James Franco Smashes a Guitar Hero Live Controller in This New Trailer

Activision has published new live-action trailer for Guitar Hero Live starring real-world guitar hero Lenny Kravitz and actor James Franco. Directed by Tim and Eric and Portlandia's Jonathan Krisel, the humorous video is called "Win the Crowd" and it's meant to demonstrate how the crowd reacts to the way you play.

As we saw in the initial teaser, Franco makes a joke about Kravitz's leather pants wardrobe malfunction this summer, while Kravitz takes a few shots at Franco as well. According to Activision Publishing CMO Tim Ellis, some of the back-and-forth between the pair was "purely spontaneous."

You'll want to stick around to the end, as Franco screams "rock and roll" as he proceeds to smash the controller on the coffee table. Kravitz's response to this is a slow-cap, which seems about right.

This video was produced by ad agency 72andSunny, which also has worked on various Call of Duty and Destiny live-action trailers. It will air on TV stations around the globe starting this week.

Guitar Hero Live--the first entry in the series since 2010's Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock--launches on October 20 for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3, Xbox One, Xbox 360, Wii U, and mobile devices. Competitor Rock Band 4 was released earlier this week and received a generally positive response from critics.