(L to R) Alison Brie and Dave Franco star in ‘Together’.
Moviefone recently had the pleasure of sitting down in person with Alison Brie and Dave Franco to talk about their work on ‘Together’, their first reactions to the screenplay, Brie’s performance, adjusting Franco’s character, the married couple’s working relationship, and the pressure of shooting the film in only 21 days.
You can read the full interview below or click on the video player above to watch our interview.
Dave Franco in ‘Together’. Photo: Neon.
Moviefone: To begin with, Dave, can you talk about your first meeting with director Michael Shanks, his pitch for this movie, and why you thought it would be a good project for you and Alison to do together?
Dave Franco: So, I met Michael Shanks, because we were discussing another film that he wrote, during that meeting, that film kind of got pushed to the side, and we just started bonding over horror movies. He was like, “I’ve had this script sitting around for a long time. I think you might really like it,” and so he sent me the script for ‘Together’. I read it, and I was just like, “This is one of the most innovative scripts I’ve ever read. These set pieces are unbelievable.” I turned to Alison, and I was like, “I think we should do this together, because our real relationship could help inform these characters in the movie, who have been together for over a decade, and hopefully we could add some real kind of history and weight to that relationship.”
(L to R) Alison Brie and Dave Franco in ‘Together’. Photo: Neon.
MF: Alison, can you talk about the raw places you have to go to emotionally with this performance, and the benefit of acting opposite your real-life husband? Do you think you could have given the same level of performance with another actor, or could you only have done this project with Dave?
Alison Brie: I do feel like there were so many advantages to doing this together, and to your point, emotionally, yes, but physically, there was stuff we were doing every day that we truly finished every day of filming, going, “We couldn’t do this with anyone else.” It was all new levels of intimacy, even for us, but the best part of working with Dave is just that trust. We trust each other so much. We have worked together before. We respect each other. We work in the same way. I think that I am at my best as a performer when I’m acting opposite Dave or in front of Dave when he’s directing me, just because I can’t be false. He knows me better than anyone. I do think it brings out some of my truest work. Our non-verbal communication is high.
(L to R) Alison Brie and Dave Franco in ‘Together’. Photo: Neon.
MF: Dave, what do you enjoy about working with Alison on set?
DF: In the two times that I’ve directed her, in the rare moments when I would come up to give her a note, I’d be walking towards her, and often, she’d be like, “I know. I got it. Go back to the monitors.” Then I’d go back to the monitors, and she’d do exactly what I was going to tell her.
(L to R) Director Michael Shanks, Dave Franco and Alison Brie on the set of ‘Together’. Photo: Neon.
MF: Dave, I understand that you and Michael made some adjustments to your character before filming to make Tim more likable. Can you talk about what aspects of the character you wanted to change before shooting?
DF: So, Michael Shanks very loosely based the relationship in the movie on his own, sixteen-year relationship, and he kind of made my character, which is a version of him, the worst version of him. He was like, “This is how I fear people are looking at me. This is just all my darkest places in my head.” I was like, “I get that, but on the page, this guy is an a**hole, and no one will be rooting for this guy.” So, it was truly minor character adjustments, just making sure that his a**hole-ness was kind of coming from a relatable place of just being a tortured guy.
Alison Brie in ‘Together’. Photo: Neon.
MF: Finally, Alison, you and Dave are also producers on the film. From a producer’s point of view, did you feel the pressure of a 21-day shoot?
AB: A little bit. I mean, we had great support. We had a lot of great producers on this, but there certainly were days where you’re wearing both hats. We’re doing the craziest contorting on set, and then turning to figure out if we’re losing a location or what’s happening. That can always be stressful. Again, it’s wonderful to have my husband there, and truly, we were such a great team with Shanks. It really felt like the three of us are in this together collaborating, making this movie, problem solving together, so we just had a good thing going.
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What is the plot of ‘Together’?
Years into their relationship, a couple (Alison Brie and Dave Franco) find themselves at a crossroads as they move to the country, abandoning all that is familiar in their lives except each other. With tensions already flaring, a nightmarish encounter with a mysterious, unnatural force threatens to corrupt their lives, their love, and their flesh.
Seth Rogen in ‘The Studio,’ premiering March 26, 2025 on Apple TV+.
Hollywood loves telling stories about itself!
Premiering on Apple TV+ March 26th is the new series ‘The Studio‘, which stars Seth Rogen as newly appointed studio head trying to navigate his way through Hollywood.
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And returning to Max for its fourth season on April 10th is the award winning series ‘Hacks‘, which stars Jean Smart as legendary stand-up comedian, Deborah Vance.
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In honor of the release of both series, Moviefone is counting down the 20 best movies about the entertainment industry.
NOTE: For this list, we are including any film that revolves around the movie, television, radio, or music industries.
The cast of 2015’s ‘Entourage’ movie. Photo: Warner Bros. Pictures.
Movie star Vincent Chase (Adrian Grenier), together with his boys, Eric (Kevin Connolly), Turtle (Jerry Ferrara) and Johnny (Kevin Dillon), are back…and back in business with super agent-turned-studio head Ari Gold (Jeremy Piven). Some of their ambitions have changed, but the bond between them remains strong as they navigate the capricious and often cutthroat world of Hollywood.
(L to R) Jean Dujardin and Bérénice Bejo in ‘The Artist’. Photo: Warner Bros. Pictures.
