March 5, 2012

James Franco’s Hart Crane film at Shriver Hall on March 9

The actor James Franco’s film The Broken Tower, about the life and work of the poet Hart Crane, will be shown at 2 p.m. on Friday, March 9, in Homewood’s Shriver Hall. The 90-minute film will be followed by a panel discussion featuring John Irwin, author of the recently published Hart Crane’s Poetry, and other special guests.

The screening and discussion are sponsored by the Writing Seminars, the Program in Film and Media Studies and the JHU Press, which published Hart Crane’s Poetry earlier this year.

Shot in black and white, and completed in 2011, The Broken Tower is based on the biography of Crane by Paul Mariani. Franco wrote the screenplay while studying at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts and later decided to produce, direct, edit and star in the film. It premiered last year at Boston College, where Mariani teaches, and was shown at the 2011 Los Angeles Film Festival. A theatrical release is planned for sometime in 2012.

More details about the screening and panel discussion will appear later this week in Today’s Announcements and on JHU Press’ website, blog and social media channels.