James Franco fell asleep on a date

The `Oz, The Great and Powerful` actor took rumoured girlfriend Ashley Benson to a midnight screening of new James Bond movie `Skyfall` but the pair couldn`t keep their eyes open and kept nodding off throughout the film.

One fellow moviegoer at Hollywood`s ArcLight Theater told the New York Post newspaper: "They tried to stay incognito catching a late show together. But both James and Ashley fell asleep. They were woken up by theatre staff at the end of the movie."

James was first linked to `Pretty Little Liars` actress Ashley in September and insiders say the pair are smitten with each other.

A source said last month: "They have been seeing each other for a little over a month, but things are going well."

Last year, James - who claims he is single - revealed he had split from his long-term girlfriend Ahna O`Reilly after dating her for five years.

He admitted the long-distance had become too much for them as he was studying English at Yale University, in New Haven, Connecticut, while she stayed in Los Angeles.

He said: "That [relationship] lasted about four or five years. We`d been living together in LA then I came to New York to go to school for two years.

"Then I signed up for more school at Yale. I think that was it for her."

sections: Celebrities