'09
Despite what Oprah says, experts claim America is a nation of non-readers. American adults read fewer and fewer books each year. Oprah even admits that the episodes that she devotes to her book club are some of the lowest-rated episodes of the year. That’s how much Americans hate books – we don’t even want to see Oprah talk about a book.
Personally, I’ve always been a big reader. It was how I was raised. My library card is worn to the nub and there’s nothing I love more than curling up in bed with a good biography, detective story or Pulitzer-Prize winning novel. One of my biggest reading pleasures are collections of essays and/or short stories. Essaying is a dying art, and few great writers have the will power to be a great short story writer.
James Franco, Independent Spirit Award-winning actor of Milk, is trying to become one of my new favorite authors. He’s just signed on to write a collection of short stories for Simon & Schuster. Contact Music has more:
‘Milk’ star James Franco is taking his creative writing hobby seriously – he has secured a deal to release a collection of short stories.
The 30-year-old actor is currently enrolled on a creative writing graduate course at Columbia University in New York.
And now the star is set to become an author after selling his book to publishers Simon & Schuster, his agent confirms to Fox News.
Publishing appears to run in the Franco family – his mother Betsy is a bestselling children’s author.
From Contact Music
Unlike someone like Ethan Hawke, I actually think Franco’s writing might be more than a vanity project and a douchey attempt to look “deep” while picking up random waitresses. Franco used to strike me as one of those “too cool for school” kinds of guys, annoyingly vapid. But he’s grown on me. He’s a talented actor, and I bet he takes his writing seriously. Fingers crossed.
James Franco is shown on 2/21/09 at the Independent Spirit Awards. Thanks to WENN.
Written by Kaiser
Posted in Books, James Franco
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14 Responses to “James Franco gets a book deal”
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God that man is so scrumptious.
Yes. Please!
(On a serious note, no worries, you’re not alone, I read like mad all the time, heck, I just recently downloaded an online book app to my g1 and now I have like a bajillion books at my fingertips! Cheaper than the Kindle and it does more than just flash me some words. lol)
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I used to think he was vain and irritating before too. His stoner persona certainly has helped his cause, and now he writes? His PR rep deserves a raise.
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oh, and:
“That’s how much Americans hate books – we don’t even want to see Oprah talk about a book.”
That made my morning.
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Geez, what a smile that guy has!
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This might turn out to be a boon for book readers. Who knows? Maybe this will result in an influx of new talent so no one will be forced to read Danielle Steele ever again.
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….what about books…all I see is James Franco looking hot.
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God I love to look at him. I look forward to checking his book out. Perhaps there is more to him than just another pretty face.
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He looks just like my brother-in-law whose personality and intelligence I apply to Franco when I see his picture. Lucky for me I can separate the two and swoon over Franco without applying that to my BIL. Otherwise, things would get ackward.
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good lord he’s hot… but he looks like he’s on drugs in these photos… awfully pale with dark circles around his eyes…
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OK, they haven’t even read his work yet. It pisses me off when celebrities are given book deals when there are much harder working *real* writers. Yes, he’s trying to get his MFA, but that’s just the start of learning. Must be nice to use your fame to screw over others who have honed the craft for years.
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It’s sad that I know him best from Spiderman and Pineapple Express than from the highly acclaimed Milk
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Oh wait, ladies, he’s also a painter. His grandmother is one as well and owns an art gallery in Ohio. As if he couldn’t get any hotter…
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James Franco’s mum is a well-known children’s book author (also published by Simon & Schuster, and Candlewick Press) and his longtime gf comes from an impressive publishing family, so I’m not at all surprised and can’t wait to read it. Get updates at Twitter.com/JamesFrancoNews
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Between me and my wife we would have to say this is an awful informative post that should get mentioning elsewhere. This is for 2 types of people: current writers who are considering a another labor, and people trying to take to become a writer.
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