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The Hunting Ground

SOLVED!

EXCLUSIVE!

[Blind Gossip] Aspiring actors take acting classes to learn how to act. But what if the teacher of those classes has his own twisted agenda?

This very well-known actor stars in both film and TV projects. He teaches acting on the side.

We’re being told that some very questionable activity goes on in his acting classes. Here are some examples from former students:

  • The first day of class, he told us to take off all our clothes so we could learn how to be comfortable being vulnerable in front of the camera.
  • He says the sex scenes are “art” and that if you want to be a real “artist” you have to be comfortable with taking your clothes off and having sex on camera.
  • He uses the class as his own personal casting couch for him and his friends. He introduces you to his other “teacher” friends  or his “producer” friends who pretend to want to help you with your craft or with getting roles, but they always just want to have sex.
  • He has you take your clothes off, and he takes his clothes off, too. If you don’t do the fake sex scene with him, he will throw you out out of class.
  • I’ve been on film sets before and unless you are doing p*rn, there is absolutely no reason for actors to be totally nude. We should have had pasties or c*ck socks. The whole thing just felt wrong.
  • One day it got so creepy that our entire class walked out.
  • He offers some of the female students roles in unpaid films. You show up on the set and you have to sign an NDA. Then he tells you – surprise! – you need to do an improvised sex scene with him. If you refuse, you get fired, and because you have an NDA, you can’t tell anyone about it.
  • He had the women on the set of [name of film] wear dental dams, and not in their mouths. You shouldn’t have to wear a dental dam for a simulated sex scene.
  • Some of the kids in the class are only 17 or 18 years old and are very naive and just want to make it in the business. He’s famous so they just do what he tells them. I think he counts on this to take advantage of them.
  • Some of the students complained to the school about him and his friends and what they were forcing the students to do, but the school just kicked out the students.

This doesn’t sound like an acting school. This sounds like a hunting ground.

Actor:

[Optional] Do his teaching methods sound legitimate to you?

SOLVED!

Actor: James Franco

Blind Gossip told you back in November 2017 that this story was coming. It’s finally starting to break.

Shortly after the Harvey Weinstein scandal erupted, James Franco’s acting school suddenly shut down and all references to it were  scrubbed from the internet.

It wasn’t because the school, founded in 2014, could not attract students or because Franco was too busy. It was because James Franco was about to be exposed for his own predatory behavior.

Of course he is denying everything. Just like Harvey Weinstein.

The L.A Times article you’ll see today is just the tip of the iceberg. There are dozens of young actors and actresses with stories to tell of Franco’s vulgar and unprofessional behavior.

Time’s up, James Franco.

From The L.A. Times:

Five women accuse actor James Franco of inappropriate or sexually exploitative behavior

It should have been a pure moment of triumph for James Franco. He collected one of Hollywood’s top prizes at the Golden Globe Awards on Sunday, validating an untraditional career in which he’s been a bankable leading man, Ivy League academic and eccentric auteur.

But as he stood on the ballroom stage, some were paying more attention to the Time’s Up pin on his lapel than the gold statue he picked up for his turn in “The Disaster Artist.”

It “was like a slap in my face,” said Sarah Tither-Kaplan, a former acting student at the film school Franco founded who went on to appear in several of his productions.

Tither-Kaplan is one of five women who, in interviews with The Times, accused Franco, 39, of behavior they found to be inappropriate or sexually exploitative. Four were his students, and another said he was her mentor.

In some cases, they said they believed Franco could offer them career advancement, and acquiesced to his wishes even when they were uncomfortable.

“I feel there was an abuse of power, and there was a culture of exploiting non-celebrity women, and a culture of women being replaceable,” said Tither-Kaplan, who was one of many women who took to Twitter on Sunday night to vent anger over Franco’s win.

She told The Times that in a nude orgy scene she filmed with Franco and several women three years ago, he removed protective plastic guards covering other actresses’ vaginas while simulating oral sex on them.

Two other student actresses also recounted negative on-set experiences. Both said Franco became angry when no women, while at the shoot, would agree to be topless.

Franco’s attorney, Michael Plonsker, disputed all of the women’s allegations and directed The Times to Franco’s comments Tuesday night on “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert.”

