James Franco may have reinvented himself, quite brilliantly as it happens, as a comedy star over the last year, but that doesn’t mean that the famously intense actor can’t seek out a gritty indie every now and again when he wants to get his frown on.
And that’s exactly what he’s done by agreeing to star in In Praise Of Shadows, a low-budget indie that starts shooting any day now, giving Franco just enough time to squeeze it in before heading off to Ireland to start work on big-budget comedy, Your Highness.
**In Praise Of Shadows **will tell the circuitous journey of William Vincent (Franco), a guy who returns to New York after a four-year exile to rescue the woman he loves from the clutches of a crime syndicate. Not the most original premise in the world, but the script was good enough to convince Franco to sign on the line that is dotted.
The movie is written and directed by Jay Anania, head of the directing programme at the NYU Film School, where Franco has just completed his first year (at the same time as completing his Master’s degree in English at Columbia Uni, the big smartypants). And, after shooting In Praise Of Shadows and Your Highness, with Danny McBride and Natalie Portman, it’s back to school for Franco – by that point, he may well be wishing that he’d spent his summer doing something less productive, like goofing around on the Xbox or watching England capitulate in the Ashes…
In Praise Of Shadows starts filming in New York on June 15.