Portland directing legend Gus Van Sant and actor James Franco will appear at the Hollywood Theatre this Sunday, September 25, for an “artist talk” and a screening of Franco’s <i>My Own Private River</i>.

After casting Franco in the award-winning film <i>Milk</i> (2008), Van Sant showed him the dailies and other footage that he had shot many years before for <i>My Own Private Idaho</i> (© 1991 New Line Cinema Corp. All rights reserved), which starred River Phoenix and Keanu Reeves as street hustlers in Portland.

Franco describes being mesmerized by Phoenix's "uninhibited acting" in this unreleased footage. “I humbly asked Gus if I could…cut something together, and if he didn’t like it, I would never show anybody,” he said.

“I thought it would be interesting because it took us six months to cut the film together, and James was going to do it in a month,” said Van Sant. “By himself.”

<i>My Own Private River</i> consists largely of shots of Phoenix’s character, Mike, woven into a compelling portrait; his edit captures the gifted actor at his most emotionally expressive and physically dynamic. The score is by Michael Stipe of R.E.M.

Purchase tickets here.