James Franco to Bring Gay Pride to General Hospital

At Gay Pride in Los Angeles this weekend, there were all the expected sights (like waxed chests and poor sartorial choices involving jean shorts and fanny packs), but among them, there was also one rather unexpected cameo from James Franco. What was the actor doing there? Let him explain.

World of Wonder cornered Franco and found that he was making a short film with queer performer Kalup Linzy as part of his upcoming return to General Hospital. It's kind of a genius decision for Franco to involve Linzy in his already meta foray into soaps, as the video artist often uses drag and soap opera iconography in his own work. "I thought it'd be interesting if I took a real artist that was inspired by soaps," Franco explains in the video below, "and then [he's] in a real soap opera doing their own version of contemporary art." Got that?

So, to recap: if you see James Franco out at Pride this weekend, he's simply making a short with the help of a queer artist who frequently performs in drag. Is this the gayest short film the Milk actor has ever made? Not hardly.

SIGHTED AT LA GAY PRIDE: JAMES FRANCO & KALUP LINZY [World of Wonder]