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James Franco stars as the young Allen Ginsberg - poet, counter-culture adventurer and chronicler of the Beat Generation. In his famously confessional, leave-nothing-out style, Ginsberg recounts the road trips, love affairs and search for personal liberation that led to the most timeless and electrifying work of his career, the poem HOWL. Meanwhile, in a San Francisco courtroom, HOWL is on trial. Prosecutor Ralph McIntosh (Strathairn) sets out to prove that the book should be banned, while suave defense attorney Jake Ehrlich (Hamm) argues fervently for freedom of speech and creative expression. The proceedings veer from the comically absurd to the passionate as a host of unusual witnesses (Jeff Daniels, Mary-Louise Parker, Treat Williams, Alesssandro Nivola) pit generation against generation and art against fear in front of conservative Judge Clayton Horn (Bob Balaban).
HOWL is simultaneously a portrait of a renegade artist breaking down barriers to find love and redemption and an imaginative ride through a prophetic masterpiece that rocked a generation and was heard around the world.
Original Release
08/27/2010
US Release
09/24/2010
Links
Cast
Name | Character |
---|
James Franco | Allen Ginsberg |
Todd Rotondi | Jack Kerouac |
Jon Prescott | Neal Cassady |
Aaron Tveit | Peter Orlovsky |
David Strathairn | Ralph McIntosh |
Jon Hamm | Jake Ehrlich |
Andrew Rogers | Lawrence Ferlinghetti |
Bob Balaban | Judge Clayton Horn |
Mary-Louise Parker | Gail Potter |
Heather Klar | Jack's Girlfriend |
Directors
Writers
Allen Ginsberg, Rob Epstein, Jeffrey Friedman
Cast
Name | Character |
---|
James Franco | Allen Ginsberg |
Todd Rotondi | Jack Kerouac |
Jon Prescott | Neal Cassady |
Aaron Tveit | Peter Orlovsky |
David Strathairn | Ralph McIntosh |
Jon Hamm | Jake Ehrlich |
Andrew Rogers | Lawrence Ferlinghetti |
Bob Balaban | Judge Clayton Horn |
Mary-Louise Parker | Gail Potter |
Heather Klar | Jack's Girlfriend |
Kaydence Frank | Allen's Girlfriend |
Treat Williams | Mark Schorer |
Joe Toronto | Sailor |
Johary Ramos | Hustler |
Nancy Spence | Neal's Girlfriend |
Alessandro Nivola | Luther Nichols |
Jeff Daniels | David Kirk / Professor David Kirk |
Allen Ginsberg | Self / Himself |
Paige Allen | Six Gallery Audience Member |
Nikki Borges | Six Gallery Audience Member |
Producers
Name | Role |
---|
Jawal Nga | Executive Producer |
Gus Van Sant | Executive Producer |
Rob Epstein | Producer |
Jeffrey Friedman | Producer |
Lynn Appelle | Producer |
Ken Bailey | Producer |
Brian Benson | Producer |
James Chan | Producer |
Kelly Gilpatrick | Producer |
Peter Hale | Producer |
John Hays | Producer |
Andrew Peterson | Producer |
Elizabeth Redleaf | Producer |
Bob Rosenthal | Producer |
Mark Steele | Producer |
Christine K. Walker | Producer |