This story comes courtesy of Neon Tommy.
By Vanessa Wilkins
Remember the days when being a triple-threat was the pinnacle of stardom in Hollywood? Well, acting, singing and dancing do not really even begin to scratch the surface of James Franco’s multifaceted career. He is an Oscar-nominated actor, as well as a former host of the award show. He is also a director, writer, model, artist, author, and poet, and come spring, he will be able to add Trojan to his lengthy resume because Franco is going to be a University of Southern California professor next semester.
USC recently released a statement that Franco will be teaching a film course in the School of Cinematic Arts in the spring of 2013. He will be co-teaching the course with his business partner Vince Jolivette, and the class will include a project where students will have to direct a short film and the final collection of eight films, referred to in the course description as “The Labyrinth." The films are going be pieced together into a single movie intended to explore “the unknown, the unexplained, and the unimaginable.” Franco should know his way around collegiate students by now; he has studied at UCLA, Yale, Columbia, New York University, and Rhode Island School of Design, and previously taught classes at NYU.
This is not the only connection Franco has with the USC. Franco's younger brother, actor Dave Franco, attended the university, and earlier this year, Franco produced a controversial mini web-series called “Undergrads” that was condemned for depicting college life at USC in a less than positive light. However, it seems that USC has forgiven James Franco for the exposé video, and is welcoming him into the Trojan Family with open arms.
Besides picking up this teaching position, Franco's other endeavor is bringing him to the recording studio; he is currently working on a musical project called Daddy with Tim O'Keefe, a friend and classmate from the Rhode Island School of Design. That’s right, James Franco is now in a band. Daddy recently released a single from its new EP “MotorCity” called “Crime”, which features Motown legend Smokey Robinson. Franco describes his band’s sound to Billboard as “a little different; the style's not quite Motown but has a similar vibe.”
USC professor and band member...what else will James Franco surprise his fans with in the future?
Check out more stories from Neon Tommy and reach Staff Reporter Vanessa Wilkins here.