Somehow, amidst his packed calendar of starring in ad campaigns, writing short stories, hanging out with Marina Abramovic, taking classes, guesting on General Hospital and dueting with drag queens, James Franco has managed to line up two high-profile acting gigs. Franco will star in the Planet of the Apes prequel, Rise of the Apes, set for a June 2011 release, in which he will play a young scientist who becomes a “crucial figure in the war between humans and apes.†He also signed on Thursday to Summit’s Ricky Stanicky, a R-rated ensemble comedy “in the vein of The Hangover†(of course) about three friends who hire an actor (Franco) to play Ricky Stanicky, the imaginary guy they’ve been blaming for all their misdeeds for twenty years. Now this sounds more in line with Franco’s preferred brand of “meta.â€
James Franco to play ‘Ricky Stanicky’ [HR]
James Franco In Talks To Star In Fox Prequel ‘Rise Of The Apes’ [Deadline]