Calgary International Airport

Calgary International Airport , branded as YYC Calgary International Airport, is an international airport that serves the city of Calgary, Alberta, Canada. It is located approximately 17 kilometres (11 mi) northeast of downtown and covers an area of 20.82 square kilometres (8.04 sq mi; 5,144 acres; 2,082 ha). With 14.5 million passengers in 2022 and 124,108 aircraft movements in 2021, Calgary International is the busiest airport in Alberta and the fourth-busiest in Canada by passenger traffic. This airport is served by the Calgary International Airport Emergency Response Service for aircraft rescue and firefighting (ARFF) protection. The region's petroleum and tourism industries (and its proximity to Banff National Park) have helped foster growth at the airport, which has nonstop flights to an array of destinations in North and Central America, Europe, and Asia. Calgary serves as the headquarters and primary hub for WestJet.

Built in the late 1930s, the site has since grown to house four runways and two terminal buildings with six concourses for passengers (Gates A1-6, A12-24, B31-40, C50-65, D70-79 and E80-97), warehouses for cargo handling, and other infrastructure. The Calgary Airport Authority operates the property while paying rent to the federal government. Close to the airport is the Deerfoot Trail freeway for transport into the city, and public transit also serves the airport.

## History

### Early history

The first airport to serve Calgary opened in 1914, in the neighbourhood of Bowness. It occupied one-square kilometre (0.39 sq mi) and consisted of a hut and a grass runway. The site of the first airport () is the location of a community centre (The Landing) as well as Bowness High School and Bowglen Park.

Operations shifted to a new airport southwest of the city in 1928, named Old Banff Coach Road Airport (). However, issues with turbulence in the area prompted another airfield to be built the following year in the neighbourhood of Renfrew known as the Calgary Municipal Airport or Stanley Jones Airport. The local airline Renfew Air Service constructed the Rutledge Hangar at the Renfrew site (6th Street and Regal Crescent) in 1929, a lamella arch structure composed of Douglas Fir planks on a reinforced concrete base. The Renfew Air Service folded in November 1931 as a result of the Great Depression, and ownership of the Rutledge Hangar was taken over by the Edmonton Credit Corporation who subsequently lease the hangar to the City of Calgary. The RCAF used the airport in the 1940s. The Rutledge Hangar remains standing at the original Renfew site by Boys and Girls Club of Calgary and was designated an Alberta Provincial Historic Resource on 5 May 2003.

### Present site and Second World War

As the City of Calgary grew to surround the Renfrew airport site the municipal government decided to relocate the airport to a new location. The city purchased an area of land north of Calgary in 1938 for about \$31,000; and remains the site of Calgary's current airport. The city came to an agreement with Trans-Canada Air Lines to construct and lease a hangar on the site for \$45,000 (), and the federal Department of Transportation financed the construction of three runways and other improvements, the first of which opened on 25 September. The new Calgary airfield was named McCall Field after First World War ace and lifelong Calgarian Fred McCall.

As a result of Canada entering the Second World War, the federal government assumed control of McCall Field in 1940, re-purposing it as a fuel and maintenance stop for aircraft involved in the war effort and later stationing the No. 37 Service Flying Training School at the airfield from 22 October 1941 until its closure on 10 March 1944. McCall Field continued to operate regular passenger flights during the Second World War.

Following the end of the Second World War, the airport had been expanded to include additional hangars, four runways and other infrastructure. The City of Calgary resumed management of McCall Field in 1946, repurposed the a hangar as a passenger terminal, and convinced the federal government to extend the airports 4,125 ft (1,257 m) east–west runway to 6,200 feet (1,900 m) in October 1949 at an estimated cost of \$750,000 the construction required a 5 foot (1.5 m) excavation below grade to prevent frost heaving. At the time of completion, McCall Field's east–west runway was the third-longest runway in Alberta behind the Calgary Airport's north–south runway and the runway at CFB Namao.

### 1950s and 1960s, terminal expansion and jet age

The re-purposed military hangars did not meet the needs of the growing transportation needs of the city, and efforts were made by city officials to secure funding for a new passenger terminal. A new passenger terminal was constructed in 1956; its design originated in the 1950s as a thesis project by Provincial Institute of Technology and Art architecture student Ken Bond, who later formed the architectural firm Clayton, Bond and Mogridge, which was awarded the contract for designing the new terminal. The one-million dollar project featured an open public concourse, and ticketing offices for three airlines was dubbed one of the most modern air terminals in Canada when it opened on 2 June 1956. A lavish opening ceremony was attended by federal Transportation Minister George C. Marler, Lieutenant Governor of Alberta John J. Bowlen, and Mayor Donald Hugh Mackay, and a number of other dignitaries. The festivities included an air show featuring an Avro Canada CF-100 Canuck. Following construction of the new passenger terminal, McCall Field would see 110,984 passenger arrivals, 96,287 departures and nearly 1,000,000 pounds (450,000 kg) of cargo through the airport in 1957.

In the 1960s Calgary City Council began lobbing the federal government to designate McCall Field as an "international airport", a status defined by the Department of Transportation. As a compromise on April 6, 1962, the federal government approved the naming the airport terminal Calgary International Airport from Calgary Municipal Airport. However, Mayor Harry Hays, local Aldermen and residents continued to refer to the airport in general as McCall Field. Calgary International Airport did not receive official "International" status from the federal government until 1969. The first non-stop transatlantic flights were scheduled by Canadian Pacific Airlines in 1961, connecting Calgary with Amsterdam Airport Schiphol, and more flights from Europe commenced the following year.

The jet age arrived shortly after the construction of Calgary's new passenger terminal. The terminal was not designed with jet aircraft in mind, and the airport's runways were not suitable for the larger and faster aircraft. In 1961 the airport replaced the diagonal runway with an 8,000 feet (2,400 m) runway capable of handling modern jet aircraft. In 1963 the airport underwent a \$4-million refurbishment which saw improved electronic landing aids, and the main north–south runway extended by 4,675 feet (1,425 m) to its present length of 12,675 feet (3,863 m).

The City of Calgary was unable to afford the continued upgrades the Calgary Municipal Airport necessary to cope with the rising aircraft traffic. The city proceeded to sell the Calgary Municipal Airport to the federal government in 1966 for \$2 million, and the Department of Transportation proceeded to refurbish the runways shortly afterwards.

### 1970s, terminal and hub status

The new passenger terminal constructed in 1956 proved to only temporarily meet the needs of the city, and was inadequate for expansion or facilitating jet aircraft servicing. Following the sale of the Calgary International Airport by the City of Calgary to the Government of Canada in 1966, plans were put in motion to build a new passenger terminal. The airport's sale came with a promise by Federal Transportation Minister Jack Pickersgill that the federal government would build a \$20-million passenger terminal within five years; however, continued delays pushed completion of the terminal to 1977.

Construction began on the new passenger terminal in 1972, construction would be delayed due to re-designs to meet increased air traffic needs, causing the price of the new terminal to grow well beyond the original \$20-million figure. Finally, on 12 October 1977, the new \$130-million (equivalent to \$-million in ), 600,000 square feet (56,000 m2) terminal was opened by Mayor Rod Sykes, Provincial Transportation Minister Hugh Horner, and Federal Transportation Minister Otto Lang two months before construction had completed. Sykes was able to leverage his friendship with Lord Mountbatten to convince British Airways to have one of the newly introduced Concorde land in Calgary on the day, and although the jet showed up a day late due to mechanical issues, it was still quite the coup for a city of less than half a million residents. Among other festivities for the opening event included flyovers by a Boeing 747, Lockheed F-104 Starfighter, and the Canadian Air Force Snowbirds. The 1977 passenger terminal remains the core of Calgary International Airport's domestic terminal to this day.

The Jumbo Jet age arrived in Calgary with the newly introduced Boeing 747 landing for the first time in 1973, with Wardair providing non-stop bi-weekly charter service from Calgary to London. Air Canada was not far behind, and began non-stop service to London using the 747 starting on June 27, 1974. In April 1974, Calgary International Airport hosted CP Air's flight testing for the Boeing 747 after airport firefighters went on strike at both Vancouver International Airport and Toronto Pearson Airport.

In 1974 the Government of Alberta acquired ownership of Pacific Western Airlines, Canada's third largest airline at the time and move the head office and hub to Calgary. The airline continued under provincial government ownership until 1983, and later merged with Canadian Pacific Air Lines to form Canadian Airlines. Canadian Airlines maintained Calgary as the hub and headquarters for the airline until it was acquired by Air Canada in 2001.

### 1990s reorganization and WestJet

In the early 1990s, the Government of Canada introduced the National Airports Policy which moved towards privatization, liberalization and economic deregulation of air transportation, which included the formation of a Local Airport Authority under the name Calgary Airport Authority in 1992 for the management, operation and development of the Calgary International Airport under lease from the federal government. The Calgary Airport Authority, incorporated in July 1990 is a non-share capital, not-for-profit corporation formed under the authority of Alberta's Regional Airports Authorities Act. The Calgary Airport Authority signed a long-term 60-year lease with an additional 20-year option, which was subsequently exercised in 2011.

In 1992, Calgary International Airport opened a new air traffic control tower at the southern end of Aero Drive. The control tower when completed was 44 metres (144 ft) tall with 38 square metres (410 sq ft) of office room, and was designed with the knowledge that it would not provide the necessary line of sight to the expanded east airfield.

In February 1996, WestJet, which began as a low-cost carrier began operations with a base of operations at Calgary International, occupying an expanded area of the terminal. The airline's first flight, a Boeing 737 departed Calgary International on route to Vancouver International Airport on 29 February 1996.

### Operation Yellow Ribbon

During the September 11, 2001 attacks 13 international flights destined for the United States were diverted to Calgary International Airport as part of Operation Yellow Ribbon. The operation was a joint effort between NAV Canada and Transport Canada in communication with the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration, which facilitated the grounding of potentially destructive air traffic.

