if you’re looking for ways to deal with
criticism take your shot and learn to
trust others than this video is for you
I do believe feedback is incredibly
important
I just turned myself over to the process
of that and and it was the best one of
the best lessons I could have learned
acne I was really kind of shy and a
girlfriend in the theater program and I
was actually jealous that she was doing
a play with this other guy so that sort
of motivate me go into it in the
motivation whattcha top ten believe
nation what’s up at seven my one word is
believe and I believe in you I believe
you have an amazing gift inside you that
I want to see exploded to the world so
let’s get your motivation to attend and
get you believing in you grab a snack
and chew in today’s lessons from a man
who went from being a math whiz who
interned at Lockheed Martin growing up
and wanted to become a marine zoologist
to actually becoming a Golden Globe
winning an Academy Award nominated actor
his James Franco and here’s my take on
his top ten roses success enjoy
alright let’s kick it off with rule
number one my personal favorite use what
you have try to do absolutely everything
like I it frustrates me to no end or it
sounds more visible than anything to
kind of be hung up on any step of the
kind of bureaucratic process or like the
you know the practical process of like
getting somebody to give you the money
getting this actor in it so that she can
make it getting this equipment so that
you can do it it’s like just use what
you have you know at your disposal and
if you’re new you know the experience
even if you make it on your phone the
experience isn’t going to hurt you and
what you’ll you know you make a movie on
your phone what you can focus on is
story you know performance and and see
if your stuff is actually playing and
then whatever you don’t get into
Sundance you don’t get into slam dance
fine put it out somewhere else and make
another one rule number two take
responsibility for your life there at
what point were you working at
McDonald’s and that was an acting
training ground for you and no one else
is what you make your purchases I mean I
so I went to UCLA I was a literature
major my pet my dad want to be me to be
a math major I wanted to go to art
school to compromise that I say
literature once I got to UCLA I realized
you know a half the towns in the movie
business and suddenly I saw that there
were practical steps I could take to get
into the movies and I didn’t seem to be
doing that you know in my
it would just seem like the long road to
other I didn’t even know where and so I
eventually dropped out of UCLA after a
year went to acting school in the valley
and and my parents said they wouldn’t
support me if I wasn’t going to
university and so I had to get a job and
I couldn’t you know all the other actors
had been you know they were they got all
the great waiting jobs and somebody said
you too good to work at McDonald’s I
said no and you know it was a you know
cuz I D I wanted to be an actor I knew
they felt like that was the only way I
would be able to do it it was not it was
a really important lesson actually that
you know going in and working me being
responsible for myself really showed me
how much I wanted like it wasn’t the
soft way you know I had to really work
for it Lee number three worked hard I
was known for doing a lot of things and
part of that was that I had learned
early on you know when I was working at
McDonald’s like okay James
nobody is except your teachers is saying
you should do this you know I’m gonna
you you know you should take this chance
on yourself so I was like all right I’m
gonna just believe in myself I gotta
work really really hard I got to show
everyone that I did that I am supposed
to be doing this and then two or three
years later I was on Freaks and Geeks
and so I learned from that experience
like oh if you work hard at something
that that’s how you get better like any
any athlete you know if they are
professional they’ve practiced right you
don’t you’re not gonna find anybody in
professional sports that’s like nope I
never practiced just there I’m a natural
you know like people have natural talent
but they work at it and and so part of
me you know directly so many things and
doing all that was like oh I just want
the experience and doing that and you
know a lot of those movies
I’m happy with most of them but you know
some are more successful than others in
different ways and but a lot of that was
I think getting experience and you know
I get to direct on the juice now and I
don’t think I would have been able to
direct an HBO show especially for David
Simon if if I didn’t have all that
experience behind me rule number four
learn how to deal with criticism you
know when you’re a creative person and
you’re putting your work out in the
world sometimes that criticism is my dat
sometimes it’s harmful and and so you
just kind of have to be aware with of
that and and one of the reasons and and
and figure out a way to kind of deal
with that and figure out who you’re
gonna listen to and who you’re not gonna
listen to for your feedback because I do
believe feedback is incredibly important
and it’s one of the reasons that I when
I teach I also design my classes this
way so that they can’t put their work
out into the world that’s the final step
seeing how your work is being read by
audiences my critics if you care to
listen to them and so and that that is
