Popping culture: Seth Rogen, as a muse, aka James Franco pulls a LaBeouf

It will come as no surprise that Seth Rogen is the focal point of much admiration among those who appreciate a hirsute and occasionally larger man.

Although Rogen has dropped much of the weight he used to wear during his Pineapple Express/Knocked Up days, he is still a man with many fans, and not just for his comedy. In 2011, artist Christopher Schulz, creator of Pinups magazine, published a small art book called Seth (link NSFW), with lovingly rendered sketches and images he created of the actor. Rogen even received a copy of the book and discussed it on Conan O’Brien’s show.

On a recent publicity tour for his latest film, Bad Neighbours, Rogen was a guest on The Graham Norton Show, where once again, Schulz’s book was the topic of the day. Watch below.

It also bears noting that one of Rogen’s frequent co-stars, James Franco, has also been inspired by Rogen’s body and has been making art inspired by it. But any keen fan of Schulz’s body of work (and of Rogen’s body) will notice that many of the poses depicted in the art have a striking similarity to the ones shown in Seth. Has Franco pulled a Shia LaBeouf and blatantly plagiarized Schulz’s work?

I invite you to judge for yourselves.

Journalist, writer, blogger, producer.

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