Michael Glatze’s controversial journey from passionate gay rights advocate to committed anti-gay preacher made for one fascinating 2011 New York Times Magazine cover story. But turning that radical transformation into a feature film?

James Franco, who plays Glatze, just couldn’t see it — at first.

“The trajectory of the character is not one that you would expect for a movie,” he said in a phone interview from Toronto. “You usually would expect a character to be closeted and come out and overcome those types of obstacles.”

But when Gus Van Sant, the director Franco had worked with on the Oscar-winning “Milk,” suggested the idea, Franco reconsidered.
“If Gus Van Sant thinks it’s going to potentially be a good movie, then you kind of listen.”

Certainly the audience will listen and likely have something to say about the even-keeled “I Am Michael,” a bold opening night film choice at Frameline39, the Bay Area’s 11-day festival that kicks off Thursday and showcases movies with pertinent LGBTQ themes.

Franco, a Palo Alto native, is not the only Bay Area tie to “I Am Michael.” The article the film is based on, “My Ex-Gay Friend,” was written by former Contra Costa Times reporter Benoit Denizet-Lewis, who had worked with the real-life Glatze at the San Francisco-based XY magazine.

The filmmakers understood that “I Am Michael” required a careful approach in realizing Glatze’s journey and radical turnabout. The Dartmouth graduate who championed gay youths while working at XY magazine and then co-founded the Young Gay America publication with boyfriend Ben (played by Zachary Quinto in the film), went through a spiritual crisis that resulted in his denouncing gay life and converting to conservative Christianity.

Glatze, now a minister living with his wife in Wyoming, was open to having his life portrayed on screen, with one condition.
“As long as we were going to tell the story in a very evenhanded way,” Franco said. “From the beginning, it was definitely the intention that we present the facts of his life, rather than trying to vilify him.”

Doing so led to a few conversations about whether the filmmakers needed to “clarify even more that we don’t necessarily agree with what Michael said,” he recalls. But he believes that anybody reading this as a pro-conversion narrative is willfully misreading the movie. The ending of the film reflects that.

To prepare for the role, Franco consulted with director Justin Kelly, who also wrote the screenplay for this, his first feature- length film. The 37-year-old actor says he approaches how he researches roles based on the individual he is playing.

He’s played a variety of characters based on real people, some alive, some from the past. Some are very public figures such as James Dean and Beat poet Allen Ginsberg, and some are just known for what they did, like Aron Ralston (who famously cut off his own forearm when he got trapped bouldering) in “127 Hours,” or Scott Smith (iconic gay activist Harvey Milk’s boyfriend) in “Milk.”

“With James Dean, everybody knows what he looks like, everybody knows what he moves like and sounds like, so taking on the physical behavior and mannerisms was part of that role,” he said. “With Aron Ralston, it wasn’t. What was important was what he went through, not how he sounded.”

For the role of Glatze, Franco communicated with Michael via email and Skype before filming, “more to get his final blessing … so he could look me in the eye and see that I wasn’t out to vilify him and all that.”

But his acting decisions, he said, were informed by Kelly, the director. He also tapped into feelings he experienced about where his career was leading early on.

“I can’t relate a lot of specifics to Michael’s story, but I think a lot of people do go through a similar type of crisis, granted often to a smaller degree than what Michael went through.”

When he was in his late 20s, Franco realized he wasn’t happy with his life.

“In my case, it was how I conducted myself professionally and the kinds of projects I was doing and how I was living my life socially and how I was kind of a recluse. … It’s a completely different type of change than Michael (underwent), but I did feel some of that panic. I sort of went through a mini-depression and needed to figure out some new path.”

In his career, Franco has played more than a few gay characters and been involved with projects with gay themes. Currently, in addition to “I Am Michael,” he co-stars as Robert Duvall’s estranged gay son in the recently released “Wild Horses” (available on some streaming platforms).

These roles and his ease with them have led to speculation about his sexuality. Franco sees that as happening whenever he takes on a role.

“That’s what part of being in the public eye is. You become a fixture of discussion. If I do a film where I play a stoner, people will think I’m a stoner. And if I play in a movie where I have a boyfriend, then some people will want to think that I have a boyfriend. It’s just part of being a public figure.”

He credit’s Ang Lee’s “Brokeback Mountain,” which cast two straight actors — Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal — and landed multiple Oscar nominations, for breaking ground in Hollywood.

“Even in the last 10 years, there has been a real change insofar as the stigma or the danger of taking on a gay role, whether you are a straight actor or a gay actor,” he said. “(But) I believe it’s never enough if you weigh it against the way it should be.”

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