the final ingredient that will make you
better because if you’re making movies
you’re making television you’re making
videos whatever you’re making you know
my guess is you’re making it to
communicate to for an audience to read
it you’re not just making it for
yourself to kind of watch unless you
know you’re making like I don’t know
porn of you in your partner or something
I’m like you’re making it for an
audience like and so so understanding
how it’s communicating to that audience
is incredibly important so I do value
feedback but you just have to hundred
like one of the things you learn in any
MFA
you know if it’s writing or filmmaking
or or whatever is because there usually
one of in a workshop manner you know
you’re getting feedback from your
classmates and your teachers on your
work constantly and one of the things
you learn in that system is well his
feedback is always laying he does not
understand what I’m trying to do he’s a
trap to do something or he’s angry about
the way that I dress or something like
his feedback is worthless
okay but she is always you know giving
me good feedback and actually when I
listen to her
it makes myself better and and you just
apply that to the larger world like okay
this critic has some little you know
drum to be and he just doesn’t whatever
he’s off on his own thing and he can you
know beat the James Franco hate drum
fine I don’t care
this critic you know gets it and if I
look oh it made some great insight okay
that will help me on the next one and so
you just have to kind of learn who to
listen to and who not to listen to and
if somebody’s telling you just play now
don’t do that you’re not allowed to
write books you’re not allowed to direct
like I would just give the advice of
don’t listen to them rule number five is
just do your best
and in this business you get rejected so
much to did that affect you or were you
able to plow through that part of it one
of the things that I give to guys that
are trying to get into acting now or
going through the audition things I give
them my Bryan Cranston’s book he’s got
this great section he’s just a great guy
and you know and somehow it’s weird a
lot of it out and he’s got this great
section on auditions where it’s just
sort of the Zen thing where he goes in
to give a performance whether he gets a
job or not is out of his hands and just
really thinks about it that way
and get the best as long as it can and
then let it go you know leave the
results up to whatever and that and also
the idea of taking responsibility for
yourself while you’re pursuing your
dream are the two things that I try to
give the two pieces of advice I try to
give to people starting out rule number
six find your people I went to Avenue
school for a long time longer than I
should have years and years and years
even after I was a you know professional
and I realized now in hindsight like
heard of me was probably very frustrated
by the fact that I didn’t really trained
as an actor but I was still dependent on
all these other people to to work to
really apply my trade like I’d have to
get cast in something or somebody would
have to write something that I liked or
you know or even if they did write
something I liked I’d have to be lucky
enough or whatever prove myself enough
to actually get it and so one of the
things I do at my house I have my own
schools in New York and LA one of the
things I really try to emphasize there
is community finding your people so that
you’re not just dependent on the
gatekeepers and then you know insular
industry but you have your people that
can make movies and then and that’s you
know very much what this movie as a
result of and and and really just go and
do it and you can pursue traditional
inroads to the industry but at the same
time you can still be making your own
things because you have either know how
to do it all like you’re a Seth Rogen he
can write and act and direct or you have
your group and you work with them in
that sense I like to be the person that
shows them like you know you can do this
you don’t have to like the most boring
part of filmmaking to me is like
knocking on door
trying to pitch ideas to people like
isn’t it so much more fun to just go out
and make it and then show people and
they get excited about it like you know
instead of like saying like I’ve got
this good idea immunity’s you know it’s
gonna be in the execution you don’t
quite understand it now like would it be
better to execute it and then show him
and then like oh that’s what you meant
rule number seven learned to trust
others when I the year I did pineapple
and mill mill you know was directed by
Gus Van Sant like I said he’d been a
hero of mine before I wasn’t even an
actor and then Sean Penn who was also on
him my heroes and and then pineapple
came about because I ran into Judd at
the Austin Film Festival and he had just
come out with 40 year old virgin and
it’s hard to wrote it’s hard to think of
a time when like there wasn’t a Judd
Apatow as right now but like freaks and
geeks got canceled and undeclared got
cancelled basically show canceled yeah
and so exactly so the 40 year old virgin
I remember him saying that day he’s like
finally I finally you know they finally
like me I got ahead and he’s like I
don’t know why you left the comedy world
after freaks and geeks come back come
back to comedy I was like I’m yeah I’m
ready right really like I’m not having a
good time and he’s like oh well that’s