### 2000s, runway and new terminal

The Calgary Airport Authority began analyzing the facility's air capacity in the late 1990s, and found the airport could reach its maximum capacity as early as 2006. The Airport Authority and NAV Canada made a number of changes to airport operations in the 2000s to improve the efficiency and capacity of the facility, but by 2008, with a number of changes made, NAV Canada reported the airfield would begin to exceed its practical capacity. The Calgary Airport Authority planned and under the "Airport Development Program", a major development program aimed at improving the capacity and quality of the airport, which included the construction of a new runway, air traffic control tower and passenger terminal.

On 25 May 2013, the new Air Traffic Control Tower opened at Calgary International Airport. The one-year, \$25-million (equivalent to \$-million) project came in advance of the airport's new runway, and at 91 m (300 ft), the tower was the tallest free-standing control tower in Canada. The airport's previous 50 m (165 ft) control tower was demolished in October 2014.

The Calgary Airport Authority initiated the Parallel Runway Project, a \$620-million (equivalent to \$-million) project to assess and construct a new runway, which led to the construction of the 14,000 feet (4,300 m) runway 17L/35R beginning in April 2011. Upon its completion on June 28, 2014, runway 17L/35R became the longest runway in Canada. During the construction of the runway, a \$295-million (equivalent to \$-million), 620 m (2,030 ft), six-lane roadway tunnel was constructed underneath the runway to connect Barlow Trail to 36th Street N.E. The decision for Calgary City Council on whether to construct the tunnel while the runway was being constructed, or wait until a later date was a major issue during the 2010 Calgary municipal election.

The Airport Authority addressed cargo capacity through the construction of a 30,000 sq ft (2,800 m2) cargo facility in 2015 followed by a 100,000 sq ft (9,300 m2) facility constructed in 2016.

The final stage of the Calgary Airport Authority's Airport Development Program was the construction of a new \$1.6-billion (equivalent to \$-billion) international terminal. Officially opened on 31 October 2016, the international terminal 186,000 square metres (2,000,000 sq ft) facility added 24 new aircraft gates, North America's first call-to-gate passenger boarding system, CATSA Plus enhanced passenger screening system, moving walkways and dedicated electric passenger vehicle system. The international terminal was designed with several sustainable principles including 581 geothermal wells for heating and cooling, and an annual rainwater capture capacity of 800,000 litres (180,000 imp gal).

In October 2016, Transport Canada officially renamed Calgary International Airport to "YYC Calgary International Airport", affixing the "YYC" IATA code to the airport's name.

In 2020, after several months of travel restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the governments of Alberta and Canada announced a new program to enable certain travellers to enter Canada more easily. Canadian citizens and essential workers entering Canada at Calgary, as well as at the Sweetgrass–Coutts Border Crossing, can be tested for the virus and, if they test negative, will be allowed to quarantine for only 48 hours instead of the usual 14 days.

## Infrastructure

### Passenger terminals

The Calgary International Airport houses two passenger terminals, one for domestic flights and the other for international flights.

The four-storey Domestic Terminal was originally opened in 1977 and has undergone a number of renovations in the decades following. The ground level of the terminal serves as the arrivals area with baggage claim and transportation facilities present. The second level of the terminal serves as the departures level and includes airport check-in, security and access to departure gates. The basement level of the airport contains utilities and tenant storage while the mezzanine level contains a food court, airline offices and the airport authority offices. The Domestic Terminal has four concourses: Concourses A1, A2, B, and C. All A, B and C gates are shared between domestic airlines such as Air Canada and Westjet (and their subsidiaries) predominantly, as well as Flair Airlines, Lynx Air, Air North, Air Transat and Porter Airlines. Westjet primarily uses A gates, Air Canada flights primarily use C gates, and B gates are used by all airlines. Concourse A1 includes departure gates A1-A6 (used for WestJet regional non-jet flights); Concourse A2 includes gates A11-A24; Concourse B includes departure gates B31-B40; and Concourse C includes departure gates C50-C65.

The International Terminal was originally opened on 31 October 2016 and consists of five levels; utilities and baggage processing in the basement. Arrivals meet and greet areas, Canada Customs and relevant infrastructure on the ground level with departure check-in, security, US customs and the international departures concourse being located on the second floor. The third level contains the international departures concourse and finally, the mezzanine level contains the US departure lounges. The International Terminal includes gates 70 through 97 shared across two concourses: Concourse D for all flights to and from foreign countries except the US as well as domestic flights; and Concourse E for flights to and from the United States. For the International Terminal, passengers travelling to the United States clear customs and immigration prior to departure at the preclearance facility.

The Domestic Terminal is connected to the International Terminal by a 620-metre walkway corridor and path for the YYC Link Passengers Shuttles; twenty, ten-seat electric vehicles used to transport connecting passengers.

WestJet, headquartered in Calgary and for which Calgary is the hub, has criticized the design of the international terminal, which opened in 2016. The airline's CEO stated that the distance between the terminals was too long for connecting travellers and that YYC Link was insufficient to solve this problem. As a result, WestJet had to alter its schedules in order to allow additional time for passengers transiting through Calgary. The Calgary Airport Authority responded that it did not see issues with the connections process, although it said passengers would need some time to adjust to the new facilities.

### Runways

Calgary International Airport consists of two north–south parallel runways with two intersecting runways. The parallel runways are 17R/35L (west) which is generally used for aircraft arriving and departing to the west, and 17L/35R (east) which is generally used for aircraft arriving and departing to the east. During the winter months in Calgary, cold arctic air will move in from the north which means aircraft will primarily depart and arrive on north-facing runways (35R and 35L), while the summer months with warm winds from the south, aircraft will primarily take-off and land on south-facing runways (17R and 17L). The diagonal runway 11/29 is generally used when crosswinds are present, which commonly occurs in the summer when westerly Chinooks roll into Calgary, or when extreme wind conditions prohibit the use of the parallel runways. The fourth and smallest runway, 08/26, is almost exclusively used by light aircraft and the general aviation sector.

Calgary International Airport's four runways are as follows. with the following dimensions:

- Runway 08/26 is 6,200 ft × 150 ft (1,890 m × 46 m)
- Runway 11/29 is 8,000 ft × 200 ft (2,438 m × 61 m)
- Runway 17R/35L is 12,675 ft × 200 ft (3,863 m × 61 m)
- Runway 17L/35R is 14,000 ft × 200 ft (4,267 m × 61 m)

The longest runway in Canada at the time of its 2014 opening, Runway 17L/35R was built to reduce congestion and better accommodate larger, heavier aircraft: the weight of such aircraft, combined with the low air density resulting from the airport's high elevation and temperatures during the summer, means that a longer runway is necessary for take-off. Runway 17L/35R is also layered with concrete, a material more durable than the asphalt that composes the airport's other three runways.

### Cargo area

The airport has allotted an extensive amount of area for cargo operations, including over 3,000,000 square feet (280,000 m2) of warehouse space. Freight airlines such as Cargolux make regular trips to Europe, Asia, and other destinations. In 2017, the Calgary airport handled a total of 147,000 tonnes (144,678 tons) of cargo.

In 2011, Calgary International Airport received the Air Cargo World Award of Excellence for airports between 100,000 and 199,999 cargo tonnage, having the highest score for Canadian airports, and second highest for North-American airports.

### Hotels

Calgary International Airport has two hotels located on site. The Calgary Airport Marriott In-Terminal Hotel is a 10-storey, 318 room hotel located in the international passenger terminal was opened On 1 September 2016. The Delta Hotels by Marriott Calgary Airport In-Terminal located across Airport Road from the domestic passenger terminal.

### Other facilities

At 91 metres (299 ft), the airport's air traffic control tower was the tallest standalone control tower in Canada upon its opening in 2013; compared to the previous tower, it has space for more air traffic controllers and is situated closer to the centre of the airport, giving controllers better views of the airfield. Meanwhile, the headquarters of WestJet and its subsidiary WestJet Encore are located onsite.

## Airlines and destinations

### Passenger

### Cargo

## Statistics

In 2019, YYC Calgary International Airport was again the fourth-busiest airport in Canada in terms of the total number of passengers served, which was almost 18 million. This was another record year in passenger volume, surpassing the previous record set in 2018 by 3.54%.

Of the total for 2019, travellers bound for domestic destinations constituted 69.7% of all passenger traffic, while people travelling to the United States amounted to 19.6%, remaining 10.7% was traffic to international destinations, excluding United States.YYC's cargo operations grew significantly with 155,820 tonnes of cargo moving through the airport, an increase of 6.7% over the previous year.

### Passenger and cargo traffic

Calgary International Airport passenger and cargo volumes since 2010 are provided in the following table:

### Top domestic routes

## Ground transportation

Deerfoot Trail provides freeway access to the rest of the city. There is also a tunnel beneath Runway 17L/35R that links the east side of the airport site to the terminal buildings. Two parking garages and a rental-car facility are situated across from the terminals. Public transport options are also available at the airport: Buses operated by Calgary Transit link YYC Calgary International to downtown, a nearby station of the local CTrain light-rail network, and other parts of the city.It is in future plans by Calgary Transit's CTrain system to have a Grey Line to go to YYC Calgary International Airport from the expanded Blue line, and further toward the expanded Green Line.

