James Franco Covers 'Flaunt' Magazine

The talented & ever handsome James Franco covers the September 2012 issue of Flaunt. This same mag had the good taste to feature Joe Manganiello earlier in the year. *

WOWSAH! 'Wiz Of Oz' Prequel 'The Great and Powerful' Trailer

Have I been living in Kansas or something? This is the first I've heard of a prequel to The Wizard Of Oz, which remains one of my top 10 movies of all times. The almighty, ever-captivating James Franco stars as the Wizard in Disney's Oz: The Great and Powerful, which hits theaters March 8, 2013.

Franco plays a circus magician named Oscar Diggs, who is transported by way of a twister (in black & white) to the merry old land of Oz (in color). The flick is directed by A-lister Sam Raimi (the Spiderman trilogy), with co-stars Mila Kunis as Theodora the Wicked Witch of the West, Rachel Weisz as Evanora the Wicked Witch of the East, and Michelle Williams as Glinda the Good Witch.

Synopsis: Reluctantly drawn into the epic problems facing the Land of Oz and its homeys, Oscar must find out who is good and who is evil and put his own magical talents to the test to transform himself not only into the great and powerful Wizard of Oz, but a better man as well.

Take a look at the preview and you'll be sucked in like Dorothy's 1939 tornado-twisting journey—and see more than a dozen stunning screen shots below the jump. *

James Franco Suits Up Pretty For Gucci's Made To Measure

James Franco sure scrubs up nice & handsome for his ongoing Gucci Made to Measure ad campaign, which launched last fall. The 33-year-old actor posed for French photographer Nathaniel Goldberg in Rome for the shoot, which features James in a film studio donning classic elegance. Indeed. *

Whatever Happened To James Franco's 'Sal' Biopic?

James Franco’s Sal, the biopic that he conceived and directed in 2011, apparently came and went without so much as a whisper of publicity. Last fall, the movie was shown at the Venice Film Festival (with Franco in attendance) and then the Austin Film Festival and then... nothing.

We first wrote about it last July, with great anticipation for Val Lauren's starring role, with a then-targeted street date of 2013. I have no idea if there are intentions for wide release at this point.

Loosely based on Michael Gregg Michaud’s biography, the story surrounds the final day of one-time teen idol Sal Mineo’s life at the age of 37, on February 12, 1976. "He eagerly plans his future, which includes an upcoming play he rehearses for and promotes. There’s a glimpse at his relationship with his lover Courtney, and his friends. His financial struggles, his addictions and his active lifestyle. All leading up to his unfortunate, seemingly random murder and the culprit’s arrest," reports website Movie Pool.

Its review from Austin calls Sal a "slow-paced, indie piece that requires a certain artistic mindset to appreciate. While lead actor Val Lauren shines brightly in what is often a very quiet role, Franco’s directing style takes some getting used to."

The flick was shot in nine days on a shoe-string budget, but one would have hoped that Franco's personal fortune would have provided funding for the film to hit HBO or the like. So little information is available on Sal that it's eerily like the Oscar-nominated actor's own demise: simply tragic. *

James Franco Covers 'GQ' Germany's Summer 2012 Issue

Mariano Vivanco shot what has to be one of the shittiest images we've ever seen of darling 33-year-old James Franco for GQ Germany's Summer 2012 issue. WTF? The mag also shares the actor’s latest video for his 7 For All Mankind campaign titled “Henry.” *

Who Will Be The Smoking Nun's 2011 Sexiest Man Alive?

In 2010, we had a packed roster of nominees for The Smoking Nun's Sexiest Man Alive, including James Franco, Thomas Jane, Chris Evans, Cristiani Rinaldo, Rodiney Santiago, Channing Tatum, retro entry Maxwell Caulfield, Isaaiah Mustafa, Kellan Lutz, Eddie Cibrian and Willam Levy. The victor was sweet Mr. Santiago, with Levy the runner up by a hair. Stand by for the sexy slate of 2011 contenders!