gonna that’s gonna do this movie with me
knocked up and then you guys should do
it the movie and we didn’t even know
that it was gonna be pineapple at that
point he’s just like you should do
something with Seth and I was like yes
anything I mean and so on that movie
pineapple strange to say of all the
movies in my career but I really learned
how to trust on that movie and cuz it
was my friends and I thought they were
the funniest guys around and so I just
turned myself over to the process of
that and and it was the best one of the
best lessons I could have learned rule
number eight is take a shot at the end
of high school I got into acting I was
really
shai and a girlfriend in the theater
program and I was actually jealous that
she was doing a play with this other guy
so that sort of motivate mommy go into
it in and I either had like some talent
or there just wasn’t there weren’t a lot
of people trunking home for the hearts I
don’t know but I got the leads in the
last two school plays of my senior year
out looking back on it now like why I
wanted to be I just loved move I love
that form of storytelling but I was
really scared I was scared I would fail
and or embarrass myself or whatever and
so instead I just sort of fantasized and
ran from it and finally when I was ready
when I was done getting in trouble as a
youth and I was ready to sort of figure
out like what do I want to do like that
the girlfriend you know doing this other
guy’s play was sort of the spur I needed
to busy yeah rule number nine is create
what you like this is a business the
film business be more than a lot of I
mean each art form you know if you want
to make money off of it you know has its
own kind of dance that you have to do or
think that you have to do but the film
business you know because you know so
you can you sell units you’re not just
making one piece that you sell to one
collector you’re making it for multiple
viewers there’s this thing that kind of
gets ingrained of like these rules of
in arcs kinds of characters kinds of
stories that you’re supposed to tell and
all of that stuff and sometimes it’s not
even explicit it just it’s sort of like
this tacit understanding that gets into
your head if you get into this business
and and one thing that I why you really
gave me was like oh no you are this is
you kind of taking the time to go and
make the movies that you want to make do
the stories and the kinds of films and
the approaches that you want to do James
like don’t you can do you know the
spider-man films to make a lot of money
you can do you know these other films
that are getting nominated for awesome
milk or whatever that’s you know gets
tough wins Oscars but like now this is
your time why are you doing this and
it’s like well because nobody else is
making these movies and these are the
movies that I want to see these are the
movies that I want to do and so these
are the movies that I’m gonna make and
rule number ten the last one before the
bonuses is tell great stories I worked
at McDonald’s for two or three months
got a couple dates from the drive-thru
window I would practice different
accents of the in the drive-through like
really bad accents welcome to McDonald’s
may I help you
you know like that bad and then I’d
always know that they were interested
because they’d come back around young
lady would be like oh I forgot the
strawberry milkshake she come back and I
say ah here you go she’d be like I’m
trying to learn Italian maybe you could
give me some Italian lessons I don’t
know like this was my Irish accent my
Brooklyn accent her those I could go out
on dates with we went to see Titanic I
had to keep it up you know so like whoa
Leonardo wow he was amazing yellow and
OH went back to the McDonald’s parking
lot and made out and then I always had
to break it to him like his they’d call
me I’d pick up the phone I didn’t know
who it was I’d be like hello and be like
James is is that you what what happened
to your accent really oh hey how’s it
going
so then I had to break it to him
was always like the worst like as if I
was this huge imposter I got to come
clean like hey I’m not from Brooklyn and
I’m from Palo Alto and they just look at
me like I’m a complete stranger usually
ended right there I probably wouldn’t be
on the do so I wouldn’t be as good on
the Duce had I not gone on all those
dates as the guy from Brooklyn you know
and works at McDonald’s
now I’ve got some special James Franco
bonus rules for you but before that the
question of the day today is around
using what you have how do you use what
you have are you complaining about all
the resources that you don’t have let me
know leave it down in the comments below
thank you guys so much for watching I
believe in you
I hope we continue to believe in
yourself and whatever your one word is
much love I’ll see you soon and enjoy
the bonuses
that year that I did milk and pineapple
is sort of indicative of what happened
with my career from that point it was
sort of like I’ll do comedies and then
also do these dramas and you know and
soap operas and yeah yeah that’s all
other weird weirdness also because I
wasn’t satisfied with where my career
was going as an actor and so I was like
I need to I want to try other things and
that just came out of a conversation I
had with the artist friend what if you
were really on a soap opera and say oh
yeah we could make that happen
and whatever that opened up all these
