We don't know if James Franco is gay or not, but he certainly doesn't seem to care what the hell any of us think either way, so bless him for that. The latest tittering tidbit? An erotically-charged short film.

Yeah, Movieline has seen the Franco-directed picture, an adaptation of Anthony Hecht's rull, rull gay poem The Feast of Stephen. And what did STV find upon viewing it? Franco either nailed the work's frank-yet-lyrical paeans to the male form, or he just really likes filming naked boys swinging:

...the silent, black-and-white Stephen opens with its meek, bespectacled title character (Remy Germinario, in his screen debut) watching a pick-up basketball game in New York City. But the only score Stephen is keeping is the number of shirtless hunks dribbling, sweating and writhing on the court. One mop-topped stud in particular has all the moves, nudging Stephen's daydream into the more erotic realm of naked boys playing hoops - in slow-motion, natch, and suddenly transported to a wooded glen where society's referees won't blow a whistle on their hard fouls.

But it's not all sunshine and longing gazes, though. In the end poor Stephen gets beat up and pooped on. In the face.

For all the visual turgidity, though, STV says the film is "a tight, competent, attractive exercise." Emphasis, we're guessing, on tight and attractive.

Franco, you rogue.