## Notable accidents and incidents

- On 10 May 1945, Royal Air Force No. 105 Squadron de Havilland DH.98 Mosquito B Mk IX (LR503) struck the control tower roof shortly after takeoff, shearing off the planes port wing, and crashed into the ground killing both crew members. The Mosquito, known as "F for Freddie" was a survivor of 213 operations over Europe, and crashed while performing a low level pass for spectators prior to flying to Red Deer and Lethbridge as part of cross country tour to support to garner support for 8th Victory Loan Drive.
- On 24 August 1963, West Coast Airlines Flight 794, a Fairchild F-27 departing from Spokane International Airport to Calgary via Cranbrook made a crash-landing shortly before the runway. The probable cause of the accident was the pilot failed to maintain the approved minimum altitude on approach. There were no fatalities.
- On 22 March 1984, Pacific Western Airlines Flight 501, a Boeing 737-200, aborted a take-off and exited the runway onto a taxiway after a component of the left engine broke off and hit the fuel stores in the wing, resulting in a fire that spread over the left and back portions of the plane. The flight attendants evacuated all passengers, while some suffered severe injuries, all the occupants survived.
- On 17 July 1990, an Ecuadorian Air Force de Havilland Canada DHC-5 Buffalo (Registration HC-BFH) being ferried to Calgary from Quito, via Billings, had the nosegear collapse following touchdown on runway 28, igniting hydraulic fuel and resulting in the aircraft burning out. There were no fatalities.

## See also

- List of the busiest airports in North America

Airport in Alberta, Canada

Canadian airports with United States border preclearance


Rameswaram

Rameswaram (; also transliterated as Ramesvaram, Rameshwaram) is a municipality in the Ramanathapuram district of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is on Pamban Island separated from mainland India by the Pamban channel and is about 40 kilometres from Mannar Island, Sri Lanka. It is in the Gulf of Mannar, at the tip of the Indian peninsula. Pamban Island, also known as Rameswaram Island, is connected to mainland India by the Pamban Bridge. Rameswaram is the terminus of the railway line from Chennai and Madurai. Together with Varanasi, it is considered to be one of the holiest places in India to Hindus and is part of the Char Dham pilgrimage.

According to the Ramayana, Rama is described to have built a bridge from the region approximating this town across the sea to Lanka to rescue his wife Sita from her abductor Ravana. The temple, dedicated to the Hindu god Shiva, is at the centre of the town and is closely associated with Rama and Shiva. The temple and the town are considered a holy pilgrimage site for Shaivas and Vaishnavas.

Rameswaram is the second closest point from which to reach Sri Lanka from India and geological evidence suggests that the Rama Sethu was a former land connection between India and Sri Lanka.

The town has been in the news in past due to controversies such as the Sethusamudram Shipping Canal Project, Kachchatheevu, Sri Lankan Tamil refugees and capturing local fishermen for alleged cross-border activities by Sri Lankan Forces.

Rameswaram is administered by a municipality established in 1994. The town covers an area of 53 km2 (20 sq mi) and had a population of 44,856 as of 2011. Tourism and fishery employ the majority of workforce in Rameswaram.

## Legend

Rameswaram means "Lord of Rama" (Rāma-īśvaram) in Sanskrit, an epithet of Shiva, the presiding deity of the Ramanathaswamy Temple. According to Hindu epic Ramayana, Rama, the seventh avatar of the god Vishnu, prayed to Shiva here to absolve any sins that he might have committed during his war against the demon-king Ravana in Sri Lanka. According to the Puranas (Hindu scriptures), upon the advice of sages, Rama, along with his wife Sita and his brother Lakshmana, installed and worshipped the lingam (an iconic symbol of Shiva) here to expiate the sin of Brahmahatya incurred while killing of the Brahmin Ravana. To worship Shiva, Rama wanted to have a lingam and directed his trusted lieutenant Hanuman to bring it from Himalayas. Since it took longer to bring the lingam, Sita built a lingam made of sand from the nearby seashore, which is also believed to be the one in the sanctum of the temple. Sethu Karai is a place 22 km before the island of Rameswaram from where Rama is believed to have built a floating stone bridge, the Ramsetu bridge, that further continued to Dhanushkodi in Rameswaram till Talaimannar in Sri Lanka. According to another version, as quoted in Adhyatma Ramayana, Rama installed the lingam before the construction of the bridge to Lanka.

## History

The history of Rameswaram is centred around the island being a transit point to reach Sri Lanka (Ceylon historically) and the presence of Ramanathaswamy Temple. Tevaram, the 7th–8th century Tamil compositions on Shiva by the three prominent Nayanars (Saivites) namely Appar, Sundarar and Thirugnanasambandar. The Chola king Rajendra Chola I (1012–1040 CE) had a control of the town for a short period. The Jaffna kingdom (1215–1624 CE) had close connections with the island and claimed the title Setukavalan meaning custodians of the Rameswaram. Hinduism was their state religion and they made generous contribution to the temple. Setu was used in their coins as well as in inscriptions as marker of the dynasty.

According to Firishta, Malik Kafur, the head general of Alauddin Khalji, the ruler of Delhi Sultanate, reached Rameswaram during his political campaign in spite of stiff resistance from the Pandyan princes in the early 14th century. He erected a mosque by name Alia al-Din Khaldji in honour of victory of Islam. During the early 15th century, the present day Ramanathapuram, Kamuthi and Rameswaram were included in the Pandya dynasty. In 1520 CE, the town came under the rule of Vijayanagara Empire. The Sethupathis, the breakaway from Madurai Nayaks, ruled Ramanathapuram and contributed to the Ramanathaswamy temple. The most notable of them are the contributions of Muthu Kumara Ragunatha and Muthu Ramalinga Sethupathi, who transformed the temple to an architectural ensemble. The region then fell under the rule of different leaders Chanda Sahib (1740–1754 CE), Arcot Nawab and Muhammed Yusuf Khan (1725–1764 CE) in the middle of the 18th century. In 1795 CE, Rameswaram came under the direct control of the British East India Company and was annexed to the Madras Presidency. After 1947, the town became a part of Independent India.

## Geography

Rameswaram has an average elevation of 10 m (33 ft). The island is spread across an area of 61.8 km2 (23.9 sq mi) and is in the shape of a conch. 74% of the area has sandy soil due to the presence of sea and it has many islands surrounding it, the Palk Strait in the north west and Gulf of Mannar in the south East. The Ramanathaswamy Temple occupies major area of Rameswaram. The beach of Rameswaram is featured with no waves at all – the sea waves rise to a maximum height of 3 cm (0.10 ft) and the view looks like a very big river.

Rameswaram has dry tropical climate with low humidity, with average monthly rainfall of 75.73 mm (2.981 in), mostly from North-East monsoon from October to January. The highest ever temperature recorded at Pamban station was 37 °C and the lowest was 17 °C.

Ramsetu Bridge is a chain of limestone shoals, between Rameswaram and Mannar Island, off the northwestern coast of Sri Lanka. Geological evidence suggests that this bridge is a former land connection between India and Sri Lanka. The bridge is 29 km (18 mi) long and separates the Gulf of Mannar (North-East) from the Palk Strait (South-West). It was reportedly passable on foot up to the 15th century until storms deepened the channel. The temple records record that Rama's Bridge was completely above sea level until it broke in a cyclone in 1480 CE. The bridge was first mentioned in the ancient Indian Sanskrit epic Ramayana of Valmiki. The name Rama's Bridge or Rama Setu (Sanskrit; setu: bridge) refers to the bridge built by the Vanara (ape men) army of Rama in Hindu mythology, which he used to reach Lanka and rescue his wife Sita from the demon king Ravana. The Ramayana attributes the building of this bridge to Rama in verse 2-22-76, naming it as Setubandhanam. The sea separating India and Sri Lanka is called Sethusamudram meaning "Sea of the Bridge". Maps prepared by a Dutch cartographer in 1747 CE, available at the Tanjore Saraswathi Mahal Library show this area as Ramancoil, a colloquial form of the Tamil Raman Kovil (or Rama's Temple). Many other maps in Schwartzberg's historical atlas and other sources such as travel texts by Marco Polo call this area by various names such as Adam's Bridge, Sethubandha and Sethubandha Rameswaram.

## Demographics

According to 2011 census, Rameswaram had a population of 44,856 with a sex-ratio of 969 females for every 1,000 males, much above the national average of 929. A total of 5,022 were under the age of six, constituting 2,544 males and 2,478 females. Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes accounted for 6.8% and .03% of the population respectively. The average literacy of the town was 73.36%, compared to the national average of 72.99%. The town had a total of 10579 households. There were a total of 16,645 workers, comprising 69 cultivators, 20 main agricultural labourers, 148 in house hold industries, 15,130 other workers, 1,278 marginal workers, 11 marginal cultivators, 26 marginal agricultural labourers, 44 marginal workers in household industries and 1,197 other marginal workers. The total number of households below poverty lane (BPL) in 2003 were 976, which is 10.45% of the total households in the town and these were raised to 3003 (29.12%) in 2007.

As per the religious census of 2011, Rameswaram had 87.4% Hindus, 4.36% Muslims, 8.13% Christians, 0.03% Sikhs, 0.01% Buddhists, and 0.07% following other religions.

## Municipal Administration and politics

According to the Madras Presidency Panchayat Act of 1885, Rameswaram was declared a panchyat union during British times. It became a township during 1958 and was declared a municipality in 2004. Rameswaram is a 3rd grade municipality having 21 wards, out of which 6 are general wards for women and one is reserved for Scheduled Caste women. The major sources of budgeted income for Rameswaram municipality comes from the Devolution Fund of ₹17 million (equivalent to ₹38 million or US\$480,000 in 2023) and property tax of ₹2.4 million (equivalent to ₹5.4 million or US\$67,000 in 2023). The major expense heads are for salaries of ₹6 million (equivalent to ₹13 million or US\$170,000 in 2023), operating expenses of ₹3.7 million (equivalent to ₹8.3 million or US\$100,000 in 2023), and repair & maintenance expenditure of ₹2.3 million (equivalent to ₹5.1 million or US\$64,000 in 2023). The functions of the municipality are devolved into six departments: General, Engineering, Revenue, Public Health, Town planning and the Computer Wing. All these departments are under the control of a Municipal Commissioner who is the supreme executive head. The legislative powers are vested in a body of 21 members, one each from the 21 wards. The legislative body is headed by an elected Chairperson assisted by a Deputy Chairperson.

Rameswaram comes under the Ramanathapuram assembly constituency and it elects a member to the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly once every five years. The current MLA of the constituency is Dr. Manikandan from the AIADMK.

