Following the recent spate of sex assault allegations made against the likes of Kevin Spacey, Harvey Weinstein, and various other individuals, as well as Louis CK’s admission after five women accused him of sexual misconduct, Hollywood is currently taking a long hard look at its treatment of women.
Earlier this week I had the opportunity to speak to James Franco about the current climate, and he admitted that he has already taken steps to try and address the inherent sexism that has stunted the progress of countless female directors.
During our conversation I asked Franco whether that meant that certain jokes might now be off limits, before then referencing a sequence in 2013’s “This Is The End” where the likes of Franco, Seth Rogen, Jay Baruchel, Jonah Hill, Danny McBride, and Craig Robinson talk about which of them is the most likely to rape Emma Watson, who has made it through the apocalypse to their house.
After I asked Franco whether or not Hollywood will now stop making such jokes, he responded, “I don’t know, dude. Probably not.” Franco then insisted that he can already tell that the “atmosphere” amongst studios and in the industry has altered, as well as clarifying the intention of the scene.
“The atmosphere has changed. We are all very aware. It’s not as if that movie was condoning rape in anyway. If anything she comes back and gets revenge on us. But this is very sensitive right now. And you have to be aware of the times.”
You can remind yourself of the sequence in question from “This Is The End,” which when the film was released provoked several think pieces on the topic, by watching below.
Keep posted to Metro US over the next few weeks for further revelations from my interview with both James and Dave Franco, where we discussed the release of “The Disaster Artist” at the start of next month and various other topics.
