James Franco Shot Down Anne Hathaway’s Acting Advice During Infamous Oscars Telecast: “Don’t Tell Me How to Be Funny”

The 2011 Oscars were so cringe-inducing that even 10 years later, it’s easy to remember how awkward the telecast was. That year, in an attempt to freshen up the ceremony and attract a younger audience, Anne Hathaway and James Franco were tapped to host the 83rd annual Academy Awards. But according to David Wild, who wrote the live telecast, the two hosts clashed from the very start.

In an interview with The Ringer published yesterday, Wild looked back on the infamous awards show, describing the host pairing as “the world’s most uncomfortable blind date between the cool rocker stoner kid and the adorable theater camp cheerleader.” While that much was evident from watching Hathaway and Franco on stage, the friction between the two reportedly started during rehearsals for the show.

“This is a memory, but [she] was like ‘Maybe you should try that,’ and he was like, ‘Don’t tell me how to be funny,'” Wild shared. Jordan Rubin, who oversaw production on the awards show, didn’t remember any outright conflicts, but suspected Franco “wanted to play it as buddy-cop movie with two opposite characters.”

During prep for the telecast, Hathaway “made herself readily available,” Rubin recalled. “I went to her house and worked on the script and she was on a bunch of conference calls and responding to emails and was a great collaborator.” Franco, meanwhile, was taking courses at Yale and New York University, and co-teaching a course at Columbia College Hollywood. “He always seemed to be on a flight and it was very hard for me to get a hold of him,” Rubin said. “That was a red flag.”

When they did finally team up, Hathaway and Franco brought completely different energy to the show. “She showed up ready to play and committed 110 percent,” Rubin said. “And he was a great guy but often looked like he had just woken up from a nap. It’s almost like you’re showing up to a tennis court and one person decided that they were going to play in the U.S. Open and the other wanted to play in jeans and just kind of hit a few balls.”

While Hathaway and Franco declined to speak with The Ringer, both gave their own take on the telecast after it aired. “In the grand scheme of things, I got to have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,” Hathaway told Harper’s Bazaar in 2011. “I met great people, wore beautiful clothes. And I got to put on a show. I don’t see a downside. Anyone who disliked my personality probably disliked my personality before the Oscars.”

Franco gave his side of the story on Letterman, telling the host in 2011, “I love her but Anne Hathaway is so energetic, I think the Tasmanian Devil would look stoned standing next to Anne Hathaway.” While he denied he was high that evening, he insisted, “I honestly played those lines as well as I could.”

Head to The Ringer to read “The Behind-the-Scenes Story of the James Franco–Anne Hathaway Oscars Debacle” in full.