James Franco’s literary films: A (seemingly unending) list

In January 2013, James Franco told MTV he was planning to adapt “American Tabloid,” a crime novel by James Ellroy set in the 1960s. Ellroy, pictured in 2011, has been called “the Demon Dog of American fiction.” (Rick Loomis / Los Angeles Times)

April 30, 2013 7:45 AM PT

James Franco contains multitudes. He has been nominated for an Oscar, stars in goofy movies like the upcoming celebrities-face-the-apocalypse comedy “This is the End,” has twice played a gay poet in a period biopic, gone to graduate school, gotten a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, published a poetry chapbook, directed a film that will play at Cannes and much, much more. With this week’s news that he’s planning to adapt, direct and star in yet another film made from a book, it was time to try to tally up exactly how many movie-and-book projects he’s tackled.

8. Stephen King's 'The Ten O'Clock People'

Bestselling author Stephen King’s short story “The Ten O’Clock People” can be found in his 1993 collection “Nightmares and Dreamscapes.” It is the basis for the 2014 film “The Ten O’Clock People,” which is rumored to star James Franco. (Elise Amendola / Associated Press)

James Franco optioned “Zeroville” by acclaimed novelist Steve Erickson in 2011, not long after he appeared on the red carpet at the Screen Actors Guild awards. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)

James Franco is currently directing a biopic based on the life of the late underground L.A. writer Charles Bukowski, pictured at a French television appearance in 1978. (Ulf Andersen / Getty Images)

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