Let my loyal — even not so loyal — readers know, I schlepped down to Crosby Street, wherever that is, to the Crosby Street Hotel, which I only recently knew existed. It was cold, I was starving, my car’s tire went flat — but don’t give it a thought. Like the Canadian Mounties, nothing stands in the way of getting my man — who in this case was James Franco.
Handsome, easy Franco, whom we loved in “Spider-Man” and who plays the late scurvy beatnik poet Allen Ginsberg in the movie “Howl,” said: “I play Ginsberg as the young man in 1958 when he’s 30ish. He wasn’t scurvy. He was artistic, troubled, vulnerable. And what’s wrong with obscenity? I only have a problem with content. Certainly not with nudity or pornography.”
Okayyyy. Born in San Francisco, which discovered the Beat Generation, schooled at UCLA, with one brother a sculptor, another an actor, and an actress girlfriend, he said: “I spend my money on art-related things. I mean, if I’m spending it on myself at all, it’s on my favorite artist.”
James Franco definitely doesn’t blow it on wardrobe. His black coat was littered with light brown hairs. He has dark brown hair. The man either has a frisky puppy or a frisky lady.
“I learned to play Ginsberg from transcripts, documents, poems, recordings, his trial. I have films of him, but there weren’t lots of those in the ’50s. One documentary called ‘Pull My Daisy’ features him but no sound, so I used that for his mannerisms and gestures, not his voice. There was one scene we filmed with no cutaways, no breaks, a full scene where I had to know each exact word he’d said. Until then I’d never memorized whole pages ever before in my life. I had to go over and over the thing to learn it. And I went to bookstores and read his poems.”
“Howl” premieres at Sundance this week. If it’s a hit, possibly James Franco will invest in a whisk broom.
HARRISON Ford‘s adored Calista Flockhart reads tarot cards . . . From Salma Hayek: “Hollywood’s life style makes it tough to remain pious.” . . . Matt Damon: “I tell wannabes, ‘Don’t become an actor. It’s ridiculous. No medical benefits, no guaranteed income. Rational people shouldn’t be actors.’ If that convinces them not to go into show business, then they shouldn’t have in the first place.” . . . Comes now Penguin’s “The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Selling Your Home.” Co-author Katie Severance, an ex-TV producer who now hustles real estate, says: “I’m actually working on a potential new network devoted to real estate.” . . . Per a moviemaking pro: “Newly needed retakes on Angelina Jolie‘s movie ‘Salt’ is not good news.” . . . My ophthalmologist, when he was in practice, Dr. Charles Kelman, who changed how we see, is the subject of public television’s new documentary “Through My Eyes: The Charlie Kelman Story.” Airs the 20th.
RAIN caused extra primping at the Golden Globes’ Beauty 360 suite. Jaime Pressly had curls fixed, Jane Lynch of “Glee” had makeup fixed, Lisa Rinna had eyelashes fixed, Kara DioGuardi was into the hair dryer . . . Ailing Dennis Hopper once lived at NYC’s Chelsea Hotel. He wanted to be in that same place where Dylan Thomas and Virgil Thomson honed their artistic growth . . . Between fund-raisers for his native Haiti, Wyclef Jean‘s writing a book about his minister father. Daddy thought Wyclef betrayed him to become a musician, figuring it was payback because voodoo preacher Grampa had felt betrayed when his own son, Wyclef’s father, didn’t follow him . . . Queen Latifah: “I don’t need to have the fastest car or $50,000 in diamonds on my hand. Give me a bank account, give me companies, give me s – – – that’ll continue past your broken down Benz you can’t afford to keep.”
James McAvoy, receiving honors for his work with Helen Mirren, Christopher Plummer, Paul Gia matti in “The Last Station,” speaks little about his difficult upbringing.
His father, with whom he hasn’t spoken in 20 years, is a day laborer in Glasgow’s underprivileged section called Drumchapel. He was raised with little money by grandparents from childhood after his own mother and father’s divorce and the father took up with someone else. He remains close to the grandparents. Not close with a half-brother who has tusseled with the law and whom he has never met.
However, a seemingly gentle McAvoy says of his current co-stars: “I could hardly believe I was working with such great talent.”
Cate Blanchett: Mercedes Ruehl decorated the closing of “Brief En counter” at B’klyn’s St. Ann’s Ware house . . . So how to schmooze a celebrity? Kevin Costner likes to talk golf. John Travolta, flying. Michael J. Fox, hockey. Schwarzenegger, cigars. A chat with Sean Penn could start with the fact his brother was an actor, too. Tom Hanks: “Just try to be interesting.” Quentin Tarantino expects you to have something to say when you approach him. Roseanne Barr hates bores . . . It’s our own Archbishop Timothy Dolan who heads the board of Catholic Relief Services, which is on the ground in Haiti. Helping. The official international humanitarian organization of Catholic bishops. And won’t leave even after everyone else does.
Fotog Bettina Cirone just received a $1.38 check from Time Inc. It was for use of three of her photos. She now wants to know, might they also send her a 1099 so she can declare it as income?
Only in New York, kids, only in New York.