James Franco is taking classes at both Yale and the Rhode Island School of Design, he's hosting the Oscars in February, he just wrapped up work on his latest writer-director effort "The Broken Tower," and he's making the press rounds to promote his likely-to-be-Oscar-nominated role in "127 Hours." But instead of planning a well-deserved vacation, Franco is busy lining up his next two directorial efforts.
Franco tells Showbiz 411 that he's currently in talks to direct an adaptation of William Faulkner's classic novel "As I Lay Dying" from a script he wrote. Franco has been discussing the film with the Faulkner estate for some time, has secured financing from Fox Searchlight and is looking to get the whole shebang off the ground this spring.
For those unfamiliar with the novel, "As I Lay Dying" is the tale of one woman's death and her family's quest to honor the woman's wish to be buried in her hometown of Jefferson, Mississippi. Sounds straightforward enough, right? Wrong. Written in a stream-of-consciousness style, the novel has 15 different narrators and 59 chapters, some quite lengthy and one a mere five words long ("My mother is a fish"). Needless to say, "As I Lay Dying" wouldn't be a walk in the park for even the most seasoned of directors.
It's not the only challenging material Franco is sizing up, either. He's also got his eye on writing and directing an adaptation of author Cormac McCarthy's gritty Western tale "Blood Meridian." Widely considered McCarthy's masterpiece -- and one of the best American novels of the 20th century -- the 1986 book follows the blood-soaked adventures of a runaway, known only as "the kid," as he rides with a gang near the U.S.-Mexico border during the mid-1800s.
Heady stuff indeed. But if there's one thing we've learned over the past couple year's it's this: Never underestimate James Franco.
Do you think Franco can do justice to "I Lay Dying" and "Blood Meridian"? Tell us in the comments!
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