NZ Herald
  • Home
  • Latest news
  • Herald NOW
  • Video
  • New Zealand
  • Sport
  • World
  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Podcasts
  • Quizzes
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Viva
  • Weather

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • New Zealand
    • All New Zealand
    • Crime
    • Politics
    • Education
    • Open Justice
    • Scam Update
  • Herald NOW
  • On The Up
  • World
    • All World
    • Australia
    • Asia
    • UK
    • United States
    • Middle East
    • Europe
    • Pacific
  • Business
    • All Business
    • MarketsSharesCurrencyCommoditiesStock TakesCrypto
    • Markets with Madison
    • Media Insider
    • Business analysis
    • Personal financeKiwiSaverInterest ratesTaxInvestment
    • EconomyInflationGDPOfficial cash rateEmployment
    • Small business
    • Business reportsMood of the BoardroomProject AucklandSustainable business and financeCapital markets reportAgribusiness reportInfrastructure reportDynamic business
    • Deloitte Top 200 Awards
    • CompaniesAged CareAgribusinessAirlinesBanking and financeConstructionEnergyFreight and logisticsHealthcareManufacturingMedia and MarketingRetailTelecommunicationsTourism
  • Opinion
    • All Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Editorials
    • Business analysis
    • Premium opinion
    • Letters to the editor
  • Politics
  • Sport
    • All Sport
    • OlympicsParalympics
    • RugbySuper RugbyNPCAll BlacksBlack FernsRugby sevensSchool rugby
    • CricketBlack CapsWhite Ferns
    • Racing
    • NetballSilver Ferns
    • LeagueWarriorsNRL
    • FootballWellington PhoenixAuckland FCAll WhitesFootball FernsEnglish Premier League
    • GolfNZ Open
    • MotorsportFormula 1
    • Boxing
    • UFC
    • BasketballNBABreakersTall BlacksTall Ferns
    • Tennis
    • Cycling
    • Athletics
    • SailingAmerica's CupSailGP
    • Rowing
  • Lifestyle
    • All Lifestyle
    • Viva - Food, fashion & beauty
    • Society Insider
    • Royals
    • Sex & relationships
    • Food & drinkRecipesRecipe collectionsRestaurant reviewsRestaurant bookings
    • Health & wellbeing
    • Fashion & beauty
    • Pets & animals
    • The Selection - Shop the trendsShop fashionShop beautyShop entertainmentShop giftsShop home & living
    • Milford's Investing Place
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • TV
    • MoviesMovie reviews
    • MusicMusic reviews
    • BooksBook reviews
    • Culture
    • ReviewsBook reviewsMovie reviewsMusic reviewsRestaurant reviews
  • Travel
    • All Travel
    • News
    • New ZealandNorthlandAucklandWellingtonCanterburyOtago / QueenstownNelson-TasmanBest NZ beaches
    • International travelAustraliaPacific IslandsEuropeUKUSAAfricaAsia
    • Rail holidays
    • Cruise holidays
    • Ski holidays
    • Luxury travel
    • Adventure travel
  • Kāhu Māori news
  • Environment
    • All Environment
    • Our Green Future
  • Talanoa Pacific news
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Property Insider
    • Interest rates tracker
    • Residential property listings
    • Commercial property listings
  • Health
  • Technology
    • All Technology
    • AI
    • Social media
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
    • Opinion
    • Audio & podcasts
  • Weather forecasts
    • All Weather forecasts
    • Kaitaia
    • Whangārei
    • Dargaville
    • Auckland
    • Thames
    • Tauranga
    • Hamilton
    • Whakatāne
    • Rotorua
    • Tokoroa
    • Te Kuiti
    • Taumaranui
    • Taupō
    • Gisborne
    • New Plymouth
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Dannevirke
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Levin
    • Paraparaumu
    • Masterton
    • Wellington
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Blenheim
    • Westport
    • Reefton
    • Kaikōura
    • Greymouth
    • Hokitika
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
    • Wānaka
    • Oamaru
    • Queenstown
    • Dunedin
    • Gore
    • Invercargill
  • Meet the journalists
  • Promotions & competitions
  • OneRoof property listings
  • Driven car news

