Saturday Night Live rings in the holiday season with three new shows, beginning December 5.

Gossip Girl’s Blake Lively and Rihanna will both appearing “Live From New York” for the first time next weekend. Twilight star Taylor Lautner will make his hosting debut Dec. 12, with musical guest the Grammy Award-winning band Bon Jovi. James Franco returns to SNL to host for the second time with musical guest Muse on Dec. 19

James Franco comes to Port Charles the week of Nov. 20.

Later this month, the Golden Globe-winning hunk will kick off a two-month stay in the fictional city of Port Charles — and producers couldn’t be more thrilled.

“It takes a lot of humility on the part of an actor to not judge (a soap opera). He’s really living his life with a lot of curiosity. It’s so nice to have a shot in the arm like this where we get a lot of attention. It’s good for daytime and who knows? Hopefully it’ll open the door for more film stars.”

James calls the chance to appear on the daytime drama “a blast.”

“It’s been a blast so far,” he tells NYMag.com. “It was kind of mind-blowing. I’ve worked one day on it. It’s one day of a few. But I think we packed seven episodes of my material in.

“They gave me a script for the day that was as thick as a film script and that’s what we planned to shoot in a single day. No ad-libbing. If I needed it, they said they had a teleprompter, but the regulars didn’t use it so I didn’t want to use it, either. Anyway, I’m pretty good at remembering lines.”

James is expected to begin shooting his 30 Rock guest spot in New York City this week. No word on when James’ show might air.

Didn’t he go to UCLA?

“We hear that Franco will work a few days a week on the GH set, taping several shows a day. A source says that Franco ‘wants to do everything’ and would take on his GH role as research for an upcoming film project,” according to ABC Soaps in Depth.

James Franco is best known for his performances in films like Pineapple Express, Milk, and Spider-Man.

“It’s an honor that an actor of Franco’s caliber would choose to spend some of his valuable time in Port Charle,” says GH executive producer Jill Farren Phelps.

Bauer-Griffin

The pair play lovers in the upcoming film Eat, Pray, Love and set tattles claim their script chemistry is manifesting itself in real life.

“James has a massive crush on Julia, and she’s lapping up all the attention,” a spywitness reveals in the Sept.7 issue of Globe. “They’re always laughing and smiling when they’re together and sharing private jokes.”

The Pretty Woman star and Franco, an aspiring writer, have reportedly become inseparable between takes, with the Spider-Man actor adopting the role of eyes, ears, and hand when the cameras aren’t rolling.

“Julia doesn’t need a personal assistant because James is always running off to fetch her bottle of water or cup of coffee and asking if there’s anything she needs.”

Julia has a history of falling for her co-stars; the actress dated Dylan McDermott and Kiefer Sutherland after sharing the screen with the actors.

“James can’t stop bragging about how he gets to make out with Julia nearly every day,” the insider continues. “They even shot a steamy nude sex scene, which rocked his world! He keeps saying if only she was single…..”

Julia — a mother of three — has been married to hubby Danny Moder for seven years.

James Franco has cancelled his appearance and keynote address at UCLA’s June 12 commencement ceremony.

The Pineapple Express star pulled out of the engagement due to scheduling conflicts with an unidentified upcoming film — although we can’t help but wonder if this has anything to do with that Facebook group that several hundred graduating students launched in protest of James’ invitation. .

“I deeply regret not being able to keep my commitment to giving the commencement speech at UCLA’s graduation this year,” the 31-year-old actor — a 2008 UCLA graduate — said in a statement Thursday. “Unfortunately, the date conflicts with me needing to be on location to begin pre-production on my next film. I wish everyone in the 2009 class the best of luck in all of their future endeavors.”