Manhattan Guys

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Five days ago firstshowing.net's Alex Billington posted a new Howl photo -- Aaron Tveit and James Franco posing to imitate a semi-famous shot of lifetime companions Peter Orlovsky and Allen Ginsberg. Two days ago Awards Daily re-posted the shot alongside the original still (provided by Joao Mattos) of Orlovsky and Ginsberg in the mid '50s. Then I came along and decided to emphasize the symmetry by recropping, etc.

(l. to.r.) Tveit, Franco in Howl; Corso, Ginsberg.

Directed by Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman, Howl is basically about the obscenity charges that Ginsberg had to face in '57 following the publication of his seminal poem (i.e., "I saw the best minds of my generation destroyed by madness, starving hysterical naked, dragging themselves through the negro streets at dawn looking for an angry fix,angelheaded hipsters burning for the ancient heavenly connection to the starry dynamo in the machinery of night"). Howl has no distributor and wil probably, I'm guessing, turn up at the Toronto Film Festival. Gus Van Sant is the exec producer. Whoever acquires Howl probably won't open it until early 2010.

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Posted by Jeffrey Wells on June 10, 2009 at 6:10 AM

comment #1

BoshBarnetWonkyDonkey says ...

Franco looks like Fred Armisen in that shot.

With this and Bright Star, poets are the new authors when it comes to prestige bio-pictures.

Posted by BoshBarnetWonkyDonkey at June 10, 2009 7:11 AM

comment #2

BurmaShave says ...

If Franco's not even willing to have them thing out his hair at all, then fuck him and his Oscar wants.

Posted by BurmaShave at June 10, 2009 7:22 AM

comment #3

Krazy Eyes says ...

Poor Jeff Goldblum.

Posted by Krazy Eyes at June 10, 2009 7:34 AM

comment #4

Glenn Kenny says ...

It's probably not fair of me, but whenever I see a still like the one on the left, I always think, oh isn't that sweet, pretty boys playing at being poets. Gak.

By the same token, I knew Ginsberg very very slightly, and it occurs to me that he wouldn't necessarily be offended by such a notion. Precisely the opposite, even!

Posted by Glenn Kenny at June 10, 2009 7:42 AM

comment #5

Mowkeka says ...

No doubt this movie will be a love fest about the poor martyr Allen "I love NAMBLA" Ginsberg.

God, Hollywood is unoriginal.

Posted by Mowkeka at June 10, 2009 7:45 AM

comment #6

raygo says ...

Franco was great in Milk, and deserved the Best Supporting nom that Brolin got.

Posted by raygo at June 10, 2009 9:07 AM

comment #7

BoshBarnetWonkyDonkey says ...

Franco was better in Pineapple Express than Milk. And I don't mean that as a bad thing. Didn't he receive a GG nom for Pineapple? He and Colin Farrell for In Bruges should both have received supporting actor Oscar noms.

Posted by BoshBarnetWonkyDonkey at June 10, 2009 9:17 AM

comment #8

scooterzz says ...

"...Howl is basically about the obscenity charges that Ginsberg had to face in '57 ..."

actually, ginsberg didn't have to face obscenity charges or go to trial....the charges were leveled against city lights bookstore owner lawrence ferlinghetti (who published the poem)....

Posted by scooterzz at June 10, 2009 9:26 AM

comment #9

mccool says ...

When i was in college a friend and i wrote 'NAMBLA' in toothpaste on the dorm-room door of one of our friends as a joke to embarrass him. The next day there was an investigation....guys with clipboards questioning all of the students on the floor. Mind you, there had been dozens of incidents on the floor preceding this (drunken brawls, pot busts, orgies, the usual college hi-jinks), but nothing that spurred an investigation. After wiping away the toothpaste, a lightened imprint of 'NAMBLA' remained, as the toothpaste had removed the wax and all of the corroded crap off of the wooden door, permanently staining it in. Oddly, the door was stripped and re-stained within a week. Holes in the dry-wall that had been put there months earlier from a fight remained, but that door was cleaned up with real urgency. I guess my school wasn't messing around when it came to grown men and little boys.

Posted by mccool at June 10, 2009 10:33 AM

comment #10