James Franco involves himself in so many projects that every once in a while — despite not wanting to at first admit it — they sound wholly enticing, and not even in a troll-y way. Recently, it was announced that he’d be playing twins in David Simon’s upcoming ’70s Times Square porn industry TV series, The Deuce. Now, something people might even sound more appealing is happening: according to The Hollywood Reporter, Franco is collaborating with Seth Rogen again (a prospect that’s probably leaving Amy Pascal and Scott Rudin cowering — lucky for them, it’s for New Line) to make a movie about the making of The Room, starring Franco as Tommy Wiseau.
There’s a certain meta-ness to Franco’s roles in this project, which also include directing; Wiseau was both the star and director (and writer) of The Room, the so-miserable-it’s-wonderful cult film which sees him playing Johnny, a man destroyed by his lover’s infidelity and the deception of his best friend. (It was Wiseau’s first film — though these days he’s moved on to a bigger, and possibly more questionable idea: wanting to direct a sequel to The Fantastic Four.)
Franco’s film — which is being co-produced by (and may also star) Rogen — is called The Disaster Artist, based on the nonfiction book of the same name about the shooting of the film. His brother, Dave Franco, may also co-star as Greg Sestero, who plays Johnny’s “best” friend, Mark in the film. The book on which the film is based is Sestero’s account (written with Tom Bissell) of meeting and working with Wiseau — who spent $6 million of his own finances on The Room — written with Tom Bissell.