Hollywood, 1927: As silent movie star George Valentin (Jean Dujardin) wonders if the arrival of talking pictures will cause him to fade into oblivion, he sparks with Peppy Miller (Bérénice Bejo), a young dancer set for a big break.
Margot Robbie plays Nellie LaRoy in ‘Babylon’ from Paramount Pictures.
A tale of outsized ambition and outrageous excess, it traces the rise and fall of multiple characters during an era of unbridled decadence and depravity in early Hollywood.
Jonno Davies as “Robbie Williams” in ‘Better Man’ from Paramount Pictures.
Follow Robbie Williams‘ journey from childhood, to being the youngest member of chart-topping boyband Take That, through to his unparalleled achievements as a record-breaking solo artist – all the while confronting the challenges that stratospheric fame and success can bring.
Anthony Hopkins in ‘Hitchcock’. Photo: Fox Searchlight Pictures.
Following his great success with ‘North by Northwest,’ director Alfred Hitchcock (Anthony Hopkins) makes a daring choice for his next project: an adaptation of Robert Bloch‘s novel ‘Psycho.’ When the studio refuses to back the picture, Hitchcock decides to pay for it himself in exchange for a percentage of the profits. His wife, Alma Reville (Helen Mirren), has serious reservations about the film but supports him nonetheless. Still, the production strains the couple’s marriage.
The cast of 2006’s ‘For Your Consideration’. Photo: Warner Independent Pictures.
The possibility of Oscar gold holds the cast and crew of an independent film in its grip after the performance of its virtually unknown, veteran star generates awards buzz.
Johnny Depp in ‘Ed Wood’. Photo: Buena Vista Pictures Distribution.
The mostly true story of the legendary “worst director of all time”, who, with the help of his strange friends, filmed countless B-movies without ever becoming famous or successful.
James Franco in ‘The Disaster Artist’. Photo: A24.
An aspiring actor (Dave Franco) in Hollywood meets an enigmatic stranger by the name of Tommy Wiseau (James Franco), the meeting leads the actor down a path nobody could have predicted; creating the worst movie ever made.
(L to R) Gilda Radner (Ella Hunt), Jane Curtain (Kim Matula), Dick Ebersol (Cooper Hoffman), Rosie Shuster (Rachel Sennott), Garrett Morris (Lamorne Morris), Alan Zweibel (Josh Brener) and Lorne Michaels (Gabriel LaBelle) in ‘Saturday Night’. Photo: Sony Pictures.
At 11:30pm on October 11, 1975, a ferocious troupe of young comedians and writers changed television forever. This is the story of what happened behind the scenes in the 90 minutes leading up to the first broadcast of ‘Saturday Night Live‘.
Peter O’Toole in ‘My Favorite Year’. Photo: MGM/UA Distribution Co.
Fledgling comic Benjy Stone (Mark Linn-Baker) can’t believe his luck when his childhood hero, the swashbuckling matinee idol Alan Swann (Peter O’Toole), gets booked to appear on the variety show he writes for. But when Swann arrives, he fails to live up to his silver screen image. Instead, he’s a drunken womanizer who suffers from stage fright. Benjy is assigned to look after him before the show, and it’s all he can do to keep his former idol from going completely off the rails.
(L to R) John Travolta and Gene Hackman in ‘Get Shorty’. Photo: MGM/UA Distribution Co.
Chili Palmer (John Travolta) is a Miami mobster who gets sent by his boss, the psychopathic “Bones” Barboni (Dennis Farina), to collect a bad debt from Harry Zimm (Gene Hackman), a Hollywood producer who specializes in cheesy horror films. When Chili meets Harry’s leading lady (Rene Russo), the romantic sparks fly. After pitching his own life story as a movie idea, Chili learns that being a mobster and being a Hollywood producer really aren’t all that different.
(L to R) Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling in ‘La La Land’. Photo: Lionsgate.
Mia (Emma Stone), an aspiring actress, serves lattes to movie stars in between auditions and Sebastian (Ryan Gosling), a jazz musician, scrapes by playing cocktail party gigs in dingy bars, but as success mounts they are faced with decisions that begin to fray the fragile fabric of their love affair, and the dreams they worked so hard to maintain in each other threaten to rip them apart.
(L to R) Steve Martin and Heather Graham in ‘Bowfinger’. Photo: Universal Pictures.
On the verge of bankruptcy and desperate for his big break, aspiring filmmaker Bobby Bowfinger (Steve Martin) concocts a crazy plan to make his ultimate dream movie. Rallying a ragtag team that includes a starry-eyed ingenue, a has-been diva and a film studio gofer, he sets out to shoot a blockbuster featuring the biggest star in Hollywood, Kit Ramsey (Eddie Murphy) — only without letting Ramsey know he’s in the picture.
Howard Stern in ‘Private Parts’. Photo: Paramount Pictures.
The life and career of shock-jock superstar Howard Stern is recounted from his humble beginnings to his view from the top. Possessing a desire to be an on-air personality since childhood, Stern meanders through the radio world, always with his supportive wife, Alison (Mary McCormack), by his side. Landing a gig in Washington, D.C., Stern meets Robin Quivers, who will become his long-time partner in crime. When the two move to New York, they face the wrath of NBC executives.
The cast of ‘Boogie Nights’. Photo: New Line Cinema.
