text: james dean ( film ) james dean is a 2001 biographical television film based on the life of the american actor james dean . james franco plays the title role under the direction of mark rydell , who chronicles dean 's rise from a struggling actor to an a - list movie star in 1950s hollywood . the film 's supporting roles included director rydell , michael moriarty , valentina cervi , enrico colantoni , and amy rydell . the james dean biopic began development at warner bros. in the early 1990s . at one point , michael mann was contracted to direct with leonardo dicaprio starring in the lead role . after mann 's departure , des mcanuff , dennis hopper and milčo mančevski were considered as directors . rydell was hired as director in 1996 , but the film continued to languish in development hell . warner bros. then decided to produce james dean as a tv movie for turner network television ( tnt ) ; both warners and tnt are owned by time warner . franco was cast as dean in may 2000 after a search that resulted in 500 auditions . franco researched his role to more closely portray dean . james dean was shown on tnt in the united states on august 5 , 2001 , receiving generally positive reviews from critics . plot at eight years old , james dean lives with his estranged father winton and mother mildred in 1939 santa monica , california . when mildred dies of cancer in 1940 , winton sends james on a train to fairmount , indiana , along with the coffin containing her body . winton does not show up at the funeral , leaving james to be raised by his aunt and uncle on a farm in fairmount . over the years , he becomes more curious about his father 's decision to abandon him . he tries to impress him by sending him a package displaying his various athletic trophies in high school sports . james moves back to santa monica in june 1949 , shortly after high school graduation , and finds that winton has remarried . he decides to become an actor and takes classes under james whitmore . whitmore is impressed by his acting ability , which encourages him to move to new york city in september 1951 to pursue an acting career . despite being a struggling actor , he enjoys the new lifestyle . he befriends fellow actor martin landau and has a romantic relationship with christine white . both are accepted into the prestigious actors studio . he receives critical acclaim in broadway theatre productions and for a role in a television movie drama that is broadcast nationwide . he tries to tell winton about his successful rise in acting , but his father still reacts with indifference , causing more emotional turmoil for him . film producer - director elia kazan hires james for the leading role in east of eden ( 1955 ) , marking his hollywood debut . he moves to hollywood in april 1954 to begin filming for eden and is introduced to jack l. warner , the stern president of warner bros. studios who is determined to transform him into a movie star . warner becomes suspicious of his personal life ( such as his possible bisexuality and passions for auto racing and motorcycling ) . on the warner bros. backlot , he falls in love with actress pier angeli , who is working on the neighboring production of the silver chalice ( 1954 ) . despite concerns from pier 's domineering mother , james and his girlfriend buy a beach house in which they live together . meanwhile , eccentric director nicholas ray casts him in the lead role for rebel without a cause ( 1955 ) . he once again hopes to impress his father with his rising movie star career in hollywood , but winton persists with his indifference . when east of eden debuts , warner is furious that he does not show up at the premiere . he considers shutting down production of rebel without a cause , but he drops the idea due to james 's praised performance in eden . later , he finds out that warner sided with pier 's mother over his break up with her . she ends up marrying vic damone , while james then signs a one million dollar contract with warner bros. and is cast in giant ( 1956 ) . his mental breakdowns become more apparent when he starts conflicting with director george stevens . angered with his life , james decides to learn the truth about his father 's disinterest toward him since he was eight years old . winton tells him that his real father was a man with whom his mother had an affair during the marriage and that he did not have the courage to raise him , not being his real father . with his inner demons resolved , he begins to enjoy life once more and adopts a friendly relationship with director stevens . shortly afterward , he dies in a car crash that shocks the film industry and the general public . en route on a train to indiana , winton sits next to his coffin in the storage room . cast james franco as james dean : a movie star who has emotional struggles with his father , hollywood policies , acting , and