Guest of Honor

Actor James Franco talks ‘Rebel’ art

poses for a portrait during the 2011 Sundance Film Festival at The Samsung Galaxy Tab Lift on January 22, 2011 in Park City, Utah.

The Spiderman trilogy, Pineapple Express, and dramas like 127 Hours and Milk have turned James Franco into a major Hollywood player, but he doesn’t act that part; he’s also a writer, a student, and an artist. Last year, he assembled an art exhibit called REBEL at LA’s MoCA, in which he and other artists riff on the myth and iconography surrounding the James Dean classic Rebel without a Cause (Franco first played Dean in a 2001 TV biopic). The always prolific Franco has already starred in a handful of films this year, including the hits Oz: The Great and Powerful and Spring Breakers. James tells Rico about Hollywood’s short-term memory, the infantilization of actors, and why he hates going to bed.