Pretty much a lock for a Best Actor nomination for his fantastic turn in Danny Boyle’s forthcoming “127 Hours,” James Franco is looking to turn in a triple threat as writer, director and star, acquiring the rights to Stephen Elliot’s memoir “The Adderall Diaries.”
Franco, who has written and directed a couple of features, a documentary (“Saturday Night” about SNL that will hit theaters next year via Oscilloscope) and a handful of shorts obviously isn’t a newbie behind the camera, but this will certainly be his most ambitious effort yet. The story is a wild one, a true story about a writer whose attempt to cover a murder trial takes some twisted turns. We’ll let the Publisher’s Weekly synopsis deliver the goods:
As a writer stymied by past success, writers block, substance abuse, relationship problems and a serious set of father issues, Elliott’s cracked-out chronicle of a bizarre murder trial amounts to less than the sum of its parts. Not long into the 2007 trial of programmer Hans Reiser, accused of murdering his wife, the defendant’s friend Sean Sturgeon obliquely confessed to several murders (though not the murder of Reiser’s wife). Elliott, caught up in the film-ready twist and his tenuous connection to Sturgeon (they share a BDSM social circle), makes a gonzo record of the proceedings. The result is a scattered, self-indulgent romp through the mind of a depressive narcissist obsessed with his insecurities and childhood traumas.
Obviously this one is a bit of a way off, but Franco — student, artist, soap opera star, director, actor — continues to surprise. We’re definitely always fans of talent continuing to strike in brave directions they find intriguing and interesting, if not necessarily popular. [Deadline]