Rameswaram is a part of the Ramanathapuram (Lok Sabha constituency) – it has been realigned in 2008 to have the following assembly constituencies – Paramakudi (SC), Ramanathapuram, Mudukulathur, Aranthangi, Tiruchuli (newly created). The constituency was traditionally a stronghold of the Indian National Congress that won 6 times till the 1991 elections, after which it was won twice each by the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (ADMK) and the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK). The current Member of Parliament from the constituency is A. Anwhar Raajhaa from the AIADMK party.

## Economy

Being a pilgrimage town, the majority of the population is involved in tourism related industry consisting of trade and services. Service sector increased from 70% in 1971 to 98.78% in 2001, while the agricultural sector reduced from 23% in 1971 to 0.13% in 2001. Rameswaram is an industrially backward town – there has been no demarcation for industrial land due to the pilgrim sanctity and ecological fragile geography. Being an island town, the traditional occupation was fishing, but due to poor returns, the people in fishing community have gradually shifted to other professions. Banks such as State Bank of India, Indian Bank, Union Bank of India and RDCC Bank have their branches in Rameswaram.

## Transport and Communication

Pamban Bridge is a cantilever bridge on the Palk Strait that connects Rameswaram to mainland India. The railway bridge is 6,776 ft (2,065 m) and was opened to traffic in 1914. The railroad bridge is a double-leaf bascule bridge section that can be raised to let ships pass under it . The railway bridge historically carried metre-gauge trains on it, but Indian Railways upgraded the bridge to carry broad-gauge trains in a project that finished on 12 August 2007. Historically, the two leaves of the bridge were opened manually using levers by workers. About 10 ships – cargo carriers, coast guard ships, fishing vessels and oil tankers pass through the bridge every month. After completion of bridge, metre-gauge lines were laid from Mandapam up to Pamban Station, from where the railway lines bifurcated into two directions, one towards Rameswaram about 6.25 miles (10.06 km) up and another branch line of 15 miles (24 km) terminating at Dhanushkodi. The noted Boat Mail ran on this track between 1915 and 1964 from Chennai Egmore up to Dhanushkodi, from where the passengers were ferried to Talaimannar in Ceylon. The metre-gauge branch line from Pamban Junction to Dhanushkodi was abandoned after it was destroyed in a cyclone in 1964.

There are daily express trains connecting major cities in Tamil Nadu like Chennai, Madurai, Trichy and Coimbatore. There are express and passenger trains connecting to major destinations. The Ramanathapuram – Rameswaram National Highway is the main connecting link from Rameswaram to the mainland. Before the 1914 train service linked the mainland with Rameswaram, boats were the only mode of transport to Rameswaram island.

The Rameswaram municipality covers a total road length of 52 km and 20 km of national highway covering about 80 percent of the town. The Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation runs daily services connecting various cities to Rameswaram and operates a computerised reservation centre in the municipal bus stand of Rameswaram.

Rameswaram is the important port among all the ports in the district, having a ferry service to Talaimannar of Sri Lanka, though not operational throughout the year. Limited foreign trade is conducted with Jaffna, Kaits, Talaimannar and Colombo.

The Rameswaram TV Tower is the tallest tower in India. The tower is a 323m tall circular concrete tower with a square steel mast of 45m height, diameter of 24m at the bottom tapering to 6.5m at top. The tower has been designed for a wind velocity of 160 km/h. There are two lighthouses in Rameswaram, the Pamban lighthouse and Rameswaram lighthouse.

## Education and utility services

Ramanathapuram district has one of the lowest literacy rates in the state of Tamil Nadu and Rameswaram, following the district statistics has a lower literacy rate. There are two Government high schools, one each for boys and girls. There are seven other schools namely, Swami Vivekananda vidyalaya Matriculation School, St. Joseph Higher Secondary School, Mandapam Panchayat Union 9 – School, Micro Matriculation School, Sri Sankara Vidhyalaya, Holy Island Little Flower School and Kendriya Vidhyalaya School. Alagappa University Evening College is the only college present in the town and all the nearest colleges are located in Ramanathapuram and Paramakudi.

Electricity supply to the town is regulated and distributed by the Ramanathapuram circle of Tamil Nadu Electricity Board (TNEB). Water supply is provided by the Rameswaram Municipality – the head works is located at Nambunayaki Amman Kovil, Meyyambuli, Semmamadam & Natarajapuram and distributed through four over head tanks having a total capacity of 1430,000 litres. About 6 metric tonnes of solid waste are collected from the town every day in the four zones covering the whole of the town. Rameswaram does not have a sewerage system for disposal of sullage and the disposal system consists of septic tanks and public conveniences. Roadside drains carry untreated sewage out of the town to let out raw into the sea or accumulates in low-lying area.

Rameswaram comes under the Karaikudi Telecom circle of the Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL), India's state-owned telecom and internet services provider. Apart from telecom, BSNL also provides broadband internet service along with other major internet service provider including Reliance.

## Tourism

The town is a famous Hindu pilgrimage centre, attracting the visit of thousands of devotees everyday. Adherents assemble to receive a darshana (auspicious sight) of the temple's image of the deity Shiva, which is regarded to have been installed by Rama according to the regional legend.

### Ramanathaswamy Temple

The Ramanathaswamy Temple is the most notable historic landmark of the town. Located in the centre of town, It is a famous Hindu temple dedicated to the deity Shiva. The temple is one of the 12 Jyotirlinga shrines, where Shiva is worshipped in the form of a Jyotirlinga, meaning "pillar of light". It is also one of the 275 Paadal Petra Sthalam temples and is glorified in hymns by the three of the most revered Nayanar saints (7th century Saivite saints), Appar, Sundarar, and Tirugnana Sambandar. The temple in its current structure was built during the 12th century by Pandya Dynasty. The temple has the longest corridor among all Hindu temples in India. The breadth of these columned corridors varies from 17 to 21 feet with a height of 25 feet. Each pillar is sculpted in Nayak style as in Madurai Meenakshi Amman Temple. The contribution of the kings of the Sethupathy dynasty (17th century) to the temple was considerable. Large amount of money was spent during the tenure of Pradani Muthirulappa Pillai towards the restoration of the pagodas which were falling into ruins – the Chockattan Mantapam or the cloistered precincts of the temple was reconstructed by him. The rulers of Sri Lanka contributed to the temple – Parakrama Bahu (1153–1186 CE) was involved in the construction of the sanctum sanctorum of the temple. The eastern tower and shrine of Nataraja were built by Dalavai Sethupathy in 1649 CE. The second enclosure is ascribed to Chinna Udayar Sethupathy and his son Ragunatha Thirumalai (1500–1540 CE). The third enclosure was constructed by Muthu Ramalinga Sethupathy (1725–1771 CE) – his statue is located in the entrance of the corridor.

### Temple tanks

There are sixty-four Tīrthas or Tirthams (holy water bodies) in and around Rameswaram. According to the Skanda Purana, twenty-four of them are important. Of the 24, 14 are in the form of tanks and wells within the precincts of the temple. Bathing in these tanks is a major aspect of the pilgrimage to Rameswaram and is considered equivalent to penance. Twenty-two of the tanks are within the Ramanathaswamy Temple. The foremost one is called Agni Tirtham, the sea (Bay of Bengal). Jatayu, a vulture/eagle demigod, is believed to have fought in vain with the rakshasa-king Ravana to save Sita, and is said to have fallen down at Jatayu Tirtham, as his wings were severed. Villoondi Tirtham literally translates to 'buried bow', is located around 7 kilometres from the main temple on the way to Pamban. It is believed to be the place where Rama quenched the thirst of Sita by dipping the bow into the sea water. Other major holy bodies are Hanuman Tirtham, Sugriva Tirtham, and Lakshmana Tirtham.

### Gandhamathana Parvatham

Gandhamathan Parvatham, a hillock situated 3 km to the north of the temple is the highest point in the island. In a two-storeyed hall, Rama's feet are venerated by adherents as an imprint on a chakra (wheel). The Ramarpatham Temple is located on the hillock.

### Dhanushkodi

Dhanushkodi is the southernmost tip of the island and houses the Kothandaramaswamy Temple dedicated to Rama. Though Dhanushkodi was washed away during the 1964 cyclone, the temple alone remained intact. It is 18 km way from the centre of the town and can be reached by road. According to local tradition, Dhanushkodi is the site where Vibhishana, a brother of Ravana, surrendered to Rama in the epic Ramayana.

### Hindu pilgrimage

Rameswaram is significant for many Hindus as a pilgrimage to Varanasi is considered to be incomplete without a pilgrimage to Rameswaram. The town along with the Ramanathaswamy temple is one of the holiest Hindu Char Dham (four divine sites) sites comprising Badrinath, Puri, and Dwarka. Though the origins are not clearly known, the Advaita school of Hinduism established by Sankaracharya, attributes the origin of Char Dham to the seer. The four monasteries are located across the four corners of India and their attendant temples are Badrinath Temple at Badrinath in the North, Jagannath Temple at Puri in the East, Dwarakadheesh Temple at Dwarka in the West and Ramanathaswamy Temple at Rameswaram in the South. Though ideologically the temples are divided between the sects of Hinduism, namely Shaivism and Vaishnavism, the Char Dham pilgrimage is an all Hindu affair. The journey across the four cardinal points in India is considered sacred by Hindus who aspire to visit these temples once in their lifetime. Traditionally the trip starts at the eastern end from Puri, proceeding in clockwise direction in a manner typically followed for circuambulation in Hindu temples. The temple is one of the famous pilgrimage sites historically – the Maratha kings who ruled Thanjavur established chatrams or rest houses all through Mayiladuthurai and Rameswaram between 1745 and 1837 CE and donated them to the temple.

