Since starring in the short-lived Judd Apatow TV series Freaks
and Geeks, James Franco has taken on a variety of roles that
show just how much range he truly has. He starred as Harry Osborn/New
Goblin, son of the Green Goblin, in Spider-Man and played
James Dean in a made-for-television movie that aired on TNT. He was a
crazy stoner in Pineapple Express and played Harvey Milk’s lover
in Milk. As if to illustrate his many talents, Franco stars in
an art film/collage called Erased James Franco that finds the actor reenacting roles from his various movies and doing
interpretations from other films, like Julianne Moore’s character in
Safe and Rock Hudson’s in Seconds. The 65-minute feature
has its local premiere at the Cleveland Museum of Art’s Recital Hall
(11150 East Blvd., 216.421.7340, clevelandart.org) at 2:30 p.m. Sunday,
June 21. Franco and the director, a contemporary artist who simply
calls himself Carter, will speak after the screening. The event
is sold out, but it will be simulcast in the Lecture Hall; tickets are
$25 for the simulcast.
A locally produced documentary that screened earlier this year at
the Cleveland International Film Festival, Polycultures: Food
Where We Live shows how Northeast Ohio communities have
come together to promote sustainable food systems. The film arrives on
DVD next week, and to celebrate the event, the filmmakers from Lake
Erie South Shore Productions are throwing a party at 6 p.m. Monday,
June 22, at the new Greenhouse Tavern (2038 E. 4th St., 216.443.0511,
thegreenhousetavern.com).
There’ll be hors d’oeuvres and drink specials, and some of the
interview subjects from the film will attend. Ticket price includes a
copy of the DVD. Tickets are $40 advance, $45 day of show. Find more
information at lessproductions.com.
Bad even by B-movie standards, Black Devil Doll is a contemporary blaxploitation flick that the Cedar Lee Theatre (2163
Lee Rd., 216.321.5411, clevelandcinemas.com) shows at 10
p.m. June 19-21 as part of its Cult Film Series. “Rated X by an
all-white jury,” as it’s put in the intro, the film is about a toy doll
that becomes possessed by the spirit of an African-American killer who
proceeds to rape and kill men and women. The word “offensive” doesn’t
even begin to describe the film, which features extensive nudity and
more blood and guts than you’ll see at a slaughterhouse. Tickets are
$5.
This article appears in Jun 17-23, 2009.
