James Franco Attacks Oscars Writer For Bashing His Hosting Skills

Today James Franco attacked Oscars writer Bruce Vilanch for daring to say that his performance as host wasn’t quite up to par. It all started when New York magazine posted an interview in which Vilanch said, “I have to call James Franco and tell him the show’s over … He doesn’t know. He took a nap and he woke up in class.” Vilanch suggested Franco had too much on his plate, and said, “he didn’t get there.” He added,

“I don’t think he realized how big a deal it is to do it until he was actually confronted with it … I think he thought he would kind of … I don’t know what he thought. I thought maybe it was a performance-art prank, and then I realized he sincerely wanted to do it. But it’s outside of those guys’ comfort zones. The only people who know how to host those shows are people who get up onstage every night and say, ‘Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. A funny thing happened … ‘ Or people like Bette [Midler] who get up and sing all night and tell stories.”

Vilanch defended Franco, insisting he wasn’t high (yes, apparently that was still up for debate), but a few hours later Franco Tweeted, “Bruce, he let me down” along with photo of himself backstage with Vilanch. In case you can’t make out the MS Paint scrawl on the image, it reads, “James fucked up the Oscars. Trust me, I know comedy. I mean, come on, I write for Bette Midler.”

According to TV Guide, Franco quickly took down the image, but around 8 pm Eastern he put it back up, possibly because the photo had already started making its way around the internet. It seems Franco has already moved past the feud. He spent the next hour posting random videos of people talking about politics, snippets of a documentary about the first “talkies,” and finally a video of himself talking to his cat Sammy. Clearly, the man has mastered the art of internet weirdness.

Bruce Vilanch On James Franco’s Oscar Stint: ‘He Didn’t Get There’ [New York Magazine]
“Bruce, He Let Me Down” [WhoSay]
James Franco Strikes Back At Oscar Writer Bruce Vilanch [TV Guide]
March 21, 2011 [WhoSay]