Even as James Franco’s star continues to rise, the hunky actor still insists on clinging on to whatever indie cred he may have left. His next foray into the world of indiedom, apart from his upcoming Allen Ginsberg biopic HOWL, will be the drama IN PRAISE OF SHADOWS, written and directed by Jay Anania. Anania is the head of the directing program at the graduate film school at NYU, where Franco just completed his first year. He’s also currently completing his master’s degree in English at Columbia University. I guess for some, school is about more than just getting a job afterwards. It’s about banging co-eds too.
Franco will play William Vincent, a man who spent four years in exile to rescue the woman he loves from a crime syndicate, and then embarks on a strange journey back to his home, New York City. The film has a budget of less than $10 million, and after reading and loving the script, Franco managed to fit it into his schedule just before he heads to Ireland to shoot YOUR HIGHNESS with Danny McBride and Natalie Portman. During my summer breaks I watered plants at a cemetary and ate fish sticks.