James Franco To Start Directing Movies
by Marivic Cabural
Actor James Franco confirmed speculations that he is planning to direct two movies adapted from the novels “As I Lay Dying” written by William Faulkner and “Blood Meridian” by Cormac McCarthy.
Franco told EW that he is planning to start the filming of As I Lay Dying this summer and he will make necessary adjustments on the book for the big screen.
He said, “You want to capture the tone, but you can’t work in exactly the same way,”
He further explained. “I don’t believe it’ll feel the same if you divide it as rigidly as the book, like titles that say ‘Cash’ and then you’re with Cash.
Moreover the “Milk” actor said, “You can slip into the characters’ heads and give them their inner voice for a while, but it has to be more fluid because movies just work differently than books. Movies, in some ways because they deal in images, are more concrete. I want to be loyal to the book — my approach is to always be loyal in a lot a ways — but in order to be loyal I will have to change some things for the movie.”
Meanwhile Franco said that he asked the help of Scott Glenn and Luke Perry, his brother Dave and Mark Pellegrino to film one sequence from the book “Blood Meridian” in order to convince Scott Rudin to award the project to him.
“It was like, ‘Why should he give it to me when Ridley Scott didn’t make it?”So, I called him up and said, ‘I’m planning on doing this. You don’t have to give me any money, I can finance this shoot. Would you just wait? Don’t do anything with it until I show this to you.’ And I showed it to him and he loved it,” said the actor.
The actor plans to film “Blood Meridian” in 2012.
James Franco will also be hosting the 83rd Academy Awards with “Love and Other Dugs” Actress Anne Hathaway.