At some point, it seems, every actor wants to have a go at directing, and now it’s the turn of James Franco, who’s bought the rights to Stephen Elliott’s murder mystery memoir, The Adderall Diaries, with plans to direct, produce and star in it.
According to Deadline, ‘The memoir starts off a bit like In Cold Blood, in that a blocked writer turns to a murder trial to get himself going. Elliott, blocked for two years, reports on the trial of Hans Reiser, a computer programmer charged with killing the wife he met through a Russian dating service. Fueled by Adderall, a methamphetamine prescribed to help ADHD sufferers, Elliott’s stream of consciousness prose veers into subjects that include his cruel father, Paris Hilton, and S&M.’
At the moment, it sounds like it’s very early days, with Franco having bought the rights, but so far not having any financial backing. It’s seems an ambitious project for a first time director, so he may have trouble getting it off the ground, although with his mix of mainstream and indie acting credentials, he may be able to find some backers willing to take the risk.