Is General Hospital Drafting Off James Franco's Oscar Gig?

If you haven't referenced your Soap Digest this month, you may not have known that James Franco is returning to Port Charles for another brief arc on ABC's General Hospital. Because the Academy Award nominee apparently cannot get his fill of daytime. And judging by ABC's latest preview clip of the show, the network cannot get its fill of cheeky Oscar references.

Watch below as James Franco's conveniently-named character "Franco" pops up in Port Charles to cryptically call "an old friend" while reclining in a tux in front of half-nude photos of himself. (As you do.) Keep watching as Franco alludes to this Sunday's Oscars -- which are being telecast by ABC -- and his nomination for 127 Hours.

"Look, I could chat all night but I've got to run," Franco tells Jason. "I have a big event to attend. A very, very big deal. But that's what I get for spending my spring between a rock and a hard place. Gosh, I hate cliches but that was funny right?"

The Oscar referential episode airs today on the last General Hospital before the network airs the Academy Awards. Coincidence?

[via CinemaBlend]