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American Morning
Showbiz Report: MTV Turns 20; James Franco Stars as James Dean
Aired August 02, 2001 - 10:39 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
MICHAEL OKWU, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I mean, you know, last night at the MTV Awards, it was sort of like, as Bill Tush said, a mishmash of a mosh pit. There are so many different people, from hip-hop people to heavy metal people, it was incredible. I bet you wish you were there.
HARRIS: Yes, exactly.
Who did you run into?
OKWU: We ran into slash, who is formerly the lead guitarist of Guns N Roses, and he actually told us that he is going to be playing in Michael Jackson's upcoming concert on September 7th and September 10th, so nice juicy tidbits for you.
Well, it was a big night for Slash and the rest of the music biz last night in New York, as they celebrated MTV's 20th anniversary. The live telecast was exactly what you would expect from the hip crowd, with singing, dancing and general marveling over how far they've come. The original VJs were all there, alongside some of today's hottest musicians, who were mere tots back in 1981 when MTV began.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE:: 20 years later.
MARK GOODMAN: This time 20 years ago, we were sucking down cheap drinks and bad hors d'oeuvress.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE:: There was no Coolio, no Dan Cortez, no favorite celebrities.
ALAN HUNTER: Early on, in MTV years, they asked us to make the videos, they asked us to sing and do the videos and do the VJ stuff. Now they've got other people to do that. It's really cool.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
OKWU: Just as MTV paved new roads for music, James Dean changed the face of the movie star. Hollywood has been talking about making a biopic of his life for years, but TNT beat them all to the punch. Why? It might be because they found an actor who looked enough like the legend, and was talented enough to exude his charisma. That actor's name is James Franco.
Lori Blackman talked to this "Showbiz Today" star of tomorrow about his take on that other James.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JAMES FRANCO, ACTOR: Well, I got James Dean, Jimmy Dean or Byron Dean.
UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: Which one's your real name?
FRANCO: James. Byron's my middle name.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LORI BLACKMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It sure looks and sound like James Dean, but it's not. It's James Franco, channeling James Dean for TNT's biopic on the elusive star if such films as "Rebel Without a Cause."
FRANCO: I can relate with what he wants to struggle as actor and trying to succeed and be the best that you can be.
BLACKMAN FRANCO: For the first few weeks that you were shooting, you shut yourself off from family, and your friends and your girlfriend to fully immerse yourself in this character?
FRANCO: Yes.
BLACKMAN: What the purpose of that?
FRANCO: Well, I guess there were a few purposes. James Dean was a very tortured person, and although he had friends in his life, I think he was a very lonely person. I have a fairly strong support group, so I wanted to cut that off to approximate that feeling that I think he had.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
FRANCO: Look, everyone thinks I am great but you. Don't you read the paper? I am in the papers.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FRANCO: And two, you know, if I go around acting like James Dean in front of my friends and family all the time, I'd feel like a bit of a fool.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
FRANCO: Hey, what are you, on your period?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLACKMAN (voice-over): Franco first appeared on the scene in the critically-acclaimed television show "Freaks and Geeks."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
FRANCO: I think you could help me to be a better person, you know?
UNIDENTIFIED ACTRESS: How do you mean?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLACKMAN: He then moved to feature film, starring opposite his girlfriend, Marla Sokoloff, in "Whatever It Takes." It was his first and only foray into the teen genre.
FRANCO: They don't seem to lend themselves to complicated characters. They seem to be fulfilling certain fantasies people have about high school. They're not exactly realistic.
BLACKMAN: Even less realistic, but higher profile, is one of his upcoming films, "Spiderman," where Franco stars alongside the superhero himself, played by Tobey Maguire.
FRANCO: Tobey is Spiderman, and then I play his friend, Harry Osbourne.
BLACKMAN: Franco then goes from friend to foe, playing the murdering son of Robert De Niro in the upcoming "City by the Sea."
FRANCO: I remember in Palo Alto, where I grew up, watching these people, and all of a sudden they're in front of me, working with me.
BLACKMAN: Lori Blackman, CNN Entertainment News, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
OKWU: Speaking of celebrities working hard, 'N Sync has done it again. In the first week of release, the group's latest album, "Celebrity" sold 1.9 million copies, debuting at number one on the billboard chart. Are the guys disappointed they didn't break the record for most sales in a week? Probably not, They hold that record, too. Their last CD, "No Strings Attached," sold 2.4 million albums in its first week. We'll talk to 'N Sync in our next "Showbiz Today" report at 11:30 a.m. Eastern Time.
In New York, I'm Michael Okwu.
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