James Franco is Now Set to Adapt Cormac McCarthy's 'Child of God'

Early this year, we learned that James Franco was looking to adapt Cormac McCarthy's novel Blood Meridian as one of a few potential directing gigs to take on sometime in the future. The news was surprising considering the book has been called "unfilmmable" with directors like Todd Field (Little Children), Michael Haneke (The White Ribbon) and Ridley Scott previously being interested in tackling the material. Now We Got This Covered says Franco has also put the project on the backburner, and will instead adapt Child of God, another novel from McCarthy, the same author behind No Country for Old Men.

Being interviewed at the Toronto International Film Festival this week, here's what Franco said:

“We shot a 20 minute test of [Blood Meridian] that turned out pretty well. We were gearing up to do the feature but that for various reasons is on hold, but we are going to make a movie based on [Cormac McCarthy’s] third book 'Child Of God.'”

Set in mountainous Servier Sounty, Tennessee Child of God tells the story of Lester Ballard, a dispossessed, violent man whom the narrator describes as “a child of God much like yourself perhaps.” Ballard’s life is a disastrous attempt to exist outside the social order. Successively deprived of parents and homes and with few other ties, Ballard descends literally and figuratively to the level of a cave dweller as he falls deeper into crime and degradation. That's the official synopsis of the book, and it sounds like some challenging material for any first-time director. Of course with McCarthy's writing as source material, a director only needs the passion and the right vision since a great story is already there on the page.

1 Lebowski on Sep 16, 2011

2 Anon on Sep 16, 2011

3 John on Sep 16, 2011

4 Tajamison on Sep 16, 2011

5 Yejudge on Sep 16, 2011

6 PhDler on Sep 17, 2011

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