Actor James Franco–headed to an Oscar nomination for “127 Hours” and getting ready to co-host the Academy Awards in February–is planning two big directing efforts. 
 
 Franco is in talks to direct William Faulkner‘s literary classic, “As I Lay Dying,” from his own screenplay. 
 
 Franco and manager Miles Levy have been in discussion for time with the Faulkner estate. They’ve also got a commitment from Fox Searchlight to bring the project to fruition. 
 
 Unlike at least a half dozen other films that have been “announced” for Franco in the last few weeks, the actor tells me this is the one he’s most attached to. He’s hopeful of getting it off the ground next spring. 
 
 “As I Lay Dying” isn’t the only writer-director project Franco’s involved in. He tells me he’s also in the process of making a deal with Scott Rudin to write and direct Cormac McCarthy‘s “Blood Meridian” in 2012. Franco and Rudin are also partnered in next fall’s Broadway production of “Sweet Bird of Youth” with Nicole Kidman. 
 
 Cormac McCarthy is a little like the modern day Faulkner, although he’s had much more luck in Hollywood. So far his “All the Pretty Horses,” “The Road,” and “No Country for Old Men” have all made it to the big screen. 
 
 And yes, this is all while Franco attends classes at Yale University and the Rhode Island School of Design. 
 
 He also just completed directing a small, indie film about the famed poet Hart Crane called “The Broken Tower.” But “As I Lay Dying”–which others, including Sean Penn, have wanted to make for a long time–will be his big studio debut. 
 
 If all that isn’t enough, Franco is bringing his art project film connected to the ’80s sitcom, “Three’s Company,” to the Sundance Film Festival’s New Frontiers section later this month. 
 
 He’s also moving talent agencies, following his longtime agent, Kami Putnam-Heist, to CAA. “I’m being loyal to my agent,” Franco says, which is a rare thing in Hollywood. ||||| James Franco: Actor, Writer, Host, Drag Queen...Now Director? 
 
 Email This is either on a mission to become pop culture's most ubiquitous Renaissance man or he's shoring up his resume to run for president. He's worn 
 
 
 
 According to Roger Friedman at 
 
 
 
 Friedman says Franco is hoping to start 'As I Lay Dying' next spring, while work on 'Blood Meridean' would begin sometime in 2012. James Franco is either on a mission to become pop culture's most ubiquitous Renaissance man or he's shoring up his resume to run for president. He's worn lipstick for a magazine cover, written scripts, will host the 83rd Academy Awards , is currently working on his PhD and, of course, we know him best as an actor, but now he's expanding his CV yet again.According to Roger Friedman at Showbiz 411 , Franco is slated to write and direct two major adaptive films -- William Faulkner's 'As I Lay Dying' and Cormac McCarthy's 'Blood Meridian.' To top it off, he plans to do all of this while he's still studying at Yale University and Rhode Island School of Design.Friedman says Franco is hoping to start 'As I Lay Dying' next spring, while work on 'Blood Meridean' would begin sometime in 2012. 
 
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 Neither project would be Franco's directorial debut; he just completed an indie project about storied poet Hart Crane, titled 'The Broken Tower.' He also made a project film related to the 1980s sitcom 'Three's Company,' which he's presenting at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival.Later this summer, we expect to hear about his ambitions to shoot a movie on the moon with James Cameron.
– James Franco can get multiple master’s degrees while publishing short stories, putting on art shows, and of course, preparing to host the Oscars … so directing a William Faulkner classic should be no sweat, right? Faulkner’s As I Lay Dying is just one of Franco’s upcoming directorial efforts, Showbiz411 reports. The other is similarly simple-sounding: Blood Meridian—by Cormac McCarthy, author of such light fare as The Road and No Country for Old Men. Making this all sound even more like a piece of cake: He wrote the screenplay for As I Lay Dying and hopes to do the same for Blood Meridian. But neither will be his first directing effort—click to read about Franco’s directorial debut, and for more on the renaissance man.