James Franco has enjoyed a nice rise to fame after his exposure with Freaks and Geeks. He fought Peter Parker in the Spider-Man trilogy and made us laugh in Pineapple Express while also delivering a Oscar-caliber performance in Milk the same year. He will also be the lead in Danny Boyle‘s 127 Hours, set for a release later this year and will re-team with David Gordon Green in the comedy Your Highness, which was recently pushed back to next April.
Now Deadline reports on two upcoming projects he is attached to star in. The first will be Rupert Wyatt‘s prequel Rise of the Apes for 20th Century Fox. It is reported that Franco and Wyatt “met last week and sparked to a collaboration.” Some more details on the project can be found below.
The film is set in contemporary San Francisco, where a genetic engineering experiment leads to the creation of intelligence in apes, causing an inevitable conflict between species. Fox has already partnered with Peter Jackson‘s WETA Digital for the cutting edge visual effects. Franco plays a young scientist who becomes a crucial figure in the war between humans and apes.
Rise of the Apes will begin production July 5th, 2010 for a June 24th, 2011 release.
The next project he is attached to is for Ricky Stanicky. The script is written by Jeff Bushell of Drawn Together and Beverly Hills Chihuahua. The plot is “a couple of pals who invented a fake friend they employ when they want to get away from their spouses get called on their BS when the wives insist on meeting Ricky Stanicky at a party they are throwing. The guys hire an actor (Franco) to play Stanicky.” Summit is looking to produce and distribute.
I’m kind of surprised Franco is attached to both of these projects, but I’m always looking forward to what he does.
What do you think about these two Franco roles?