James Franco and Anne Hathaway. Mark J Terrill/AP/Shutterstock
They tried their finest. Anne Hathaway opened up about cohosting the 83rd Academy Awards with James Franco — and sure, she’s conscious it didn’t go nicely.
The actress, 38, performed a sport on the Monday, October 25, episode of Watch What Occurs Reside With Andy Cohen the place she was proven a collection of photographs from all through her profession. After presenting the photographs, Andy Cohen requested Hathaway to narrate the reminiscence to at least one phrase.
Cohen, 54, minimize to a photograph of Hathaway and Franco, 44, from the Oscars ceremony in 2011. The Princess Diaries star quickly responded, “[We] sucked,” which brought on herself, Cohen, visitor Victoria Beckham and your complete viewers to burst out laughing.
This was not the primary time the Satan Wears Prada actress has poked enjoyable at herself for the internet hosting gig. Earlier than the 91st Academy Awards in 2019, Hathaway shared a throwback photograph by way of social media of her and the Catastrophe Artist star from eight years prior.
“It doesn’t matter what occurs with right this moment’s present, simply keep in mind, it’s already been worse,” she wrote on the time. “Completely happy Oscars!”
The 2011 Oscars have been deemed as a flop as a result of uncomfortable chemistry between Franco and Hathaway. David Wild, one of many writers for the 2011 award present, opened up concerning the awkwardness between Hathaway and Franco a decade after the ceremony.
“It was just like the world’s most uncomfortable blind date between the cool rocker stoner child and the lovely theater camp cheerleader,” Wild advised The Ringer in April 2021. “Once more, this can be a reminiscence, however [Anne] was like, ‘Possibly you must attempt that,’ and he was like, ‘Don’t inform me learn how to be humorous.’”
In the meantime, writer-director Jordan Rubin additionally shared that the Oceans Eight actress had a distinct strategy to preparing for the present than the Pineapple Categorical actor did.
“Anne made herself available. I went to her home and labored on the script and she or he was on a bunch of convention calls and responding to emails and was an awesome collaborator,” he stated, noting that he oversaw the manufacturing.
When the awards happened, Franco was balancing his performing profession and his numerous academic pursuits. The actor took doctoral lessons at Yale College, earned a grasp’s diploma at New York College and taught at Columbia Faculty Hollywood in Los Angeles.
“He at all times gave the impression to be on a flight, and it was very laborious for me to come up with him,” Rubin revealed. “That was a pink flag.”
In keeping with the director, it appeared as if Franco wished to play it as a buddy-cop film with two reverse characters and made a aware effort to counter Hathaway’s persona.
In 2016, Franco responded to the criticism about his efficiency on the awards present throughout an interview with Vulture. “I’ve by no means aspired to be the Oscars host. I don’t care actually,” the Freaks and Geeks actor shared. “I’m going to do what they ask me to and do it in addition to I can, however I don’t want this to be one of the best Oscars ever. I’m not getting something out of that. Within the best-case situation, even when I killed it, it’s not going to assist my profession, as a result of that’s not what it’s primarily based on. It was an experiment.”