Weekend Box Office: 'Apes' Conquers Box Office Competition

On Saturday, The Smoking Nun took a look at potential box office hits remaining this summer, wondering how riveting Devil's Double, starring Dominic Cooper, might fare. We also proposed that Rise of the Planet of the Apes, starring James Franco and John Lithgow, looked "potentially entertaining."

It turns out that Franco—with lead Andy Serkis (Lord of the Rings), John Lithgow and Frida Pinto—aped the competition, as Planet opened with $54 million—$20 million more than its weekend forecast. Reviews deemed the flick "smart," while CinemaScore audiences gave it a rare A- score. At a cost of $93 million, the film also added $23.4 million in 25 overseas markets, for a total worldwide take of $77.4 million.

The Smurfs logged a second week at No. 2, as parents tried to keep their little rugrats quiet for a couple hours; while sci-fi Western Cowboys & Aliens, with Daniel Craig and Harrison Ford (zzzz), ranked No. 3, also in its second week. Dreadfully cliched Ryan Reynolds/Jason Bateman comedy The Change-Up, opened at No. 4. And at No. 5 is Chris Evans' Captain America: The First Avenger, whose worldwide take is now a robust $143 million, after three weeks release.

And Devil's Double? While 88% of viewers gave it an A rating, the indie film didn't stand a chance, opening at a mere 33 theaters nationwide, compared with Apes' 3,648 venues. Looks like it's considered an "art film," at least for the time being. It's not even showing at my local 12-screen bijou. Sigh...

2011 Summer Movies Last Hurrah... 'Devil,' 'Apes' And 'Crazy, Love'

Damn, here we are in August and I've yet to see but one summer flick at the cinema: Thor, with delish Chris Hemsdale. My list is growing: never made it Bridesmaids; gotta gotta see Chris Evans in Captain America; Crazy, Stupid, Love sounds fantastic with Ryan Gosling (despite weary one-trick pony Steve Carrell)...

But more than any of those, what seems to be the dark horse must-see is Devil's Double, with a breakout performance from Brit actor Dominic Cooper, whom we first discovered as the adorable shirtless boyfriend of Amanda Seyfried in Mamma Mia! and then in a supporting role in the Oscar-nominated An Education.

In Double, Cooper takes a wild ride playing double characters. As Iraqi army lieutenant Latif Yahia, he becomes a de facto member of "the royal family" of Saddam Hussein in 19897 Baghdad, when he’s ordered to become the body double of Saddam's son, the "Black Prince" Uday Hussein, "a reckless, sadistic party-boy with a rabid hunger for sex and brutality." Obviously, madness ensues. Already, there's Oscar buzz for Cooper's performance(s). We'll see how the movie fares at the box office after this weekend's opening.
Above: New York magazine's Aug. 1, 2011 profile, in Mamma Mia! and An Education with Peter Sarsgaard.

Also launching this weekend, which looks potentially entertaining... Rise of the Planet of the Apes, starring James Franco and John Lithgow, said to be neither a sequel nor a prequel. Of course, nobody will ever trump Charlton Heston and Roddy McDowell, but Franco brings intelligence and light to every role he plays... It's certainly a better bet than far-fetched The Change Up, in which Jason Bateman and Ryan Reynolds reverse bodies and lives. Freaky Friday yet again?

Can't Wait: James Franco Directs Biopic On Sal Mineo

James Franco first made a name for himself in Hollywood in the 2001 biopic James Dean, for which he won a Golden Globe. So how fitting that the fine actor is now directing the film Sal, about the life and career of another idol of The Smoking Nun, Sal Mineo.

Dean and Mineo, of course, starred with Natalie Wood in 1955's Rebel Without A Cause, for which Mineo was nominated for a Best Supporting Actor Oscar for his role as quietly gay character Plato.

He next appeared in Exodus, scoring another Oscar nod and winning a Golden Globe award. Mineo also had a small but meaningful role in Dean's third and final flick Giant; and a roaring good time in the title role of The Gene Krupa Story in 1959, for which he learned to play a mad set of drums. Bizarrely, he also played Milo in Escape From the Planet of the Apes in 1971.

Sadly, Mineo—one of the first openly gay actors—was murdered at the age of 37 in 1976.