Set in 1977, back when sex was safe, pleasure was a business and business was booming, idealistic porn producer Jack Horner (Burt Reynolds) aspires to elevate his craft to an art form. Horner discovers Eddie Adams (Mark Wahlberg), a hot young talent working as a busboy in a nightclub, and welcomes him into the extended family of movie-makers, misfits and hangers-on that are always around. Adams’ rise from nobody to a celebrity adult entertainer is meteoric, and soon the whole world seems to know his porn alter ego, “Dirk Diggler”. Now, when disco and drugs are in vogue, fashion is in flux and the party never seems to stop, Adams’ dreams of turning sex into stardom are about to collide with cold, hard reality.
(L to R) Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga in ‘A Star Is Born.’ Photo: Warner Bros.
Seasoned musician Jackson Maine (Bradley Cooper) discovers — and falls in love with — struggling artist Ally (Lady Gaga). She has just about given up on her dream to make it big as a singer — until Jack coaxes her into the spotlight. But even as Ally’s career takes off, the personal side of their relationship is breaking down, as Jack fights an ongoing battle with his own internal demons.
(L to R) Leonardo DiCaprio and Brad Pitt star in ‘Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.’
Los Angeles, 1969. TV star Rick Dalton (Leonardo DiCaprio), a struggling actor specializing in westerns, and stuntman Cliff Booth (Brad Pitt), his best friend, try to survive in a constantly changing movie industry. Dalton is the neighbor of the young and promising actress and model Sharon Tate (Margot Robbie), who has just married the prestigious Polish director Roman Polanski (Rafał Zawierucha).
‘Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem,’ which was co-written and produced by Rogen and features the actor as the voice of Bebop, opens in theaters on August 4th. In honor of the new film, Moviefone is counting down the 35 best films of Seth Rogen’s career. For this list, we are including any movie that features Rogen, even in a small role, and any film that he either, wrote, produced or directed.
(L to R) Seth Rogen as Britt Reid and Jay Chou as Kato in ‘The Green Hornet.’ Photo courtesy of Sony Pictures Entertainment.
Britt Reid (Rogen), the heir to the largest newspaper fortune in Los Angeles, is a spoiled playboy who has been, thus far, happy to lead an aimless life. After his father dies, Britt meets Kato (Jay Chou), a resourceful company employee. Realizing that they have the talent and resources to make something of their lives, Britt and Kato join forces as costumed crime-fighters to bring down the city’s most-powerful criminal, Chudnofsky (Christoph Waltz).
The King (John Cleese) of Far Far Away has died and Shrek (Mike Myers) and Fiona (Cameron Diaz) are to become King & Queen. However, Shrek wants to return to his cozy swamp and live in peace and quiet, so when he finds out there is another heir (Justin Timberlake) to the throne, they set off to bring him back to rule the kingdom.
When a workaholic young executive (Kristen Bell), is left at the altar, she ends up on her Caribbean honeymoon cruise with the last person she ever expected: her estranged and equally workaholic father (Kelsey Grammer). The two depart as strangers, but over the course of a few hilarious adventures, a couple of umbrella-clad cocktails and a whole lot of soul-searching, they return with a renewed appreciation for family and life.
In New York City for their annual tradition of Christmas Eve debauchery, three lifelong best friends (Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Anthony Mackie, and Rogen) set out to find the Holy Grail of Christmas parties since their yearly reunion might be coming to an end.
After standing in as best man for his longtime friend Carl Petersen (Matt Dillon), Randy Dupree (Owen Wilson) loses his job, becomes a barfly and attaches himself to the newlywed couple almost permanently — as their houseguest. But the longer Dupree camps out on their couch, the closer he gets to Carl’s bride, Molly (Kate Hudson), leaving the frustrated groom wondering when his pal will be moving out.
‘The Super Mario Bros. Movie’ will open in theaters on April 7, 2023.
While working underground to fix a water main, Brooklyn plumbers—and brothers—Mario (Chris Pratt) and Luigi (Charlie Day) are transported down a mysterious pipe and wander into a magical new world. But when the brothers are separated, Mario embarks on an epic quest to find Luigi.
Continuing his “legendary adventures of awesomeness”, Po (Jack Black) must face two hugely epic, but different threats: one supernatural and the other a little closer to his home.
Lifelong platonic friends Zack (Rogen) and Miri (Elizabeth Banks) look to solve their respective cash-flow problems by making an adult film together. As the cameras roll, however, the duo begin to sense that they may have more feelings for each other than they previously thought.
A sorority moves in next door to the home of Mac (Rogen) and Kelly Radner (Rose Byrne) who have a young child. The Radner’s enlist their former nemeses (Zac Efron) from the fraternity to help battle the raucous sisters.
One day, Horton the elephant (Jim Carrey) hears a cry from help coming from a speck of dust. Even though he can’t see anyone on the speck, he decides to help it. As it turns out, the speck of dust is home to the Whos, who live in their city of Whoville. Horton agrees to help protect the Whos and their home.
Seth Rogen as Ben Greenbaum and Herschel Greenbaum in HBO Max’s ‘An American Pickle.’ Photograph by Hopper Stone.
An immigrant worker (Rogen) at a pickle factory is accidentally preserved for 100 years and wakes up in modern day Brooklyn. He learns his only surviving relative is his great grandson (Rogen), a computer coder who he can’t connect with.
