James Franco enrages new neighbours

If there's an actor in Hollywood that's harder to figure than James Franco, then do let us know.

In a latest turn of events, the actor/editor/student/artist/poet appears to have fallen foul of his neighbours, who are claiming that he's running a major production company from his house.

The couple who live next door to him in Silver Lake, Los Angeles, say they are besieged by a 'constant stream' of people going to and from the 1920s compound, rumoured to have been built by director DW Griffith .

In an email to Curbed Los Angeles, the neighbours explained: “At first, my partner and I were pleased to have Mr. Franco living next door. His work in 'Milk' and his academic pursuits made us happy he was on our street. That is no longer the case.”

They go on to question whether he actually lives there – he reportedly paid $775,000 for the property last year – and are now angry with film production which appears to be going on on the premises.

“Racks of costumes come and go; crowds of people constantly stream in and out of the house and have business meetings in front of OUR house and treat us as if we are eavesdropping sycophants when we walk out our gate to our car; and as I write this, they've set up hair and make-up in their driveway," they go on.

“We like James Franco and we like some of his movies, but we're not so enamored of his presence that we are willing to give up our sanity in our own home.”

[Related story: James Franco slates Australian government over gay film ban]

Such stories are not unusual in the wacky world of James Franco.

He was initially set for a career in maths, having been interned at Lockheed Martin as a teenager. There were brushes with the law for graffiti and shoplifting, but he turned it around and went on to studying English, and then acting.

He's often found himself back at school since, enrolling at UCLA to study creative writing, then, all at once, NYU's Tisch School for Performing Arts, Columbia and Brooklyn College in New York on various humanities courses, generally involving filmmaking and writing.

Franco is also, somehow, studying for a Ph. D in English at Yale, all while holding down a career as an Oscar-nominated actor.

He's worked with performance artist Marina Abramovic, presented his own multi-media art projects and while working on another project about soap operas, took a role in long-running US soap 'General Hospital'.

One article on the actor claims he sleeps just a few hours a night, and survives on catnaps the rest of the time, some of which occur during conversations with people.

Some have questioned his commitment to these projects, however.

One of his professors at NYU claims he was fired for giving Franco a D grade, after he attended just two out of 14 classes on his film course.

“In my opinion, they’ve turned the NYU graduate film degree into swag for James Franco’s purposes, a possession, something you can buy,” said Jose Angel Santana.

The talk was bolstered when a picture began to circulate of him fast asleep during a lecture.

The chair of the filmmaking program has maintained he's a hard worker, however, was on course to complete the degree a year early, and had asked if he could still attend classes once he'd finished.

[Related story: Professor fired for giving James Franco a bad grade]

His short stories have appeared in magazines like Esquire, though a collection published called 'Palo Alto' received mixed reviews. He's also made numerous documentaries and shorts, with one in the pipeline about fashion house Gucci, for whom he has been the face of a fragrance line.

But for every blockbuster like 'Spider-Man' or 'Rise of the Planet of the Apes' – his latest 'Oz: The Great and Powerful' has stormed the US box office - there will be an off-the-wall art-house project, like the controversial 'Interior, Leather Bar', the 'homo-sex-art-film' he made with Travis Mathews last year.

He was partly responsible for what was dubbed one of the 'worst telecasts in Oscar history' when he presented the awards show with Anne Hathaway in 2011, some reviewers accusing him of being under the influence of marijuana at the time. (“I think the Tasmanian Devil would look stoned standing next to Anne Hathaway. She has a lot of energy!” he countered.)

Whether he's the hyper-intellectual enigma he appears to be is debatable.

Less debatable is what his new neighbours think of him...