For better or for worse, NYU has once again found itself in the celebrity spotlight. In the latest update on the lawsuit involving actor James Franco and a former Tisch professor, Franco filed for dismissal in the Manhattan Supreme Court, calling the suit meritless.
The original lawsuit against the university, filed by Franco’s directing the actor II professor José Angel Santana, said Santana was wrongfully terminated for giving the actor a D in the course. Santana said Franco came to two out of 14 classes, but the university chose to fire Sanchez.
According to NYU spokesperson John Beckman, Santana’s claim is without merit.
Santana also filed a defamation suit against both NYU and Franco after reports that both parties had publicly ridiculed the professor, tarnishing his image. Beckman said that this claim is without merit as well.
Franco has since retaliated against Santana. Franco explained that after eight years of acting classes, he felt that he would learn more in working with director Danny Boyle on his film, “127 Hours.” Instead, the actor claimed he wasted his time attending a course taught by a “bad teacher.”
In the most recent advancements on the proceedings, Franco and NYU have asked the judge to dismiss the case, on the basis that both suits are baseless and without merit. Franco filed for dismissal in the Manhattan Supreme Court, insisting that the process server never actually served him the suit because the papers were sent to an address that was not Franco’s. He further asserted that his alleged defamatory statements were protected by the First Amendment.
Beckman said NYU is taking a similar stance.
“NYU has filed a motion to dismiss the defamation suit, both on the basis that there was no defamation involved, and on the basis that the statements that Mr. Santana claims were ‘defamatory’ did not come from NYU,” Beckman said. “Both this suit and the other are baseless, and we expect to prevail in court.”
In an interview for his film “The Broken Tower,” Franco said, “I don’t even know what my grades are in NYU because grades don’t matter, what matters is the films that you make. Anybody coming out of film school is not going to go to Sony or Warner Bros. and say, ‘Hey, I got an A in acting class, give me a job.’”
“The film industry is so hands-on and requires so much experience that one can never fully learn in a classroom,” said Tisch sophomore Rose Massett. “You have to learn the crafts and skills by actually making art, by making mistakes and by messing up, until eventually you have something you’re proud of.”
“Anyone can get good grades if he or she studies enough, but not everyone has the creative talent or stamina to make a film independent of the classroom,” said Zach Urban, a Tisch sophomore. “If anyone knows anything about getting a job in Hollywood, it’s James Franco. In retrospect, I don’t think professor Santana’s grade is hurting him too much.”
Elizabeth Andreassen is a contributing writer. Email her at [email protected].
zzk • Mar 8, 2013 at 2:00 pm
Why don’t they realize that this suit is about wrongful termination not about Franco’s ego or skills [or lack thereof] as an actor.