While his recently announced adaptation of “Blood Meridian” fell apart just as quickly as it came together (likely to the relief of Cormac McCarthy fans everywhere), James Franco has about fifteen thousand irons in various fires. One project is “Zeroville,” and while production wrapped a while ago, not much has been known about the movie outside of whatever has been shared from the set on social media. However, the first look from the film has now arrived.
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Franco directs, stars, and produces (but, somewhat surprisingly, let someone else write) this adaptation of Steve Erickson‘s book centering around a film-obsessed architecture student who is mistaken for one of the perpetrators of the 1969 Charles Manson murders, and who has the pictures of Elizabeth Taylor and Montgomery Clift from “A Place In The Sun” tattooed on his head. Here’s the synopsis:
Join VIKAR (James Franco), a wide-eyed innocent in love with the movies, on one wicked trip to the heart of a pulsating, kaleidoscopic Hollywood. Naïve newcomer to the City of Angels, carrying nothing but his “outsider” past and a huge tattoo of Montgomery Clift & Elizabeth Taylor inked on his shaved skull; driven by the allure of cinema to the glittering temptations of Zeroville; a town where anything goes.
Encounter the parasites, the punks, the wannabes, the power-brokers and the crazies: meet VIKING MAN (Seth Rogen) – gatekeeper to all the right parties, a cigar-chomping surf hippie; Vikar’s eccentric Hollywood guide.
You’ll encounter: foul-mouthed industry veteran DOTTY (Jacki Weaver); the sinister FINANCIER (Danny McBride); sexy femme fatale SOLEDAD (Megan Fox) – a haunted “dame”, the electric charge to trigger Vikar’s breath-taking dive into the captivating world where movies are made.
Profoundly magical, funny, unsettling, and gorgeous – a love letter to Los Angeles and provocative satire of America’s fascination with itself, its cult of celebrity; a vision of the death of Old Hollywood.
“Zeroville” will also feature Seth Rogen, Jacki Weaver, Megan Fox, Will Ferrell, Danny McBride, Dave Franco, Craig Robinson, Joey King and Horatio Sanz. There’s no release details yet, but I would imagine this one will be hitting the festival circuit at some point this year.
