James Franco’s thug-life “Spring Breakers” character, Alien, wasn’t born out of thin air. In fact, he spent a lot of time with a real-life persona, Dangeruss, while making the Harmony Korine-directed film. Their friendship led to the music video for “Dope Boyz,” which MTV News is exclusively premiering, along with an essay from director Franco and candid photos of Dangeruss. Franco didn’t go about this project alone; he worked with film editors Andinh Ha and Pau Dalmases on the music video. 

Click here to read James Franco’s words about the experience and watch Dangeruss’ Franco-directed video “Dope Boyz”.