Panel featuring James Franco was only missing James Franco

As his panel about his web series "Undergrads" was about to start, doubt began to creep in that he would be a no-show. The doubt was confirmed at the start of the panel at 11 a.m. March 10 in the Austin Convention Center, that Franco was not going to be able to tend.

After that, half the crowd left the tiny Austin Suite, even though many had waited the better part of an hour for his non-appearance. But for those who remained, they were treated to the stories of four University of Texas film students who were features in "Undergrads," which was produced by Franco.

The four students—David Bukstein, Ali Haji, Morgan Young and Bao Truong—are the stars of the series, which airs in a couple weeks on www.jamesfrancotv.com. The series follows them as they discover their own filmmaking skills and the projects they are working on.

Stay tuned for a full story about what they learned on the way and the disappointment that they were not getting to meet their producer.