James Franco and the Short Story Abyss

So Handsome He Could Write A Story

We’re understanding people.

Really.

But when word came that James Franco had a story in Esquire, we did a double-what-the-fuck-take. Granted, we’re not disclaiming Franco’s ability and/or talent simply because he’s a hugely popular actor and publishers (Harpers & Scribner) want to milk his acclaim in an effort to sell celebrity.

Nah, we wouldn’t do that.

Franco has more milk (sales) than any other goat (writer) grazing (working) in the wonderfully sunny (lucrative) farm (story market).

We ain’t bitter, kids.

We’re just saying, if the writers we’ve read over the years — who continually produce top-notch stories — would only take a break from their leisure-ass-writing-schedules and star in a couple of soap operas, after which they could lean on their newfound fame to secure a book deal…

Well, then.

Then we’re all flush.

And not just in the cheeks.

Here’s a snippet from Franco’s Esquire story:

I often think about driving off the side of freeway overpasses, just plunge Grandpa’s old blue boat through the cement guardrail: The sculpted barrier crumbling about me and Grandpa’s blue machine; a great moment of metallic explosion and heavy ripping and jerking and then release; a soft, slow dive of arcing color through the windshield, into a hard second of impact, just before the black. What an adventure lies behind one quick turn of the steering wheel. A great screaming, and then, slip away.

Now, our gripe isn’t with Franco — the man is, after all, working at it. Just like the rest of us. No, our gripe concerns his publishers.

Frankly, this is further evidence that publishers more and more are concerned with name recognition rather than with a well-devised collection of stories. Seriously (after reading his story) what can Franco offer to the literary world other than a celebrity’s sparkle and an already-pronounced media hype?

Dollars, obviously.

But, knowing how publisher’s think, we can’t really place blame. It’s just that stories must stand on their own. And that doesn’t matter if they’re written in Esquire, Dark Sky Magazine, or the ratty journal you keep in your pocket.

Video: James Franco on General Hospital