Last fall,James Francodebuted a new web series forAOL OriginalsentitledMaking a Scene with James Franco, where the actor recreated scenes fromThe Godfather,Batman,Beetlejuice,TitanicandGrease, just to name a few. This season,Making a Scenewill be recreating and mashing up a slew of different TV shows, one of which being the 1999 cult classic sitcomFreaks and Geeks, where he had his breakthrough starring role as Daniel Desario. During an interview withThe Hollywood Reporter,James Francoreveals that he’ll actually be mashing upFreaks and GeekswithSaved by the Bell.
“That was the last one we shot, I think, so we’re still cutting it. That, funnily enough, got mashed up withSaved by the Bell. It’s high school characters vs. high school characters. That one actually turned into a musical, so you’re going to get a Freaks and Geeks-Saved by the Bellmusical.”
For those who are unfamiliar withFreaks and Geeks, the series ran for just 18 episodes over one season on Fox, created byPaul Feig, who went on to directBridesmaidsand is now in production on theGhostbustersreboot. The show gained a cult following, launching the careers of all its main stars,Linda Cardellini,John Francis Daley,Samm Levine,Seth Rogen(in his first ever acting role),Jason Segel,Martin Starrand Busy Philipps, who were all virtual unknowns at the time. When asked what it was like to play Daniel Desario again,James Francohad this to say.
“It was weird because it’s been like 14 or 15 years. I can’t believe it when I say that. It’s kind of shocking to me that it’s been that long. When I was on the show, it was the first thing I did that was actually any good. I didn’t really understand that at the time, how rare that is or how hard it is to get such talented people together on something. When I was on it, I didn’t really appreciate it. In hindsight, I can really see how special it was. I think there are a lot of people around who don’t like their earlier work. I interviewedJared Letofor Interview magazine, and I was told, ‘Don’t ask about My So-Called Life. He doesn’t like to talk about it.’ I’m like the opposite of that. I loveFreaks and Geeks, so going back was fun.”
For those unfamiliar withMaking a Scene’s concept,James Francoand his team will ask fans which movies or TV shows they want to see recreated ormashed up. They then put all of the titles on a spinning wheel, with the titles to be chosen by wherever the wheel stops.James Francoadded that, in the first season, they would mash up memorable scenes from two movies, but for this season, they would combine the style and tone for two completely differentTV shows. TheFreaks and GeeksandSaved by the Bellwas just recently shot, so it isn’t clear when that episode will debut. Until then, we have a sneak peek of theSeason 2premiere, which mashes upBreaking BadwithSex and the City, along with the Season 2 trailer that offers a tiny glimpse at theFreaks and Geeksepisode and others this season. You can also visit theAOL Originalspage for the full four-minute episode.
