Studio 4 was an

acting Acting is an activity in which a story is told by means of its enactment by an actor who adopts a character—in theatre, television, film, radio, or any other medium that makes use of the mimetic mode. Acting involves a broad range of sk ...

and

filmmaking Filmmaking or film production is the process by which a Film, motion picture is produced. Filmmaking involves a number of complex and discrete stages, beginning with an initial story, idea, or commission. Production then continues through screen ...

school located in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

and

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

, founded by American actor

James Franco James Edward Franco (born April 19, 1978) is an American actor and filmmaker. He has starred in numerous films, including Sam Raimi's Spider-Man (2002 film series), ''Spider-Man'' trilogy (2002–2007), ''Milk (2008 American film), Milk'' (200 ...

in 2014. Franco opened the school after studying at Playhouse West in Los Angeles. In 2017, multiple female students of the school came forward and stated that Franco had behaved in inappropriate or sexually exploitative ways while serving as their teacher. The school was officially closed on October 1, 2017.

History

Studio 4 claimed it was created to provide a place for students to be grounded in acting and focus on performance while not having to be tied up with additional school requirements. Franco claimed he wanted to emulate the creative environment he found at Playhouse West, in addition to providing opportunities through his production company,

Rabbit Bandini Productions Rabbit Bandini Productions is a film and television production company founded in 2003 by actors/filmmakers James Franco and Vince Jolivette. The name comes from combining the titular hero from John Updike's Rabbit tetralogy with the hero of John ...

, that would otherwise not be available to acting, directing, or writing students. The school offered a two-year

Meisner technique The Meisner technique is an approach to acting developed by American theatre practitioner Sanford Meisner. The goal of the Meisner approach is for the actor to not focus on themselves and instead concentrate on the other actors in the immediat ...

conservatory study for actors and ongoing

screenwriting Screenwriting or scriptwriting is the art and craft of writing scripts for mass media such as feature films, television productions or video games. It is often a freelance profession. Screenwriters are responsible for researching the story, dev ...

and directing courses that were instructed by working industry professionals.

Sexual misconduct allegations

In 2017, multiple female students of the school came forward and stated that Franco had behaved in inappropriate or sexually exploitative ways while serving as their teacher. One student stated that Franco "would always make everybody think there were possible roles on the table if we were to perform sexual acts or take off our shirts" in his projects. Another student stated that Franco held a sex scenes class and removed students' vaginal guards while simulating oral sex with them. On October 3, 2019, two former female students of Studio 4 filed a lawsuit against Franco and his partners. According to ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'', the plaint alleges that the program "was little more than a scheme to provide him and his male collaborators with a pool of young female performers that they could take advantage of." The case claims that pupils were subjected to "sexually exploitative auditions and film shoots" and had to sign away their rights to the recordings. On June 30, 2021, James Franco, Vince Jolivette, and Jay Davis agreed to settle a class-action lawsuit led by Sarah Tither-Kaplan and Toni Gaal, former students of Studio 4, for $2,235,000.

Further accusations

In 2018, one of Studio 4's on-camera teachers and Franco's student at

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school then known as the southern branch of the C ...

, Ryan Moody, accused Franco of underpaying him for his idea for ''

The Disaster Artist ''The Disaster Artist: My Life Inside The Room, the Greatest Bad Movie Ever Made'' is a 2013 non-fiction book written by Greg Sestero and Tom Bissell, in which the former details the troubled development and production of the panned 2003 cult ...

''. Moody filed a lawsuit against Franco's production company

and

Seth Rogen Seth Aaron Rogen (; born April 15, 1982) is a Canadian actor, comedian, and filmmaker. Known primarily for his comedic Leading actor, leading man roles in films, the accolades he has received include nominations for three Golden Globe Awards, ...

's production company

Point Grey Pictures Point Grey (PGP) is a Canadian-American film and television production company, founded in 2011 by Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg. The company is named after Point Grey Secondary School in Vancouver, where they met. History Founded by Seth Rog ...

for only paying him $5,000 for his script. In 2019, the lawsuit was settled.

References

External links

Official Studio 4 Website, New York

Official Studio 4 Instagram, New York

Official Studio 4 Website, Los Angeles

Official Studio 4 Instagram, Los Angeles
{{authority control Drama schools in the United States