James Franco addresses Seth Rogen friendship: "I guess it’s over"

It’s been almost exactly five years since James Franco was sued by two former students of his acting school, who accused him and his partners of sexually exploitative behaviors toward the students in their charge. Franco settled the suit (for more than $2 million dollars) in 2021, but by then his reputation had nose-dived, taking his career (which had been in the midst of a push surrounding his 2017 film The Disaster Artist when the allegations broke out) with it. It also, very publicly, ended his relationship with long-time friend and collaborator Seth Rogen, who gave an interview in 2021 in which he tacitly condemned Franco’s behavior, and said he had no intention of working with him again.

Fast forward to 2024, and Franco is starting to work in film again, having recently appeared in a starring role in Italian feature Hey Joe, where he plays an American seeking redemption in Europe by trying to find a child he fathered and abandoned. Variety did an interview with Franco this week that, inevitably, mostly focused on his self-summation of the last five years of his life. And, if we’re being honest, most of it probably isn’t worth reading. (Franco has shifted priorities; he has self-help books he likes; he addresses being a “workaholic” but none of the allegations against him; he apologizes for speaking in platitudes but then only does that; you’ve read this interview before.) The two bits that were actually interesting are spread throughout: First, Franco says he’s actually “grateful” that things went down the way they did: “It did afford me a chance to just do whatever private work and really change what I need to change,” he said. (Similarly, when asked point-blank about how he felt about being kicked out of Hollywood: “I mean, it is what it is. I’ve honestly moved past it. It was dealt with, and I got to change.”) (James Franco: Change-focused!)

Right at the end, though, Franco is asked directly about Rogen, asking if he’s been in touch with him. (The pair last collaborated in 2019, on the Franco-directed Zeroville.) It’s the only moment in the interview in which you can see a crack in the shell of all-purpose acceptance: “No. I haven’t talked to Seth,” Franco says. “I love Seth, we had 20 great years together, but I guess it’s over. And not for lack of trying. I’ve told him how much he’s meant to me.”