James Franco is a short story writer now

Shinto · Mar 30, 2010

Maybe you better know him as an actor. He got a short story published in Esquire. What does everyone think?

http://www.esquire.com/fiction/james-franco-fiction-0410#ixzz0jfuQXvq3

My favorite line is: "I poke the knife at him, at his fat stomach, lightly poking it with the tip, but he's wearing a puffy North Face jacket, so it doesn't stab him."

And: "The building is beige, but the shadows make it shadow-color."

leahzero · Mar 31, 2010

This about sums it up for me:

http://www.salon.com/life/broadsheet/2010/03/29/james_franco_crush_ends_now/index.html

johnnysannie · Mar 31, 2010

I just wish that people who have found major success in other fields (such as acting) would be happy with that and not attempt - poorly in so many cases including Franco's - to triumph in writing as well.

I can't imagine what the editor thought when he accepted this story except that the celebrity name of James Franco would somehow outweigh the shortcomings of the story.

lennatallo · Mar 31, 2010

you know what- I liked it

Lisa Cox · Mar 31, 2010

Someone give him the password to SYW.

...also, am I the only one who doesn't find him attractive?

KTC · Mar 31, 2010

Oh my fuck, but that's bad writing!

We sit here because it's dark here, and there are no lights outside this building.

Are you kidding me!? Every single sentence is a massacre of the English language. I thought, 'come on...it can't be that bad.' But then I read it. Good lord! The lengths publications will go to to get their magazines off the shelf!!! Franco must be a hot sell...or they never would have published that absolute shit.

There is not much to talk about with Joe because he's such a moron. I don't know what he thinks he is, or why he thinks he exists. I guess in some lives lived, no one tells you what to be, and so you be nothing. In the olden days you were born into it, all decisions made, and you farmed until you died, or cleaned the royal toilets.

Wayne K · Mar 31, 2010

I'm not real hip, but I've never heard of this guy. Now that I've read this, I've never heard of him twice as much

Twizzle · Mar 31, 2010

Wayne K said:
I'm not real hip, but I've never heard of this guy. Now that I've read this, I've never heard of him twice as much

*snort*

qft.

I've never heard of him three times as much.

Jamesaritchie · Mar 31, 2010

That was an absolutely brilliant story. Anyone who thinks good writing is about good English is in serious trouble as a writer.

An editor who didn't buy this story wouldn't be an editor for very long.

Dr.Gonzo · Mar 31, 2010

Absolute trash. He's trying to be Palahniuk-ish far too hard, misusing aloof and spiralling into retardation.

sohalt · Mar 31, 2010

Ah, it's not the worst thing I've ever read. I doesn't resonate with me, because I'm profoundly bored by that kind of character he's chosen as a narrator and I don't think it raises any particularly interesting questions, but the execution seems decent enough. The "massacre of the English language" makes sense for that kind of narrator in the context of the story, so I'm fine with that.

Also, I think Jame Franco is very pretty and I'm not yet sick of his antics. He should write short stories, and star in soap operas, and marry pillows, and wrestle polar bears and run for president and do whatever he likes, because it entertains me.

Last but not least he's an object lesson in why we wouldn't really want to be with that kind of guy, amusing as they are. It's a public service, really.

augusto · Mar 31, 2010

If I ran across this in a writing class, I'd call it a wonderful example of an unreliable narrator (and his even more unreliable cronies). There's an Aristotle reference and one to a faux altar (and others) where he seems to lose that character's voice and some of his thoughts (like the mommy and baby thing) took me out of the story. On the whole, though, I was along for the ride.

I noticed that he has a collection due out. Anyone know if any of his stories were published before he became a 'name'?

CheyElizabeth · Mar 31, 2010

lisamarie84x said:
...also, am I the only one who doesn't find him attractive?

Nope, I'm with you.

He makes a great stoner in movies, but writer? Aagh.

cathyfreeze · Mar 31, 2010

lisamarie84x said:
...also, am I the only one who doesn't find him attractive?

Yes. Yes, you are. But that doesn't mean we find his writing attractive.

jennontheisland · Mar 31, 2010

How very literary of him.

cathyfreeze · Mar 31, 2010

sohalt said:
Last but not least he's an object lesson in why we wouldn't really want to be with that kind of guy, amusing as they are. It's a public service, really.

ROFL! I guess i need to bone up (if you'll excuse the crude language.

cat (who could use some amusement)

Jamesaritchie · Mar 31, 2010

I strongly suspect that if no one had ever heard of him, everyone would love this story, or, at most, wouldn;t have jumped all over it and teh writer. It's good, it's well-written, and liking it or not liking it isn't the issue. I don't like the story at all, and it's not the kind of thing I want to read.

But it's still a brilliantly written story, and any editor would be a damned fool for passing on it, no matter who wrote it. Franco is chasing an MFA, and has at least wanted to be a writer, and worked hard at it, for a lot of years.

Who the hell cares if he's attractive? I prefer talent over beauty, and he has a lot of talent, as an actor, and as a writer.

