James Franco Working On a Cormac McCarthy Adaptation

The next director to tackle the newest film adaptation of a novel from the legendary Cormac McCarthy will be James Franco?  Reports are Franco announced at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) that McCarthy's "Child of God" is his next directorial gig.

"Child of God" is the story of Lester Ballard, a troubled drifter who further distances himself from normal society and becomes a sort of violent cave dweller.  Apparently, this novel wasn't Franco's first choice of McCarthy's work to adapt, he previously had his heart set on making "Blood Meridian".  He even went so far as to shoot a 20-minute test of the film, and was said to be quite satisfied with the end result.  But for whatever reason, that film will be put on hold for now as "Child of God" becomes the new focus.

"Child of God" has drawn the most comparison to McCarthy's No Country for Old Men, which the Coen Brothers were able to adapt into an Oscar for Best Picture.  Maybe Franco is hoping to share a similar fate with his film adaptation.  We shall see.

Franco has impressed me with his acting skills (Pineapple Express, 127 Hours), so I'm intrigued to see if his talent translates behind the camera as well.  Plus, McCarthy novels have always made for good, entertaining feature films.

Franco just wrapped up his latest directorial effort on the biopic of actor Sal Mineo, titled Sal.  It's unknown when principle photography or casting will begin on Child of God.