--- description: Read Franco's poetry about 'Spring Breakers' and Sean Penn, excerpted from his forthcoming book 'Hollywood Dreaming' title: Exclusive: Read James Franco's New Poetry image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8071a7c3c7f2afd8/6986a22d810bbb7b66c934a8/hollywood-dreaming_cover.jpg?branch=production&width=2400&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Entertainment](/section/entertainment/) ## Entertainment Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Books](/tag/books/) ## Books Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Exclusive: Read James Franco's New Poetry by [James Franco](/author/time-staff/) ## James Franco Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Sep 18, 2014 1:30 PM CUT  Insight Editions by [James Franco](/author/time-staff/) ## James Franco Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Sep 18, 2014 1:30 PM CUT _The latest project from multi-hyphenate movie star James Franco will be the book_ Hollywood Dreaming: Stories, Pictures, and Poems, _due out Sept. 23, 2014\. The book includes snapshots, short stories, essays and poems — including the two excerpted below._ ## **ANGELZ** That was a time we had down in F-L-A. It was something, like with all movies, That was special, like a bubble, in which We all lived, a magic time, where we all Came together. This is how it iz on all filmz But this one was special, because them girlz Was doin’ sumptin like this fo’ the first time And they wanted to be rescued, di’n’ they. At first they was excited, and said yes, yes, Then they was scared, and pulled back, Because they waz still loyal to all them fanz Of theirs, the young wunz, impressionable. But then it changed, once again, when I arrived Because I waz the electricity that shocked dem Into place, you see how that happened? They was hot young things with skillz of sex That I brought to the fore, and galvanized. ## **SEAN II** They called you Sean De Niro because of your Dedication. An actor As engrossed in his role As De Niro, as LaMotta, You were Spicoli, stoner, Prophet, entertainer, politico. Smart enough to know Not to give too much: That ordering pizza In class was the move That would last. Everyone loves a loser If he smiles; everyone Wants to relax. Spicoli, in his dream, won Surf contests, and had babes On his arms, and was asked: “A lot of people expected Maybe Mark ‘Cutback’ Davis Or Bob ‘Jungle Death’ Gerrard Would take the honors This year.” You said, “Those dudes are fags.” And when he introduced you For your nomination for Milk, De Niro, now your friend, said He couldn’t believe you Had been cast in all those Straight roles, because In Milk you were such A fine homo. And when You and I kissed On Castro Street, it was for a full minute. Your beard was like my father’s. _Excerpted from Hollywood Dreaming: Stories, Pictures, and Poems by James Franco, published by Insight Editions. Copyright © 2014 James Franco_ ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3274135/james-franco-poetry-spring-breakers/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3274135/james-franco-poetry-spring-breakers/"},"headline":"Exclusive: Read James Franco's New Poetry","datePublished":"2014-09-18T13:30:48.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-21T10:02:01.017Z","description":"Read Franco's poetry about Spring Breakers and Sean Penn, excerpted from his forthcoming book Hollywood Dreaming","url":"https://time.com/3274135/james-franco-poetry-spring-breakers/","keywords":["Books","celebrities","james franco","Poetry"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8071a7c3c7f2afd8/6986a22d810bbb7b66c934a8/hollywood-dreaming_cover.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"James Franco"}],"articleSection":"Entertainment","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8071a7c3c7f2afd8/6986a22d810bbb7b66c934a8/hollywood-dreaming_cover.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Hollywood Dreaming","caption":"Hollywood Dreaming","creditText":"Insight Editions","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/books/","name":"Books"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3274135/james-franco-poetry-spring-breakers/","name":"Exclusive: Read James Franco's New Poetry"}}]}] ```