Posted on 05/07/2015 8:04:20 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
Actor James Franco has written a lengthy endorsement of his former employer, McDonald's.
The brand has been struggling with declining US sales and announced an extensive turnaround plan this week.
Franco writes in a Washington Post op-ed that in the late '90s he was a struggling actor living in Los Angeles. He was fired from a coffee shop and golf course and couldn't find acting jobs.
He became desperate after his parents cut him off financially.
"Someone asked me if I was too good to work at McDonald’s," Franco writes. "Because I was following my acting dream despite all the pressure not to, I was definitely not too good to work at McDonald’s."
Franco says he began working in the drive-thru and practicing foreign accents on customers.
Despite that fact that he had been a vegetarian before he started working at McDonald's, he began eating the cheeseburgers that were headed for the trash after sitting for more than seven minutes.
"I hate to whistleblow, but everyone ate straight from the fry hopper. You’d walk by and snag a fry and pop it in your mouth. So easy," he writes. "I also put tons of salt on the fries because that’s how I like them."
Franco was eventually promoted to working behind the counter.
He was able to leave his job at McDonald's after booking a Super Bowl commercial with Pizza Hut. Since then, he's become one of the most successful actors in the industry, starring in The Interview, 127 Hours, and Spiderman.
But Franco says he still feels affection for the fast food chain.
(Excerpt) Read more at businessinsider.com ...
I had never heard of Farah Fawcett, and did not know who she was, back in the '70s at the peak of her fame, because I didn't have TV.
I had a household, but didn't know who she was.
Does that mean that hers wasn't a household name?
Has he ever had the lead role in a successful Hollywood movie? I would think the to be one of the “most successful” you should be able to carry a movie.
Hear, hear - my first job was at Mickey D’s, and I still use some form of the “if there’s time to lean, there’s time to clean” meme with kids today. And the reservists I lead in the Air Force JAG Corps. And the employees at my law firm.
Yeah, a pretty good place to start. Although today, I’d probably lean toward Chik-Fil-A...
Colonel, USAFR
Agreed. Aiming their advertising to identity groups rather than people is a turnoff no matter what.
Name me a Hollywood movie that Elisha Cook had a lead role in, and carried? You cannot. Yet the plain reality is that he was one of the "most successful" guys in Hollywood, plain and simple.
As for whether or not Franco has "carried" a lead role, it depends on whether you rely on the opinion of critics, or the opinion of yourself after you've actually SEEN a few of the movies staring the guy you're talking about.
Your pigheadedness is showing, circle.
So you acknowledge you believe you can be one of the “most successful” actors in the industry without ever having had the lead role in a successful movie and can’t carry a movie. Pretty low bar for “most successful”.
Really? Are you referring to Mexicans? Do they make you laugh?
To date, 127 Hours is one of his most well-reviewed movies and was also a commercial success, earning $60.7 million against an $18 million budget. His performance earned him universal acclaim from critics. Subsequently, he was nominated for an Academy Award, Golden Globe and SAG award, as well as winning an Independent Spirit Award
That sounds pretty successful to me
"pretty successful is a long way from "one of the MOST successful". That's like saying the second string running back on the Raiders is "one of the most successful players in the NFL" because he actually made the team and went a few years without being cut.
You are ignorant of that truth.
:^)
cport, circlecity cannot admit that he screwed up.
Thanks, cool story. Do you have any other ones from different ‘actors’ and such?
Riiiiight. and you can be one of the most successful coaches in history without ever winning a game.
There was a lot of teamwork coordinating grill, buns, dressing, fries, and shakes. I was on the “A Team” and responsible for buns and backup on grill. We were all cross-trained, however, to jump in at each station in the kitchen when needed. During the big rush hours (i.e., the day after Thanksgiving) we had non-stop, overlapping runs of 24/12/6 for hours at a time. Teamwork was essential because when the burgers came off the grill, there had to be toasted buns ready for the patties, with a dresser standing by with loaded “squirt guns” and bins of cheese, pickles, and onions for the burgers, which were then wrapped and moved to heating trays for service. The crew chief, who stood between the servers and the kitchen was crucial to the coordination effort because he or she was responsible for not only increasing production as the lines formed, but also slowing production as the lines dwindled to minimize waste (i.e., food that sat on the heating trays more than 7 minutes, IIRC)
The franchise owner was out of Bridgeport CT. He was an old fashioned German guy who was cut from the same cloth as Ray Kroc. IIRC correctly, he owned something like 40 stores in CT, NY, and NJ, and he an his sons, who now run the franchises, are legends within the McDonald’s organization. The “old man” used to visit his stores in disguise to check out the operations and make sure we were doing things the “McDonalds way,” and it worked because he gave bonuses to the top stores, and we very competitive and wanted to win. Some of the people I worked with way back then chose McDonald’s University over a traditional college and from what I understand, many of them are still working for the franchise owner in well-paid mid-management and executive positions.
Like I said, McDonald’s was a great place to work back then and I am very proud to have worked there.
Okay, CC. Let’s break this down. The article didn’t claim he is the most successful actor in history, it stated, “Since then, he’s become one of the most successful actors in the industry”. So by using the criteria of being nominated for a few Golden Globes, an Oscar, two Emmys, and three SAG awards and winning a Golden Globe and two Independent Spirit awards and starring in successful to moderately successful films, he would be, SINCE THEN, one of the most successful actors in the industry.
Also, comparing acting success to football, less like a coach not winning games, more like Dan Marino not winning a Super Bowl. He is in the Hall of Fame.
Now, I’m not saying that James Franco is the Dan Marino of Hollywood, just a more apt comparison.
I remember this older maintenance gentleman we had. He would get so mad at the teenagers who threw garbage in the parking lot. One time I remember him going outside and throwing it back in their car! This was back in 1972. Never get away with that now. I was proud to work there, too!
When I worked there back in the 1970s, McDonalds was one of the most popular jobs among high school students. Working at McDonalds was a status symbol, and the competition to get hired was intense.
My first real job too, back in 81. Worked there while in HS, lots of fun, lots of girls, and easy work. Very easy to be successful there with the effort. I could rock that multi-mixer at lunch rush!
Been working in the tech manufacturing industry after a stint in the Navy since then, but have always been able to work there as a second job when monetary circumstances dictated (always around the birth of a new kid). If you show up on time and do your job, they always want to make you a manager. The kids that work there these days are for the most part worthless.
I’ve noticed that, worthless I mean. No work ethic.
I love the FR threads about celebrities where people weigh in just to tell us how they never heard of the person, that they don't watch TV and that they haven't been to the movies since the talkies were invented.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.