Sal is based on a new biography of Mineo by Michael Gregg Michaud, and stars relative unknown Val Lauren in the title role. Filming wrapped at the end of June, with a release in 2013. The first stills from Sal have just been released, below the Mineo collage.

Cover Cuties: James Franco's 'GQ,' Anne Hathaway In 'Harper's Bazaar'

Cover boy James Franco, looking handsome, as always, on the cover of Korea's July 2011 GQ. And below, darling Anne Hathaway is ravishing in the August 2011 Harper's Bazaar.

Summer 2011 Blockbuster Preview: Evans, Hemsworth & Franco

Chris Hemsworth superhero vehicle Thor, in theaters Friday, kicks off a Summer 2011 season dominated by comic book heroes and action-packed fantasy. Translation: Lots of pumped-up dudes. Here's a rundown of the upcoming blow torch action...

May 6: Thor has garnered across-the-board favorable reviews for its whimsy, Hemsworth's star-making performance and its engaging tale of an arrogant warrior banished to Earth and forced to live among humans, while falling in love with Natalie Portman, whom I adored until the pretentious Black Swan. Yes, please!

May 13: Priest, starring Brit Paul Bettany as a warrior priest who disobeys church law by teaming with a young, part-vampire sheriff, played by the delicious Cam Gigandet to track down some vampires blah blah blah. Sounds dreadful, aside from one word: Cam.

May 20: Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, starring Johnny Depp, Geoffrey Rush, Penelope Cruz, Keith Richards, Judi Dench. What a cast! Too bad they're all starring in this movie. Pass, thanks.

June 3: X Men: First Class, starring Scottish actor James McAvoy, Kevin Bacon, Jennifer Lawrence, Oliver Platt, Rose Byrne, January Jones. The fifth in the series, this X Men prequel is set in the 1960s.Yeah, whatever.

June 17: The Green Lantern, starring Ryan Reynolds, Blake Lively. Protectors of peace and justice, the Green Lantern Corps is a brotherhood of superpower-wielding warriors. They recruit human Hal Jordan to save the earth. Obviously, Reynolds' abs possess their own superpowers, while it's nice to see the talented actor continue to evolve from onscreen cut-up to true A-level presence.

July 1: Tranformers: Dark of the Moon, starring Shia LaBeouf. "When a mysterious event from Earth's past erupts into present day, it threatens to bring a war so big that the Transformers alone will not be able to save us." Never cared for this franchise and god knows, LaBeouf adds no hottie factor. Next...

July 15: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2, starring Daniel Radcliffe. What a reason to celebrate! That is, because this weary franchise is at last ending. Enough, already. God bless Radcliffe for maintaining his love for acting after playing this role for the past 75 years...

July 22: Captain America: The First Avenger, starring Chris Evans. Now we're talking, cool cats! Born during the Great Depression, Steve Rogers grew up a poor frail youth. After Super-Soldier Serum, he becomes a perfect male specimen and is assigned to fight evil as Captain America. Geez, does this sound like gay porn or what? Indeed, from all I've seen (above!), Evans has no trouble filling his codpiece.
July 29: The Devils Double, starring Dominic Cooper. Weirdo flick with cutie Cooper as Latif Yahia, body double to Uday Hussein, son of Saddam Hussein and big brother to Qusay Hussein. Early reviews called the film a "rocket-powered thriller," comparing it with Scarface. Cooper was a charmer in movie "Mamma Mia!"; I wish him luck in becoming a leading man.

Aug. 5: Rise of the Planet of the Apes, starring James Franco, John Lithgow. Set in present-day San Francisco, war leads to global apocalypse and to Earth becoming the Planet of the Apes. Haven't I seen this somewhere before... again and again? Sorry, as much as I adore and respect Franco, nobody will ever trump Charlton Heston and Roddy McDowell.

Aug. 19: Conan the Barbarian, starring Jason Momoa. Conan fights to avenge the murder of his papa and the slaughter of his village. Wasn't Arnold Schwarzenegger awful enough in the original? Sounds like a major dud to meese... Well, then. Except for Captain America, it appears I won't be spending much time inside a movie theater this summer.