other things and it was like oh what if
you were the host of the Oscars yeah
good idea
not so much producer came up to me Bruce
Cohen after he’s like yeah Spielberg
said it was one of the best oh no what
and then only afterwards nothing like
this onslaught I was like oh I like
holed up in a hotel in New Haven for
real it was just like it was just like
punishment it was like I had a couple
clouds don’t school at that time I had a
couple of classes but other than that I
didn’t leave and it was like room
service and reading all the criticism
was just like I mean it is the world’s
most thankless gig anyone who’s done it
will tell you that I think if you’re you
know if you’re I never dreamed of doing
that I never wanted to do that you know
it was just I was sort of in that
experimental mode and they came and
asked me and I was just like yeah they
didn’t expect me on General Hospital
they didn’t expect me here maybe
something interesting will happen well
kind of the opposite happened but
someone asks you why not you know you’re
gonna have to yeah look it’s part of my
journey my you you learn from everything
I know that I I know that I wouldn’t be
in the place I am now if I hadn’t like
okay that’s too far in that direction
yeah don’t do that something find
something else to do Congrats on making
just a super entertaining funny
movie and I came up with a couple of
guilty pleasure movies I’d love for you
guys to read these lines as Tommy and
Greg
show girls have brown rice and
vegetables no I have
well rice and vegetables so my Greg
voice is essentially my voice do you
like brown rice and vegetables yeah you
do
really it’s worse than hahahaha mmm-hmm
long time ago Jackie chow he’s the love
doggy kid I used to love doggy chow –
haha fantastic exercise yeah I might
just do all my movies as Tommy that
Eddie Andres aunt action what line what
in line I did not hit her it’s not true
it’s both I did not hit her I did not oh
hi mark okay action what is line take 13
action I did not hit all right okay okay
why
I paid nine hitter it’s true
[Music]
Oh take 67 action I hate her no you want
to change the wall you don’t great man
we’ll get there action action action
action love I can’t hear it here the
actions I can hear okay action I did not
hit her it’s not true it’s bullsh I did
not hit her I did not
oh hi mark the most important work ever
if you had to think of one word that’s
most important to you or that sums you
Apple that would be like a little beacon
pay believe nation if you want to know
what the most important one word is for
Tony Robbins Gary Vaynerchuk Oprah
Winfrey will.i.am and Howard Schultz I
have a very special secret video for you
check the description for details
[Music]
criticism take your shot and learn to
trust others than this video is for you
I do believe feedback is incredibly
important
I just turned myself over to the process
of that and and it was the best one of
the best lessons I could have learned
acne I was really kind of shy and a
girlfriend in the theater program and I
was actually jealous that she was doing
a play with this other guy so that sort
of motivate me go into it in the
motivation whattcha top ten believe
nation what’s up at seven my one word is
believe and I believe in you I believe
you have an amazing gift inside you that
I want to see exploded to the world so
let’s get your motivation to attend and
get you believing in you grab a snack
and chew in today’s lessons from a man
who went from being a math whiz who
interned at Lockheed Martin growing up
and wanted to become a marine zoologist
to actually becoming a Golden Globe
winning an Academy Award nominated actor
his James Franco and here’s my take on
his top ten roses success enjoy
alright let’s kick it off with rule
number one my personal favorite use what
you have try to do absolutely everything
like I it frustrates me to no end or it
sounds more visible than anything to
kind of be hung up on any step of the
kind of bureaucratic process or like the
you know the practical process of like
getting somebody to give you the money
getting this actor in it so that she can
make it getting this equipment so that
you can do it it’s like just use what
you have you know at your disposal and
if you’re new you know the experience
even if you make it on your phone the
experience isn’t going to hurt you and
what you’ll you know you make a movie on
your phone what you can focus on is
story you know performance and and see
if your stuff is actually playing and
then whatever you don’t get into
Sundance you don’t get into slam dance
fine put it out somewhere else and make
another one rule number two take
responsibility for your life there at
what point were you working at
McDonald’s and that was an acting
training ground for you and no one else
is what you make your purchases I mean I
so I went to UCLA I was a literature
major my pet my dad want to be me to be
a math major I wanted to go to art
school to compromise that I say
literature once I got to UCLA I realized
you know a half the towns in the movie
business and suddenly I saw that there
were practical steps I could take to get
into the movies and I didn’t seem to be
doing that you know in my
it would just seem like the long road to
other I didn’t even know where and so I
eventually dropped out of UCLA after a
year went to acting school in the valley
and and my parents said they wouldn’t
support me if I wasn’t going to