## Interaction with Sri Lanka

Rameswaram is frequently in headlines over fishermen issues like attack, arrest and alleged harassment by Sri Lankan navy for alleged cross border activities, Sethusamudram canal project, Kachchatheevu, Sri Lankan Tamil refugees and also on intercountry smuggling between India and Sri Lanka. As an initial step to curb enhanced smuggling, the Tamil Nadu government has set up 30 more marine police stations to bring the state's entire coastal belt under close vigil.

### Sri Lankan Tamil Refugees

During the intense civil war of Sri Lanka, post 1980, Rameswaram acted as one of the focal points of smuggling and intense patrolling was carried out during the period. There are a total of 65,940 registered destitute Sri Lankan refugees dwelling in 129 Refugee camps situated in different parts of Tamil Nadu as of Apr 2000 and a majority of them enter via Rameswaram. There are an additional 20,667 non-camp refugees who entered via Rameswaram, registered in Mandapam transit camp and opted to reside outside the camps in various parts of Tamil Nadu. On 11 March 1990, a record number of 2,337 refugees in 38 boats arrived from Talaimannar in Sri Lanka to Rameswaram – this was the largest number of refugees arriving in a single day since the ethnic violence from July 1983. As of October 2006, an estimated 200,000 refugees have been reported in Mandapam Camp. Sivarasan, one of the mastermind behind the Assassination of Rajiv Gandhi, the ex-prime minister of India registered as refugee in Rameswaram camp on 12 September 1990.

### Rameswaram Fishery

Being an island, a significant population is involved in fishery traditionally. There have been incremental cases of Rameswaram fishermen allegedly killed or arrested by Sri Lankan navy along the maritime borders of India and Sri Lanka from the time of Sri Lankan civil war during 1983. In the face of simmering tension after the 1985 January Colombo bound Yaldevi train attack in which 22 Sri Lankan soldiers and 16 civilians were killed, Rameswaram fishermen dared to venture to seas spelling acute hardship for the 10,000 fishermen family. An estimated 381 fishermen have been killed in the sea due to shoot outs from 1983 to 2009. The Sri Lankan army attributed the killings to the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), but the casualty continues even after the end of LTTE in the region. The Tamil Nadu state government has increased the compensation of casualty from the original ₹ 100,000 to 500,000 (US\$1,800 to \$9,000). There has not been a single prosecution in any of the 381 killings committed so far from the Indian judiciary. The cases not being filed is attributed to the fact that people killed beyond the maritime boundary of India are not eligible for compensation and not many file complaints against the Sri Lankan navy. Though the Indian judiciary has provisions to prosecute foreigners, there is little progress due to the diplomatic overheads involved. Indian government has also ventured into the use of technology like use of Global positioning system (GPS) by the fishermen and enabling cellphone blips to alert their mobile phones whenever they are crossing into Sri Lankan waters. The Sri Lankan navy has confirmed reports on Indian fishermen risking the international boundary due to depleted catch in Indian waters.

There is a yearly 45-day ban on fishery with motorboats in the region. The fishing ban for the year 2012 was effective during the months of April–May. The jetty at Rameswaram is the largest landing centre for fishing boats in the region and it usually comes alive after the ban, with the arrival of fishermen, boat captains, shore workers and others from their native places.

Sea World Aquarium is a natural habitat lying opposite to the Rameswaram Bus Stand, having an assortment of underwater creatures – it is the only one of its kind in the state, filled with such varied marine life forms including exotic species.

### Kachchatheevu

Another focal point on the simmering tension between Indian and Sri Lankan governments is over the use of Kachchatheevu, an uninhabited island 15 km north of Rameswaram, belonging to Sri Lanka. The accord of 1974 allows fishermen of both the countries for resting and soaking the nets in the island. Repeated allegations on attacks by the Lankan navy, which on many occasions killed Indian fishermen, prevented them from making it to the island. The annual two-day Saint Anthony fest at the island draws huge number of people from the fishermen community of both the countries. The number of pilgrims for the 2012 function crossed 4,000, the largest attendance in the past two decades. The feast also provides an opportunity for the Indian fishermen to meet their Sri Lankan counterparts and exchange views on their mutual problems. The event served as a meeting point to find brides and grooms from both countries, but this practice has now been stopped from the 90s due to political constraint of fishermen family living in different countries.

### Sethusamudram Canal Project

Sethusamudram Shipping Canal Project proposes linking the Palk Bay and the Gulf of Mannar between India and Sri Lanka by creating a shipping canal through the shallow sea sometimes called Setu Samudram, and through the chain of islands variously known as Ram Setu or the Rama's Bridge. A few organisations are opposing the dredging of Rama Setu on religious, environmental and economical grounds. Many of these parties and organisations support implementation of this project using one of the five alternative alignments considered earlier without damaging the structure considered sacred by Hindus. With 22 km (14 mi) of dredging remaining, the project is held from March 2010 by a Supreme Court order seeking the Central Government to clarify the status of the bridge as a national monument.

## Notable people

- A. P. J. Abdul Kalam (1931–2015) – former President of India (2002–2007), Ex-secretary of Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), Prime minister's chief scientific advisor, Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) scientist and Bharat Ratna recipient.

## See also

- Coral reefs in India

Pilgrimage centre and a town in Tamilnadu, India

Cities and towns in Ramanathapuram district


James Franco

James Edward Franco (born April 19, 1978) is an American actor and filmmaker. He has starred in numerous films, including Sam Raimi's Spider-Man trilogy (2002–2007), Milk (2008), Eat Pray Love (2010), Rise of the Planet of the Apes (2011), Spring Breakers (2012), and Oz the Great and Powerful (2013). He is known for his collaborations with fellow actor Seth Rogen, having appeared in eight films and one television series with him, examples being Pineapple Express (2008), This Is the End (2013), Sausage Party (2016), and The Disaster Artist (2017), for which he won a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor. For his role in 127 Hours (2010), he was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actor.

Franco is also known for his work on television where his first prominent acting role was the character Daniel Desario on the short-lived ensemble comedy-drama Freaks and Geeks (1999–2000), which developed a cult following. He portrayed the title character in the television biographical film James Dean (2001), for which he won a Golden Globe Award, and received nominations for Screen Actors Guild Award and Primetime Emmy Award. Franco had a recurring role on the daytime soap opera General Hospital (2009–2012) and starred in the limited series 11.22.63 (2016). He starred in the David Simon-created HBO drama The Deuce (2017–2019).

Franco volunteers for The Art of Elysium charity and has taught film classes at numerous schools. Franco admitted to having sex with several of his students during his time as a teacher, which led to lawsuits and a \$2 million sexual-misconduct settlement in 2021.

## Early life

James Edward Franco was born in Palo Alto, California on April 19, 1978. His mother, Betsy Lou (née Verne), is a children's book author and occasional actress, and his father, Douglas Eugene Franco, ran a Silicon Valley business. His father was of Portuguese and Swedish ancestry, while his mother was from a family of Russian Jews. His paternal grandmother, Marjorie (née Peterson), is a published author of young adult books. His maternal grandfather, Daniel, changed his surname from "Verovitz" to "Verne" some time after 1940, and his maternal grandmother, Mitzie (née Levine), owned the prominent Verne Art Gallery in Cleveland, Ohio and was an active member in the National Council of Jewish Women.

Franco's family upbringing was "academic, liberal, and largely secular". He grew up in California with his two younger brothers, actors Tom and Dave. A "math whiz", Franco interned at Lockheed Martin. He was often encouraged by his father to get good grades and did well on the SAT. He graduated from Palo Alto High School in 1996, where he acted in plays. This led to him attending CSSSA in 1998 for theater studies. In his high school years, Franco was arrested for underage drinking, graffiti, and being a part of a group that stole designer fragrances from department stores and sold them to classmates. These arrests led to Franco briefly becoming a ward of the state. Facing the possibility of juvenile hall, he was given a second chance by the judge. He recalled of his troubles with the law, "It was teen angst. I was uncomfortable in my own skin. I was shy. I changed my ways just in time to get good grades."

Although the idea of becoming a marine zoologist interested him, Franco had always secretly wanted to become an actor but feared being rejected. He enrolled at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) as an English major, but dropped out after his first year (against his parents' wishes) to pursue a career as an actor, since he would have had to wait two years to audition for their acting program. He instead chose to take acting lessons with Robert Carnegie at the Playhouse West. Around this time, he took up a late-night job at McDonald's to support himself because his parents refused to do so. He was a vegetarian for the year prior to working there. While working at the establishment, he would practice accents on customers, an experience he remembered nostalgically in a 2015 Washington Post editorial titled "McDonald's was there for me when no one else was".

## Acting career

### 1997–2001

After 15 months of training, Franco began auditioning in Los Angeles. His first paid role was a television commercial for Pizza Hut, featuring a dancing Elvis Presley. He found guest roles on television shows but his first break came in 1999, after he was cast in a leading role on the short-lived but well-reviewed NBC television series Freaks and Geeks, which ran for 18 episodes and was canceled due to low viewership. Later, the show became a cult hit among audiences. He has since described the series as "one of the most fun" work experiences that he has had. In another interview, Franco said: "When we were doing Freaks and Geeks, I didn't quite understand how movies and TV worked, and I would improvise even if the camera wasn't on me ... So I was improvising a little bit back then, but not in a productive way." After his film debut Never Been Kissed, he played a popular jock Chris in Whatever It Takes (2000), a modern-day remake of the 1897 play Cyrano de Bergerac.

He was subsequently cast as the title role in director Mark Rydell's 2001 TV biographical film James Dean. To immerse himself in the role, Franco went from being a non-smoker to smoking two packs of cigarettes a day, bleached his dark brown hair blond, and learned to ride a motorcycle as well as play guitar and the bongos. To have a greater understanding of Dean, Franco spent hours with two of Dean's associates. Other research included reading books on Dean and studying his movies. While filming James Dean, Franco, to get into character, cut off communication with his family and friends, as well as his then-girlfriend. "It was a very lonely existence," he notes. "If I wasn't on a set, I was watching James Dean. That was my whole thinking. James Dean. James Dean." Despite already being a fan of Dean, Franco feared he might be typecast if he'd captured the actor too convincingly. Ken Tucker of Entertainment Weekly wrote: "Franco could have walked through the role and done a passable Dean, but instead gets under the skin of this insecure, rootless young man." He received a Golden Globe Award and nominations for an Emmy Award and a Screen Actors Guild Award (SAG).