romantic relationships . kyle chambers portrays young james dean michael moriarty as winton " winnie " dean : james ' father who abandons him at a young age . valentina cervi as pier angeli : italian actress who james first meets on the warner bros. backlot . under pressure from her domineering mother , pier breaks off her relationship with james and marries vic damone . enrico colantoni as elia kazan : acclaimed hollywood film director . kazan casts james in east of eden , using unconventional directing techniques that land james critical praise . amy rydell as christine white : james ' girlfriend in new york . the two successfully audition their way into the actors studio . director mark rydell as jack l. warner : president of warner bros. who signs james under contract . mr. warner acts as a strict father figure to james ' hollywood lifestyle . samuel gould as martin landau : actor who befriends james in new york . wendy benson as julie harris : east of eden actress who expresses sympathy for james ' break - up with pier . david parker as james whitmore : james ' acting teacher in los angeles . lisa robins as mildred dean : james ' mother . mildred dies of cancer when her son is just a child . karen as mrs. : pier 's strict religious mother who convinces her daughter to marry vic damone . barry primus as nicholas ray : eccentric director of rebel without a cause who avoids pressure to cast marlon brando in the lead role . peggy mccay as emma dean : james dean 's grandma . edward herrmann as raymond massey : distinguished actor who portrays dean 's screen father on east of eden . massey is dubious over james ' method acting . craig barnett as george stevens : director of giant who , at first , has trouble accommodating james ' emotional and movie star status . joanne linville as hedda hopper : hollywood gossip columnist who praises james ' acting abilities in east of eden . andrew prine as rogers brackett : homosexual new york theater director who meets james and martin landau ( then struggling actors ) in a diner . lisa blake richards as ethel dean : winton 's wife after the death of mildred . she is not satisfied over her husband 's fathering of james . holly beavon as marilyn monroe ( uncredited ) elizabeth as judy garland ( uncredited ) production in the early 1990s , warner bros. planned to produce a feature biographical film about actor james dean , and the studio hired israel horovitz to write the script . one of the working titles was james dean : an invented life before it was finalized as james dean . when horovitz wrote the script , he explored the " psychological insight " of dean by showcasing the abandonment of his father , which became the fulcrum of the storyline . horovitz recalled , " why would a father ship his wife 's body back on a train with an 8 - year - old son , never go to the funeral and never pick the son up again , never bring the son back out to him ? " the screenwriter felt it was best to portray dean 's purported homosexuality by innuendo rather than explicitly . he wanted to focus on the romance between dean and pier angeli and dean 's growth as an actor , and believed that a homosexuality subplot would distract from the storyline . producer marvin worth explained in july 1995 , " we 'll try to make a good movie ... not one of rumor and innuendo . " michael mann was contracted to direct james dean in september 1993 , and filming was scheduled to start in may 1994 . johnny depp and brad pitt were under serious consideration for the lead role , while both actors were also attached to the part . mann approached leonardo dicaprio for the role of james dean , feeling that dicaprio was the best candidate . gary oldman was also discussed for a supporting role . in march 1994 , mann decided not to direct james dean due to scheduling conflicts with heat ( 1995 ) . mann also thought that dicaprio was too young and wanted to wait another year . des mcanuff replaced mann as director , and filming was rescheduled to december 1994 . screenwriter horovitz was busy in europe , so mcanuff and producer marvin worth were constantly rewriting the script in july 1994 . the budget was estimated at $ 20 million . mcanuff stepped down as director and was replaced by dennis hopper . hopper was a close friend with dean and co - starred with the actor in both rebel without a cause and giant . hopper met with dicaprio for the lead role , but the director eventually dropped out of the film . by may 1995 , dicaprio was still the top candidate to portray dean with milčo mančevski in discussions to direct the film . after negotiations with mančevski fell through , mark rydell was contracted to direct the biopic in february 1996 . rydell was also close friends with dean ; the two studied together at actors studio in manhattan , new york during the early 1950s . dicaprio dropped out of the lead role entirely when his asking