Tuesday, August 28, 2012

James Franco's "Cruising"

I read earlier today in an article on Indiewire by Bryce J Renninger that James Franco has teamed up with Travis Mathews to make a film entitled James Franco's Cruising. He writes:
The film that Mathews and Franco are creating together is an examination of people trying to make sense of Franco as star figure -- as well as a documentation of Franco's attempt to produce a film that re-imagines the lost 40 minutes of "Cruising."
Sounds pretty interesting, for a host of reasons. I've only seen one of Travis Mathews' films, which I really loved (my thoughts on it here). That film deals with two gay men who are friends who end up having sex with each other. It is intimacy on an emotional level that is extremely powerful. I'm curious to see what sensibility James Franco's Cruising will have, since the original movie Cruising by William Friedkin is about intimacy devoid of emotion and friendship, which is also extremely powerful. The movie's theme is heightened by the fact that the plot revolves around a serial killer who preys on gay men in search of anonymous sex. It's a complicated film and I've always had mixed feelings about it. However, I'm looking forward to this Mathews/Franco joint venture.