James Franco Annapolis Diss "Hurtful," Says Fast & Furious Director

Actor's comment about a previous movie he'd appeared in prompts film's director to respond

By Josh Grossberg May 07, 2013 6:36 PMTags
James FrancoChristopher Polk/Getty Images

Justin Lin is ready to respond to James Franco.

In an interview with The Huffington Post, the Fast & Furious 6 director opened up about how it felt to hear Franco call their 2006 drama, Annapolis, a "bad movie" while the actor was making the publicity rounds for Spring Breakers.

"Well, it is very hurtful," the Taiwanese-born filmmaker told the site. "And it's actually not very respectful because I know a lot of the crew worked really hard on that."

Annapolis starred Franco as a boxer from the wrong side of the tracks who fulfills his dream of attending the Annapolis Naval Academy, only to wind up fighting for respect as a boxer in a school tournament. The film grossed a tepid $17 million.

In a sit-down with badassdigest.com, the actor called his decision to act in the film purely a business move, as opposed to a creative one like playing a drug-dealing rapper named Alien in Harmony Korine's Spring Breakers.

"I was at that point trying to run my career as a 'careerist," he said at the time. "That's one of the reasons I did Annapolis: not because I liked it at all, but because I thought it was an honorable leading man or something like that. I ended up not liking the experience and not liking the movie."

Lin however was quick to stick up for their collaboration, saying he's proud of Annapolis for opening the door for him for the Fast & Furious franchise, as well as noting that the film did well on home video. He even commended Franco for getting in "great shape."

As for their relationship, Lin had this to say.

"I honestly don't understand it," said Lin. "I think James is a good guy, but I don't know. I wish he would just not say anything because—it's going to be part of him, he's obviously very successful. You know, we all will fall and we will get up and we will learn."