James Franco Picks Up American Tabloid

James Franco needs to stop being so goddamn lazy. ?I mean he only has two films playing at Sundance, recently signed on to direct and star in Beautiful People and found time to write this poem. ?His upcoming schedule includes half-a-dozen new releases, including Oz the Great and Powerful. ?Franco has now decided to direct and star in an adaptation of American Tabloid, a novel from James Ellroy that follows the lives of law enforcement officers as they?re slowly drawn into the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. ?Hit the jump to see Franco talk about American Tabloid?in a recent video interview.

Franco recently spoke to MTV about his upcoming projects, including news that he will direct and star in an adaptation of?American Tabloid:

Here?s Franco?s quote on his new project:

?We?re going to do ?American Tabloid? by James Ellroy. It?s not all put together yet. It?s still early. You?re getting the scoop.?

Ellroy?s 1995 novel has previously been considered for an adaptation with both Bruce Willis and Tom Hanks optioning the rights for a miniseries on two separate occasions. ?We?ll see if the project finally comes together under Franco.

Here?s a look at the book description (via Amazon):

We are behind, and below, the scenes of JFK?s presidential election, the Bay of Pigs, the assassination?in the underworld that connects Miami, Los Angeles, Chicago, D.C. . . .

Where the CIA, the Mob, J. Edgar Hoover, Howard Hughes, Jimmy Hoffa, Cuban political exiles, and various loose cannons conspire in a covert anarchy . . .

Where the right drugs, the right amount of cash, the right murder, buys a moment of a man?s loyalty . . .

Where three renegade law-enforcement officers?a former L.A. cop and two FBI agents?are shaping events with the virulence of their greed and hatred, riding full-blast shotgun into history. . . .

James Ellroy?s trademark nothing-spared rendering of reality, blistering language, and relentless narrative pace are here in electrifying abundance, put to work in a novel as shocking and daring as anything he?s written: a secret history that zeroes in on a time still shrouded in secrets and blows it wide open.

Source: http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1926701/news/1926701/

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