Franco Vs.

Inspired by ABC's Shaq Vs, James Franco decided to spend the day challenging members of the entertainment industry at their own crafts.

He wasted all morning trying to convince John Mayer to participate in a guitar competition, but Mayer politely declined.

Franco then tried to challenge Chris Rock to see who could come up with the best YO MAMA joke. Rock was confused by the request and couldn’t understand why his mother was being verbally attacked by the guy from Pineapple Express.

In the late afternoon, Franco was finally able to convince the rapper Common to square off in a rap battle. The battle went down inside a small bar in the heart of Brooklyn. It turns out Franco is a horrible rapper – he was practically booed off stage. Nevertheless Common was excited to have participated and looks forward to doing it again.

One With Nature

James Franco spent the day in the woods dressed as a bear.

Tuesday's equestrian getaway

James Franco was caught on camera show jumping today while riding a horse named Smokey. It is unclear whether the spectacle was part of an upcoming film and/or art project, or if it was just recreational.

Animated Monday

Today, James Franco drew up the first script for his own animated show, where the main character Jim Francis teaches young children the importance of hard work, education and performance art. James Franco wrote, produced and animated the episode. He is currently shopping it to children's broadcasters around the world.

Friday's light hearted romp

Realizing that his recent endeavors have alienated him from the youngest of demographics, James Franco staged a one-man puppet show today in the auditorium of a youth camp in Connecticut. The puppet show was itself based on a one-man play Franco wrote as an NYU film student. And while the subject matter – a man finds his wife has been cheating on him with an amputee – was a little dark for children, the industrious actor lightened the affair by using colorful characters and dressing in a green costume. Despite his best efforts most parents were turned off by the intense material as Franco performed for a sparse crowd.

Wednesday in Washington Square Park

On Wednesday morning, James Franco rose bright and early to get to Washington Square Park. He studied the moves of Gill, infamous among chess circles, as Gill destroyed player after player for three straight hours before stepping up to the board to play. After an immediate and crushing defeat, Franco went directly to Borders where he bought six books on chess, chess strategy and chess theory. He spent his afternoon reading them, beginning to end, under a tree, while simultaneously whittling a bishop piece out of a nearby twig.

Monday’s different browed education

Despite being enrolled in four graduate programs, all while getting ready to start a PhD in English at Yale this fall, James Franco took the time to take in an online seminar at the Learning Annex today on numerology and life force. The visit began as a means of exploring the relationship between “high-brow” education (Ivy League schools) and the seemingly “low-brow” experience of an online discussion vis-à-vis the Learning Annex. However, Mr. Franco found himself so enthralled with both the topic and the forum he has decided to enroll himself in three more on-line courses, including “Understanding Energies and Finding Your Life’s Purpose,” “Investigating Space and Time,” and “Accounting.”