Ok so this is quite obviously entirely scripted, but is it actually supposed to be or is this being passed off as a real documentary?
The scene where Val is reading the script in the car park makes me think that they are acknowledging none of it is real. Plus, isn't "Colin" the guy playing the drag queen who tells Val he's never played gay, the guy who plays Elijah in Girls, who is openly gay in real life?
I was going to post a similar question. I think the entire thing is scripted.
shareYeah, the credits have "directors" and Travis is also credited as writing the screenplay, so I would say the whole thing is scripted...
Directed by
James Franco
Travis Mathews
Writing Credits
Travis Mathews ... (screenplay)
And the scenes where we hear both sides of phone conversations must have been scripted. Probably the scene of the guy reading the script of him reading the script was intended as a "cute" giveaway that this isn't really a Making Of.
shareActually, if you listen close to the one on the phone talking to him about 'porn' and 'the Franco fag movie' and all that....I think it is Franco himself on the other side of the phone.
The bad news is you have houseguests. There is no good news.
It sounds like Franco on the phone. I think most of it is scripted. I'm not a prude at all. I'm just not sure what the hell Franco is trying to do here. It's not about reimagining the lost footage from Cruising. It's more about attitudes about gay sex and unsimulated sex in movies. Also, I think Franco is trying to free himself from his feelings about his sexuality.
Erik Lehnsherr: You want society to accept you, but you can't even accept yourself.
I'm pretty sure that that's the idea. Up to the parking lot scene I already thought it was very strange that we were able to hear both sides of the phone conversations and that the conversation between Val and James didn't seem entirely real (ironically because they made it seem so completely natural and realistic *had it been a genuinely private moment- most other people would have been reacting to the fact that there was a camera crew right there in their faces recording their every word).
And, of course, all conversations/phone calls set up the point of the movie to an extraordinarily unlikely perfect degree. The whole "Val sits in the parking lot reading his script" (or whatever the exact phrasing was) bit towards the end seemed like a direct acknowledgement of all of this at the end. I don't think that the point is to trick the viewer, or else that would not have been included, though someone taking things purely on face value might not pick up on it.
though someone taking things purely on face value might not pick up on it
Entertainment Weekly: You play a hybrid role in Interior. Leather Bar. as actor, observer and director, but you’re always observing the sex, never participating in it yourself. Which would definitely grab people’s attention if you did!
Franco: I play a dual role in this project. I co-directed and designed it with Travis, but I’m also in front of the camera, and my presence in front of the camera is an important component of the movie. Maybe the sequel, I engage in the sex. It wasn’t my job to do that in this piece. In some ways, that would put too much focus on myself, I think, the focus I was actually having sex in front of a camera. That would take all the attention. It’s about me and it’s not about me. It’s about me lending my history and my place in movies to a project that may otherwise not get the same amount of attention. It’s enough for me to be the observer in this.
One of actors said something in the film that made it sound as if they weren't getting paid for their roles. So did they really not get paid (some of them, anyway), or was that just a scripted line said by a performer who did in fact get paid?
shareIn one of the last scenes of the movie we can see Val outside, sitten on the floor against a wall reading what is supposed to be his script. Then, he reads it outloud: "Val sits against the wall in the parking lot. The script is in his lap. He reads to himself"
Well, this is exactly what he is doing. In my opinion this scene suggests that all the actions of the actors were already planned, even this one.
The conversation about violence and sex in movies didn't seem scripted to me, but hey, they're both quite good actors. It sounds very natural. What bugs me is how uncomfortable Val is (or pretends to be) regarding homosexuality. Come on, this is the guy who nailed playing Sal Mineo, who was very gay. Plus he is surrounded by queers all the time due to his job.
I'm not trying to be bitchy but come on, it might have been made this way to stir up a controversy. Love the film anyway. Cruising is a fave of mine.