As we learned in 2010, James Franco brought his own crew on the set of General Hospital to film footage of his own. This was part of a performance art show at Deitch Projects already, and now it's a whole film. Francophrenia (though we liked the original title better: Don't Kill Me, I Know Where the Baby Is) will premiere this year at the Rotterdam International Film Festival, and consists of clips from his appearances on the show. more ›

The latest notch on James Franco's belt: Paris Review contributer. And today he's written about... James Franco. More specifically, James Franco's project that just left PS1, in which he made a film cut from some outtakes of Gus van Sant's My Own Private Idaho. But what we really want to dig into here is the actor's latest appearance on General Hospital, which somehow managed to make us laugh and want to hide in a closet all at the same time. If "clown" were a feeling, we felt very "clown" watching this: more ›

When it was announced that James Franco would be returning to reprise his role as Robert "Franco" Frank on General Hospital, filming weeks of scenes in just a few days, we raised the possibility of an army of James Franco clones. Now it turns out that this clone army may be a dream deferred, because Franco says he won't be heading to Port Charles after all. more ›

With Katie Couric leaving the CBS Evening News after five years the question now is where she will land. And it looks increasingly like she may end up at ABC, a prospect that may mean the end of General Hospital—the network's last remaining soap opera. more ›

James Franco is headed back to the small screen for a brief appearance on General Hospital. The actor's character, called Franco, first appeared on the show in 2009, and now TV Guide reports that he's returning. This will be his second time shooting for the soap, for a "two-episode stint airing the Friday before the Oscar telecast and the day after. It'll serve as a teaser for a longer story arc he plans to do on the serial later in 2011." Executive producer Jill Farren Phelps says, "He's also expressed an interest in directing at GH. He's been really, really good to us. Whatever James wants, we'd love to make it happen!" Really Jill, anything? more ›

James Franco, the actor/graduate student/ documentarian/ performance art fan/ artist, was interviewed by Parade magazine. He revealed tidbits about acting on General Hospital, acting (and love scenes) with Julia Roberts, and his life as a student. Yes, Franco really loves going to school—he must, since he's headed to Yale this fall for a Ph.D. in English at Yale, after recently studying at Columbia's graduate writing program and NYU's Tisch film program. more ›

No, there can never be too much James Franco news. The actor has been making the rounds screening Howl, where a lucky NY Mag writer caught up with him. Instead of asking about his portrayal of Alan Ginsberg, however, Franco was asked about his role on General Hospital. And thank goodness for that, because frankly we couldn't get through the first paragraph of the explanation he penned for the Wall Street Journal. more ›

Now that James Franco has been on General Hospital for the past ten days, and counting, it's time to check in on his Port Charles alter ego, known as "Franco." Seriously. The too-weird-to-be-real scenes of his mysterious artist character include him hitting on a younger blonde lass, who in real life probably never dreamed she'd be sharing a scene with the Hollywood actor... who in turn probably never thought he'd be spewing lines like, "If it makes you feel any better I don't want to have your babies. Any commitment longer than an evening makes me break out." What do you think of his temporary role? more ›

What can't James Franco do? The actor, who will soon appear on General Hospital, is allegedly looking to obtain a Ph.D at Yale University after completing his masters of fine arts degree at Columbia. This is all while he's also enrolled as a filmmaking student at NYU. He told the Yale Daily News, "I'm applying to Ph.D. programs next year so I came out (to Yale) to see what the program was like." more ›

Set your DVRs: Starting November 20th actor/student/dreamboat James Franco will be making his debut on General Hospital—which inexplicably is just way more exciting than his upcoming cameo on 30 Rock. more ›

Can actor James Franco single-handedly save Soap Operas from their rapid demise? More importantly, even if he could, should he? Word on the street is that Franco (currently attending both NYU and Columbia) is temporarily moving to the fictional town of Port Charles, New York to be a "mysterious person" on daytime drama General Hospital. ABC has confirmed it, and there is speculation "that his story arc will be a few months long and that he'll do one day on the set each week, filming scenes for several episodes at once." Franco will be on small screens around the nation starting November 20th, and there's no use pretending you aren't going to set that DVR. more ›

Earlier this morning, an MTA bus collided with a school van transporting children in Fresh Meadows, Queens. Details of the accident are thin, but initial reports say that up to 9 people are injured, most of which are children. The collision occurred just after 8 a.m. when the Q46 bus struck the van. The FDNY says that two critically injured children were sent to Long Island Jewish Hospital with one other child. Three other children were sent to Mary Immaculate Hospital and two more people were taken to Queens General Hospital and to New York Hospital Medical Center of Queens. more ›

In addition, police discovered the body of a woman in her 30s on the floor of her Suffolk St. apartment in Manhattan's Lower East Side last night around 3 a.m. Neighbors called the police complaining of a foul odor coming from the woman's apartment. more ›

READING: The New School's wonderful public lectures and reading series are back in swing as the school year revs up, and tonight, the ethereal Mary Gaitskill will discuss her book (a National Book Award finalist) with moderator Jeffrey Renard Allen. - Krissa Corbett Cavouras more ›

Gothamist cannot shy away from admitting we're fans of General Hospital. We just can't. It's a great, rerun-free, low-rent amalgam of ER, the Sopranos and Desperate Housewives (though much older than any of those shows). However, it seems we're sitting down an hour too late. Anyone who's anyone is getting on board with ABC's earlier soap, One Life to Live. A daytime staple since 1968, OLTL is filmed right here in NYC and has launched the careers of many actors, including the questionably talented Yasmin Bleeth and the actually talented Ryan Phillippe. more ›