James Franco Crowns Kristen Stewart 'Warrior Queen'

Oscar-nominated actor compares 'Twilight' star to her 'Snow White' character in a Huffington Post article.
By Fallon Prinzivalli, with reporting by Josh Horowitz

Kristen Stewart as "Snow White"
Photo: Universal

If you looked up "jack of all trades" in the dictionary, we're pretty sure you'd find a picture of James Franco. His credits include actor, author, producer, director, artist, student, teacher — we'd go on, but we think you get the picture.

He's recently become a contributor to The Huffington Post, and his latest article is a review of "Snow White and the Huntsman" that successfully compares Kristen Stewart to her edgy character.

"['Snow White'] could also be said to parallel Stewart's rise to stardom," Franco writes. "Some might argue that Stewart — or any young upstart buoyed by the surge of a successful franchise, album, or Internet meme — is just as unjustly charmed. Some could say she had a lucky break when she was cast in 'Twilight' and then rose to international stardom based less on her own skills than on the success of the project. But, whereas 'Snow White' would more than likely be inarticulate, diseased and frail after being confined in a tower for 10 years, Kristen Stewart landed 'Twilight' after years of working with some of the best directors in the business (David Fincher, Sean Penn). She actually does deserve the crown."

Franco's critique recognizes the challenge filmmakers face when turning a fairy tale into a live-action film instead of simply animating it. He notes that Peter Jackson revolutionized the film industry with "Lord of the Rings," greatly enhancing the technology aspect of fantasy stories. But whereas "Puss in Boots" can skim emotional development by falling in love in seconds, Stewart must prove to an audience that her romantic entanglements are real.

Franco then relates Snow White's epic battle against Charlize Theron's Evil Queen as Stewart's fight for recognition among Hollywood's honored elite, believing Stewart deserves more credit than she's given.

"The images of Snow White as a leader of immense strength, charging on horseback across the beach at the head of an army, has less to do with her character and more to do with the actress who plays her," Franco pens. "Stewart has braved more scrutiny of her private life than most presidents. She has taken big career risks by doing films like 'Welcome to the Rileys,' 'The Runaways' and 'On the Road' (nudity, I hear). She has worked her ass off. Whatever Snow White may be, Kristen is a warrior queen. Give her the crown."

This isn't the first time Franco divulged his thoughts on one of Stewart's projects. He frequently mentioned wanting to be involved in "Twilight" on late-night talk shows and even told Jimmy Kimmel he wanted to sing a song with Robert Pattinson or helm a skit with the cast for his Academy Award hosting debut. When MTV News caught up with the actor at the 2010 Toronto International Film Festival, he had read the first three books and saw the first three films, prompting us to ask him about his thoughts on the series he deemed "fascinating."

"[Along with the books, the] movies are interesting also because they've really become part of the whole 'Twilight' phenomenon, and it's really hard to extricate those actors from the reading experience or just the phenomenon of 'Twilight' now," he said. "They've become a part of it to the point that the movies are almost commenting on themselves. There will be a scene where the go-to guys, Taylor and Rob, are in the tent, it's almost like a 'Brokeback Mountain' scene, where the two guys are talking in a tent and the girl is asleep, and they're having, like, this romantic moment almost through her, in a way. One of them says, 'Well, I'm hotter than you,' and it's almost like they're winking at the fans, like to the Team Jacob or the Team Edwards."

Check out everything we've got on "Snow White and the Huntsman."

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• Snow White And The Huntsman

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