Brennan Huff (Will Ferrell) and Dale Doback (John C. Reilly) might be grown men. But that doesn’t stop them from living at home and turning into jealous, competitive stepbrothers when their single parents marry. Brennan’s constant competition with Dale strains his mom’s (Mary Steenburgen) marriage to Dale’s (Richard Jenkins) dad, leaving everyone to wonder whether they’ll ever see eye to eye.
Mall security guard Ronnie Barnhardt (Rogen) is called into action to stop a flasher from turning shopper’s paradise into his personal peep show. But when Barnhardt can’t bring the culprit to justice, a surly police detective (Ray Liotta) is recruited to close the case.
Po (Jack Black) is now living his dream as The Dragon Warrior, protecting the Valley of Peace alongside his friends and fellow kung fu masters, The Furious Five – Tigress (Angelina Jolie), Crane (David Cross), Mantis (Rogen), Viper (Lucy Liu) and Monkey (Jackie Chan). But Po’s new life of awesomeness is threatened by the emergence of a formidable villain (Gary Oldman), who plans to use a secret, unstoppable weapon to conquer China and destroy kung fu. It is up to Po and The Furious Five to journey across China to face this threat and vanquish it. But how can Po stop a weapon that can stop kung fu? He must look to his past and uncover the secrets of his mysterious origins; only then will he be able to unlock the strength he needs to succeed.
Inspired by a true story, a comedy centered on a 27-year-old guy (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) who learns of his cancer diagnosis and his subsequent struggle to beat the disease.
(L to R) Seth Rogen as Andrew Brewster and Barbra Streisand as Joyce Brewster in ‘The Guilt Trip,’ from Paramount Pictures and Skydance Productions. Photo credit: Sam Emerson. Copyright 2012 Paramount Pictures. All Rights Reserved.
An inventor (Rogen) and his mom (Barbra Streisand) hit the road together so he can sell his latest invention.
Dave Skylark (James Franco) and his producer Aaron Rapaport (Rogen) run the celebrity tabloid show “Skylark Tonight”. When they land an interview with a surprise fan, North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un, they are recruited by the CIA to turn their trip to Pyongyang into an assassination mission.
Famous and wealthy funnyman George Simmons (Adam Sandler) doesn’t give much thought to how he treats people until a doctor delivers stunning health news, forcing George to reevaluate his priorities with a little help from aspiring stand-up comic Ira (Rogen).
Twenty-eight-year-old Margot (Michelle Williams) is happily married to Lou (Rogen), a good-natured cookbook author. But when Margot meets Daniel (Luke Kirby), a handsome artist who lives across the street, their mutual attraction is undeniable.
Seth Rogen as Bebop in ‘Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem.’
After years of being sheltered from the human world, the Turtle brothers (Micah Abbey, Shamon Brown Jr., Nicolas Cantu, and Brady Noon) set out to win the hearts of New Yorkers and be accepted as normal teenagers through heroic acts. Their new friend April O’Neil (Ayo Edebiri) helps them take on a mysterious crime syndicate, but they soon get in over their heads when an army of mutants is unleashed upon them.
Simba (Donald Glover) idolizes his father, King Mufasa (James Earl Jones), and takes to heart his own royal destiny. But not everyone in the kingdom celebrates the new cub’s arrival. Scar (Chiwetel Ejiofor), Mufasa’s brother—and former heir to the throne—has plans of his own. The battle for Pride Rock is ravaged with betrayal, tragedy and drama, ultimately resulting in Simba’s exile. With help from a curious pair of newfound friends, Simba will have to figure out how to grow up and take back what is rightfully his.
Frank (Rogen) leads a group of supermarket products on a quest to discover the truth about their existence and what really happens when they become chosen to leave the grocery store.
After narrowly escaping a bizarre accident, a troubled teenager (Jake Gyllenhaal) is plagued by visions of a large bunny rabbit that manipulates him to commit a series of crimes.
Journalist Fred Flarsky (Rogen) reunites with his childhood crush, Charlotte Field (Charlize Theron), now one of the most influential women in the world. As she prepares to make a run for the Presidency, Charlotte hires Fred as her speechwriter — much to the dismay of her trusted advisers.
Seth Rogen as Sandy Schklair in ‘The Disaster Artist.’ Photo courtesy of A24.
An aspiring actor (Dave Franco) in Hollywood meets an enigmatic stranger by the name of Tommy Wiseau (James Franco), the meeting leads the actor down a path nobody could have predicted; creating the worst movie ever made.
When the Valley of Peace is threatened, lazy Po (Jack Black) the panda discovers his destiny as the “chosen one” and trains to become a kung fu hero, but transforming the unsleek slacker into a brave warrior won’t be easy. It’s up to Master Shifu (Dustin Hoffman) and the Furious Five — Tigress (Angelina Jolie), Crane (David Cross), Mantis (Rogen), Viper (Lucy Liu) and Monkey (Jackie Chan) — to give it a try.
It’s the 1970s and San Diego anchorman Ron Burgundy (Will Ferrell) is the top dog in local TV, but that’s all about to change when ambitious reporter Veronica Corningstone (Christina Applegate) arrives as a new employee at his station.
Set backstage at three iconic product launches and ending in 1998 with the unveiling of the iMac, Steve Jobs (Michael Fassbender) takes us behind the scenes of the digital revolution to paint an intimate portrait of the brilliant man at its epicenter.
