About (Late) Last Night: James Franco, overachiever, was turned down by ‘Twilight’

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A mustachioed James Franco joined Jimmy Kimmel on Thursday night, but soon after the actor had a plane to catch despite just arriving in Los Angeles hours earlier from New York. ‘Because why?’ Kimmel teased. ‘Because I’m a nerd,’ said Franco. ‘Because you have to go to class,’ Kimmel clarified.

‘It’s not like, college, it’s graduate school, but yeah,’ Franco explained. ‘I’m not like, getting school lunches.’ Kimmel then tried to make Franco list the degrees he’s earned already, but Franco listed schools instead. In the last few years, he’s attended Brooklyn College, NYU, Columbia and Warren Wilson College. Now it’s Yale. ‘Is the plan to go to all the colleges?’ Kimmel asked. Franco nodded with a big smile.

Such is the frenzied life of Franco, who is slated to co-host the upcoming Academy Awards with Anne Hathaway, and whose latest film, ‘127 Hours,’ may very well get him a nomination of his own. But Kimmel continued to hound Franco about his extensive schooling, leaving the actor grinning wide but rarely speaking.

‘You got me all shy. I can’t say anything!’ Franco stammered. ‘You’re really embarrassing me.’ In turn, Kimmel accused Franco of ‘really pouring it on’ as the actor protested with his hand. ‘You’re making the rest of us feel like real turds,’ said Kimmel.

But it’s not all successes for the bookish stud. Franco said he wanted to do a bit with the ‘’Twilight’ kids’ at the Oscars, but the idea was shot down. Moreover, Franco wanted in on the films. ‘I wanted to be a part of that movie, by the way!’ he exclaimed excitedly. He went so far as to ask the director of the two upcoming ‘Breaking Dawn’ installments. ‘He turned me down,’ said Franco, who also had a stint this year (part performance art) on ‘General Hospital.’

After a slapstick jog around Kimmel’s studio, Franco was eager to get the host’s thoughts on ‘127 Hours.’ In that moment, the strange synergy of Franco’s appearance, and probably his career, became clear: For someone who seems so eager to please, the twinkle in his eye reveals that somewhere he knows everyone is already eating out of his hand.

-- Joe Coscarelli

See the rest of the interview after the jump.

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4