James Franco Directs Lindsay Lohan in New R.E.M. Video

James Franco Directing La Lohan. Seriously?

This Just in From the Department of Weird ...

See if you can follow the dots here. James Franco has directed the new R.E.M. video. You read that correctly. The band, which broke up last September, has a new music video hitting the airwaves (though certainly not MTV since they no longer play music videos apparently.

How is this possible?

The video in question is for a track called "Blue" off of the band's final album, "Collpase Into Now."

And, it gets weirder, the track features vocals by Michael Stipe and Patti Smith and as the video takes the viewer on a tour of a dark and mysterious Los Angeles at night, we see Lindsay Lohan posing for a photo shoot with famed photographer Terry Richardson.

How'd Franco get involved and get to helm the vid? He was instrumental in the making ofthe series of short films that correspond with R.E.M.'s "Collapse Into Now" songs.

Random much?