ADDICTED TO ACTING A PASSION FOR HIS WORK TAKES 'CITY BY THE SEA'S' JAMES FRANCO TO EXTREMES.Byline: Evan Henerson Staff Writer AN ACTOR'S MAGICAL, career-defining moment doesn't always happen on camera, or even in a classroom. Robert Carnegie realized that James Franco had the hunger to perform when the then-19-year-old actor decided to plunge headfirst head·first also head·fore·most adv. 1. With the head leading; headlong: went headfirst down the stairs. 2. Impetuously; brashly. into a very cold - and very crowded - pool. Franco, the Emmy-nominated star of the miniseries ``James Dean'' and co-star of ``City by the Sea'' with Oscar winners Robert De Niro Noun 1. Robert De Niro - United States film actor who frequently plays tough characters (born 1943) De Niro and Frances McDormand, was faced with the choice of devoting himself full time to his studies at UCLA UCLA University of California at Los Angeles UCLA University Center for Learning Assistance (Illinois State University) UCLA University of Carrollton, TX and Lower Addison, TX or keeping up his training at Carnegie's Playhouse West in North Hollywood, pursuing an actor's life and thereby forfeiting his parents' financial support. ``He made the decision to bet on himself and let his parents cut him off,'' Carnegie says of Franco. ``He was working for minimum wage at McDonald's. Other students would go through the drive-thru and James would do improvisations with them. He suffered for a significant period of time, trying to make do. He paid the price.'' A native of Palo Alto Palo Alto, city, California Palo Alto (păl`ō ăl`tō), city (1990 pop. 55,900), Santa Clara co., W Calif.; inc. 1894. Although primarily residential, Palo Alto has aerospace, electronics, and advanced research industries. who now lives in L.A., Franco caught the acting bug in high school in Northern California Northern California, sometimes referred to as NorCal, is the northern portion of the U.S. state of California. The region contains the San Francisco Bay Area, the state capital, Sacramento; as well as the substantial natural beauty of the redwood forests, the northern . The once introverted in·tro·vert·ed adj. Marked by interest in or preoccupation with oneself or one's own thoughts as opposed to others or the environment. young man found that high-school plays provided a way ``to let everything out without any consequences, without repercussions repercussions npl → répercussions fpl repercussions npl → Auswirkungen pl . ``I guess my girlfriend at the time was an actress,'' he says. ``I said, 'If she's doing it, maybe I can do it, too.' '' He landed a leading role on the series ``Freaks and Geeks'' and went on to ``James Dean Noun 1. James Dean - United States film actor whose moody rebellious roles made him a cult figure (1931-1955) James Byron Dean, Dean .'' Franco is currently riding a wave that includes ``Spider- Man'' (playing Peter Parker's friend, Harry Osborn Harry Osborn is a Marvel Comics character, both one-time friend and foe to Spider-Man. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, he first appeared in The Amazing Spider-Man #31 (December 1965). ); the recently completed ``Sonny,'' directed by Nicolas Cage; and ``The Great Raid,'' directed by John Dahl (``The Last Seduction''). In between films, Franco returns to Playhouse West for script work with Carnegie, for scene study or, occasionally, to perform in a play, often without any fanfare or publicity. ``It puts me in an environment that takes acting seriously,'' Franco says of Playhouse West. ``It also refocuses me, so I'm not clowning around.'' As if ``clowning'' was ever a danger. ``The thing I always try to get across about James when I talk to people is the dedication, the discipline and the hard work that's gone into his success,'' says Carnegie. ``This is a special young actor.'' Street savvy Also a versatile one. The gaunt and haggard-looking junkie junkie Popular health A popular term for a person, usually an IV narcotic abusing addict, whose life is disorganized vis-á-vis family and societal structure, whose existence revolves around obtaining–often through theft, prostitution or other illicit prowling prowl v. prowled, prowl·ing, prowls v.tr. To roam through stealthily, as in search of prey or plunder: prowled the alleys of the city after dark. v.intr. the boardwalks of a blasted-out Eastern Seaboard resort during ``City by the Sea's'' opening credits Opening credits, in a television program, motion picture or videogame, are shown at the beginning of a show and list the most important members of the production. They are usually shown as text superimposed on a blank screen or static pictures, or sometimes on top of action in the won't be easily recognizable as the man who bore such a striking resemblance to James Dean in the TNT TNT: see