It took James Franco “127 Hours” to be rescued from the Utah wilderness in his 2010 film, but it’s been 136 days and counting for lawyers trying to find the elusive star to serve him with papers in a defamation suit. “Franco has hidden from service through a transient lifestyle, layers of security, and virtual places of business with no real address,” lawyer Russell Moriarty gripes in court papers filed this month. Moriarty reps NYU Prof. Jose Angel Santana who’s trying to sue the actor for badmouthing his teaching in 2011 after Franco nearly flunked a film class. But Manhattan Supreme Court Judge Saliann Scarpulla ruled in April the case could not go forward till Franco was personally served with the 2012 suit. Co-counsel Matthew Blit pledged at the time: “We will find him, we will serve him and we will prevail.” Easier said than done. In April, while Franco filmed with Jonah Hill in Brooklyn, his security team allegedly prevented a messenger from “getting close enough” to deliver legal papers. “Every time we’ve tried to find him, he hides behind people on the set,” Moriarty groaned to The Post’s Julia Marsh. “We got within feet of him but couldn’t serve him,” Blit added. Last night Franco was seen swanning 3,500 miles away at the annual Serpentine Gallery summer soirée in London, co-hosted by Mick Jagger’s main squeeze L’Wren Scott. Franco happily rubbed elbows with guests including Jagger, Naomi Campbell, Kate Moss, Ewan McGregor, Ronnie Wood, Jimmy Fallon, Lorne Michaels, Sarah Jessica Parker, Damien Hirst, Daphne Guinness, Princess Beatrice, Duran Duran’s Nick Rhodes and Trudie Styler. He was overheard saying he’ll be headed to the Venice Film Festival in August. The befuddled attorneys have been monitoring Franco via Twitter for clues to his whereabouts, but maybe they should just read Page Six. Franco’s reps did not return calls.
Lawyers can’t find James Franco to serve him with defamation suit papers
