In the latest production from the James Franco Creative Factory, the actor/writer/director/artist/comedian joins forces with Pittsburgh-based animator Julian Glander to capture his sunny Californian youth. Thankfully, the charmingly animated piece is pretty loaded with dirty secrets from the actor’s past. From a middle school cologne trafficking ring to graffiti tags, the short depicts the teenage blunders that led Franco to creative success. Franco also reveals his obsession with cult hit My Private Idaho and former heartthrob River Phoenix. Glander’s distinctively bright colors and textured animations even help paint the disheartening years Franco spent as a UCLA cafeteria employee as a happy blip on his journey to superstar status.
Glander frequently collaborates with emerging musicians like Shopping Spree and Himuro Yoshiteru as well as big names like St. Vincent. This year, he illustrated St. Vincent’s album sleeve for her edition of Digital Witness for charity Secret 7. The animated James Franco short is part of the Google Play and California Sunday series California Inspires Me, which has captured the golden childhoods of other Californian natives like Kim Gordon, Mike Mills, and Rashida Jones.
Credits
Text Hana Beach
Image via @jamesfrancotv