The line to enter the Valley Performing Arts Center (VPAC) started forming at 4 a.m., and wound from the sparkling glass entrance doors past both Cypress and Nordhoff Halls on the east side of California State University, Northridge’s campus.

“This is one of the biggest crowds that’s been here,” said a seating attendant, as a cacophony of excitement, emanating from fan boys and girls, radiated throughout the performance hall.

When CSUN’s Associated Student body launched ticket sales for the Big Lecture series featuring Academy Award-nominated actor James Franco, seats sold out within the first five hours.

“It was awesome getting to be in the VPAC,” said Austin Ysais, AS program advisor.

The annual Big Lecture event has undergone name changes throughout its life at CSUN, but the goal has always been “to create an opportunity for students to be able to hear and learn from someone, and discuss topics that a normal class wouldn’t be able to provide,” said Ysais.

VPAC Executive Director Thor Steingraber was visibly excited to see students filling the theater that is routinely voted one of the most picturesque of all college campuses nationally.

“The VPAC is a great hall for a wide variety of performances, and more so for audiences of every sort,” Steningraber said. “I won’t rest until CSUN students feel at home at VPAC. That means taking a multi-pronged approach: partnering with USU and AS, programming with younger audiences in mind, putting students onstage, and sometimes it even means persuading students to try artists they didn’t even know they’d like.”

It was clear however, that Franco artist was one they all knew they’d like.

The evening was a Q&A led by cinema television and arts chair Jon Stahl, with topics ranging from Franco’s thoughts on education, to his experience in film and life lessons.

When asked how he defines himself, Franco said “I was once just a boy who loved movies and art, then acting became my profession. I guess actor is still how I see myself mostly, even though I do a lot of different things.”

Diving right in, Franco was candid about his life journey and misconceptions he had as a young adult. “I had this chip on my shoulder, I didn’t like authority figures, or the idea of mentors and older people telling me what to do. But now I love it, that’s how I learn,” he said.

He talked how he dropped out of UCLA to pursue acting full time and supported himself by working at McDonald’s. The actor, currently working on his Ph.D. from Yale, has come a long way since those days.

“I was that guy who said ‘I’m a self-taught person, I don’t need formal education. I can read books and learn just as much by that as going to a university,’” he said. “But then I’d finish those books and have no one to talk to. When I went back to school, there was suddenly people who loved books as much as I did and wanted to talk about them and I thought, ‘these are my people.’

“I don’t regret the path I chose, and you know who knows what would have happened if I did something differently, but at the time I thought, ‘I have to drop out of school, I can only do acting.’ I now see I can do both.”

When asked how he prepares for a role, he said “as a young actor I was actually really difficult to work with. I had done James Dean and threw myself into full emersion (method acting). I didn’t talk to my family for four months. I started smoking and watching his movies. Studying how he hunched his back, moved his hands and did that weird thing with his eyebrow, I just wanted to be Dean, not Franco.

“And for that role going full emersion paid dividends. The problem was, I thought that’s how every role should be, and it made me a difficult actor because I’d do my work separate from the director. Now that I’ve directed movies and know that it takes a team, I try to work in line with the director’s vision. I now view a character as a creation I share with the director.”

Asked who his biggest role model is, a student yelled out “Seth Rogen.” After the giggles died down, Franco responded.

“I really do respect Seth,” he said. “He is exactly who he appears to be. And in a time in my life when I was finding myself frustrated with the movies I was making and asking myself why I didn’t like them, I realized it was because I didn’t believe in them. And when talking to Seth he said, ‘well yeah man, I wouldn’t make a movie I wouldn’t go see unless I was in it.’ So now I tell the stories I want to tell.”

One of these recent passion stories is an adaptation of William Faulkner’s As I Lay Dying.

“My dad gave it to me one weekend when I was grounded, and it was like medicine for me,” said Franco. “It’s important to keep returning to the movies and books that speak to you.”

When asked if his new movie with Rogen The Interview was one of those passion projects, and if knowing what he knew now, would he still make it, Franco paused before answering.

“That’s a hard one, and has so many levels,” he said. “The biggest shame is that this amazing woman executive lost her job because of the leak. Amy Pascal was with me on so many of my movies like Spiderman and Pineapple Express. So had we known she would lose her job, that would have definitely been cause for pause. At the same time it’s not like we were making fun of a good guy. It’s well known that he doesn’t treat his people well and I think it would actually be irresponsible not to bring attention to that, and so absolutely I would have still made it.”

When it came to the part of the evening when student-submitted questions were asked, Franco was delighted to share what he could.

Having now taught at NYU, he said that he loves teaching and working with this generation because they understand the blending of mediums. He said that school is where you find your community. Saying it’s your classmates that you go on to share your career with whether in the arts or sciences.

The biggest problem he said is “people say they want to get their feet wet, but they never get in the pool. They’ll say things like ‘oh, well I couldn’t find the right person,’ or ‘I didn’t get enough funding or camera.’ People are making movies on their phones. There’s no excuse anymore, just start putting your stuff out there so you can get feedback and learn. Just do it, and give it your all.”

After the Q&A, Franco stayed to sign autographs. In the lobby, students shared their thoughts on the event. Several young women squealed that it was “ah-mazing!”

Communications major Jeremy Simmons said that he felt it was very informative and that Franco gave good advice. While Franco has attended and taught at many universities, Franco has no ties to CSUN.

“I really appreciated him taking the time from his busy schedule to come speak to us,” smiled Simmons. “It really meant a lot.”

For more information on AS or to share ideas on speakers visit their website http://www.csun.edu/as/. For information on upcoming performances at the VPAC visit their website at http://www.valleyperformingartscenter.org/.

Associated Students, Events, Featured, Valley Performing Arts Center