James Franco Speaks Candidly About the Oscars: 'I Don't Know Why You Hired Me'

The Oscars were widely considered to be nothing short of a fiasco this year, but if anyone could have told you beforehand that they weren't going to work, it would be host James Franco.

In a recent interview, Franco really opened up about how he felt about the Oscars show at the time, noting that he was really unhappy with the jokes the writers and producers had given him.

"In the last week, when we really started focusing on the script for the live show and did a run-through, I said to the producer, 'I don't know why you hired me, because you haven't given me anything,'" said Franco. "'I just don't think this stuff's going to be good.'"

Franco also revealed that Judd Apatow, who worked with Franco on "Freaks and Geeks" (and briefly on "Knocked Up"), wrote some "really funny stuff" for the show, but none of it got used.

Instead, Franco was made to dress in drag as Marilyn Monroe, a move that he really didn't want to do. "I was so pissed about that," he said, "I told them, 'Look, this is the thing people are going to talk about, the images they will take away from the show,'" he added. "I just didn't want to fight anymore, even when they said, 'You'll come out as Marilyn Monroe. It'll be funny.' Me in drag is not funny."

Sure enough, that was one of many jokes that fell flat that night. Given Franco's mistrust in the material, it makes sense now why he was so low-energy on the night. How can you be excited about jokes that you know aren't good?

But Franco also had another explanation for his low-key approach: "I thought, OK, Anne is going the enthusiastic route. I've been trained as an actor to respond to circumstances, to the people I'm working with, and not force anything. So I thought I would be the straight man and she could be the other."