I loved the world of Oz. I guess as a young man, I was just drawn to fantasy worlds. I liked being transported to alternative realms where a lot of my early imagination was sparked. James Franco More Quotes by James Franco More Quotes From James Franco Teens today rule the world. The whole culture - movies, music - is pointed at young people. They have so 'much' power. James Franco teens culture people He was so. So dirty, and just moving in front of me, and cute. I was in love with him, especially because he was talking to me. James Franco cute dirty moving A lot of the people in San Francisco think of themselves as healers - not just as people delivering this base service, but giving their clients spiritual help. It's almost like being an actor, playing a different part for each trick. James Franco san-francisco spiritual thinking Almost all the movies I've directed are adaptations. And I think what I found when I went to film school, where they try to push you to find your voice or your thing, is that I got a lot of things out of adaptations. James Franco voice school thinking If you just read the book, you're taking in the narrative, you're taking in the characters, you're understanding it in a certain way. If you make a movie it's really an act of translation. James Franco understanding character book When I was a young actor, I just didn’t understand how to function in this business as an artist. It is a business, it’s called the film business for a reason, there’s money involved ... But on the flip side, now I do not let the business side of it rule either. It’s a balance. James Franco balance actors artist I guess it's ironic. I just did the Gucci cologne ad, and I was the cologne thief in junior high. James Franco ironic thieves juniors I've decided I can't really control people's perceptions of me. All I can do is decide on what I work on and how hard I work on it. James Franco perception can-do people I was being generous. Gia Coppola wasn't even a filmmaker at that time, but I asked her to do it, because I believed in her as an artist. And because I wanted a woman's take on the material. The book Palo Alto is very male-centric, but Gia carved out a bunch of the female characters, and brought them to the fore in the movie. And the project was richer for it. James Franco artist character book I wouldn't want to live life in an untroubled garden, blissful and ignorant. I would want to get out into the world, and be a part of something. In a way I was born into the Garden of Eden, or as close as you can get in our world; I was born white, male, and in Palo Alto. I had it pretty kush. James Franco ignorant live-life garden I got arrested for graffiti. I got arrested - a lot of, like, underage drinking, drunk in public, shoplifting, you know, your various, like, suburban arrests, I guess. James Franco graffiti drunk drinking I worked at a McDonald's drive-through. I could always tell when girls were interested: They'd drive around again and say, "I forgot something." James Franco mcdonalds girl Boys and girls were both created with given attributes, and given the freedom to act and react. But Adam was allowed to name all the animals, and Eve was made from Adam's rib, as a companion for him. No wonder she ate the apple, she was rebelling against a world where everything was stacked against her. She was just a prop to make Adam happy. James Franco girl animal boys I worked the drive-through at McDonald's and tried out different accents - Italian, Russian, Irish. James Franco mcdonalds italian different I could have a sex change and become a woman, physically. But in some ways that isn't even necessary. Because we live in a time when real life, and virtual life are at parity. We are so used to being creators, and creating versions of ourselves, mainly online, and through our communication technology, that I could very well picture myself as a woman, and consider myself a woman, even if my body would be classified as a male body by a medical examiner. James Franco communication technology real When I was younger, I didn’t know that I should just listen to my own voice, my own artistic sense of things when I was choosing projects, because one of the biggest creative decisions that an actor can make in the film business is what you will work on. James Franco voice creative decision I put out a lot of different kinds of material, and maybe people read that as egotistical. Or maybe, since a lot of it does involve some aspect of me, they find it self-aggrandizing. But there’s a long tradition of artists using themselves. Look, I know I’m not perfect. And, who knows, maybe a part of it has to do with self-obsession. But it’s also about using this weird thing that is a public persona as raw material for creative projects. James Franco artist self long Most of the books that I've adapted I'm doing because I love the book and I feel like it's a great work of art in itself, and when it's a great book I feel as a director or a writer that I have a responsibility to rise to the level of the original. It makes me try to reach higher. James Franco responsibility book art ...it can be so boring being you sometimes, and if you were the most special thing like that, it could be really great, but maybe some people say the same thing about you, and you want to tell those people: 'No, you're stupid, it's no fun being me. James Franco stupid fun people I become kind of obsessive about research. James Franco obsessive kind research
