He wrote a book? What else does James Franco do?

No word yet on whether it's any good.

The above photo is the actor leaving a TriBeCa Barnes & Noble on Wednesday after promoting his collection of short stories, "Palo Alto."

So now I have to research if Franco possesses any literary talent and then read the thing to see for myself. And then I have to watch his newest movie, "127 Hours," directed by Danny Boyle during which he hacks off his own arm.

And then I have to check in on just how many other movies Franco will be appearing in this year, next year and the next. And then there's that soap opera gig. Am I missing anything here?

As if I don't have enough to do already. Thanks, James Franco.

 

The New York Times asks if we've "heard the last (truly memorable) word from Hollywood," and I say yes, and ... no, of course not.

In a story that looks at the lack of memorable movie lines -- your "Frankly Scarlett, I don't give a damn"s or your "Go ahead, make my day"s or your "You had me at hello"s -- the piece ponders if current movies are getting too visual and far less wordy.

Or, at least, memorably wordy with delectable zingers that stick for decades on end.

Well ... we did have "I drink your milkshake" via Paul Thomas Anderson's masterful "There Will Be Blood," but, thankfully, that is mentioned in the piece.

Still, can you think of many others?

Here's more:

"Sticky movie lines were everywhere as recently as the 1990s. But they appear to be evaporating from a film world in which the memorable one-liner — a brilliant epigram, a quirky mantra, a moment in a bottle — is in danger of becoming a lost art.

"Life was like a box of chocolates, per 'Forrest Gump,' released in 1994 and written by Eric Roth, based on the novel by Winston Groom. 'Show me the money!' howled mimics of 'Jerry Maguire,' written by Cameron Crowe in 1996. Two years later, after watching 'The Big Lebowski,' written by Ethan and Joel Coen, we told one another that 'the Dude abides.'

"But lately, 'not so much' — to steal a few words from 'Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan.' Released in 2006, that film was written by Sacha Baron Cohen and others and is one of a very few in the last five years to have left some lines behind.

 

A terrific interview with actress Naomi Watts and her real-life role, former CIA agent Valerie Plame Wilson, graces NY Magazine in anticipation of Doug Liman's "Fair Game."

The movie (opening Nov. 5) is already receiving rave reviews, highlighting the great performances by Watts and her co-star Sean Penn.

And this piece makes it seem all the more interesting. Read on:

"Actress Naomi Watts had just given birth to her second child with Liev Schreiber and was in no mood to read Hollywood e-mails. But then the Valerie Plame Wilson treatment landed in her in-box and she couldn’t stop scrolling. Three weeks later, Watts was on the phone with the former CIA agent—outed by the Bush White House after her husband, Joseph Wilson IV, questioned its rationale for invading Iraq—digging for intimate details of her marriage.

"'Fair Game,' the resulting film, co-starring Sean Penn as Wilson, opens November 5. Watts and Plame Wilson are an unlikely pair—it’s hard to tell who’s the blonde starlet and who’s the steely covert operative, but hey, that’s Hollywood—yet they have become e-mail friends. Plame Wilson now lives far from Washington, in Santa Fe, with Wilson and their two children; Watts and her family have settled in New York. But the two met up to talk with New York. Not surprisingly, the career spook asked more questions than she answered.

"Naomi, how did you prepare to play Valerie?
"Naomi Watts: I really wanted to get into the marriage. I wanted to know the story of how Valerie dealt with this in the privacy of her own home.
"Valerie Plame Wilson: How we dealt with conflict. Who was the stronger character.
"NW: Who wears the pants! Who were you before this and how did you change after and during this?
"VPW: They were really thought-provoking questions.
"NW: I had to get you liquored up. [Both laugh.]

 

When I read the headline "No Hobbit Boycott in New Zealand," I immediately thought New Zealand was boycotting the J.R.R. Tolkien creation because they were getting sick of the thing. Like every New Zealander is thinking: Yeah, yeah, yeah the Shire. We have sheep, pale lager and Guy Pearce out here, too, for chrissakes ...

But no, no. The boycott has to do with the New Zealand Actors Equity group and unfair labor terms regarding the production of the upcoming Peter Jackson picture. Well, OK.

Here's more from TheWrap:

"The New Zealand Actors Equity, which had announced it would boycott the production over what it felt were unfair labor terms, said Thursday (New Zealand time) that it had reached an interim agreement with the producers to lift the boycott and keep the production on schedule.

"Read a statement released by Kiwi labor officials: 'In an effort to restore the confidence of the international and domestic film financing and production communities, and to ensure a peaceful stable period ... we negotiated an interim agreement until 31 March 2011 when it is expected that the (labor negotiations) will be concluded.'

 

Marilyn Monroe and Banff, Alberta. Of course the two go together beautifully.

The Hollywood Reporter has published unseen photos to prove it:

"In August 1953, photographer John Vachon from LOOK magazine was granted unusual access to starlet Marilyn Monroe while on the Banff, Alberta set of 'River of No Return.'

"The negatives from these intimate photo sessions were then filed away for nearly 60 years -- until now, with the release of 'Marilyn, August 1953: The Lost LOOK Photos' from Dover Publications."

 

I revere Johnny Depp, I love the "Thin Man" movies starring William Powell and Myrna Loy, I'm not gobsmack crazy about Rob Marshall, and I'm not one to think magic can strike twice when re-creating the chemistry and shimmering beauty of the classic "Thin Man" series, even with Mr. Depp in the lead.

So ... I don't know how to feel about the news that Johnny Depp has reportedly been talking to Marshall about remaking "The Thin Man" for Warner Bros.

Here's more information from Empire:

"Dashiell Hammett wrote the detective novel in 1934, which finds private eye Nick Charles giving up his hard-boiled life to settle down into a world of dedicated alcoholism after marrying wealthy socialite Nora. But his old job comes calling when he’s drawn into investigating a murder, with his wife along for the ride.

"While the novel itself never generated a sequel, it became the source material for a series of movies from Warners, with William Powell as Nick and Myrna Loy as Nora. And NBC turned it into a short-lived TV show in the 1950s.

"The role of heavy-drinking, easy-quipping Nick sounds like a natural fit for Depp, and while there’s no script in place yet, Vulture reports that the actor is looking to develop it via his Infinitum Nihil production company, and he’s thinking Marshall could be the man to make it.

 

Alec Baldwin. He's hilarious on "30 Rock," he loves classic cinema on TCM, and he rules.



 

Elle Magazine held a star-studded and well-deserved ceremony at the Beverly Hills' Four Seasons Hotel on Monday to honor what it always honors: women. But not models, women in Hollywood (though some, like Diane Kruger, have worked as models).

The magazine gave a fashion-friendly hat tip to Jodie Foster, Kate Hudson, Gwyneth Paltrow, Hilary Swank, Sofia Coppola, Diane Kruger, Diane Keaton, Kerry Washington and Jessica Chastain. Producer and director Adam Shankman served as master of ceremonies.

Here's more from the LA Times:

"Elle Editor in Chief Robbie Myers suggested, in her opening remarks, that the Women in Hollywood portfolio was about being dynamic and successful in a 'free society' -- plus really famous actresses got to meet other really famous actresses.

"Not to be ignored, menfolk turned up to salute the gals. Sam Rockwell of 'Conviction' was on hand for Swank, Harrison Ford for Keaton, Quentin Tarantino for Kruger and Jake Gyllenhaal for Paltrow."