Puzzles & Quizzes

  • Puzzles
    • All Puzzles
    • Sudoku
    • Code Cracker
    • Crosswords
    • Cryptic crossword
    • Wordsearch
  • Quizzes
    • All Quizzes
    • Morning quiz
    • Afternoon quiz
    • Sports quiz

Regions

  • Northland
    • All Northland
    • Far North
    • Kaitaia
    • Kerikeri
    • Kaikohe
    • Bay of Islands
    • Whangarei
    • Dargaville
    • Kaipara
    • Mangawhai
  • Auckland
  • Waikato
    • All Waikato
    • Hamilton
    • Coromandel & Hauraki
    • Matamata & Piako
    • Cambridge
    • Te Awamutu
    • Tokoroa & South Waikato
    • Taupō & Tūrangi
  • Bay of Plenty
    • All Bay of Plenty
    • Katikati
    • Tauranga
    • Mount Maunganui
    • Pāpāmoa
    • Te Puke
    • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Hawke's Bay
    • All Hawke's Bay
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Havelock North
    • Central Hawke's Bay
    • Wairoa
  • Taranaki
    • All Taranaki
    • Stratford
    • New Plymouth
    • Hāwera
  • Manawatū - Whanganui
    • All Manawatū - Whanganui
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Manawatū
    • Tararua
    • Horowhenua
  • Wellington
    • All Wellington
    • Kapiti
    • Wairarapa
    • Upper Hutt
    • Lower Hutt
  • Nelson & Tasman
    • All Nelson & Tasman
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Tasman
  • Marlborough
  • West Coast
  • Canterbury
    • All Canterbury
    • Kaikōura
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
  • Otago
    • All Otago
    • Oamaru
    • Dunedin
    • Balclutha
    • Alexandra
    • Queenstown
    • Wanaka
  • Southland
    • All Southland
    • Invercargill
    • Gore
    • Stewart Island
  • Gisborne

Media

  • Video
    • All Video
    • NZ news video
    • Herald NOW
    • Business news video
    • Politics news video
    • Sport video
    • World news video
    • Lifestyle video
    • Entertainment video
    • Travel video
    • Markets with Madison
    • Kea Kids news
  • Podcasts
    • All Podcasts
    • The Front Page
    • On the Tiles
    • Ask me Anything
    • The Little Things
  • Cartoons
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Entertainment

James Franco on porn, telepathy and his TV habits

By Michele Manelis
Weekend magazine·
11 Sep, 2017 05:00 PM5 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

James Franco reveals his relationship to porn. Photo / Getty Images

James Franco reveals his relationship to porn. Photo / Getty Images

The Deuce is not the first time you've dealt with the porn world cinematically [King Cobra]. What's the fascination?

The porn coincidence is really just a coincidence.

The show illustrates the sex industry in 1970s New York in a very interesting way.

Listen, this is not a show that uses porn and the sex trade in a gratuitous way. It's an interesting story. Everybody involved in the show plays an integral part, including Mayor Lindsay who was running for President in 1971, who made a backroom deal with the Mafia to take the prostitution off the streets so it appeared as if he was cleaning up the streets. He said, "If you just put it inside, then you won't be bothered." The police force was paid off and massage parlours were built around Times Square and were a part of the big picture. So it goes from the mayor all the way down to the street level and that's really what we were interested in showing. Porn is really just a device to really examine market capitalism.

What was your introduction to porn?

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Well, I grew up in pre-internet age and so I think a friend from Junior High popped a VCR in and my mind was blown. I was 13.

And now? What is your relationship to porn?

I will be honest, totally, totally honest. I have no judgment against what adults do and how they make money and I have no moral or ethical judgments about that at all. I have even done a documentary about a porn production company called Kink.com in San Francisco because I was fascinated by the people there. But I do not watch porn. It just does not put me in a good head space.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
James Franco and Zoe Kazan in The Deuce.
James Franco and Zoe Kazan in The Deuce.

You're playing twins in this series, which must have come with its own challenges. I know you're not a twin in real life but you do have a telepathic relationship with anyone?

