James Franco Approved to Buy Footage From Filmmaker Bankruptcy

Sept. 9, 2025, 7:13 PM UTC

Actor James Franco secured court approval to buy the uncut footage of a documentary about him, ending a long-running dispute over ownership of the never-aired movie.

Franco and his production company can buy the rights and more than 200 hours of unaired footage of “Franco. A Documentary,” Judge Robert Kwan said during a Tuesday hearing in the US Bankruptcy Court for the Central District of California.

The purchase for an undisclosed sum is part of a deal with the bankruptcy trustee of Orchid Child Productions LLC that was announced last month in a court filing.

Kwan’s approval allows the parties ...

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