--- description: The actor says he's "equipped as any" to teach the next generation of screenwriters the tricks of the trade title: James Franco to Teach Online Screenwriting Class Through Skillshare image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltdca8008a5d61ca3f/698696df169ab00bd2279d6b/james-franco-screenwriting.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Entertainment](/section/entertainment/) ## Entertainment Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [celebrities](/tag/celebrities/) ## celebrities Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Now You Can Take an Online Screenwriting Class with James Franco  by [Nolan Feeney](/author/nolan-feeney/)  ## Nolan Feeney Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jun 10, 2014 2:39 PM CUT  James Franco at the Los Angeles premiere of Palo Alto on May 5. James Franco at the Los Angeles premiere of Palo Alto on May 5.Eric Charbonneau—Invision/AP  by [Nolan Feeney](/author/nolan-feeney/)  ## Nolan Feeney Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jun 10, 2014 2:39 PM CUT That’s _Professor_ Franco to you. The actor and [nude-selfie aficionado](http://www.people.com/article/james-franco-nude-selfie-instagram-britney-spears-david-letterman "undefined") has taught in the English departments at renowned universities such as UCLA and NYU, and now he’s taking his classroom online with a [$25, self-paced course](http://www.skillshare.com/classes/film-and-video/Introduction-to-Screenwriting-for-Short-Films/637339250/ "undefined") opening today on the online learning site Skillshare. Co-taught by Franco’s acting-school buddy Vince Jolivette, with whom he co-founded Rabbit Bandini Productions, “Introduction to Screewriting for Short Films” is a 90-minute, 15-lesson program that draws on the duo’s own years of experience and walks aspiring screenwriters through every step of the process, from conceiving ideas to pitching investors. “For this class, we’ll be working on adaptation,” Franco says in the trailer for the class. “It’s a great first step, and what’s really exciting is when we all work on similar material, because then we start to learn from each other.” Students will adapt one of three works — _The Spoon River Anthology_, _Pastures of Heaven_ or _Winesburg, Ohio_ — to create an 8-minute screenplay. Franco and Jolivette will read the 10 most up-voted screenplays on Skillshare and offer individualized feedback on their favorite. “There’s part of me that also thinks of my younger self, who wasn’t in those film programs, because I really get excited by the idea of being able to share some of our experiences and lessons,” Franco says. “I think I’m as equipped as any.” ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/2852091/james-franco-screenwriting-class/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/2852091/james-franco-screenwriting-class/"},"headline":"Now You Can Take an Online Screenwriting Class with James Franco","datePublished":"2014-06-10T14:39:13.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T07:10:35.224Z","description":"The actor says he's \"equipped as any\" to teach the next generation of screenwriters the tricks of the trade","url":"https://time.com/2852091/james-franco-screenwriting-class/","keywords":["celebrities","Newsfeed","james franco"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltdca8008a5d61ca3f/698696df169ab00bd2279d6b/james-franco-screenwriting.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Nolan Feeney","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/nolan-feeney/"}],"articleSection":"Entertainment","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltdca8008a5d61ca3f/698696df169ab00bd2279d6b/james-franco-screenwriting.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"James Franco at the Los Angeles premiere of 'Palo Alto' on May 5.","caption":"James Franco at the Los Angeles premiere of 'Palo Alto' on May 5.","creditText":"Eric Charbonneau—Invision/AP","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/entertainment/","name":"Entertainment"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/celebrities/","name":"celebrities"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/2852091/james-franco-screenwriting-class/","name":"Now You Can Take an Online Screenwriting Class with James Franco"}}]}] ```