James Franco, tonight’s Oscars co-host with Anne Hathaway, is regarded as one of the hottest and most versatile actors of the moment in Hollywood. Nominated for Best Actor for his role in “127 Hours,” Franco also just unveiled an art film at the Gagosian Gallery and taped a return as a serial killer on “General Hospital.”
Now, we’ve learned that Franco has his eye on a project about a side of Los Angeles far removed from the glamour at the Kodak Theatre — a violent new art film including a real and possibly bloody LA street-gang fight. Sources told Page Six he’s working with director Harmony Korine on the project, which they hope will climax in a gory battle at an iconic location such as the Griffith Observatory.
Our source said, “They are looking to film two actual street gangs doing a fight scene. The twist is they want the two gangs to fight, using real knives. The production team is panicked that they’ll end up with blood, injuries and potentially dead bodies on set.”
Korine is best known for his work on the screenplay for 1995 teen sex- and violence-filled “Kids.” He spawned a cult with the 1997 movie “Gummo” about cat-killing teenagers, which won fans including Gus Van Sant, a close friend of Franco.
Korine had been working on a video called “Fight Harm,” filmed by illusionist David Blaine, which included Korine engaging strangers in street fights in New York. But he was hospitalized after six fights and forced to abandon the project. He said in 2000, “I got a lot of bones broken, I was thrown in prison and I had really bad court costs.”
A Korine rep told us, “I can confirm that there is indeed a piece of video art in the works involving gang fights by James and Harmony,” but declined to comment further.
This year, Franco’s also reported to be starring in Noah Baumbach-directed “While We’re Young,” then Disney’s “Oz: The Great and the Powerful,” and a stage revival of “Sweet Bird of Youth” — all while studying for a Ph.D. in English at Yale.