Exclusive! Watch James Franco argue with a monkey about bananas

By Kyla Manenti

... Okay, so it's not a real argument – it's not even a real monkey – but it is James Franco. And pretty much anything he does is going to get our attention. Why? Because James Franco is Hollywood's Jack of all trades. One moment he's ressurecting leading Beat poet Allen Ginsberg for the part-animated poetry biopic Howl, the next he's planting his tongue firmly in cheek to play inventively-named serial killer, Franco, in US soap opera General Hospital – a role he later documented with an exhibit at LA's Museum of Contemporary Art. And then there's his work as a musician, author, dance theatre director... So, really, when James Franco filmed a scene in which he discusses the logistics of witch hunting and talks about bananas with a computer-generated winged monkey, while wandering along the fabled yellow brick road – he probably took it all in his stride...

Check the exclusive clip below, taken from Disney's forthcoming Wizard of Oz prequel, Oz the Great and Powerful, to see what we're talking about and sneak a peak at

Oz the Great and Powerful, directed by Sam Raimi, imagines the origins of L. Frank Baum’s beloved character, the Wizard of Oz. When Oscar Diggs (Franco), a small-time circus magician with dubious ethics, is hurled away from dusty Kansas to the vibrant Land of Oz, he thinks he’s hit the jackpot – fame and fortune are his for the taking – that is until he meets three witches, Theodora (Mila Kunis), Evanora (Rachel Weisz) and Glinda (Michelle Williams), who are not convinced he is the great wizard everyone’s been expecting. Reluctantly drawn into the epic problems facing the Land of Oz and its inhabitants, Oscar must find out who is good and who is evil before it is too late. Putting his magical arts to use through illusion, ingenuity – and, yes, a bit of wizardry – Oscar transforms himself not only into the great and powerful Wizard of Oz but into a better man.

Oz the Great and Powerful hits UK cinemas March 8th 2013.