I`ve tried to help Lindsay Lohan: James Franco

London: ‘127 Hours’ star James Franco says he tried to help troubled star Lindsay Lohan through some of her professional and personal troubles over the years.

The "Spider-Man" star and Lohan recently appeared together in a promo video for the track `Blue`, taken from the final album by rock band REM. Lohan and the 34-year-old actor met while shooting the video, which was filmed in February 2011 and directed by Franco himself, reported Digital Spy online. Franco said that he and the "Liz & Dick" actress were once very close friends, but have since drifted apart. "Lindsay and I had reconnected at that time. I had been writing some poems about the Chateau Marmont (hotel in Los Angeles), and one or two of the poems involved Lindsay... I`ve known Lindsay for a while. "It was at a moment where it seemed like she was doing okay. We`d have conversations on the phone, and she seemed like she was doing okay. I haven`t talked to her in a long time because it seemed like she was getting into some more trouble. I`ve tried to help her," Franco said. The 26-year-old actress has recently run into legal troubles, with a series of arrests and charges stemming from alleged assault and reckless driving. "I think one of the reasons it`s so hard is when she gets in trouble, she gets all this attention and I`m sure she gets book offers. Like, she goes to jail, and instead of feeling like, `I really hit a low place`, she`ll get a crazy offer for her jail memoir," Franco added. PTI