James Franco Is All Over Our Screens This Year - Here's What To Look Out For
James Franco looks to be a busy man at the moment - and we're not just talking about his Instagram selfie habit. Ever the hard worker, the 'Child Of God' star has taken on an enormous amount of projects this year - each one more different than the next - whether it's acting, directing, writing or producing.
His most recent movie roles include controversial romance 'Palo Alto', action thriller 'Homefront', London set crime movie 'Good People' and, obviously, the aforementioned violent drama 'Child Of God'. So what's coming up in the near future?
More: Was James Franco antics ahead of 'Palo Alto' release a deliberate publicity stunt?
True Story Franco joins buddy Jonah Hill in this upcoming literally 'true story' drama based on the memoirs of journalist Michael Finkel. Finkel was fired by the New York Times after making a bad decision on a story, but soon after he is informed by police that a dangerous murderer named Christian Longo has been on the run since murdering his family and is currently living under Finkel's name. The two men find a connection and a very unsual relationship unfolds. 'True Story' is just one of Franco and Hill's current projects together; they are also working on animated comedy 'Sausage Party' which is set for 2016 and the pair previously teamed up with apocalyptic comedy 'This Is The End'.
Yosemite It seems James Franco is a multi-talented kind of guy, not least with being involved in all areas of film including writing and directing. In 2010, he published a series of short stories in a book called 'Palo Alto' and 'Yosemite' is just one of those tales. Set in California's Yosemite National Park, the film follows a group of teenagers under threat of a hungry mountain lion. It has been written and directed by Gabrielle Demeestere who previously co-directed 2012's 'Forever Love' in which Franco and Dennis Hopper's son Henry Hopper starred together for the first time. The pair are back on set together in this new drama - and that can only be a good thing.
More: A look at James Franco's writing career...
Queen of the Desert Featuring alongside a pretty impressive cast including Nicole Kidman, Robert Pattinson and Damian Lewis, Franco stars in another biographical drama based on the life of Gertrude Bell; a traveller, an archaeologist and a spy known for her extensive and influential work in the Middle East. Werner Herzog is at the helm for this movie, whose work includes 2005's 'Grizzly Man' and 2006's 'Rescue Dawn'. Franco will play Henry Cadogan (with whom he shares a rather extraordinary resemblance), an Earl also known as Viscount Chelsea.
The Sound and the Fury Franco certainly enjoys his adaptations and 'The Sound and the Fury' is one of his latest book-to-film features, based on the 1929 novel by William Faulkner. The movie stars his old pal Seth Rogen as well as his roommate Scott Haze - the latter of whom generated a bit of news recently when Gawker alleged that the pair were in a homosexual relationship (they're not). The movie follows the lives of the troubled Compson family in Jefferson, Mississippi and it is his latest project with Haze who also starred in his crime thriller 'Child of God'.
More: Franco's Twitter comment summed up his feelings over Gawker claims.
Next page: Franco's most controversial movie yet?
The Interview Arguably the most controversial movie James Franco has been involved with yet (and yes we are keeping 'Interior. Leather. Bar' and 'Palo Alto' in mind), 'The Interview' is Seth Rogen's new comedy which brazenly parodies North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un. In the movie, the pair play budding American journalists who are flown out to the Far East by the CIA on discovering that Kim Jong-Un is a fan of their TV show, and asked to assassinate him. In light of the tensions between the two countries at the moment, the North Korean dictator is understandably not happy about the film's release.
More: Will Seth Rogen's new movie cause a war?
Black Dog, Red Dog As usual, Franco doesn't like to keep things simple in his movie-making so it's time for us to get our heads around this one. 'Black Dog, Red Dog' is a concept film with ten different directors and writers. It's a series of short stories, a little like his 'Palo Alto' book but instead this is based on a book of poems by Stephen Dobyns. Few details of the movie have been released but a glance at the announced cast is getting us pretty excited about it. Starring alongside Franco is Olivia Wilde, Chloë Sevigny, Whoopi Goldberg and Logan Marshall-Green.
More: Franco has been directing a range of other projects.
The Little Prince Just to throw a bit of fun into the mix, Franco will be lending his voice to The Fox in Mark Osborne's adaptation of Antoine de Saint-Exupéry's 1943 novella 'The Little Prince'. It's France's most translated book and tells the story of young boy who is stranded in a desert far away from his tiny home planet alongside a pilot whose plane has crashed nearby. The pair are intrigued by each other and they develop an unlikely friendship. Joining Franco in the movie is Rachel McAdams, Marion Cotillard, Benicio Del Toro, Jeff Bridges, Paul Giamatti and Ricky Gervais. It seems that Franco has a film project to suit every demographic this year!
The Adderall Diaries Franco is currently in the process of filming this intense drama thriller opposite Amber Heard and Ed Harris, which is another movie based on the 'true story' memoirs of Stephen Elliott. He acts as a producer in the Pamela Romanowsky directed flick which has themes of murder, justice and S&M. It follows writer Stephen Elliott's fascination with a man named Hans Reiser accused of murdering his wife, and his best friend who openly confesses to a series of other brutal killings while Hans proclaims his innocence. It's pretty warped stuff, but it seems Franco isn't happy unless he's involved in something shocking or other.