though it was certainly entertaining seeing Rogen and Efron continue their bro-tastic Neighbors press tour.
Takeaways:
Crocs – Ew.
Tomatoes (or tom-ah-toes) – Ew.
Baby slothes – Ew.
Gary Oldman – Cute.
James Franco – Ewwwwwwwwwwww.
Sure, it’s plenty of fun to troll through selfies of Beyonce, James Franco, Gwyneth Paltrow, and John Stamos on Instagram, but there’s also a collection of incredibly famous folk with under-the-radar status when it comes to social media pursuits. Chief among them: Pierce Brosnan. Now sure, 94K is an enormous following — we’re not diminishing — but the man who played James Bond and Remington Steele (not to mention starring roles in Mrs. Doubtfire, The Thomas Crowne Affair, Mama Mia, and the Sarah Jessica Parker flop I Don’t Know How She Does It) isn’t the first name at the top of any of the must follow #celeb lists. But why not? At 60, he’s got the selfie down, is great at humble-brags, plus a sense of humor? Check(+)! Here’s a sampling of some of what you may be missing.
You probably heard that slight ripple in the celebrity gossip continuum yesterday as the always-reputable, always-journalistically virtuous (note: bleak sarcasm) In Touch Weekly reported on its “exclusively obtained” hand-written list of Lindsay Lohan’s alleged celebrity sex partners. And while we most-likely believe every single name on the list—which includes Adam Levine, Max George, Evan Peters, Zac Efron, James Franco, Justin Timberlake, Colin Farrell, Wilmer Valderrama, Garrett Hedlund, Jamie Dornnan, and the late Heath Ledger —we have to question the authenticity of such ridiculousness.
If we were to accept, for a moment, that this list did actually came from the penmanship of the actress herself: who really cares? The anonymous source told In Touch, “They were giggling and talking shit about people in the industry,” as Lohan supposedly scribbled down names at the Beverly Hills Hotel in January of last year. The source continued—they always do—“It was her personal conquest list. She was trying to impress her friends with the list and then tossed it aside.” The source kept going, leaving us with this piece of duh: “This getting out now could rock several Hollywood relationships to the core.”
The takeaway: famous people have sex with famous people and/or In Touch Weekly is strapped for stories.
It’s been less than 48 hours since Paul Walker’s tragic death in the passenger seat of his friend Roger Rodus’ 2005 Porsche Carrera GT. The late 90’s heartthrob turned action hero died on Saturday afternoon around 3:30PM driving away from a fundraiser in the community of Valencia. “Because of the condition of the bodies, which were badly burned, dental records will be used to positively identify the victims,” said Los Angeles County coroner’s investigator Dana Bee. The outpour began immediately, some still in disbelief, until hours later, from the actor’s personal twitter handle (@RealPaulWalker) the announcement came: “It’s with a heavy heart that we must confirm Paul Walker passed away today in a tragic car accident.” Over 393,000 retweeted this comment along with the dozens upon dozens of tweets sent out by friends, co-stars, celebs, and fans.
Here’s a snapshot of some familiar names paying tribute to the late actor:
Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson: “All my strength, love & faith to the Walker family during this heartbreaking time. We find our strength.. in his light. Love you brother.”
Vin Diesel: “Brother I will miss you very much. I am absolutely speechless. Heaven has gained a new Angel. Rest in Peace xxx”
Tyrese: “My heart is hurting so bad no one can make me believe this is real Father God I pray that you send clarity over this cause I just don’t understand My heart hurts it’s broken no one can convince me that this is real…. Prayer warriors please pray real hard for his only child, his daughter and family… #HeartOfAnAngel13YrsFamilyForeverWeJustCelebreatedYour40thBirthday….. My God… My God… I can’t believe I’m writing this.”
Miley Cyrus: “im really sad about Paul Walker :(”
Rihanna: “Very Very sad news…I’m so heartbroken about this! #PW”
Brett Easton Ellis: Paul Walker was probably the most beautiful American movie actor of the past two decades.
Ryan Phillippe: “Paul was a good dude. Conscientious & not caught up in Hollywood. He knew there was more to life & lived like it. Nice to know you brotha.”
Michael B. Jordan: “Man life is so short. People you care about can be here one min and gone the next Don’t take life for granted RIP Paul Walker ”
James Franco: “#paulwalker – much love to paul walker. So sad. He gave a lot of joy.”
Jaime King: “My prayers and light go out to Paul Walkers friends and family. May you rest in peace.”
Goldie Hawn: “Our family mourns the loss of Paul. A very special Human being. Our prayers go his beloved family”
Aaron Paul: My heart goes out to Meadow and everyone else affected by this terrible loss. We will all miss you my friend. We love you. RIP Paul Walker.”
Sarah Michelle Gellar: “.@RealPaulWalker May he be in peace. To his family you are in our thoughts and prayers.”
Mary. J Blige: I’m so saddened by Paul Walkers death. Beautiful person and talent gone way to soon. #RIPPaulWalker”
Busy Philipps: “This Paul Walker news is so sad. Prayers for his little girl and all his friends and family.”
Jenna Dewan-Tatum: “Just heard the awful news about Paul Walker…so so sad. I’ve always heard such nice things about him. Prayers to his family :(”
Ali Larter: “So shocked and saddened to hear about the tragic loss of Paul Walker. My love to his family.”