I started working with my younger brother Dave. And yeah, we have discovered that there is a little bit of a Franco mind meld, I think. We share a lot of the same tastes. And even though he is seven years younger than I am, he just is much more stable and more discerning. He loves to say no to projects and he really slows me down. So maybe it's just me trying to just follow in his younger footsteps. But we certainly seem to be aligned.

What's one of the most influential books you've read?

Difficult Men, by Brett Martin.

Discover more

Entertainment

Why The Deuce is set to be HBO's next big thing

07 Sep 01:00 AM
Entertainment

Woman's Twitter suspended for Taylor Swift criticism

06 Sep 11:45 PM
Lifestyle

What it's like to compete in Miss Nude World

10 Sep 01:45 AM
Entertainment

Deuce's decay a real delight

15 Sep 05:00 PM

What are you watching on TV lately?

I just watched The Keepers and The Handmaid's Tale. With both of those shows, the subject matter is so, so heavy and just seems to relevant and so poignant and I found myself - even after watching an episode - just being affected for a day and carrying that around. They are so well put-together and the subject matter was so poignant and disturbing.

James Franco in The Deuce.
James Franco in The Deuce.

Can you describe how you watch TV? How big is your TV? How comfy is your sofa? What snacks are you eating? Tell me all so I can get the complete Franco visual.

Well, I sit on the couch. I no longer watch television in bed, which is a new habit of mine. I do not fall asleep watching television. It leads to weird dreams and I wake up with a kind of emotional hangover so I make sure to turn off the television downstairs and go up to the bedroom. I do have a weird snack I picked up from Seattle. I was there for a day or two about a year ago, at that market where they catch the fish, Pike's. Last time I was there I caught a fish.

You caught a fish in a market?

What I mean by that is they threw the fish at me and I caught it. Then I went down the street and there was a store full of salmon jerky. It probably sounds disgusting to you and your readers, and to be honest, it smells disgusting but I really like it. So I usually have some salmon jerky and some chamomile tea. And I don't like binge-binge but I will watch a fair amount of mostly television these days. I watch a couple of episodes of something a night before I go to sleep.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

What did you watch when you were a kid?

I watched, like Roseanne. I remember watching Full House and Family Ties and yeah, strange taste. I like to think it's improved.

I know you dropped out of college and worked in McDonald's so you could support yourself while you were trying to get work as an actor. What do you remember about those days?

Fortunately, I didn't work in McDonald's that long, I worked there for about two or three months and I worked the drive-through. And actors would come through, like Geena Davis and Kevin Connolly from Entourage. I would see them ordering their burgers and shakes or whatever and I would think, "All right. One day I will be on the other side." But then once that happened I never again ate at McDonald's.

Lowdown

The Deuce, On SoHo and Neon from September 11.

Save

    Share this article

Latest from Entertainment

Reviews

William Dart review: Auckland Philharmonia's La Traviata impresses full house

06 Jul 05:00 PM
World

Ozzy Osbourne's final Black Sabbath gig draws thousands in Birmingham

06 Jul 02:09 AM
New Zealand

NZ actress accuses Australian policeman of using CCTV to spy on her

06 Jul 12:48 AM

Sponsored: Get your kids involved in your reno

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Entertainment

William Dart review: Auckland Philharmonia's La Traviata impresses full house

William Dart review: Auckland Philharmonia's La Traviata impresses full house

06 Jul 05:00 PM

The first party scene featured the NZ Opera Chorus mingling above the orchestra.

Ozzy Osbourne's final Black Sabbath gig draws thousands in Birmingham

Ozzy Osbourne's final Black Sabbath gig draws thousands in Birmingham

06 Jul 02:09 AM
NZ actress accuses Australian policeman of using CCTV to spy on her

NZ actress accuses Australian policeman of using CCTV to spy on her

06 Jul 12:48 AM
Premium
Lights! Camera! But not enough action in a fading, worried Hollywood

Lights! Camera! But not enough action in a fading, worried Hollywood

06 Jul 12:00 AM
Sponsored: Why heat pumps make winter cheaper
sponsored

Sponsored: Why heat pumps make winter cheaper

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • NZ Herald e-editions
  • Daily puzzles & quizzes
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Subscribe to the NZ Herald newspaper
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP