Oh, sure, he’s exhibited his visual art in galleries, gotten a book published, recorded some much-blogged-about music with Kalup Linzy, and even placed his fiction in Esquire. But, as far as we’re concerned, none of this is quite as impressive, when you’re a celebrity polymath, as earning a byline on the website of the venerable Paris Review — a publication whose lack of concern for the meme-worthy is evident in its 30-page interviews with authors who have never cracked a New York Times best sellers list. Today, James Franco is addressing the magazine’s highbrow readership with his video River, his Gus Van Sant-blessed cut of My Own Private Idaho, assembled from the original footage and edited in what he sees as Van Sant’s more mature style, featuring longer takes and minimalist storytelling. Sure enough, it is pretty reminiscent of Last Days, with all the wandering around outside and the mumbling and the silence. Also, because this is still James Franco we’re talking about, there is some peeing, too. Watch the clip after the jump, and then read Franco’s piece at the Paris Review.