More on Franco Storyline Revealed

As the time draws near for James Franco's first appearance on General Hospital, we're finding out a touch more about his storyline and about Franco's taping of the show.

What we know:

• Franco plays a character named...Franco.
• The character is an artist.
• The graffiti "CO77X" relates to him.
• He has some sort of involvement with Jason and possibly Sam.

Franco is set to appear in 10+ episodes and began taping on October 30, according to Entertainment Weekly.

On his first day, Jill Farren Phelps told EW, Franco taped a whopping 65 pages. Remember, now, that in film, actors do maybe one or two pages of script a day. Phelps reports being incredibly impressed by the actor's ability to memorize.

Apparently, Franco was in talks with GH for six months. After hearing that acting in soaps is difficult, he wanted to try it, requesting only that his character be "a little off."

There have also been hints that when Franco leaves the show after the story arc, his departure may not be permanent.

Phelps also expressed the hope to EW that possibly Franco's appearance on the show will open the door for other stars to give soaps a try. It's not such a far-fetched idea. Franco is unusual in that he doesn't have to look for work. However, that isn't the case with some film stars who have found themselves off the A list. Just take a look at the film stars working on network television and in theater, two much more labor-intensive fields. Can soaps be far behind?

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