Love him or loathe him, James Franco can't ever be accused of making boring choices. From his grill-tastic turn in Harmony Korine's phenomenal Spring Breakers to a recurring role on General Hospital — after becoming an A-list star — the Oscar-nominated actor has never shied away from going against the grain of mainstream stardom.
So it's no surprise that Franco not only stars in but produced the forthcoming gay porn drama King Cobra. The film centers on the rise of gay porn mega-star Brent Corrigan (born Sean Lockhart) and his involvement in the 2007 murder trial of Harlow Cuadra and Joseph Kerekes, two Virginia Beach escorts who were accused (and eventually convicted) of murdering Corrigan's mentor/exploiter, Cobra Video founder Bryan Kocis.
Given how taboo the subject of gay porn remains in mainstream filmmaking, it's pretty striking to see a film devoted to the subject. Especially one that stars bold-faced names like Franco, Christian Slater (as Kocis), and not one but two former teen queens: '80s poster girl Molly Ringwald and '90s breakout Alicia Silverstone (now playing the mother of teenagers). Based on the new trailer, the Justin Kelly-directed film — which stars Teen Beach Movie actor Garrett Clayton as Corrigan/Lockhart — actually looks pretty compelling, in a salacious kind of way. You can watch it below, and look for King Cobra to hit theaters and VOD on October 21.