university and so I had to get a job and
I couldn’t you know all the other actors
had been you know they were they got all
the great waiting jobs and somebody said
you too good to work at McDonald’s I
said no and you know it was a you know
cuz I D I wanted to be an actor I knew
they felt like that was the only way I
would be able to do it it was not it was
a really important lesson actually that
you know going in and working me being
responsible for myself really showed me
how much I wanted like it wasn’t the
soft way you know I had to really work
for it Lee number three worked hard I
was known for doing a lot of things and
part of that was that I had learned
early on you know when I was working at
McDonald’s like okay James
nobody is except your teachers is saying
you should do this you know I’m gonna
you you know you should take this chance
on yourself so I was like all right I’m
gonna just believe in myself I gotta
work really really hard I got to show
everyone that I did that I am supposed
to be doing this and then two or three
years later I was on Freaks and Geeks
and so I learned from that experience
like oh if you work hard at something
that that’s how you get better like any
any athlete you know if they are
professional they’ve practiced right you
don’t you’re not gonna find anybody in
professional sports that’s like nope I
never practiced just there I’m a natural
you know like people have natural talent
but they work at it and and so part of
me you know directly so many things and
doing all that was like oh I just want
the experience and doing that and you
know a lot of those movies
I’m happy with most of them but you know
some are more successful than others in
different ways and but a lot of that was
I think getting experience and you know
I get to direct on the juice now and I
don’t think I would have been able to
direct an HBO show especially for David
Simon if if I didn’t have all that
experience behind me rule number four
learn how to deal with criticism you
know when you’re a creative person and
you’re putting your work out in the
world sometimes that criticism is my dat
sometimes it’s harmful and and so you
just kind of have to be aware with of
that and and one of the reasons and and
and figure out a way to kind of deal
with that and figure out who you’re
gonna listen to and who you’re not gonna
listen to for your feedback because I do
believe feedback is incredibly important
and it’s one of the reasons that I when
I teach I also design my classes this
way so that they can’t put their work
out into the world that’s the final step
seeing how your work is being read by
audiences my critics if you care to
listen to them and so and that that is
the final ingredient that will make you
better because if you’re making movies
you’re making television you’re making
videos whatever you’re making you know
my guess is you’re making it to
communicate to for an audience to read
it you’re not just making it for
yourself to kind of watch unless you
know you’re making like I don’t know
porn of you in your partner or something
I’m like you’re making it for an
audience like and so so understanding
how it’s communicating to that audience
is incredibly important so I do value
feedback but you just have to hundred
like one of the things you learn in any
MFA
you know if it’s writing or filmmaking
or or whatever is because there usually
one of in a workshop manner you know
you’re getting feedback from your
classmates and your teachers on your
work constantly and one of the things
you learn in that system is well his
feedback is always laying he does not
understand what I’m trying to do he’s a
trap to do something or he’s angry about
the way that I dress or something like
his feedback is worthless
okay but she is always you know giving
me good feedback and actually when I
listen to her
it makes myself better and and you just
apply that to the larger world like okay
this critic has some little you know
drum to be and he just doesn’t whatever
he’s off on his own thing and he can you
know beat the James Franco hate drum
fine I don’t care
this critic you know gets it and if I
look oh it made some great insight okay
that will help me on the next one and so
you just have to kind of learn who to
listen to and who not to listen to and
if somebody’s telling you just play now
don’t do that you’re not allowed to
write books you’re not allowed to direct
like I would just give the advice of
don’t listen to them rule number five is
just do your best
and in this business you get rejected so
much to did that affect you or were you
able to plow through that part of it one
of the things that I give to guys that
are trying to get into acting now or
going through the audition things I give
them my Bryan Cranston’s book he’s got
this great section he’s just a great guy
and you know and somehow it’s weird a
lot of it out and he’s got this great
section on auditions where it’s just
sort of the Zen thing where he goes in
to give a performance whether he gets a
job or not is out of his hands and just
really thinks about it that way
and get the best as long as it can and
then let it go you know leave the
results up to whatever and that and also
the idea of taking responsibility for
yourself while you’re pursuing your
dream are the two things that I try to
give the two pieces of advice I try to
give to people starting out rule number
six find your people I went to Avenue
school for a long time longer than I
