Roger Friedman over at Showbiz411 says that Franco is currently in talks to direct an adaptation of William Faulkner's 1930 novel, As I Lay Dying. Franco's already hammered out the screenplay, which centers around the death of Addie Bundren, and her family's often misguided attempts to honor her last wishes. Faulkner's story is known for it's stream of consciousness style, which features multiple narrators and literally dozens of chapters.
Friedman notes that this is the project Franco is most closely associated with right now, despite the many projects his name is attached to. The actor has noted before his deep love for the work of Faulkner and As I Lay Dying in particular.
As if helming one of the most acclaimed novels of the 20th century wasn't enough, Franco is also trying to work something out to write/direct an adaptation of Cormac McCarthy's 'Blood Meridian'
. Producer Scott Rudin has been trying to find the right guy to adapt McCarthy's ultra-violent western for some time, with both Todd Field(Little Children
) and Ridley Scott having been attached in the past. The story follows a kid and his experiences travelling alongside a vicious group of scalphunters known as the Glanton Gang back in the 1850s. The odd thing is that when pressed on the issue by Indiewire, Rudin sortof poo-poo'ed Roger Friedman's story. He didn't flatly deny it, either, so I'm not sure what's going on there. Maybe he considers the whole thing too tenuous to talk about at this stage? Not quite sure. Either way, James Franco is well on his way to proving that he can no longer be considered just a pretty face. The guy is staking a claim to being a true Hollywood force both in front of and behind the camera.
