James Franco‘s The Broken Tower, which documents the life of American poet Hart Crane, was shown at the L.A. Film Festival this June, and while there, Focus Features was perhaps the distributor that showed the most interest in the project. It now looks as if that involvement as been confirmed, as James‘ mom, Betsy Franco, tweeted this morning that, “…Broken Tower was bought by Focus Features.” [Showbiz 411]
It almost seems as if the people at Focus are the first contributors to the project without the last name of Franco. James‘ list of credits include director, writer, producer, and actor, as he plays the lead role of Hart Crane, and Betsy plays Crane’s mother, Grace. James‘ brother, Dave Franco, will play Crane in his younger years. Michael Shannon (Take Shelter) also appears in the film.
Focus’ distribution strategy should be interesting to observe, as the film reportedly “features a shocking moment of rather graphic oral sex performed by Crane.” It’s also been described as “very indie, brave, and well done,” which makes me want to see it all the more.
Franco continues to prove that he’s one of today’s artists without fear of pushing boundaries or breaking grounds, and his upcoming forays into directing seem like they’ll continue in that fashion. As reported earlier in the year, Franco‘s been working on an adaptation of Faulkner’s As I Lay Dying, and that could turn out to be the project he tackles next.
Are you excited for The Broken Tower?