Showbiz411

Exclusive: Oscar nominated actor James Franco–who’s already directed a bunch of short films and a couple of indie features– is making a big leap. He’s finally getting to make his passion project. He’ll direct William Faulkner’s classic, “As I Lay Dying.” The shoot is set for October in Mississippi. Avi Lerner’s Millenium Films is financing it. And Franco is busy lining up his cast. Names already on the roster include Danny McBride, Tim Blake Nelson, Logan Marshall Green, Ahna O’Reilly, and Jim Parrack.

Franco himself will  have a small role in the film, based on Faulkner’s famous tale told in more than a dozen voices. I first reported that Franco would direct the Faulkner story more than a year and a half ago, but it’s taken that much time to put this complicated venture together. Look for more names to be added shortly.

http://www.showbiz411.com/2011/01/03/exclusive-james-franco-planning-to-direct-faulkner-cormac-mccarthy-classics

It’s pretty exciting if you’re a Faulkner fan. The last time someone tried to make one of his novels into a film was the legendary Martin Ritt, in 1959, with “The Sound and the Fury.” It’s time to try again.

Meanwhile, here’s Franco’s latest directed commercial, for the new Samsung Galaxy Note:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=RKzNr2y_qTQ

Roger Friedman

Roger Friedman began his Showbiz411 column in April 2009 after 10 years with Fox News. Friedman previously wrote the Intelligencer column at New York Magazine, He writes for Parade magazine and has written for Details, Vogue, the New York Times, Post, and Daily News and many other publications. He is the writer and co-producer of a film about R&B Music called “Only the Strong Survive,” which was released by Miramax in 2003 and was a selection of the Cannes, Sundance, and Telluride Film festivals.