trinitrotoluene. TNT in full trinitrotoluene Pale yellow, solid organic compound made by adding nitrate (−NO2) groups to toluene. miniseries. Nor should he. To play the role, Franco went through one of his ``whatever-it-takes'' transformations. If Franco looks like hell resuscitated re·sus·ci·tate v. re·sus·ci·tat·ed, re·sus·ci·tat·ing, re·sus·ci·tates v.tr. To restore consciousness, vigor, or life to. See Synonyms at revive. v.intr. To regain consciousness. in ``City by the Sea,'' that's because he did his homework. To play Joey LaMarca, the irresponsible drug-addicted son of De Niro's Vincent LaMarca, Franco took to the streets. ``I needed to know the technical aspects of taking drugs and the effects that the influence of drugs would have on a person,'' says the soft-spoken Franco, 24, looking matinee-idol handsome again during a late-summer interview. ``But there's also the specific attitude and lifestyle from that world. A lot of the guys in the treatment centers would help me with that.'' Franco spent weekends living on the streets, going to the downtown missions, living by the beach in Santa Monica and Venice as well as in New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of . (Much of ``City by the Sea'' was shot in Asbury Park, N.J.) Franco conducted his research with a friend, but found the experience isolating despite the camaraderie that, he found, seems to come with life on the street. The invisible man ``I would go up to people and ask for money, as I thought I should do,'' says Franco, who notes that he later gave back the money he begged. ``People just look away. They don't even respond, so one feels almost invisible. I was just kind of thrust into this separate world, and I think it was very valuable, because Joey in the film is very secluded and dependent on himself.'' Inspired by an Esquire magazine article by Mike McAlary, ``City by the Sea'' is a somewhat fictionalized account of the hardships of former Long Beach, N.Y., detective Vincent LaMarca. Vincent's father, Angelo, was executed for murder in a botched botch tr.v. botched, botch·ing, botch·es 1. To ruin through clumsiness. 2. To make or perform clumsily; bungle. 3. To repair or mend clumsily. n. 1. kidnapping in 1956. More than 40 years later, when Vincent's son, Joey LaMarca, confessed to the murder of drug dealer James Winston, talk in law-enforcement circles turned to the intriguing possibility of a ``murder gene'' in the LaMarca family that had skipped a generation. ``City by the Sea'' director Michael Caton-Jones had no interest in a ``murder gene'' movie, but he felt the LaMarca story raised themes of parental responsibility and the consequences of past decisions. The project was originally developed for Al Pacino, but when scheduling made Pacino's participation an impossibility, Caton-Jones took the project to his former ``This Boy's Life'' star, De Niro. Then McDormand joined the project, playing Vincent's girlfriend. For the character of Joey, who would share an above-the-title credit with De Niro and McDormand, the filmmakers wanted someone specific. ``He needed to be young, but not too young and not too old because that would have been kind of pathetic,'' says Caton-Jones. ``I was after a lost soul as opposed to a drug addict. It's a very delicate line to walk, and we read quite a lot of boys. We felt James had the best of all those worlds, and I hadn't seen anything he had done. The 'Dean' thing hadn't even been finished by that point.'' Franco and De Niro only have a couple of scenes together, but the director encouraged Franco to watch De Niro work whenever possible. ``It helped reinforce the longing in my character,'' says Franco. ``(De Niro) kept to himself a lot, so there was a distance until we got to our scenes together. He's such a professional or a master that I can't help but engage with him when we're working together.'' Adds Caton-Jones: ``I see a lot of actors who are intimidated by Bob because they hold him in such high regard, and some of them choke. James is still pretty young, but I think Bob was very generous with James and helping him through the scenes. James picked up very quickly how to comport See COM port. yourself on the set.'' Caton-Jones has heard people make comparisons with another young actor who went toe-to-toe with De Niro: Leonardo DiCaprio, who played De Niro's step-son in ``This Boy's life.'' ``To a certain extent, the parallels are striking,'' says Caton-Jones. ``I think James has all the potential of Leonardo.'' CAPTION(S): 3 photos Photo: (1 -- cover -- color) lost & profound `City by the Sea's' James Franco gave up everything for his craft, and the rewards have been tremendous (2) no caption (James Franco) Evan Yee/Staff Photographer (3) James Franco as James Dean |
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