Seth Rogen as Bennie Loewy in ‘The Fabelmans’, co-written, produced and directed by Steven Spielberg.
Growing up in post-World War II era Arizona, young Sammy Fabelman (Gabriel LaBelle) aspires to become a filmmaker as he reaches adolescence, but soon discovers a shattering family secret and explores how the power of films can help him see the truth.
Andy Stitzer (Steve Carrell) has a pleasant life with a nice apartment and a job stamping invoices at an electronics store. But at age 40, there’s one thing Andy hasn’t done, and it’s really bothering his sex-obsessed male co-workers: Andy is still a virgin. Determined to help Andy get laid, the guys make it their mission to de-virginize him. But it all seems hopeless until Andy meets small business owner Trish (Catherine Keener), a single mom.
For fun loving party animal Ben Stone (Rogen), the last thing he ever expected was for his one night stand to show up on his doorstep eight weeks later to tell him she’s (Katherine Heigl) pregnant.
Two co-dependent high school seniors (Jonah Hill and Michael Cera) are forced to deal with separation anxiety after their plan to stage a booze-soaked party goes awry.
The film stars Brie as Ally, a workaholic who returns home to visit her mother (‘Airplane!’s Julie Hagerty) the same weekend that her ex, Sean (‘Top Gun: Maverick’s Jay Ellis) is getting married to his young fiancé Cassidy (‘The Flash’s Kiersey Clemons). Ally is quickly thrown into the wedding festivities as the videographer, but really plans to ruin the wedding so she can get Sean back.
Moviefone recently had the pleasure of speaking with director Dave Franco about his work on ‘Somebody I Used to Know,’ developing the idea for the screenplay, directing his wife Alison Brie, and putting together his crew and the rest of the cast.
Dave Franco co-writes and directs Prime Video’s ‘Somebody I Used to Know.’
You can read the full interview below or click on the video player above to watch our interviews with Franco, Alison Brie, Jay Ellis, and Kiersey Clemons.
Moviefone: To begin with, can you talk about creating the story for the film and writing the screenplay with Alison, and did you to continue to write with her and change dialogue while you were shooting?
Dave Franco: The story came about while we were walking through my hometown of Palo Alto. I think being in that setting, these ideas of going home, and reconnecting with your roots, and thinking about who you used to be compared to who you are now, all of that just became what the script ended up being. Then, in terms of how much the dialogue changed over time, it’s always changing.
One thing I like to do is before we start filming, I meet up with all the actors, and we basically go through each scene, and I ask them, “Are there any lines of dialogue or even any single words that don’t feel natural to you? Let’s change that now, let’s put it in your voice so that by the time we’re on set, we’re hitting the ground running, we’re not figuring all that stuff out.”
It ends up being this thing where, I think on both movies I’ve directed, I go over the script a million times, and then every day before whatever scene is coming, I look at that scene again. You just see it in a new light, and more often than not, I’m like, this is overwritten. We don’t need to say all this. Let’s chop it back. So it’s more about pairing everything back.
(L to R) Alison Brie and director Dave Franco at the premiere of Prime Video’s ‘Somebody I Used to Know.’
MF: Can you talk about the crew you put together for this project, and what was it like for you to work with your cinematographer to compose shots on set and work with your editor in the cutting room to assemble the film?
DF: The best. I surrounded myself with people who I’m a fan of, and just having that collaboration with those people was incredible. My DP, Brian Lannin, shoots that show ‘Dave.’ I don’t know if you’ve seen that, but it’s one of my favorites because they do really hard comedy, but it’s also beautiful. The visuals are stunning, and I thought he’d be the perfect guy for this.
With this one, it was kind of inherent to some romantic comedies. There’s a lot of scenes where it’s just two people talking, and the challenge was how do we make that exciting? How do we make that engaging visually? He’s just got such a beautiful eye, and the setting itself did a lot of the heavy lifting too. We shot in the Pacific Northwest, and any direction you point the camera, it’s stunning.
Then, in the edit, my editor Ernie Gilbert, I love him to death. What can I say? It’s just a healthy back and forth where obviously I have very specific ideas of how I want things to play out, but I trust him so much, and he would come in with ideas, and new things that I would never think of. Anyway, this is a long way of saying I’m so collaborative. It’s my favorite thing to do, especially when I’m surrounded by people who are just so talented.
(L to R) Alison Brie and Danny Pudi in Prime Video’s ‘Somebody I Used to Know,’ which was directed by Dave Franco.
MF: Finally, there are a lot of actors in the movie that you and Alison have worked with in the past, and a few that you have not. Can you talk about putting together the cast and having an opportunity to work with your friends?
DF: It’s the best for many reasons. When you’re surrounded by people that you feel comfortable with, you feel more willing to take risks knowing that no one’s going to judge you. When I am putting together the team, of course, I want people who are talented, but it’s just as important to me that everyone is really nice and hardworking. When you’re surrounded by that type of person, it just makes it easy, man. It’s like, I don’t need to micromanage anyone.
Everyone’s there to work, everyone’s excited, and it’s this nice family environment. As an actor, I’ve been on a couple sets that are not that way. It’s a weird vibe. I made a vow to myself that when I have control on any set that I’m on, I’m going to make sure that obviously, let’s do good work, but let’s also have a good time. We’re away from our friends and family for months at a time, it should be worth it. Let’s look back, and remember the experience itself too.
