James Franco, Mary Louise-Parker and Jon Hamm in the Howl trailer

Brad Sturdivant July 18th, 2010

I tend to give James Franco a hard time, mainly because he can’t do much with his voice. It seems no matter what the scene, his voice and the way he delivers lines is one of two ways; mellow or high-pitched. But he seems like one of the good guys in Hollywood and he can definitely act, so maybe I should ease up on him. In HOWL, he plays the poet Allen Ginsberg, who’s most famous poem ‘Howl’ caused quite a controversy when it was first published. Of course, little kids these days say worse stuff than ‘Howl’ on the schoolyard, but back in 1957, it was quite risque. The film follows the trials and tribulations Ginsberg faced following his famous poem.

The film also stars Mary Louise-Parker, Jon Hamm, Jeff Daniels, David Strathairn, Treat Williams and Alessandro Nivola. Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman are directing. The film hits theaters on September 24th. Watch the trailer here.

James Franco in Howl