Celine Dion & James Franco & Two Degrees of Separation
My students had read, and we’d all fruitfully discussed, Carl Wilson’s 33 1/3 book on Celine Dion: so far, so good. We were sauntering through the subsequent reading and writing assignments (and yes, in response to those comments: I’ll post the syllabus sometime soon, but I think I’d like to finish the semester first, and do a post-mortem revision).
Then one evening I was walking through the house and Fresh Air was on the radio: Terry Gross was interviewing James Franco. Which meant, of course, that it was a rerun: seriously, is there anyone in public radio who works better hours than our Terry? Is “Fresh Air rerun” redundant?
As I say, I walked in in medias res, but Terry was asking Franco about his somewhat surprising career move from last year: playing the part of the mysterious artist “Franco” on TV’s longest-running soap opera, General Hospital. I’m not going to dig up the transcript of the Gross interview, but in essence, Franco replied that he’d become suspicious of hoary “high/low” art distinctions, and thought it was time to work the lowbrow side of the street. And that he’d come to this conviction by way of reading . . . Carl Wilson on Celine Dion.
My jaw rather dropped; I could hardly wait to pass this nugget on to my students. Not only had Wilson saved them from incipient indie-rock snobbism: it had also driven James Franco into the arms of doubtless countless vixens on General Hospital. (Full disclosure: I’ve not yet viewed any of these episodes, though some do seem to be available via YouTube, etc.)
Before I next saw my students, though, I saw Jonathan Lethem, who had recommended the book to me in the first place. I told Jonathan about hearing Franco serendipitously on the Fresh Air rerun; a gentle grin played across his face before I had finished telling my story. And why? Well, Jonathan knew something about why Franco had read the Wilson: because it had been assigned to him in Jonathan’s class. At Columbia, in the MFA program; before Jonathan came to us this year.
Oh, small world! So that I was able to get to class a few minutes early and surprise my students with a YouTube video of James Franco on the Red Carpet in 2009, singing the praises of Carl Wilson. Though the syntax is a bit equivocal, it sounds like he hasn’t yet actually read the book. . . .
Sometimes, I just love teaching. Other times: I really love it.
Go Vikings!
Franco is a graduate of Palo Alto High School, as are my two daughters. In fact, one of my older daughter’s friends was friends with James Franco’s brother. So there.
(Don’t be judging. When you’re as obscure as me, you grasp onto every bit of reflected glory you can.)
Hmm… sounds like a book I have to not read so I can be interviewed by Terry Gross while you wander through your house. Is it alright if I skip the MFA enrollment and General Hospital liplocking, though? All the plot twists in both environments would make me dizzy.
I must also look up this James Franco fellow. Perhaps I’ve seen him somewhere. We don’t get very good TV reception under this rock.
Ha! IMHO, James Franco is someone you should be proud not to have heard of. 127 Hours is his most recent, I think.
Ah, yes, those serendipitous teaching moments. How we love them. Only you could find an actual connection between Celine Dion and James Franco.
Wasn’t an underwear ad in GQ actually his most recent work? How does one judge the most “most recent” act of James Franco, anyway? Heck, his interview with Terry Gross is probably as much a performance as his red carpet walk or appearing in some high/low brow Danny Boyle flick.