--- description: Lisa Vangellow is finishing up a documentary about Franco's professional and private life. title: A James Franco documentary is heading your way image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt71e4da94011ee155/69868f40cd804dde19ccad9d/488397717.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 * [movies](/tag/movies/) ## movies Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # A James Franco Documentary Is Heading Our Way by [Megan Gibson](/author/megan-gibson/) ## Megan Gibson Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close May 14, 2014 1:00 PM CUT  James Franco arrives at the Los Angeles Premiere "Palo Alto" at the DGA Theatre on May 5, 2014 in Los Angeles, California. James Franco arrives at the Los Angeles Premiere "Palo Alto" at the DGA Theatre on May 5, 2014 in Los Angeles, California.Jon Kopaloff--FilmMagic by [Megan Gibson](/author/megan-gibson/) ## Megan Gibson Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close May 14, 2014 1:00 PM CUT Actor/director/writer/academic/artist/social media expert James Franco can now add one more title to his resume: documentary subject. [_The Wrap_ reports](http://www.thewrap.com/james-franco-documentary-first-time-director-lisa-vangellow/ "undefined") that first-time director Lisa Vangellow is finishing up a documentary about Franco’s professional and private life. Called — appropriately enough — _Franco: A Documentary,_ the doc began filming in June 2013 and will cover Franco’s experiences in the art world in addition to his acting career. There will be no shortage of material, as Franco has worked in more than a dozen films over the past year as well as starred in Broadway’s _Of Mice and Men,_ published his first novel and worked on myriad art projects and exhibits. (It also seems likely that the film will touch on Franco’s recent [Instagram](http://time.com/50058/james-franco-instagram-stunt/ "undefined") [debacles](http://time.com/93838/james-franco-naked/ "undefined").) According to _The Wrap_, Vangellow, who also produced the doc, had access to Franco’s family and close friends, including Seth Rogen and Museum of Modern Art chief curator-at-large Klaus Biesenbach. We’re not sure who Vangellow’s intended audience is with the project — we don’t recall anyone clamoring for _more_ James Franco, after all — but perhaps this will be the actor’s chance to pull off a more subtle version of Joaquin Phoenix’s _I’m Still Here_ and reveal that he’s been messing with us all along. \[[_The Wrap_](http://www.thewrap.com/james-franco-documentary-first-time-director-lisa-vangellow/ "undefined")\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/98954/james-franco-documentary/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/98954/james-franco-documentary/"},"headline":"A James Franco Documentary Is Heading Our Way","datePublished":"2014-05-14T13:00:57.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-21T07:49:36.460Z","description":"The prolific actor and artist is the subject of an upcoming documentary which follows a year in his life","url":"https://time.com/98954/james-franco-documentary/","keywords":["movies","Documentary","james franco","celebrity"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt71e4da94011ee155/69868f40cd804dde19ccad9d/488397717.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Megan Gibson","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/megan-gibson/"}],"articleSection":"Entertainment","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt71e4da94011ee155/69868f40cd804dde19ccad9d/488397717.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"\"Palo Alto\" - Los Angeles Premiere","caption":"\"Palo Alto\" - Los Angeles Premiere","creditText":"Jon Kopaloff--FilmMagic","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/movies/","name":"movies"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/98954/james-franco-documentary/","name":"A James Franco Documentary Is Heading Our Way"}}]}] ```