### 2002–2007

Franco achieved worldwide fame and attention in the 2002 superhero film Spider-Man, when he played Harry Osborn, the son of the villainous Green Goblin (Willem Dafoe) and best friend of Spider-Man (Tobey Maguire). Originally, Franco was considered for the lead role of Spider-Man/Peter Parker in the film. Todd McCarthy of Variety noted that there are "good moments" between Maguire and Franco in the film. Spider-Man was a commercial and critical success. The movie grossed \$114 million during its opening weekend in North America and went on to earn \$822 million worldwide.

He next starred in Sonny, a 2002 release in which he was directed by fellow actor Nicolas Cage, whose involvement had attracted Franco to the film. Set in 1980s New Orleans, Sonny follows the titular character (Franco) returning home after just being discharged from the Army. To prepare for his role, he met with sex workers or people who had previously been prostitutes. The movie was panned by critics, with the New York Post'''s Lou Lumenick calling it an "instant candidate for worst movie of the year". Franco was cast as a homeless drug addict in the drama City by the Sea (2002) after co-star Robert De Niro saw a snippet of his work in James Dean. He lived on the streets for several days to better understand the subject matter as well as talking to former or still-using drug addicts. He also co-starred with Neve Campbell in Robert Altman's ballet movie The Company (2003). The success of the first Spider-Man film led Franco to reprise the role in the 2004 sequel, Spider-Man 2. The movie was well received by critics, and it proved to be a big financial success, setting a new opening weekend box office record for North America. With a revenue of \$783 million worldwide, it became the second highest-grossing film in 2004. The following year he made and starred in the black comedy The Ape and the 2005 war film The Great Raid, in which he portrayed Robert Prince, a captain in the United States Army's elite Sixth Ranger Battalion. In 2006, Franco co-starred with Tyrese Gibson in Annapolis and played legendary hero Tristan in Tristan & Isolde, a period piece dramatization of the Tristan and Iseult story also starring British actress Sophia Myles. For the former, he did eight months of boxing training and for the latter, he practiced horseback riding and sword fighting. He then completed training for his Private Pilot Licence in preparation for his role in Flyboys, which was released in September 2006; the same month, Franco appeared briefly in The Wicker Man, the remake of the seminal horror film. Also in 2006, he made a cameo appearance in the romantic comedy The Holiday.

He again played Harry Osborn in Spider-Man 3 (2007). In contrast to the previous two films' positive reviews, Spider-Man 3 was met with a mixed reception by critics. Nonetheless, with a total worldwide gross of \$891 million, it stands as the most successful film in the series, and Franco's highest-grossing film to date. In this same year, Franco made a cameo appearance as himself in the Apatow-directed comedy Knocked Up, which starred Freaks and Geeks alumni Seth Rogen, Jason Segel and Martin Starr. Franco co-starred with Sienna Miller in the low-budget independent film Camille, a dark fantasy dramedy about a young newlywed couple and Interview, where he appears in a voice only role, both 2007 movies that were ignored by audiences and critics alike. Among his other 2007 projects were Good Time Max, which Franco wrote, directed and starred in. The movie premiered at the 2007 Tribeca Film Festival and tells the story of two talented brothers who take very diverse paths in life, one going on to become a doctor whilst the other sibling (Franco) experiences unemployment and uses drugs. The actor chose to cast himself in that role because, "It was really just a process of elimination. I was better suited for this role than the responsible surgeon".

### 2008–2010

He next starred in Pineapple Express (2008), a stoner comedy co-starring and co-written by Seth Rogen and produced by Judd Apatow. Of Franco's character, Apatow said, "You tell him, 'Okay, you're going to play a pot dealer', and he comes back with a three-dimensional character you totally believe exists. He takes it very seriously, even when it's comedy". In her New York Times review, critic Manohla Dargis wrote: "He's delightful as Saul, loosey-goosey and goofy yet irrepressibly sexy, despite that greasy curtain of hair and a crash pad with a zero WAF (Woman Acceptance Factor). It's an unshowy, generous performance and it greatly humanizes a movie that, as it shifts genre gears and cranks up the noise, becomes disappointingly sober and self-serious". His performance earned him a second Golden Globe nomination, for Best Actor in a Musical or Comedy. He has stated in some interviews that he no longer uses cannabis (although he has occasionally alluded to smoking it, most notably during an extended segment on The Colbert Report). He was awarded High Times magazine's Stoner of the Year Award for his work in Pineapple Express. In 2008 he also appeared in two films by American artist Carter, exhibited at the Yvon Lambert gallery in Paris. On September 20, 2008, he hosted the sketch comedy show Saturday Night Live (SNL), and a second time on December 19, 2009.

Franco starred with Sean Penn, Josh Brolin and Emile Hirsch, in Gus Van Sant's Milk (2008). In the film he plays Scott Smith, the boyfriend of Harvey Milk (Penn). Kenneth Turan of the Los Angeles Times, in review of the film, wrote: "Franco is a nice match for him [Penn] as the lover who finally has enough of political life". For his performance in the film, Franco won the Independent Spirit Award in the category for Best Supporting Actor. In late 2009 he joined the cast of the daytime soap opera General Hospital on a recurring basis. He plays Franco, a multimedia artist much like himself, who comes to Port Charles to do an art exhibition and becomes obsessed with Jason Morgan (Steve Burton). Franco has called his General Hospital role performance art.

Franco began 2010 by making an appearance on the sitcom 30 Rock where he played himself and carried on a fake romance with Jenna Maroney (Jane Krakowski) in a scheme concocted by their respective agents. After appearing in the commercial successes Date Night, an action comedy, and Eat Pray Love, an adaption of a novel, Franco played poet Allen Ginsberg in the drama Howl, released on September 24. The latter, about his most known poem and the trial about the work, premiered at the Berlin Film Festival and earned modest reviews.

In his next project, 127 Hours, directed by Danny Boyle, Franco portrayed real-life mountain climber Aron Ralston. It was given a limited release starting on November 5, 2010. 127 Hours centered on Ralston trying to free his hand after it became trapped under a boulder in a ravine while canyoneering alone in Utah and resorting to desperate measures in order to survive, eventually amputating his arm. During the five-week, 12-hours-per-day shoot, Franco would only leave the gully set to use the lavatory and would read books such as academic textbooks to keep busy. Franco later called making 127 Hours a once-in-a-lifetime experience. To date, 127 Hours is one of his most well-reviewed movies and was also a commercial success, earning \$60.7 million against an \$18 million budget. His performance earned him universal acclaim from critics. Subsequently, he was nominated for an Academy Award, Golden Globe and SAG award, as well as winning an Independent Spirit Award.

### 2011–present

On February 23, 2011, Franco made a cameo appearance on NBC's Minute to Win It where the real-life Ralston was participating as a contestant playing for charity. After having an uncredited cameo in the opening scene of The Green Hornet (2011), he starred opposite Natalie Portman and Danny McBride in the Medieval fantasy comedy Your Highness. In the film, he plays Fabious, a prince who teams up with his brother (McBride) to rescue the soon to be bride of Fabious (played by Zooey Deschanel). In May 2010, he was cast to star in Rupert Wyatt's \$93 million budgeted Rise of the Planet of the Apes, a reboot of the Planet of the Apes series which was released on August 5. Franco starred alongside Winona Ryder in The Letter, originally entitled The Stare, directed by Jay Anania. He was cast as a drug-addicted lawyer in About Cherry, also starring Heather Graham, which started shooting the following month in California. He dropped out of the indie film While We're Young to star in Oz the Great and Powerful, a Disney prequel to L. Frank Baum's The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (1900). Filming began in July 2011, and the film was released on March 8, 2013. He has signed to do a sequel to it.

At the end of September 2010, the actor acquired the rights to Stephen Elliott's The Adderall Diaries, with the intention to adapt, direct, and star in the film. It was announced in January 2011 that the actor has planned to not only star in, but direct himself in The Night Stalker, a film version of author Philip Carlo's book about the 1980s serial killer, Richard Ramirez. Co-screenwriter of the screenplay, Nicholas Constantine, was initially unconvinced that Franco would be right for the movie, until he learned of Franco's desire to be a director and later watched three of his short films, one of which featured a serial killer, ultimately confirming to the writer that the actor had a darker side. Franco also directed a film version of William Faulkner's novel As I Lay Dying; the film was screened in the Un Certain Regard section at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival. In late 2013, Franco starred in This Is the End as a fictionalized version of himself stuck in a house during an apocalypse with Seth Rogen, Jay Baruchel, Craig Robinson, Jonah Hill, and Danny McBride, also fictionalized versions of themselves.

In February 2012, Franco began shooting a film version of Cormac McCarthy's 1973 novella Child of God, which stars Scott Haze as Lester Ballard. The film chronicles the depraved and violent impulses of the young Tennessee backwoodsman after he is dispossessed of his ancestral land. Child of God was selected in official competition at the 70th Venice Film Festival, an official selection to the 2013 Toronto International Film Festival and an official selection to the prestigious 51st New York Film Festival. In 2013, Franco starred as the gangster "Alien" in Harmony Korine's Spring Breakers, with Vanessa Hudgens, Selena Gomez, Ashley Benson, Gucci Mane and Rachel Korine. A24 films began a campaign in September 2013 in support of a Best Supporting Actor Oscar nomination for Franco's performance. In March 2013, it was announced that Franco was set to make his 2014 Broadway stage debut in the role of George in a revival of John Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men. In October 2013, Franco appeared in the music video for "City of Angels" by Thirty Seconds to Mars.