“Look, in my life I pride myself on taking responsibility for things that I have done,” he told Colbert. “I have to do that to maintain my well being. The things that I heard that were on Twitter are not accurate. But I completely support people coming out and being able to have a voice because they didn’t have a voice for so long. So I don’t want to shut them down in any way.”

“If I have done something wrong,” he added, “I will fix it — I have to.”

Franco’s always had a flair for comedy, but that’s the funniest line of all. Franco’s not fixing anything. He knows exactly what he’s done. He just wants the charges to go away.

One of the things that made Studio 4 different from other acting schools, Franco promised, was its ability to funnel promising talent into the actor’s own projects. Indeed, the school’s now-closed website said that Franco and his production company, Rabbit Bandini Productions, would “cast roles directly from his classes, and will involve his students in a variety of his film and art projects.”

But several students said that these parts were rarely handed out to people in the classes.

“They would tell us that smaller parts in their projects were being held exclusively for students — often they were opportunities for extra work or parts that required nudity,” said Devyn LaBella, who spent a year as a student at the NoHo location. “I didn’t have agency representation at the time, so I thought, ‘Well, I’m not going to be able to get into good auditions, so this might be my opportunity.’”

LaBella said she and classmates uploaded auditions to a website, but no one she knew ever heard back.

Katie Ryan, who met Franco at Playhouse West and took several classes at Studio 4, said the actor “would always make everybody think there were possible roles on the table if we were to perform sexual acts or take off our shirts.”

She said that for years, she received mass email requests from Franco to audition for roles playing “a prostitute or a hooker.”

Franco is “not aware that any of the actions alleged by Ms. Ryan ever occurred,” his attorney said.

You can read the entire story here.

Congratulations to Ozzybearlife for being first with the correct response!

Related: Ho Ho Ho Slimy

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Woohoo says

    Franco and his friends are RIDICULOUS people.

    I mean, really? All the live-long day, nothing but partying and sex, and maybe shoot a crappy film once in a while? Surely there are other things to accomplish in life.

    Their selfishness and objectifying behavior makes me want to give them all a swift kick in the ‘nads. Maybe that’d cool them down some.

  2. carroll89 says

    James Franco. Remember about a year or two ago, he had to make that public apology to that underage girl he dm’d? Basically this young girl, I think she was 14 and actually looked 14, asked for a photo outside his performance on the Westend. He obliged and she tagged him in the photo on Instagram. He responded by private messaging her, asking was she single and could she come to his hotel room. Vomit inducing! Total creep.

  7. luvprue1 says

    So they say the actor introduced the class to his friend. So his friend is likely Seth Rogen.

  8. luvprue1 says

    It does sound like James Franco, but I hope it’s not him. However he was caught trying to pick up a 17 year old girl online. He is known for posting semi nude pictures on his instagram page. Plus he have taught acting.

  9. TheMittenState says

    This is def. James Franco, however I think the school may be the University of Southern California. He taught there and “The hunting ground” is a documentary about rape on college campuses, one of them USC. Also, USC is being sued by a former student right now for allowing a professor who sexually harassed her to keep teaching at the school. The USC film school is VERY well-connected in hollywood and I wonder about its connections to predators…

  10. mona lisas and mad hatters says

    OMG! What did I just read??? Horrific!

    And the ‘school’ kicks out the students who complain to Admin?!?

    They all need to be held accountable. A complicit predatory hunting ground under the guise of ‘school’ and ‘art’?!?

    I think JAIL would be an appropriate ‘artistic’ response for each and every person who was complicit – aiding and abetting a crime is criminal behavior.

  11. Meggiejean13 says

    Tim Robbins. I was in the business for quite a few years and while I never experienced anything firsthand, I’ve heard some pretty shady rumors about his acting company. I believe it’s call The Actor’s Gang.

  12. Headlights says

    James Franco

    What a creep. I used to think he was really hot until that incident where he tried to seduce that underage girl a few years ago

  13. huntyplz says

    100% James Franco. Never leave your daughter alone with him . Also another alleged ped* is Jared Leto. Many many many horrific stories about Leto too. You know what they say where there’s smoke there’s fire.

  14. KatarinaJ says

    Yeah he is on THE DEUCE so he fits the clue. Didn’t see reference to the acting classes online like immediately popped with Hoffman. This seems so quirky ‘eccentric’ ala harassment, under the guise of wacky art. Definitely Franco who I always got a sleazy vibe from anyway.