Alison Brie in Prime Video’s ‘Somebody I Used to Know,’ which was directed by Dave Franco.
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Hollywood loves turning the camera on itself. Movies about making movies let filmmakers poke fun at the absurdity of their jobs, examine the dark side of ambition, and recreate long-lost eras. With that in mind, and the current zeitgeist-capturing energy of “Once Upon a Time … in Hollywood,” we wanted to highlight 16 of the very best movies about making movies.
Peter O’Toole plays a manipulative director who lets a criminal (Steve Railsback) hide out on his set if he does the incredibly dangerous stunts required. Could make a great double-feature with Burt Reynolds’ similar “Hooper.”
Steve Buscemi has his hands full trying to direct an indie film in this underrated comedy. Among his headaches: A leading man who insists on wearing an eye patch and an actor (Peter Dinklage) who objects to appearing in a dream sequence just because he’s a dwarf.
Walt Disney (Tom Hanks) and “Mary Poppins” creator P.L. Travers ( Emma Thompson) butt heads over the making of the classic 1964 film. She objects to the songs, any animation and just about everything else, in this surprisingly heartwarming and underrated film.
James Franco cowrote, directs and stars as Tommy Wiseau in this “making of” biopic about the cult sensation “The Room.” He won a Golden Globe for Best Actor and was joined onstage by the real Wiseau. (Whom he wouldn’t let near the microphone. Awkward!)
What if the actor playing the vampire in the silent film “Nosferatu” was a real vampire? Willem Dafoe plays Max Schreck, who’s not just starring in the film, but also picking off the cast and crew one by one. A charming and funny film that also serves as a compelling alternate history tale.
In this Brian De Palma thriller, John Travolta stars as a sound effects technician, whose main job is supplying the appropriate screams and spooky sounds for low-budget horror films. While out recording one night, he becomes an ear-witness to the murder of a presidential hopeful. The final scene will gut you.
Unable to land big star Kit Ramsey (Eddie Murphy) for his movie, aspiring filmmaker Bobby Bowfinger (Steve Martin) plans to shoot the film around him on the sly. When that fails, he casts a dimwitted lookalike (also Eddie Murphy). As real as it is funny.
Robert Altman‘s meta-movie is about a producer (Tim Robbins), who kills the screenwriter he thinks has been sending him death threats. Featuring cameos galore, a long opening shot about a long opening shot, and a star-studded movie-within-a-movie, this is essential viewing, thrilling and hilarious.
In this film adaptation of Carrie Fisher‘s book (which is very much about her real-life relationship with mom Debbie Reynolds), Meryl Streep is an actress whose drug problems make her a liability on set. She’s forced to take roles the real-life Meryl would never do, like a cheesy cop movie where she’s tied to a cactus at one point. Funny, funny stuff.
It might have been a bit light to walk off with Best Picture and Best Actor, but this ode to the silent era is still delightful. Especially the dog. (RIP, Uggie.)
One of the funniest movies ever made about moviemaking brings together a Tom Cruise-esque action star (Ben Stiller, who also directed), a ridiculously dedicated method actor (Robert Downey Jr.) and a coked-up comedian (Jack Black) for a Vietnam war film. (And keep in mind this is a movie where Cruise appears looking nothing like himself.) When the filming stops and the real violence starts, they don’t even realize it.
Although we never see Rick Dalton (Leonardo DiCaprio) and stuntman Cliff Booth ( Brad Pitt) on a movie set, Quentin Tarantino‘s ninth film is very much an ode to Hollywood’s dream factory and the end of an era. By the film’s end, Rick has re-invigorated his fading career with several spaghetti westerns, which almost make up for the fact he didn’t land the Steve McQueen role in “The Great Escape.”
The Coen Bros. deliciously revisit the studio era, dropping in on dizzying dance routines, swimming spectacles, and religious epics. Standout scene: Alden Ehrenreich is a cowboy star who’s been upgraded to a prestige society pic. The “trippingly” sophisticated patter keeps tripping him up, however.
The best version of the oft-told “rising star who marries a self-destructive has-been.” Judy Garland‘s character wins an Oscar in the film — a devastating scene where her drunken husband (James Mason) crashes her acceptance speech to beg for a job. The Oscar was rightfully Judy’s in real life as well, but went that year to Grace Kelly for “The Country Girl.”
A faded silent movie star (Gloria Swanson, who really was a silent movie star) plots her return to the big screen with the help of a broke screenwriter (William Holden) in Billy Wilder‘s savage noir. This American dream is rotting from the inside out. The final scene, “Mr. DeMille, I’m ready for my close-up,” is legendary.
This smart, funny send-up of Hollywood’s transition from the silent era to talkies is still the best movie ever made about Tinseltown. Getting diva Lina Lamont (Jean Hagen) miked up is just one of the priceless set-ups. Trivia: The voice dubbing over Lina’s awful one? Jean herself, not Debbie Reynolds.
There are always Oscars snubs. There are plenty this year beyond James Franco in “The Disaster Artist.” Perennial favorites Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg didn’t even get nominations. But now we have to wonder — was James Franco left off the 2018 Oscar nomination list because voters simply preferred the performances of the other more drama-heavy nominees, or was he punished for his alleged sexual misconduct?
