The next directorial effort from James Franco is an adaptation of the classic John Steinbeck novel “In Dubious Battle” and he’s already landed a very impressive cast. Looking at the list of many features James Franco has directed on his IMDb has lead me to believe that the man doesn’t eat or sleep. I can’t say I’ve seen most of these due to the fact they don’t get a wide enough release or I just forget to check them out on VOD; with this cast though, I think I’ll remember to check this one out.
He has assembled a big-name cast including his SPRING BREAKERS co-star Selena Gomez, Vincent D’Onofrio, Robert Duvall, Ed Harris, Bryan Cranston and Danny McBride. The film is looking to shoot in March, and Matt Rager, who co-wrote AS I LAY DYING with Franco, drafted the screenplay.
Published in 1936, In Dubious Battle is considered the first major work of Pulitzer Prize-winning author John Steinbeck. Set in a fictionalized valley in California, the story explores themes Steinbeck continued to develop: group behavior, social injustice, man’s inhumanity to man— all themes which continue to be relevant today. A labor conflict between migrant apple pickers and the local growers’ association is the backdrop against which Jim Nolan (Franco) becomes involved in the labor movement and rapidly matures as he learns what it means to do organizational fieldwork.
Franco loves to adapt literary works, and has been doing so at a rapid rate as of late. William Faulkner’s “As I Lay Dying” and “The Sound and the Fury”, Cormac McCarthy’s “Child of God”, and Steve Erickson’s “Zeroville” just to name a few. It’s not easy material but he seems to enjoy doing it, it’s refreshing to see weekend numbers don’t matter to some artists.