should have years and years and years
even after I was a you know professional
and I realized now in hindsight like
heard of me was probably very frustrated
by the fact that I didn’t really trained
as an actor but I was still dependent on
all these other people to to work to
really apply my trade like I’d have to
get cast in something or somebody would
have to write something that I liked or
you know or even if they did write
something I liked I’d have to be lucky
enough or whatever prove myself enough
to actually get it and so one of the
things I do at my house I have my own
schools in New York and LA one of the
things I really try to emphasize there
is community finding your people so that
you’re not just dependent on the
gatekeepers and then you know insular
industry but you have your people that
can make movies and then and that’s you
know very much what this movie as a
result of and and and really just go and
do it and you can pursue traditional
inroads to the industry but at the same
time you can still be making your own
things because you have either know how
to do it all like you’re a Seth Rogen he
can write and act and direct or you have
your group and you work with them in
that sense I like to be the person that
shows them like you know you can do this
you don’t have to like the most boring
part of filmmaking to me is like
knocking on door
trying to pitch ideas to people like
isn’t it so much more fun to just go out
and make it and then show people and
they get excited about it like you know
instead of like saying like I’ve got
this good idea immunity’s you know it’s
gonna be in the execution you don’t
quite understand it now like would it be
better to execute it and then show him
and then like oh that’s what you meant
rule number seven learned to trust
others when I the year I did pineapple
and mill mill you know was directed by
Gus Van Sant like I said he’d been a
hero of mine before I wasn’t even an
actor and then Sean Penn who was also on
him my heroes and and then pineapple
came about because I ran into Judd at
the Austin Film Festival and he had just
come out with 40 year old virgin and
it’s hard to wrote it’s hard to think of
a time when like there wasn’t a Judd
Apatow as right now but like freaks and
geeks got canceled and undeclared got
cancelled basically show canceled yeah
and so exactly so the 40 year old virgin
I remember him saying that day he’s like
finally I finally you know they finally
like me I got ahead and he’s like I
don’t know why you left the comedy world
after freaks and geeks come back come
back to comedy I was like I’m yeah I’m
ready right really like I’m not having a
good time and he’s like oh well that’s
gonna that’s gonna do this movie with me
knocked up and then you guys should do
it the movie and we didn’t even know
that it was gonna be pineapple at that
point he’s just like you should do
something with Seth and I was like yes
anything I mean and so on that movie
pineapple strange to say of all the
movies in my career but I really learned
how to trust on that movie and cuz it
was my friends and I thought they were
the funniest guys around and so I just
turned myself over to the process of
that and and it was the best one of the
best lessons I could have learned rule
number eight is take a shot at the end
of high school I got into acting I was
really
shai and a girlfriend in the theater
program and I was actually jealous that
she was doing a play with this other guy
so that sort of motivate mommy go into
it in and I either had like some talent
or there just wasn’t there weren’t a lot
of people trunking home for the hearts I
don’t know but I got the leads in the
last two school plays of my senior year
out looking back on it now like why I
wanted to be I just loved move I love
that form of storytelling but I was
really scared I was scared I would fail
and or embarrass myself or whatever and
so instead I just sort of fantasized and
ran from it and finally when I was ready
when I was done getting in trouble as a
youth and I was ready to sort of figure
out like what do I want to do like that
the girlfriend you know doing this other
guy’s play was sort of the spur I needed
to busy yeah rule number nine is create
what you like this is a business the
film business be more than a lot of I
mean each art form you know if you want
to make money off of it you know has its
own kind of dance that you have to do or
think that you have to do but the film
business you know because you know so
you can you sell units you’re not just
making one piece that you sell to one
collector you’re making it for multiple
viewers there’s this thing that kind of
gets ingrained of like these rules of
in arcs kinds of characters kinds of
stories that you’re supposed to tell and
all of that stuff and sometimes it’s not
even explicit it just it’s sort of like
this tacit understanding that gets into
your head if you get into this business
and and one thing that I why you really
gave me was like oh no you are this is
you kind of taking the time to go and
make the movies that you want to make do
the stories and the kinds of films and
the approaches that you want to do James
like don’t you can do you know the
spider-man films to make a lot of money
you can do you know these other films
that are getting nominated for awesome
milk or whatever that’s you know gets
tough wins Oscars but like now this is
your time why are you doing this and