Plenty of people are assuming he’s being punished, which may be true in light of the Time’s Up and #MeToo campaigns that didn’t exist last year when Casey Affleck won Best Actor after his own allegations. However, Franco’s previous wins this awards season came from comedy categories. The Academy Awards only has five Best Actor spaces and they tend to go to dramatic roles.
Right after James Franco won a Golden Globe Award for his performance in “The Disaster Artist,” allegations came out on social media, and then in more detailed news reports, about things he’d reportedly done in the past. He addressed what happened on “The Late Show,” and then kept a low profile. He won Best Actor in a Comedy at the Critics’ Choice Awards, but didn’t show up to accept the trophy. He was nominated at the SAG Awards, but didn’t win.
And now he’s not nominated for an Oscar.
Here are the Best Actor nominees:
Timothée Chalamet, “Call Me by Your Name”
Daniel Day-Lewis, “Phantom Thread”
Daniel Kaluuya, “Get Out”
Gary Oldman, “Darkest Hour”
Denzel Washington, “Roman J. Israel, Esq.”
Awards season goes on for months, and those are the same names we’ve been seeing the whole time. One reason James Franco may not have made the cut — beyond his own headlines — is that he won the Golden Globe and Critics’ Choice awards in the comedy categories and the Oscars only has one combined category. They do tend to prefer dramatic roles in general, so if someone was going to be cut, it was going to be a comedy guy.
Franco was on the list of Best Actor nominees in another Critics’ Choice category, along with Tom Hanks in “The Post” and Jake Gyllenhaal in “Stronger,” and they didn’t get Oscar nominations either. Denzel Washington and Daniel Day-Lewis haven’t been on every awards list, but they’re like Meryl Streep — if they show up in something, they’re very likely to get Oscar nominations. Tom Hanks was once in that boat (and so was Steven Spielberg) but not so much anymore. DD-L is retiring from acting, so it’s possible this nod is a tribute to his entire career beyond just “Phantom Thread.”
Gary Oldman is the favorite to win this year’s Best Actor Oscar statue — and would’ve been with Franco in the race or not — despite his own problematic past. Academy members tend to just reward the films and performances they like — hence giving Roman Polanski an Oscar despite the fact that he pleaded guilty to drugging and raping a 13-year-old. The Academy may be changing, but the performance still tends to come before the personal. Then again, “The Boss Baby” got an Oscar nomination, so maybe they just closed their eyes and pointed.
The 90th Academy Awards, hosted for a second time in a row by Jimmy Kimmel, will air Sunday, March 4 at 5 p.m. PST on ABC. Here’s the full list of nominations.
The New York Times has canceled a TimesTalk James Franco and his brother Dave were going to do to discuss “The Disaster Artist.” Franco just won a Golden Globe Award for his performance in that movie, which he also directed. But during the Globes, Ally Sheedy and other actresses spoke out in protest of Franco being there and being rewarded — seeing it as hypocritical on a night where it was supposed to be Time’s Up on sexual misconduct.
“The Breakfast Club” alum Ally Sheedy shared tweets about Franco (and Christian Slater) that she later deleted suggesting he’s tied to her reason for leaving the business:
Two other women who knew Franco alleged sexual misconduct via Twitter, also during the Globes. Here’s part of what Violet Paley wrote:
Cute #TIMESUP pin James Franco. Remember the time you pushed my head down in a car towards your exposed penis & that other time you told my friend to come to your hotel when she was 17? After you had already been caught doing that to a different 17 year old?
She added that Franco had recently apologized for his past conduct to herself and “a few other girls.” One of those girls may or may not have been Sarah Tither-Kaplan, a former acting student of Franco’s, who tweeted about an exploitative nude scene experience with him. (Update: On Jan. 11, five women — including Sarah Tither-Kaplan — accused Franco of sexually exploitative behavior in an article by the Los Angeles Times.)
In the wake of the shifting conversation about Franco, the NY Times issued a statement to The Hollywood Reporter and other outlets saying they would cancel the TimesTalk planned for today (Wednesday):
“The event was intended to be a discussion of the making of the film, The Disaster Artist. Given the controversy surrounding recent allegations, we’re no longer comfortable proceeding in that vein.”
James Franco still appeared on “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” on Tuesday night, and Colbert asked him about the allegations. Franco said he did support Time’s Up, and he heard about (but didn’t read himself) the things women wrote on Twitter.
“First of all, I have no idea what I did to Ally Sheedy. I directed her in a play off-Broadway. I had nothing but a great time with her, total respect for her. I have no idea why she was upset. She took the tweet down. I don’t know. I can’t speak for her.
The others? Look. In my life, I pride myself on taking responsibility for things that I’ve done. I have to do that to maintain my well-being. I do it whenever I know there’s something wrong … I make a point to do it. The things that I heard on Twitter are not accurate. But I completely support people coming out and having a voice because they didn’t have a voice for so long…”
“‘m embarrassed, and I guess I’m just a model of, you know, how social media is tricky,” Franco said in the 2014 interview. “It’s a way people meet each other today. But what I’ve learned I guess just because I’m new to it is like, you don’t know who’s on the other end. You meet somebody in person and you get a feel for them but you don’t know who you’re talking to, and, you know? So I used bad judgment. I learned my lesson.”