price was determined to be too high after the actor 's success with romeo + juliet ( 1996 ) and titanic ( 1997 ) . meanwhile , rydell worked with horovitz on another rewrite , and warner bros. planned to fast track production . don was was hired to write and compose the film score , but he was later replaced by john frizzell . shortly after rydell 's hiring , stephen dorff entered discussions to portray james dean . ethan hawke would later turn down the role . with the film languishing in development hell , producer bill gerber from warner bros. decided james dean would work best as a television movie for turner network television ( tnt ) ; both warners and tnt are owned by time warner . gerber explained the format choice , " it was just hard to find bankable names that the studio would finance a $ 20 million movie with . and there were marketing problems . he died in a highway accident in 1955 so almost everyone would know the outcome of the movie . james dean also isn 't that well known by the general movie - going public these days . " actor james franco was cast into the lead role , and principal photography for james dean started in june 2000 . filming took place around the los angeles area and at the sony pictures studios in culver city . casting rydell and other filmmakers started a casting call in late march 2000 to find the most suitable actor for the lead role . the call encompassed new york , los angeles , toronto , vancouver , atlanta , chicago and the midwestern united states . casting director nancy foy commented that the search included " everyone from highly - trained , experienced actors in their early and mid - 20s , to people who had no training and had sent in self - made tapes " . five hundred actors auditioned , and james franco was ultimately cast as james dean in may 2000 . franco acknowledged he was cautious of taking the role over fear of typecasting . franco did extensive research for his role . he went from being a non - smoker to smoking two packs of cigarettes a day , but has since quit the habit . he learned how to ride a motorcycle , play guitar , as well as the conga and bongo drums . the actor also carefully studied dean 's mannerisms by simultaneously watching his three films ( east of eden , rebel without a cause and giant ) . franco also read numerous biographies on dean 's life . the actor also took advice from some of dean 's closest friends , including martin landau , dennis hopper , liz sheridan ( dean 's former girlfriend ) and leonard rosenman . " martin was the most informative person that i spoke to . he helped me tremendously with james 's physical mannerisms , " franco reflected . " i isolated myself a lot during the filming . i did this because i think he had a pervasive loneliness throughout his life and i wanted to feel what that felt like . not talking to my family or loved ones had quite an emotional effect on me . " release james dean premiered at the 27th deauville american film festival in july 2001 . press conferences were held with the screening , and james dean 's three feature films , east of eden , rebel without a cause and giant , were also screened at the festival . turner network television ( tnt ) originally intended to premiere the film on united states national television in june 2001 , but the release date for james dean was pushed to august 5 , 2001 . the film attracted 3 . 18 million viewers and received generally favorable reviews from critics . james dean was released on dvd in january 2002 by warner home video . david thomson , reviewing in the new york times , felt franco 's performance as dean gave baby boomer audiences a positive sense of nostalgia of the 1950s . james poniewozik of time magazine also highly praised franco 's performance , but felt the script was overtly cliché . ken tucker wrote in entertainment weekly that james dean , alongside life with judy garland : me and my shadows ( 2001 ) , was a revolutionary force in the television movie genre . rydell received a directors guild of america award nomination , while franco was nominated for his performance at the 8th screen actors guild awards . in addition , franco won the golden globe award for best actor in a miniseries or television film . the film also received multiple awards and nominations at the 54th primetime emmy awards . michael moriarty won the award for outstanding supporting actor in a miniseries or movie for his portrayal of winton dean . the art department ( led by robert pearson , marc and leslie mccarthy - frankenheimer ) , also won an emmy . nominations included outstanding made for television movie , lead actor ( james franco ) , direction ( mark rydell ) , cinematography ( robbie greenberg ) , casting ( nancy foy ) , costume design ( yvonne blake and randy gardell ) , film editing ( antony gibbs ) , makeup ( john m. elliot , jr . ) and hairstyling ( carol a. o 'connell ) .