it’s like well because nobody else is
making these movies and these are the
movies that I want to see these are the
movies that I want to do and so these
are the movies that I’m gonna make and
rule number ten the last one before the
bonuses is tell great stories I worked
at McDonald’s for two or three months
got a couple dates from the drive-thru
window I would practice different
accents of the in the drive-through like
really bad accents welcome to McDonald’s
may I help you
you know like that bad and then I’d
always know that they were interested
because they’d come back around young
lady would be like oh I forgot the
strawberry milkshake she come back and I
say ah here you go she’d be like I’m
trying to learn Italian maybe you could
give me some Italian lessons I don’t
know like this was my Irish accent my
Brooklyn accent her those I could go out
on dates with we went to see Titanic I
had to keep it up you know so like whoa
Leonardo wow he was amazing yellow and
OH went back to the McDonald’s parking
lot and made out and then I always had
to break it to him like his they’d call
me I’d pick up the phone I didn’t know
who it was I’d be like hello and be like
James is is that you what what happened
to your accent really oh hey how’s it
going
so then I had to break it to him
was always like the worst like as if I
was this huge imposter I got to come
clean like hey I’m not from Brooklyn and
I’m from Palo Alto and they just look at
me like I’m a complete stranger usually
ended right there I probably wouldn’t be
on the do so I wouldn’t be as good on
the Duce had I not gone on all those
dates as the guy from Brooklyn you know
and works at McDonald’s
now I’ve got some special James Franco
bonus rules for you but before that the
question of the day today is around
using what you have how do you use what
you have are you complaining about all
the resources that you don’t have let me
know leave it down in the comments below
thank you guys so much for watching I
believe in you
I hope we continue to believe in
yourself and whatever your one word is
much love I’ll see you soon and enjoy
the bonuses
that year that I did milk and pineapple
is sort of indicative of what happened
with my career from that point it was
sort of like I’ll do comedies and then
also do these dramas and you know and
soap operas and yeah yeah that’s all
other weird weirdness also because I
wasn’t satisfied with where my career
was going as an actor and so I was like
I need to I want to try other things and
that just came out of a conversation I
had with the artist friend what if you
were really on a soap opera and say oh
yeah we could make that happen
and whatever that opened up all these
other things and it was like oh what if
you were the host of the Oscars yeah
good idea
not so much producer came up to me Bruce
Cohen after he’s like yeah Spielberg
said it was one of the best oh no what
and then only afterwards nothing like
this onslaught I was like oh I like
holed up in a hotel in New Haven for
real it was just like it was just like
punishment it was like I had a couple
clouds don’t school at that time I had a
couple of classes but other than that I
didn’t leave and it was like room
service and reading all the criticism
was just like I mean it is the world’s
most thankless gig anyone who’s done it
will tell you that I think if you’re you
know if you’re I never dreamed of doing
that I never wanted to do that you know
it was just I was sort of in that
experimental mode and they came and
asked me and I was just like yeah they
didn’t expect me on General Hospital
they didn’t expect me here maybe
something interesting will happen well
kind of the opposite happened but
someone asks you why not you know you’re
gonna have to yeah look it’s part of my
journey my you you learn from everything
I know that I I know that I wouldn’t be
in the place I am now if I hadn’t like
okay that’s too far in that direction
yeah don’t do that something find
something else to do Congrats on making
just a super entertaining funny
movie and I came up with a couple of
guilty pleasure movies I’d love for you
guys to read these lines as Tommy and
Greg
show girls have brown rice and
vegetables no I have
well rice and vegetables so my Greg
voice is essentially my voice do you
like brown rice and vegetables yeah you
do
really it’s worse than hahahaha mmm-hmm
long time ago Jackie chow he’s the love
doggy kid I used to love doggy chow –
haha fantastic exercise yeah I might
just do all my movies as Tommy that
Eddie Andres aunt action what line what
in line I did not hit her it’s not true
it’s both I did not hit her I did not oh
hi mark okay action what is line take 13
action I did not hit all right okay okay
why
I paid nine hitter it’s true
[Music]
Oh take 67 action I hate her no you want
to change the wall you don’t great man
we’ll get there action action action
action love I can’t hear it here the
actions I can hear okay action I did not
hit her it’s not true it’s bullsh I did
not hit her I did not
oh hi mark the most important work ever
if you had to think of one word that’s
most important to you or that sums you
Apple that would be like a little beacon
pay believe nation if you want to know
what the most important one word is for
Tony Robbins Gary Vaynerchuk Oprah
Winfrey will.i.am and Howard Schultz I
have a very special secret video for you
check the description for details
[Music]
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