  15. insertnamehere says

    Definitely James Franco

    If this is true, I hope he and his disgusting friends rot.

    Remember when he tried to get an underage girl to sleep with him on Instagram?

    Vile turd.

  19. aaasheag says

    Spacey again?

    He has a foundation for teaching acting and has definitely held classes, but part of this blind talks about female students being taken advantage of, which doesn’t sound like Spacey.

  20. StormwindCityGuard says

    Isn’t James Franco running some sort of acting class? Or did I just dream that up?! I’m pretty sure I’ve read in the past that he’s teaching acting.

  29. chicagofix says

    James Franco confounded an acting school.

    I want to like him, but the rumors just keep getting worse…

  31. goodgravy says

    Dustin Hoffman (see master class online)

    No, not at all. Lots of actors and actresses choose to never get naked for any part.

  41. artistsnow says

    omfg. Kevin Spacey.

    He needs to go to jail. How horrific. What a predator. This is disgusting.
    The Old Vic needs be SHUTDOWN until this is dealt with. There must be SCORES of people complicit in this. I can’t even….omg. poor kids. THose poor kids.

  42. FeistyFiona says

    James Franco.

    This P.O.S. needs to be publicly exposed SOON before attention on this subject (inevitably) wanes. If he survives this moment, the arrogant s*** will think he’s invincible! And he’s still YOUNG… God knows how much more damage he could do over the next 20-30 years!?

  49. Kerzep says

    I don’t know who this is, but it doesn’t surprise me. What DOES surprise me is that people continue to attend this “school”. I’d be out of there in a nanosecond.

  51. kittymyers says

    I don’t know who this is, but with what we’re learning about Hollywood these days, it could be anyone.

    “Do his teaching methods sound legitimate to you?” The answer is obviously NO.

  53. Ohmysmh says

    Can’t wait to see what “teacher ” is and what school throws the student out for complaining with all this sexual harrasment and rape accusations this class certainly need to be dropped what school is this?

  55. NotYourDaddysYacht says

    James Franco…
    He used to be on the front page of the website that also offered classes in NY. Since the Harvey Weinstein expose, he is not featured any longer.

  59. aaagspr says

    Optional: No, nothing legitimate about it; this is completely predatory. “Hunting ground” is a perfect description.

  63. KatarinaJ says

    Hunting makes me think Aflleck or Damon but do they do tv except the old Project Greenlight? Also when I googled famous actors who do workshops Dustin Hoffman comes up but can’t find any more and also DH has been called out and doesn’t do TV, does he? You’d think this would have come out with the other allegations.

    • spankys60 says

      He’s done HBO. The Kevorkian miniseries, Angels in America, the racing show Luck. That’s considered TV.

    • jbj2016 says

      Angels in America and You Don’t Know Jack featured Al Pacino, not Dustin Hoffman. DH did star in Luck, though.

  64. EL 444 says

    The only one I can think of that fits all three is Vincent D’Onofrio. But, I hope I’m wrong. I adore him.
    Def not legitimate teaching.

  68. jbj2016 says

    I have heard stories about Jeff Goldblum having inappropriate relations with his acting students, but I can’t think of too many movies he’s done with sex scenes.

    • Figgy says

      ^^I think this is correct! He was supposed to be in Graham Norton a few weeks ago and bailed at the last minute. I think it was the week the Harvey Weinstein drama hit the news. All I could think was oh man what is he hiding!

  84. rosarybjork says

    Christopher Walken,,,,,that old movie the hunting ground.

    Sounds like some strange teaching. What is the name of the school?

    • tellmemore says

      I’m not sure. I think the movie you’re thinking of is The Deer Hunter. He’s already so creepy, though, so maybe…

    • delray74 says

      I think that’s it. The first part of their stupid movie this is the end, they blather on endlessly about “art”

    • Hollypollydoodle says

      He was the first person to pop into my head, and now seeing that it is everyone else’s choice also, basically confirms it for me. That sucks. He’s always been quirky but I’ve never pictured him as a predator. And I really like Dave Franco.

    • NoseyNana2008 says

      Never found him attractive, just skeezy. I can’t think of one movie he was in that I watched all the way through. I just thought Johnny Depp was repulsive, then there was Franco.