If Franco, now 39, goes on to win Best Actor after revived talk of past sexual misconduct allegations, he would be following in the footsteps of the reigning Best Actor winner Casey Affleck.
“The Room” director/star/writer/producer Tommy Wiseau had the best time at the 2018 Golden Globe Awards, where he was finally recognized for something good. His 2003 movie became a cult classic as “the worst movie ever made,” but it became the inspiration for “The Disaster Artist,” starring and directed by James Franco in the role of the Wiseau himself.
“The Disaster Artist” was nominated for Best Picture – Comedy or Musical, and James Franco won Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy for playing Wiseau.
Wiseau was there in the audience, and got to go on stage for Franco’s win. Before that, he rolled up to the Globes red carpet in style, promoting “The Room” the entire way:
“The Disaster Artist” costar Seth Rogen (the most famous Seth in the room, as we learned) introduced the comedy film nominee by talking about his first experience viewing “The Room.” He mentioned seeing a billboard for the movie with the creator’s phone number actually on it. Then he watched the film and joined everyone else who found it bad. So bad.
“It made you actually question the nature of quality itself.” Seth Rogen describing THE ROOM while introducing clips from THE DISASTER ARTIST. The cutaway to Tommy Wiseau somewhere in the back of the room was hilarious & heartbreaking.
All I wanted from this year’s #GoldenGlobes was a Tommy Wiseau cutaway shot. Lo and behold, we got one — AND IT WAS SO MUCH BETTER THAN I HAD EVEN DREAMED!!!!! pic.twitter.com/tiY2JKUXS2
When James Franco won his acting award, he immediately said, “The first person I have to thank is the man himself, Tommy Wiseau.” He invited Tommy on stage and said, 19 years ago, Wiseau was stuck in traffic from the Golden Globes and told his best friend, “Golden Globes? So what? I’m not invited.” He knew they didn’t want him with his accent and long hair. He said he’d show them, he wouldn’t wait for Hollywood, he’d make his own movie. Franco said he was happy to share this moment with Wiseau. Not that he was willing to share his trophy:
i’ve teared up at a lot of women’s speeches at the golden globes tonight, but tommy wiseau giving a hang ten and smiling so big just put me over the edge ????????
“The Room” has the dubious distinction of being perhaps the worst movie ever made in history. Naturally, it has a fervent cult following.
James Franco’s new directorial effort, “The Disaster Artist,” tells the story of how “The Room” got made. He plays star/director Tommy Wiseau, and this first teaser trailer pokes fun at Tommy’s inability to remember a line. Weary script supervisor Sandy (Seth Rogen) and encouraging co-star/line producer Greg (Dave Franco) watch as Tommy does take after take after take … all in his unique accent.
While the teaser is funny, the movie doesn’t treat Tommy as a joke. Instead, Franco has said he wanted to honor the dedication that went into the project, as well as the passion it has inspired in fans.
At South by Southwest, he explained, “Where I really respected that he came out to Hollywood like so many thousands or millions of people have done and got this movie made. I always said I had so much respect for him but maybe I thought, ‘Well, some of the behavior sounded a little insane on the set.’ But the more I sat with this movie and in post[-production] and going through my own stuff, like, I am Tommy Wiseau. I relate to him so much, in ways I don’t even want to admit.”
“The Disaster Artist” opens in limited release December 1.
The duo likely kept things very low-key. Franco told ET last year while he was promoting “Now You See Me 2” that he wasn’t a fan of elaborate weddings.
“I don’t know if I’m gonna have a best man,” he said when asked if he’d ask either of his brothers, James and Tom to stand up for him. “I feel like when we do eventually get married, we’re not gonna do a lot of the traditions and we’re just gonna make it easy and who knows?”
“We’re pretty lax about the whole thing,” Franco said at the time. “It’ll happen when it happens.”
Brie feels the same way, as she told Yahoo Style last year: “I’m not very bridal, instinctually. Marriage never really interested me, I guess because I was very focused on my work. I wasn’t sure if I really saw the point to it.”
She said meeting Franco changed her mind about marriage: “I just met that person that I was like, ‘Well, I’m really in love with you and would like to grow old with you.’ I actually think it’s much more romantic when two people are like, ‘Oh, I could go either way on marriage, but I want to marry you.’”
The pair met in New Orleans during Mardi Gras and got engaged in August of 2015. “People were like, ‘So you’re … the ones it works out for,’” she says of their Mardi Gras hook-up. “I don’t think I’d recommend it normally; it’s sort of outside of both of our characters.”
Don’t expect a slew of wedding details or photos: Brie told Yahoo Style: “We don’t go out of our way, we just don’t flaunt [our relationship].” But she did tell People in 2015: “I have an incredible fiancé. He’s so wonderful. He’s just the sweetest man I know. And he’s so funny and incredible in every way.”
The newlyweds share the screen in brother James Franco‘s upcoming “The Disaster Artist,” which just debuted at SXSW. “I’ve never been more comfortable on a set, obviously,” she told Yahoo. “It was nice because you had your person to hang out with. We spend a lot of time apart because of work, and it was nice to say, “Oh, my gosh, I’m leaving for work … and I’ll see you in an hour!’”
There are always 
Here are the Best Actor nominees:
Oh hai, Tommy!
“The Room” has the dubious distinction of being perhaps the worst movie ever made in history. Naturally, it has a fervent cult following.
Congrats to newlyweds