On March 8, 2013, Franco received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, located at 6838 Hollywood Boulevard.

In April 2014, Franco directed and appeared in "Techno Color Sunglasses", which promoted Gucci's eyewear collection. In December, Franco starred in the controversial Sony comedy thriller, The Interview, a film which played a central role in the real world diplomatic relations between the United States and North Korea as they related to the 2014 Sony hacking incident. In April 2015, two of his projects, titled I Am Michael and True Story, were shown at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival. In I Am Michael, Franco plays a gay activist who rejects his homosexuality and becomes a conservative Christian pastor with a girlfriend. In True Story, based on a true story, Franco played Christian Longo, a man who was on the FBI's most wanted list for murdering his wife and three children in Oregon, and who had also been hiding under the identity of Michael Finkel, a journalist played by Jonah Hill.

In 2015, Franco was cast in the lead role for the Hulu limited series 11.22.63 which is based on the novel of the same name by Stephen King. The eight-episode series premiered on February 15, 2016. In 2016, Franco co-produced and starred in King Cobra, a true story about the rise of gay pornographic actor Brent Corrigan and the murder of Bryan Kocis. Franco played Joseph Kerekes who (along with his partner) was convicted of the murder. In the comedy Why Him?, released in December 2016, Franco played an immature tech-billionaire whose girlfriend's conservative father tries to intervene in the couple's relationship, with Zoey Deutch playing the girlfriend and Bryan Cranston as her father. He briefly appeared in the Alien prequel, Alien: Covenant, alongside friend and frequent collaborator Danny McBride, and Michael Fassbender and Noomi Rapace. He played Branson, the captain of the Covenant ship and husband to Daniels, played by Katherine Waterston. The film was released on May 19, 2017.

In 2016, Franco directed, co-produced, and starred in The Disaster Artist, the film adaptation of actor Greg Sestero's non-fiction book of the same name, about the making of The Room, which is considered to be one of worst films ever made. In the film, Franco portrayed the film's star, director, screenwriter, and producer Tommy Wiseau, while Franco's brother, Dave, portrayed Sestero. Franco remained in character as Wiseau throughout the entirety of the shoot. The Disaster Artist was released on December 1, 2017, to positive reviews, while his portrayal of Wiseau gained near-universal praise. His performance won a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy.

At the end of 2017, Franco, almost 40, said he was slowing down to focus on himself. On December 23, 2021, Franco gave his first interview in nearly four years when he appeared on an episode of the Jess Cagle Podcast. In August 2022, Franco was cast as Fidel Castro in Alina in Cuba, a casting decision that was supported by Fidel Castro's daughter.

## Other projects

Franco produced and directed a documentary titled Saturday Night documenting a week in the production of an episode of SNL. The film began as a short for an NYU class but grew due to his two episodes as host, while short stories he wrote for other classes appeared in Esquire and McSweeney's. In summer 2010, the fictional Franco from General Hospital held an exhibit at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles, while the real Franco held an exhibit at the museum based on his experiences on the soap opera.

In 2008, Franco was named as the face of Gucci's men's fragrance line. His short films as director The Feast of Stephen and Herbert White were both presented within Maryland Film Festival in May 2010. Another of his short movies, The Clerk's Tale, was screened in competition at the Hamptons Film Festival at the end of 2010. In June 2010, James Franco presented his first solo exhibition, "The Dangerous Book Four Boys", presented at The Clocktower Gallery in New York City. Curated by Alanna Heiss, the show featured video, drawings, sculptures and installation.

On October 19, 2010, Scribner published a collection of short stories, Palo Alto, by Franco. The book is named after the California city where Franco grew up and is dedicated to many of the writers he worked with at Brooklyn College. Inspired by some of Franco's own teenage memories Palo Alto, and memories written and submitted by high school students at Palo Alto Senior High School, consists of life in Palo Alto as experienced by a series of teenagers who spend most of their time indulging in driving drunk, smoking marijuana, and taking part in unplanned acts of violence. Each passage is told by a young narrator. The book has received mixed reviews; Los Angeles Times called it "the work of an ambitious young man who clearly loves to read, who has a good eye for detail, but who has spent way too much time on style and virtually none on substance". The Guardian reported that Franco's "foray into the literary world may be met with cynicism in some quarters, but this is a promising debut from a most unlikely source". Writing in The New York Times, reviewer and fellow author Joshua Mohr praised Franco for how, in the story "American History", he juxtaposed historical parts with a present-day social commentary that "makes the we wonder how much we've actually evolved in post-bellum America". At least one editor of a literary journal testified he would not publish Franco's stories, claiming he has been published due to his star power, not literary talent. Publishers Weekly reviewed the collection, stating "The author fails to find anything remotely insightful to say in these 11 amazingly underwhelming stories".

In January 2011, Franco screened his multimedia project, entitled Three's Company The Drama, in which he merges video and art to update the titular sitcom, at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival. Franco reunited with Milk director Van Sant to make Unfinished, a project that features two movies: Endless Idaho and My Own Private River. Endless Idaho showcases edited outtakes, deleted scenes and behind-the-scenes footage from the 1991 movie My Own Private Idaho, while My Own Private River focuses on actor River Phoenix. The idea for the exhibition was conceived after Van Sant introduced unused footage from the 1991 film to Franco, inspiring him to turn it into something more. Unfinished opened from February 26 to April 9 at the Gagosian Gallery in Beverly Hills.

On February 27, 2011, he and Anne Hathaway hosted the 83rd Academy Awards. The two were selected to help the awards show achieve its goal of attracting a younger audience. Franco had previously said that he accepted the job for the experience and because it was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Numerous media viewers criticized Franco for his discontent and lack of energy on stage and the show was widely panned, with some reviewers dubbing it the worst telecast in its history. The actor later spoke about his hosting in an interview on the Late Show with David Letterman. He explained that when accepting the job he never had high hopes, adding "It was never on my list of things to do. It doesn't mean I didn't care and it doesn't mean I didn't try, right?" Regarding allegations that he was under the influence of marijuana while hosting, Franco commented "I think the Tasmanian Devil would look stoned standing next to Anne Hathaway. She has a lot of energy!" He concluded that he tried his best and could have had "low energy" during the telecast.

In May, Franco made his dance-theater directorial debut at New York's Stella Adler Studios, where he narrated all the performances. Entitled "Collage" and described as a "mixed-media piece", the show featured live dance, theater, music, and poetry. Tickets were free but were distributed on a first-come, first-served basis. The actor also directed two short films for songs ("Blue" and "That Someone Is You") by R.E.M. from their album Collapse into Now (2011). Franco continued his career as a filmmaker with The Broken Tower, a 90-minute docudrama shot in black and white about poet Hart Crane, who committed suicide by jumping off the steamship SS Orizaba. It originally started out as his master's thesis. It was screened at 2011's Los Angeles Film Festival  –  among more than 200 feature films, short projects, and music videos from more than 30 countries. It was released on DVD in 2012.

In 2011, Franco taught a graduate-level film course at New York University's Tisch School of the Arts. He has also taught film classes at USC and UCLA, as well as a screenwriting class on the online learning community Skillshare. For his students' film projects, Franco has helped to attract actors, including Seth MacFarlane, Kate Mara, Natalie Portman, Chloe Sevigny, Kristen Wiig and Olivia Wilde.

Franco developed an aptitude for art—painting in particular—during his high school years while attending the California State Summer School for the Arts (CSSSA). Franco has said painting was the "outlet" he needed in high school, and he "has actually been painting longer than he has been acting". His paintings were displayed publicly for the first time at the Glü Gallery in Los Angeles, from January 7, through February 11, 2006. He launched his first European art exhibition in 2011 at Peres Projects in Berlin.

In September 2012, Franco announced the release of his band Daddy's first single Love in the Old Days and their first EP MotorCity. On July 9, 2013, Franco announced that he would be the featured roastee on the next Comedy Central Roast. The roast aired on September 2, 2013.

In February 2014, Franco wrote an article in The New York Times in support of the metamodernist performance art of Shia LaBeouf, describing LaBeouf's project as one "in which a young man in a very public profession tries to reclaim his public persona". In April 2014, the literary publisher Graywolf Press issued Franco's first collection of poetry, Directing Herbert White. The title alludes to a poem (made by Franco into a 2010 short film) by Frank Bidart, who has served as friend and mentor to Franco.

## In the media

Viewed as a sex symbol, Franco was named the Sexiest Man Living in 2009 by Salon. There has often been frequent media coverage of Franco, particularly regarding his interest in going to colleges. In addition to that, Franco has also claimed to have been strongly misquoted by reports in the media and news outlets reporting erroneous information about him. This led to the actor being parodied in an episode of SNL's Weekend Update segment, which an Entertainment Weekly writer deemed "clever". In a 2011 interview, he stated:

> I've been perceived as this guy yelling, 'Hey, look at me. I want attention'. I'm not going to school to get articles written about me. I'm just going to school. But the fact that I'm going to school or that someone takes a picture of me sleeping is like, 'We're gonna jump on that and criticize him for his antics'. What antics? I write. I make movies. I'm going to school. I hosted the Oscars. I take these projects seriously.

Franco has deliberately garnered a reputation for publishing "selfies" and wrote an explanatory article for The New York Times in December 2013. He stated:

> [A] well-stocked collection of selfies seems to get attention. And attention seems to be the name of the game when it comes to social networking. In this age of too much information at a click of a button, the power to attract viewers amid the sea of things to read and watch is power indeed. It's what the movie studios want for their products, it's what professional writers want for their work, it's what newspapers want — hell, it's what everyone wants: attention. Attention is power.

In April 2012, Shalom Life ranked Franco and his brother, Dave, together as number two on its list of 50 talented and attractive Jewish men. In 2013, Franco was featured as the cover model and featured focus in the men's magazine Man of the World.

In other forms of media, a Chicago-based theater company, Under the Gun Theater, developed a show inspired by and titled after Franco. The 2015 production of Dear James Franco used, parodied and deconstructed letters penned to or by celebrities. The performances used improvisation to satirize their subject matter.