Ariana Grande: “What a tragedy. Cherish every moment with your friends, family & loved ones. You never know what could happen. Heartbreaking #RIPPaulWalker”
Seth Green: “Shocked & sad to hear about Paul Walker. Met him several times over the years- a hard worker & always kind. Prayers”
Gabrielle Union: “There are no words… Someone pls say this is just another absurd internet hoax… This is awful. Awful. #RIPPaulWalker pls pray for his family, friends & fans. Wed’ve lost a great, laid back, sweet, cool man & father”
Tyson Beckford: “RIP Paul Walker,loved working with you on “Into the Blue”. I Will miss you.”
Zachary Levi: “I didn’t know him well at all, but I know that the world lost an incredibly kind man in Paul Walker today. So truly sad.”
Dane Cook: “RIP Paul Walker”
Dominic Monaghan: “.@RealPaulWalker awful news. Paul was a lovely guy. Handsome as all hell and funny and cool to boot. Terrible news. My condolences.”
Kevin Hart: “I’m a devastated right now. My prayers & condolences go out to Paul Walkers family & friends. He was a amazing talent & will truly b missed”
Chris Daughtry: “So I’m on a flight and just see that Paul Walker died in a car crash…so very sad! Wow! Stunned”
Lance Bass: “So so sad about Paul Walker : (”
Mario Lopez: “RIP Paul Walker.. Eerie that the star of The Fast & The Furious died in a car accident.. God Bless his daughter”
James Van Der Beek: I just remember him as being so effortlessly golden. He had that way about him, that “thing”… #rippaulwalker #TeamPW”
Michael Strahan: “RIP Paul Walker. Gone too soon!! Life is precious”
Keri Hilson: “Life is so fragile… RIP, Paul Walker.”
Eli Roth: “RIP Paul Walker. Never met him but my Hostel team had just made Running Scared and everyone loved him. Condolences to his family.”
Michelle Branch: “Sad to hear about Paul Walker. A friend of a friend was there & said he was at a charity car event raising money for the Philippines. Awful!”
Jack Osbourne: “RIP Paul Walker”
Wilmer Valderrama: “Heartbreaking!! One of the most genuine & humble people I have EVER met in this industry.. A TERRIBLE loss, be at peace #PaulWalker”
Josh Gad: “Shocked and stunned by the news of #PaulWalker. RIP. Far too young and far too sudden.”
Vanessa Lachey: “I just heard and am in shock. Prayers to Paul Walker’s family. Life is precious, never take a day for granted. #RIPPaulWalker”
Brenda Song: “In shock..#RIPPaulWalker my thoughts and prayers go out to his family and friends.”
Alyssa Milano: “No, @RealPaulWalker. No. No. No. Rest with the angels. You. Sweet boy. #beauty #love #RIP”
Aaron Carter: “I grew up idolizing @Realpaulwalker I’m so saddened for his family and this stunning tragic loss …”
Comedy Central has played roast host to a number of celebrities — and those who associate as such — over the past ten years. Noteable roastees include William Shatner, David Hasselhoff, Donald Trump, and Charlie Sheen. Many have been speculating who would take this years hotseat, with some killjoys speculating it might not happen at all. Womp womp no more, because affable renaissance dude James Franco announced himself as this year’s inductee in a video he posted to Instagram:
“I’ve dreamed about this roast for as long as I can remember,” says Franco, whose roast will be taped in Los Angeles in a few weeks and air on Comedy Central over Labor Day weekend. Ken Alterman, Comedy Central president of Content Development & Original Programming, seemed ‘somewhat’ enthusiastic by this year’s choice, announcing, “If only James Franco was a more successful, multi-hyphenated, incessant creative risk taker in different media, he’d be the perfect person to roast. Oh well… I suppose we’ll just have to make do.” Comedy Central also announced that his documentary Franchophrenia — which he directed — will debut on Comedy Central’s digital and VOD platforms after the network airing of his roast.
In true Francovian form, you won’t have to wait until Labor Day to catch the actor. In August, he’ll appear as Hugh Hefner in the highly publicized film Lovelace opposite Amanda Seyfried.
But he’s not stopping there.
Fox’s The Mindy Project announced that Franco will appear on the show this fall portraying star Mindy Kaling’s “replacement” Dr. Paul Leotard. Mindy’s character, also named Mindy, is volunteering in Haiti; it’s complicated. According to a press release, Dr. Leotard is “a former professional fashion model, Dr. Leotard radically altered his career goals after he accidentally walked off a runway at fashion week and was saved by a pregnant woman. From that day forward, he devoted himself to helping pregnant women and immediately applied to medical school.”
There’s busy. And then there’s Franco busy. “I don’t even like to sleep – I feel as if there’s too much to do.”
7 For All Mankind is stacking your directing abilities up with those of James Franco. Through the month of March, 7 For All Mankind will release three interactive trailers that coincide with questions that allow you to vote for the direction you want the storyline to take. The outcome will be a new “Audience Cut” edition of the brand’s Spring 2013 campaign, called A Beautiful Odyssey. The story explores the concept of love & connectivitiy symbolized through an aspirational white wedding and the sensual surroundings of a California beach at sunset. Over the course of a day and a night, the story provides a glimpse into the most intimate and sacred moments of a couple’s relationship; basically, you get to crash and say what happens to the budding couple. The campaign culminates with an exclusive screening of James Franco’s Director’s Cut along side the audience cut on April 25th, 2013 in Los Angeles. In addition to the 3 Chapter videos, 7 For All Mankind will be hosting a series of live-stream after parties to air after the release of each chapter video, where you can tweet questions to be answered live by key fashion influencers and members of our Spring ’13 campaign. For the first live-stream, Peter Vack will be interviewed by 2 high-profile fashion influencers on Tuesday, March 19th. Check the first video and find out where you can screen the final cuts post jump.
