The Fall of Franco and Rogen: What Went Wrong with ‘Zeroville’?

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Seth Rogen and James Franco have been responsible for some of the funniest movies of this century, with films like “Knocked Up,” “Pineapple Express,” “This is the End,” “The Interview,” and “The Disaster Artist” being among their most successful. However, their once-celebrated friendship and collaborative efforts have largely come to an end in recent years. This is mainly because Franco faced accusations of assault during the peak of the #MeToo movement in late 2010s. Since then, Franco has continued acting but has chosen to stay out of the limelight for smaller-scale projects. Rogen and Franco have not worked on a project together since 2019, so their last collaboration was…?

Franco and Rogen last appeared together in the 2019 film “Zeroville,” which Franco also directed. For several years before its release, the movie seemed to be stuck in production limbo. When it eventually premiered, viewers felt it wasn’t worth the wait, leading to negative critical and commercial reception. Essentially, “Zeroville” was a flop and marked a disappointing conclusion to the partnership of Seth and James. However, we’ll investigate why things went so poorly and how far they fell from their past successes. Let’s examine the facts.

The Beginning and End of the Partnership Between Franco and Rogen

It’s quite appropriate that Rogen and Franco found their major breakthrough on the same television series, Freaks and Geeks, which was produced by Paul Feig and Judd Apatow. This short-lived show catapulted many careers, including those of Linda Cardellini, Jason Segel, John Francis Daley, Busy Phillips, and numerous others into the mainstream. Franco made a guest appearance in Rogen’s Knocked Up, but their first film project together as leading actors was Pineapple Express in 2008. After that, they enjoyed a series of critical and financial successes.

In contrast to expectations, the 2019 movie “Zeroville” was not planned as the duo’s last collaboration. The project was initially announced in early 2011, and filming took place in October and November 2014. Initially slated for a release between 2015 and 2016, its distribution was halted due to Alchemy’s bankruptcy filing. The movie remained in development until April 2019, when myCinema took it on and scheduled it for a September release. On September 20, it was shown in select theaters, but unfortunately, it only managed to earn a total of $79,000.

In a less-than-favorable review, Zeroville currently holds a 23% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. The movie is inspired by real-life figures and tells the story of Vikar, portrayed by Franco, who was expelled from the Christian church. Afterward, he shifts to Hollywood in the late ’60s and secures a job at Paramount, where Rogen’s character, “Viking Man,” becomes his mentor. Vikar demonstrates a talent for film editing and climbs up the ranks within the industry, eventually bearing witness to significant moments in Hollywood history throughout the subsequent decades.

Although Zeroville marked the end of their film releases together, it wasn’t the last time they filmed scenes together; they worked on The Disaster Artist before that, which was released in late 2015 and early 2016, nearly two years prior to Zeroville in December 2017. However, since then, they have been focusing on individual projects.

Franco’s Alleged Problematic Behavior

The primary cause for the artistic division was accusations made against Franco regarding inappropriate behavior, which included allegations of attempting to seduce an underage girl in 2014 and later claims by several women accusing him of sexual misconduct during acting classes in January 2018. A lawsuit followed these accusations in October 2019, and the case was settled in February 2021.

In late 2021, Franco openly admitted to having sexual relationships with some of his students and disclosed he was seeking treatment for sex addiction. Following the resolution of the lawsuit in early 2021, Rogen finally spoke up about the issue. In May of that year, Rogen made it clear that it’s unlikely he would collaborate with Franco anymore. Although he didn’t explicitly confirm or deny anything, Rogen hinted that the accusations against Franco had a profound impact on their friendship.

Back in 2024, Franco admitted that it had been a while since he last spoke with Rogen, despite his efforts to keep the connection alive. Essentially, their collaboration seemed to have ended. When queried about Franco’s statements, Rogen chose not to verify whether these claims were accurate or not.

After the split, both individuals have remained active. Rogen has been featured in high-profile films such as The Fabelmans, The Super Mario Bros. Movie, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem, and Mufasa: The Lion King. In contrast, Franco has predominantly avoided A-list productions. He’s been seen in films like Pretenders, Kin, The Price of Money: A Largo Witch Adventure, and lending his voice to the animated film Arctic Dogs.

As a passionate film enthusiast, I’m excited to share that Franco will be gracing lower-budget films like “The Long Home,” “Toad,” and “The Razor’s Edge.” He’s also rumored to portray Fidel Castro in “Alina of Cuba.” If the unlikely happens and Franco-Rogen collaboration continues, it’ll likely end with the disappointing film “Zeroville.” Regardless, “Zeroville” is a fitting conclusion for Franco’s A-list journey. You can rent this movie on Apple TV and Prime Video.

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2025-04-06 01:34