James Franco at Palm Springs ShortFest

[Gordon Parr]

By Jorie Parr. Photos by Gordon Parr.

Though he played James Dean in the 2001 TV movie, heartthrob-handsome James Franco may have more in common with the late Dennis Hopper. Both…actors – directors – filmmakers – artists – collectors – addicts. Early on, Hopper got into drugs. Franco is hooked on academia.

There’s a Dennis Hopper exhibit at the Los Angeles Museum of Contemporary Art (July 11- Sept. 26, 2010), the location of a recent shoot for Franco-starring “General Hospital” episodes. Apparently the 32-year-old actor sees his soap opera turn as performance art. It couldn’t have been easy. He said they shot 77 pages in one day, equivalent of half a feature film.

But he also uses poetry as inspiration for a trio of films from his stint at NYU film school. (Yale is his next destination.) The three shorts ran at the Palm Springs International Short Film Festival program featuring Franco interviewed by Peter Bart, Hollywood legend now editor of Variety.

Peter Bart and Franco

Though all of the Franco pieces were undeniably well made, two are so violent they were not for this viewer. “The Feast of Stephen,” showed a gay lad martyred. “Herbert White” concerns a blue-collar type whose day job, clear-cutting forests, has much in common with his hobby.

The other, “The Clerk’s Tale,” resonated for its lives of quiet desperation, as Thoreau put it. Two career Brooks Brothers staffers persevere through the work day. In narrowed close-ups, we see the repressed despair of John Kelly’s character. His older gay colleague (Charles Dance), coping with jaunty vulgarity, foreshadows the future.

Apparently Franco suppresses his charisma while taking university courses. (We forgot to mention Columbia.) “I’m just there to learn.” But the capacity audience no doubt agreed with Peter Bart: “He’s the best-looking academic junkie…”

James Franco looks a little like James Dean here.