Seth Rogen and James Franco first met when both were cast in Paul Feig’s short-lived cult classic comedy Freaks and Geeks back in 1999, and even though the show was cancelled after a single season, the pair became virtually inseparable over the next two decades.
Wherever one of them went, the other usually wasn’t too far behind, and they went on to collaborate multiple times as their respective stars ascended in Hollywood. Rogen and Franco appeared together in Knocked Up, Pineapple Express, The Green Hornet, This is the End, The Interview, The Night Before, The Sound and the Fury, Sausage Party, The Disaster Artist and Zeroville, but it sounds as though their time working with one another has now come to an end.
In light of the various sexual misconduct allegations made against Franco over the last several years, Rogen admitted in a recent interview that the repeated accusations have affected both his personal and professional relationships with his longtime friend, and he even backtracked on previous comments he’d made in 2018 when he said he’d still be open to teaming up despite several pending lawsuits.
“What I can say is that I despise abuse and harassment and I would never cover or conceal the actions of someone doing it, or knowingly put someone in a situation where they were around someone like that. However, I do look back at a joke I made on Saturday Night Live in 2014 and I very much regret making that joke. It was a terrible joke, honestly.”
“I also look back to that interview in 2018 where I comment that I would keep working with James, and the truth is that I have not, and I do not plan to right now. I don’t know if I can define that right now during this interview. I can say it, you know, it has changed many things in our relationship and our dynamic… I have no pity for myself in this situation.”
Franco has maintained a relatively low profile since finding himself in the headlines for all the wrong reasons, although he did settle one suit in February. Rogen, meanwhile, is busier than ever having been incredibly productive during his COVID-19 quarantine by mastering the art of ceramic pottery, launching his own strain of cannabis and developing multiple projects including a big action comedy that he described as being influenced by Jackie Chan and Buster Keaton, but it looks as though we won’t be seeing James Franco in any of them.
