Picture James Franco looking relaxed and happy as he's surrounded by friends and comedians (and those who are both) who are mercilessly poking fun of him for the benefit of the crowd and the audience viewing at home. That's likely what we're in for later this summer when Franco steps up as Roastee for The Comedy Central Roast of James Franco. Comedy Central announced the big news today, noting that he'll add the moniker of Roastee to his ever-growing list of accomplishments.
James Franco has had a busy year, with Oz the Great and Powerful, Spring Breakers, This is the End and the upcoming Lovelace among his recent credits, and the list of what he has in the works is even longer. It's a wonder he can find the time to sit back and get roasted. Comedy Central's making it happen though. The announcement says that The Comedy Central Roast of James Franco will tape in Los Angeles in August and premiere on Labor Day.
There's no word yet on who will be on the dais to roast him or who will serve as roast-master, but we can hope that some of his recurring co-stars (Seth Rogen, Jonah Hill, Craig Robinson, Jason Segel) will be on hand to poke fun at him. And we can only imagine what ammo they'll use against him. Based on the state of Franco in this Instagram Video, in which he announces his participation in the Roast, he doesn't seem particularly concerned.
At 35 years old, Franco's on the younger side to be roasted, if we look at the list of people who've been the guest of honor in the network's annual event over the last decade. The first Comedy Central roastee was Denis Leary, followed by Jeff Foxworthy, Pamela Anderson, William Shatner, Flavor Flav, Bob Saget, Larry the Cable Guy, Joan Rivers and Donald Trump. In 2011, Charlie Sheen sat in the chair, and last year it was Rosanne Barr.
While James Franco lacks some of the years of the other roastees, he's not exactly new to the industry. Among his earliest credits is the role of slacker Daniel Desario in Freaks and Geeks. He followed Freaks up with a number of TV and film roles, raising his game with the part of Harry Osborn in the Spider-Man movies. And then he earned even more acclaim and an Oscar nomination for playing the role of Aron Ralston in 127 Hours. Since then, it's been more comedies, with a bit of randomness mixed in, including a recurring role in General Hospital, the title role in Oz the Great and Powerful and the part of Hugh Hefner for Lovelace. He played himself in This is the End, and we may see him reprise that role in some form or another for the Veronica Mars movie. He's also set to direct The Sound and the Fury. If there's one thing about Franco, it's that there's really no telling what he'll do next. And if there's another, it's that he's funny and he can probably take more than a few jabs at his expense.
