Franco, Colbert Chat About 'The Late Show' Goes Nowhere

Actor James Franco tried to get Comedy Central's Stephen Colbert to slip out of his politically conservative alter-ego character for just a second on Wednesday night's "Colbert Report," by mentioning Colbert's new gig on CBS.

What Franco received from the award-winning host was a stern denial that left the actor smiling, but speechless.

Franco appeared on the show to promote his new film "Child of God," when the actor strayed where few have before on the talk show, attempting to get Colbert to talk about his future on CBS's "The Late Show" when David Letterman departs next year.

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"I will see you on the new show — now, are you gonna go Democrat when you go to this new show?" Franco asked Colbert.

"Now here's the interesting thing," said Colbert, still in character. "I don't know what the f*** you're talking about."



CBS announced in April that Colbert, who has hosted "The Colbert Report" since 2005, will replace Letterman on "The Late Show" next year after 21 years on the network but no date has been worked out.

Colbert, who has rarely performed out of character since doing his Comedy Central show, had said that he would leave his satirical character behind when he does "The Late Show."

"I won't be doing the new show in character, so we'll all get to find out how much of him was me," Colbert has said, according to Rolling Stone magazine. "I'm looking forward to it."

After his appearance on "The Colbert Report," Franco continued to push "Child of Gold" with a screening at the Tribeca Grand Hotel, according to the New York Daily News.

"It's dark and disturbing, and Bernadette Peters is here, and she didn't know that, so I hope she likes it," Franco told the audience.

Franco also introduced Scott Haze, who portrays homeless killer Lester Ballard back in the 1960s while living in the Tennessee mountains.

"I really wanted to get Lester's voice," Haze told the audience, according to the Daily News. "I had to find people who still had it."


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