James Franco Was Reportedly Rude to Co-Host Anne Hathaway During Disastrous 2011 Oscars Gig
As if the 2011 Oscars couldn't get any worse, James Franco was reportedly rude to Anne Hathaway during their much-maligned co-hosting gig ten years ago.
On Wednesday (April 14), The Ringer published an interview with Oscars writer David Wild, who dished on Hathaway and Franco's infamous co-hosting performance. Wild compared the pair's interactions to the "world's most uncomfortable blind date between the cool rocker stoner kid and the adorable theater camp cheerleader."
Wild recalled one moment during rehearsals when their friction began. “Again, this is a memory, but [she] was like, ‘Maybe you should try that,’ and he was like, ‘Don’t tell me how to be funny,’” Wild said.
Fellow writer Jordan Rubin added, “I think he wanted to play it as buddy-cop movie with two opposite characters.” He shared that Hathaway made herself "readily available" during the months-long preparation period. “I went to her house and worked on the script and she was on a bunch of conference calls and responding to emails and was a great collaborator.”
Meanwhile, Franco was extremely busy shooting films, taking doctoral classes and even teaching a class at Columbia College Hollywood. "He always seemed to be on a flight and it was very hard for me to get a hold of him. That was a red flag," Rubin said.
According to Rubin, Hathaway showed up "ready to play and committed 110 percent." On the other hand, Franco “was a great guy but often looked like he had just woken up from a nap." "It’s almost like you’re showing up to a tennis court and one person decided that they were going to play in the U.S. Open and the other wanted to play in jeans and just kind of hit a few balls.”
There was one instance in which Wild thought that Hathaway and Franco were finally getting alone, but he was sadly mistaken: “I thought, ‘Oh boy, they’ve finally broken through and he’s looking at her!’” It turned out that Hathaway was in her dressing room and Franco was actually smiling at her stand-in.