James Franco Opens Up About Oscars in Interview

In an interview with Playboy magazine, actor James Franco talked about his appearance on the Oscars and truly opened up about the event. Early in the interview, the actor noted, "It’s hard to talk about because it’s like assigning blame, not a fun thing to do." For those who missed it, the Oscars show was largely deemed a dud, and Franco was not too happy about it. He noted in the interview, "for three or four weeks we shot the promos and the little film that played in the opening. In the last week, when we really started focusing on the script for the live show and did a run-through, I said to the producer, ‘I don’t know why you hire me, because you haven’t given me anything. I just don’t think this stuff’s going to be good.’"

One of the oddest scenes in the show had Franco dressed as Marilyn Monroe, donning a dress, elbow-length gloves and a blonde wig. Noted Franco of that fiasco, "I was so pissed about that I was deliberately going to fall onstage and hopefully my dress would fall off or something. They couldn't blame that on me. I was in high heels. The plan had been that I was going to sing as Cher and then Cher was going to come out onstage. That got axed when Cher and the song from Burlesque weren't nominated. I told them, 'Look, this is the thing people are going to talk about, the images they will take away from the show.’"

Finally, even though he had extreme reservations about the part he was to play, Franco noted that he "just didn’t want to fight anymore." He also noted that the producers were happy after the show, saying it was on of the best Oscars ever. The reality, of course, was that it was poorly received by those watching from home. Add Franco of the debacle, "As far as having low energy or seeming as though I wasn't into it or was too cool for it, I thought, 'Okay Anne is going the enthusiastic route. I've been trained as an actor to respond to circumstances, to the people I'm working with, and not force anything.' So I thought I would be the straight man and she could be the other, and that's how I was trying to do those lines. I felt kind of trapped in that material. I felt this is not my boat. I'm just a passenger, but I'm going down and there's no way out