June 28th - Gerry in London. James Franco Exits 'Garden of Last Days'

Pics at link:

http://www.justjared.com/2013/06/28/gerard-butler-james-franco-exits-garden-of-last-days/

Gerard Butler: James Franco Exits 'Garden of Last Days'

Gerard Butler dons a trendy leather jacket while exiting Coya Restaurant on Friday (June 28) in London, England.

Earlier in the week, the 43-year-old Scottish actor was seen hopping on a motorcycle after grabbing dinner with some friends in Rome.

It was recently announced that filming on Gerard‘s upcoming produced movie Garden Of Last Days has been scrapped after the star and director James Franco decided to drop out of the project before shooting was scheduled to begin.

I just stumbled over these articles on the movie "Garden lf Last Days" and Franco's leaving. Kind of interesting.

http://www.theatlanticwire.com/entertainment/2013/06/james-franco-garden-of-last-days/66688/

James Franco Acts Like James Franco and Drops Out of His Own Movie

Associated Press Share Print article Share on emailEmail article Comments Esther Zuckerman 12,092 Views Jun 28, 2013 Oh, Franco, Franco, Franco. Just when we thought we'd found something to commend you for, you go and do this. Yes, it was merely a week ago that we were surprised to find ourselves praising The Franco for his actually noble effort to crowd-source $500,000 for a three-film project. But now he's up and bailed on another auteur project, on which $500,000 had already been spent.

Mike Fleming Jr. of Deadline reports that James Franco has dropped out of Garden of Last Days, the film he was set to both direct and star in—and for which production was supposed to begin in less than two weeks. That doesn't look too good on The Franco, especially considering the film, budgeted at $3 million, had already blown one-sixth of its budget. Fleming reports that he's "hearing" that "that Franco's exit had to do with a disagreement with financier Millennium over the crew he wanted to hire." Which pretty much makes it sound like Franco (Franco, Franco, Franco) is not getting his way, and so he's going away. Perhaps he should just stick to crowd-funding movies where he can call all the shots. Perhaps he should just go back to grad school.

So, alas, this means we will never get to see a turn by Khaleesi—excuse us—Emilia Clarke as a stripper in the adaptation of the Andre Dubus III book that tells various stories in Florida before 9/11. Gerard Butler had been signed on to produce. Maybe the film could have been a disaster. Maybe Franco's last-minute decision saved him ridicule down the road. Or maybe this could have been the moment we decided to hail Franco as the genius he wants us to think he is. We'll never know, will we?

Meanwhile, we wonder if anyone's found Franco to serve him his defamation lawsuit yet.

http://www.nextmovie.com/blog/james-franco-quits-own-movie/


James Franco Leaves His Own 'Garden' Movie to Rot

Oh, those insidious creative differences. Just when you think you're about to get something done, boom! Creative differences show up and wreck even the happiest of Hollywood marriages. It's an epidemic.

Case in point: according to Deadline, James Franco has just quit the upcoming indie "Garden of Last Days." The unusual twist? Franco himself was going to direct the film, meaning he just walked out on his own movie.

So is it possible to have creative differences with yourself?
Normally we'd say no, but in the crazy world of James Franco, pretty much anything is possible. 'Cause, you know, James Franco.

In this case, though, things go a little bit deeper than your run-of-the-mill case of schizophrenia. Oh yes.

"Garden of Last Days," you see, was to be an adaptation of the novel of the same name by "House of Sand and Fog" author Andre Dubois III — this time, a thriller which tells the story of three desperate people whose lives intersect at a strip club. The Millennium production of "Garden of Last Days" signed Franco as director back in April, handing him a $3 million budget to work with and all was lined up to proceed in two weeks.

But this is where those pesky creative issues came into play, as Franco apparently used about half a mil of the budget to put together a film crew that the bond company insuring the film didn't feel was up to snuff. As a result, they refused to insure the project unless Franco used a different crew and in turn, Franco quit out of loyalty to his crew. And now the whole thing is a throwaway. The "Garden" has been left for dead.

On the one hand, loyalty is always admirable, especially in Hollywood where it is often in pretty short supply. On the other hand, try telling that to the people who just lost half a million dollars because Franco insisted on hiring noobs.

Either way, one thing is sure: When it comes to creative differences, nobody is as different as James Franco ... well, except for maybe James Franco.

http://www.newburyportnews.com/local/x1145374032/Star-actor-backs-out-of-movie-based-on-local-authors-book


Star actor backs out of movie based on local author's book
Andre Dubus III hopeful film will be made

Hollywood star James Franco has backed out of directing and starring in a movie based on a book by local writer Andre Dubus III.

Franco was slated to start working this summer on a movie based on the best-selling novel “The Garden of Last Days’’ by Dubus, who grew up in Haverhill and now lives in Newbury.

But yesterday, it was announced that Franco was pulling out of the project.

Dubus said Franco’s decision had to do with “artistic differences.’’ Dubus said he is hopeful the company looking to make the movie will find a replacement for Franco, allowing the film to eventually happen.

“These things happen when you’re trying to make a feature film,’’ Dubus said. “But I hold out hope that the producer, Gerard Butler, and his partners will still get this made. The script by Hanna Weg is really strong, which is what essentially gives me faith this movie will make it to the big screen.’’

Franco has starred in several major motion pictures, most recently as the title character in “Oz the Great and Powerful,” with Michelle Williams and Mila Kunis.

“The Garden of Last Days’’ was to be the second of Dubus’ books to be made into a movie. In 2003, Ben Kingsley and Jennifer Connelly starred in the movie version of Dubus’ best-selling novel “House of Sand and Fog.’’

There has also been talk in literary and Hollywood circles that his best-selling memoir “Townie’’ — the story of him growing up on the tough streets of Haverhill — will also be made into a movie.

“The Garden of Last Days’’ is based on the terrorist events of Sept. 11, 2001. In it, Dubus tells the tale of a man who plans to hijack a plane. Dubus spins in the hijacker’s personal relationships, including with an exotic dancer, before the terrorist plot unfolds.

Dubus said he began writing “The Garden of Last Days’’ in 2005, after reading a story about the terrorist hijackers — and how one of them was rumored to have visited a strip club in the days before the attacks.

Dubus wanted to give the hijacker a voice and tell his side of the story. Dubus spent months researching the events of Sept. 11. He read the Koran twice for an understanding of Islam, and he read other sources including the history of Egypt and of Saudi Arabia, even books about strip clubs — 33 books in all, he said.

“The tough part was how to write from his (the hijacker’s) point of view without judgement,” Dubus said. “As Ernest Hemingway said, ‘The job of the writer is not to judge, but to seek and understand.’

“When the book came out in 2008, I don’t think the reading public was ready to step into the point of view of one of these terrorists,” Dubus said of “The Garden of Last Days.’’ “I think now that we’re more curious about what causes this kind of madness.’’

Dubus said he is working on a new novel and that his latest book — a collection of short stories titled “Dirty Love’’ — will be released in October.