Dr.Gonzo · Mar 31, 2010

Jamesaritchie said:
I strongly suspect that if no one had ever heard of him, everyone would love this story, or, at most, wouldn;t have jumped all over it and teh writer. It's good, it's well-written, and liking it or not liking it isn't the issue. I don't like the story at all, and it's not the kind of thing I want to read.

But it's still a brilliantly written story, and any editor would be a damned fool for passing on it, no matter who wrote it. Franco is chasing an MFA, and has at least wanted to be a writer, and worked hard at it, for a lot of years.

Who the hell cares if he's attractive? I prefer talent over beauty, and he has a lot of talent, as an actor, and as a writer.

Why, good evening, Mr Franco. Did you ever have the urge to say to Toby Maguire, 'Toby Maguire, stop crying. You're supposed to be Spider-Man, bitch.'?

sohalt · Mar 31, 2010

Who the hell cares if he's attractive?

Girls. And gays, I guess.

Could you elaborate what exactly you find so brilliant about this story? I mean, I can recognize some skill in the execution, but what exactly makes the story stand out in your opinion?

scarletpeaches · Mar 31, 2010

I have no idea who this guy is.

And I don't like the story.

Jamesaritchie · Mar 31, 2010

johnnysannie said:
I just wish that people who have found major success in other fields (such as acting) would be happy with that and not attempt - poorly in so many cases including Franco's - to triumph in writing as well.

I can't imagine what the editor thought when he accepted this story except that the celebrity name of James Franco would somehow outweigh the shortcomings of the story.

So only unsuccessful people should be writers? Successful people, partucularly actors, generally have more writing talent than unsuccessful people in any field. And almost always more talent than you can find in three months of slush.

I can tell you exactly what the editor thought when he bought this story. He thought he loved it. I think David Granger is still editor-in cheif, and is it Chiarella who's fiction editor there? Anyway,I know for a fact that if he wants fiction by celebrity writers, he never has to settle for anything.

If he's after a celebrity name on a story, he can get much bigger names than Franco's any day of the week.

Really, someone rewrite this story for me, and make it better. Show me which sentences need changed, and how you would change them. As an editor, I'm darned if I can find one that I'd touch.

johnnysannie · Mar 31, 2010

Jamesaritchie said:
I strongly suspect that if no one had ever heard of him, everyone would love this story, or, at most, wouldn;t have jumped all over it and teh writer. It's good, it's well-written, and liking it or not liking it isn't the issue. I don't like the story at all, and it's not the kind of thing I want to read.

But it's still a brilliantly written story, and any editor would be a damned fool for passing on it, no matter who wrote it. Franco is chasing an MFA, and has at least wanted to be a writer, and worked hard at it, for a lot of years.

Who the hell cares if he's attractive? I prefer talent over beauty, and he has a lot of talent, as an actor, and as a writer.

James, I don't find Franco attractive nor did I find his story worthy at all. It is poorly written and my personal take is that no editor would have ever given it light of day had he not already been famous in another venue.

johnnysannie · Mar 31, 2010

Jamesaritchie said:
So only unsuccessful people should be writers? Successful people, partucularly actors, generally have more writing talent than unsuccessful people in any field. And almost always more talent than you can find in three months of slush.

IQUOTE]

You misunderstand my message, James.

If someone is truly talented, then there is no reason why they should not pursue other venues.

But too many of the celebrities today dash off a short story, a novel, or other written work and it's published simply because their "name" will sell copies. That does a disservice to writers who don't happen to be famous in another area.

It's name brand marketing, no more, no less.

sohalt · Mar 31, 2010

I guess i need to bone up (if you'll excuse the crude language

Don't worry. Since I'm not a native speaker, this went right over my head.

KTC · Mar 31, 2010

Jamesaritchie said:
That was an absolutely brilliant story. Anyone who thinks good writing is about good English is in serious trouble as a writer.

An editor who didn't buy this story wouldn't be an editor for very long.

i don't know if you're kidding or not...but bad English was just a VERY SMALL PART of what was wrong with this story. It was the shits. Capital SHITS.

James Franco is a short story writer now

Shinto

Misanthrope

leahzero

The colors! THE COLORS!

johnnysannie

lennatallo

breathing through my eyes

Lisa Cox

KTC

Stand in the Place Where You Live

Wayne K

Twizzle

Cluck that.

Jamesaritchie

Dr.Gonzo

Wonderfully Irreverent

sohalt

augusto

CheyElizabeth

My horn can pierce the sky!

cathyfreeze

I lost my fever! I need it back!

jennontheisland

the world is at my command

cathyfreeze

I lost my fever! I need it back!

Jamesaritchie

Dr.Gonzo

Wonderfully Irreverent

sohalt

scarletpeaches

Jamesaritchie

johnnysannie

johnnysannie

sohalt

KTC

Stand in the Place Where You Live

James Franco is a short story writer now

Misanthrope

The colors! THE COLORS!

*breathing through my eyes*

Stand in the Place Where You Live

Cluck that.

Wonderfully Irreverent

My horn can pierce the sky!

I lost my fever! I need it back!

the world is at my command

I lost my fever! I need it back!

Wonderfully Irreverent

Stand in the Place Where You Live

breathing through my eyes