James Franco, who is pretty much guaranteed a Best Actor Oscar nomination for his turn in Danny Boyle’s excellent “127 Hours,” seems to be quietly surrounding himself with a number of projects to keep his options open as his agent’s phone becomes busier in the upcoming months.
Last month, the actor picked up the rights to “The Adderall Diaries” as a potential writing, directing and starring vehicle and earlier this year, it was revealed he was writing an adaptation of Charles Bukowski’s “Ham On Rye” with his brother Dave Franco in addition to being linked to “The Broken Tower,” a film based on the life of poet Hart Crane. Well, one more project is being added to James Franco’s desk filled with scripts, art projects and school assignments.
The actor has picked up the rights to the memoir “The Holy Land” as yet another potential film. According to author D.J. Waldie, Franco read the book in a class at UCLA and “it stuck in his memory.” The book finds Waldie recounting his childhood growing up in the idyllic suburb of Lakewood, California in the 1950s and the unique quirks of the era — such as local mall built with a half-mile fallout shelter.
Sounds like some intriguing material but this is likely a long way off. So you might want to pick up the book in the meantime. The ladies should note. We didn’t bother mentioning it in our New York Comic-Con reports, but during the “Your Highness” panel, Franco did say he is thinking about returning to “General Hospital” and possibly directing an episode as well. You’ve been warned.