## Personal life

### Religion

Franco has described himself as Jewish; regarding his secular upbringing, he told The Guardian that he feels as if he has "missed out on the Jewish experience", but has been told not to worry about that by his Jewish friends and said in the same interview that he likes "the idea of religion as a source of community". When asked if he was a "believer", he responded, "In God? I don't know. Yes. To a certain extent. It's a complicated question." In 2015, he had an official bar mitzvah ceremony, presided over by a rabbi.

### Relationships and sexuality

Due to his support for the LGBT community and his portrayal of gay characters in his projects, Franco's sexuality has been a subject of discussion in media sources. In a March 2015 interview with Four Two Nine magazine, Franco again opened up about his sexuality, stating, "In the twenties and thirties, they used to define homosexuality by how you acted and not by whom you slept with. Sailors would fuck guys all the time, but as long as they behaved in masculine ways, they weren't considered gay. Well, I like to think that I'm gay in my art and straight in my life."

After meeting on the set of Whatever It Takes in 1999, Franco dated co-star Marla Sokoloff for five years. He was later in a relationship with actress Ahna O'Reilly until 2011. He confirmed their separation in an interview for Playboy magazine's August 2011 issue, saying that his interest in education got between them.

### Education

Franco, dissatisfied with his career's direction, reenrolled at UCLA in autumn 2006 as an English major with a creative writing concentration. He received permission to take as many as 62 course credits per quarter compared to the normal limit of 19, while still continuing to act, receiving many of his credits from independent study for his involvement on the set of Spider-Man 3. He received his undergraduate degree in June 2008 with a GPA of 3.5/4.0. For his degree, Franco prepared his departmental honors thesis as a novel under the supervision of Mona Simpson.

Franco was selected as the commencement speaker at UCLA, and was to speak at the ceremony on June 12, 2009. Several months before commencement, an editorial in the student newspaper questioned his "caliber" and a student created a Facebook page protesting the choice. On June 3, Franco withdrew, citing a date conflict with location pre-production on a film. On January 26, 2011, Franco and the Harvard Lampoon released a satirical video on prominent comedy website Funny or Die mocking his last-minute cancellation.

Franco moved to New York to simultaneously attend graduate school at Columbia University School of the Arts for writing, New York University's Tisch School of the Arts for filmmaking, and Brooklyn College for fiction writing, while also attending the low-residency MFA Program for Writers at North Carolina's Warren Wilson College for poetry. He received his M.F.A. from Columbia in 2010. As of 2010, Franco was studying in the Ph.D. program in English at Yale University. He has also attended the Rhode Island School of Design.

In an interview with Showbiz411, on September 23, 2010, Franco made the erroneous public announcement that he received a "D" grade in "Acting" class at the NYU Graduate Film School. He had, in fact, received that grade in a "Directing the Actor" class. Franco's professor, José Angel Santana, alleged that Franco did not earn his grades while attending that school and stated that Franco only received high marks and a degree because of his celebrity status as an actor. Franco made unfavorable comments about Santana's teaching. In September 2012, after having been terminated from his position Santana filed a lawsuit against Franco for defamation; Santana claimed that Franco's comments were false and had led to his termination. In September 2013, Franco and Santana settled the defamation lawsuit. "The matter has been resolved to the mutual satisfaction of the parties," said Santana's attorney Matthew Blit. Franco defended himself on the Howard Stern Show, stating that he had told the professor before the semester began that he would have to miss most classes to film 127 Hours and that they had agreed that Franco would receive a "D" in the course.

In March 2013, Franco was featured in half-page print advertisements for his alma mater UCLA which celebrated the university's famous alumnus as a "prolific academic" and carried the tagline: "Some A-Listers Actually Get A's".

## Sexual misconduct accusations and lawsuit

In 2014, a seventeen-year-old girl posted screenshots of alleged messages between her and Franco on Instagram. The messages showed that Franco, then aged 35, tried to meet her in a hotel room after she told him she was seventeen. He sent multiple pictures of himself to prove his real identity. Franco admitted on Live! With Kelly and Michael that he had written the messages. Though his actions may have been legal, given the age of consent in New York is seventeen, he was the subject of media backlash due to the wide age gap. He initially responded to the scandal by tweeting, "I HOPE PARENTS KEEP THEIR TEENS AWAY FROM ME. Thank you." He later stated he was "embarrassed" and that "I learned my lesson."

At the 2018 Golden Globe Awards, Franco wore a Time's Up pin in solidarity with the MeToo movement, to protest sexual harassment against women. His pin drew criticism on social media from actress Ally Sheedy, who hinted she had quit acting after working with Franco on a play. A former girlfriend, Violet Paley, also alleged that he once forced her to give him oral sex in a car while they were dating. On January 9, 2018, The New York Times, citing the allegations, canceled a planned event with Franco. On January 10, Franco said on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert that the accusations made against him on Twitter were "not accurate".

On January 11, 2018, the Los Angeles Times reported that five women were accusing Franco of inappropriate or sexually exploitative behavior during the period when Franco was serving as their acting teacher or mentor. One former student stated that Franco "would always make everybody think there were possible roles on the table if we were to perform sexual acts or take off our shirts" in his projects. Another alleged that Franco held a sex scenes class and removed students' vaginal guards while simulating oral sex with them. Franco's attorney, Michael Plonsker, disputed the allegations.

In her 2018 memoir, Busy Philipps puts forth an account in which Franco screamed at her before violently shoving her to the ground while on the set of Freaks and Geeks.

On October 3, 2019, two former students of Franco's now-closed film and acting school, Studio 4, filed a lawsuit against him and his partners. According to The New York Times, the complaint alleged that the program "was little more than a scheme to provide him and his male collaborators with a pool of young female performers that they could take advantage of." The case claimed that pupils were subjected to "sexually exploitative auditions and film shoots" and had to sign away their rights to the recordings. The litigants sought unspecified monetary damages as well as the return or destruction of any questionable material. Franco has denied the plaintiffs' claims through his attorney.

On February 21, 2021, it was reported that the lawsuit was settled and that, according to documents filed on February 11, both students had agreed to drop their individual claims. The deal was submitted for preliminary court approval by March 15, 2021. In June 2021, terms of the settlement were revealed, and it was disclosed that Franco, pending a judge's approval, would pay more than \$2.2 million to resolve two different legal disputes: one by the two women who cited sexual exploitation (they will receive \$894,000), and another class-action plaint by approximately 1,500 Studio 4 students who maintain that they were defrauded. A joint statement by the plaintiffs and defendants reads in part: "While Defendants continue to deny the allegations in the Complaint, they acknowledge that Plaintiffs have raised important issues; and all parties strongly believe that now is a critical time to focus on addressing the mistreatment of women in Hollywood."

Charlyne Yi worked with Franco on The Disaster Artist and claimed in April 2021 that, after trying to quit the film over the allegations, a bigger role was offered by the filmmakers to Yi. Yi viewed this enticement as an attempted bribe and also accused Franco's long-time co-star Seth Rogen of enabling his behavior. A month later, Rogen commented on the allegations against Franco and expressed doubts that he would ever work with him again.

On December 23, 2021, Franco admitted to having had sex with students and to being in treatment for sexual addiction since 2016; however, he did not address other forms of sexual exploitation.

## Philanthropy

Franco has volunteered at the charity the Art of Elysium, which helps children with serious medical conditions. He said the experience helped save his life. In January 2011, at the Art of Elysium Heaven Gala in Los Angeles, Franco was honored for his work at the hospital, receiving the Spirit of Elysium accolade.

On March 31, 2011, the actor took part in "An Evening with James Franco", a Washington D.C. dinner benefit for 826DC, a non-profit after-school literature program. Franco became involved with Dave Eggers' 826 National after Eggers asked him to do a conceptual idea for the program, and he directed a documentary for them and has since been a supporter of them. At the event, he spoke about how he thought schools needed to be more original with their literature programs. "Writing can do things that video cannot", he added. In April 2011, Franco autographed a T-shirt that would be auctioned off through the Yoshiki Foundation, with the proceeds being donated for Japanese tsunami relief. On June 14, he was honored by amfAR, the foundation for AIDS research, at the Museum of Modern Art. Franco received the Piaget Award of Inspiration for his humanitarian work and contributions to men's style.

In April 2013, Franco received the Ally Award at the 15th annual Miami Gay & Lesbian Film Festival. The award was presented to him in recognition of his unwavering support of the LGBT community.

In April 2014, Franco presented at Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS Easter Bonnet Competition with Leighton Meester and Chris O'Dowd, after raising donations at his Broadway show Of Mice and Men. In June 2014, Franco performed in the BC/EFA benefit Broadway Bares.

## Filmography and awards

## Selected works

- Franco, James. "A Star, a Soap and the Meaning of Art". The Wall Street Journal, December 4, 2009.
- Franco, James. "Just Before the Black". Esquire, March 24, 2010.

## Discography

### Albums

- 2011: Turn It Up EP – collaboration with Kalup Linzy
- 2012: MotorCity EP – with Tim O'Keefe, as the duo "Daddy"
- 2016: Let Me Get What I Want – with Tim O'Keefe, as the duo "Daddy"

### Music on other albums

- 2013: "Hanging with Da Dopeboys" – featuring DangeRuss from album Spring Breakers: Music from the Motion Picture
- 2013: "I Love You" – featuring Kalup Linzy from album Romantic Loner''
- 2015: "11/22/63"

## Stage

American actor and filmmaker (born 1978)

American people of Russian-Jewish descent

Best Miniseries or Television Movie Actor Golden Globe winners

Best Musical or Comedy Actor Golden Globe (film) winners

California Institute of the Arts faculty

Columbia University School of the Arts alumni

Independent Spirit Award for Best Male Lead winners

Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Male winners

UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television faculty

University of California, Los Angeles alumni