The Milk man did it: James Franco for Out

Photographed by Doug Inglish

Meet Mr. November, actor James Franco, one of the stars of Gus Van Sant's Milk. He is, as they say, a real catch. We think he's dreamy. We think he's the cat's meow. He's smart and thoughtful and serious about his art, in all its many forms. He is also quite possibly the biggest Van Sant fan we have ever met, and was actually inspired to first become an actor when he saw Van Sant's My Own Private Idaho.

Publicity -- the art of a tease about a product or person -- is a wily beast. You give a little and hope to get a lot, but the whole dance is really a crap shoot. Half of one of our favorite Franco quotes got a little lost in Page Six's write-up about the interview. We'll be happy to share the whole affair with you -- plus show off the stunning suite of photographs that go with it -- but for now, here's his whole comment about being briefly, happily nude on screen:

And for me it was like, Here I am in Gus’s movie, and I’m finally getting as close to being in My Own Private Idaho as I’m going to get, so I’ll do whatever. Not a ton is shown in the movie, but there’s a scene where I’m naked in the pool and everybody else is dressed and there’s just something uncomfortable about that. I felt like the girl in all those teen movies that pops out of the hot tub topless. [Laughs] I was like, All right, it’s Gus Van Sant. I’ll do whatever. I was just happy to be there.

Stay tuned to Popnography for more. (And remember: Don't believe everything you read. Not even here.)