James Franco clearly feels a connection to celebrated author William Faulkner. Last year, he went to the Cannes Film Festival with his adaptation of As I Lay Dying, a project that our reviewers Dominic Mill and Matt Donato called, in turn, “a case of pretention over awareness” and “jumbled.” Now, Franco is taking another Faulkner-derived film to the festival circuit – The Sound and the Fury – and likely hoping for a better reception.
Excitingly, Franco has called on friends and This is the End co-stars Seth Rogen and Danny McBride to join him in the adaptation, which he both directed and starred in. Joey King, Tim Blake Nelson, Ahna O’Reilly, Keegan Allen, Loretta Devine, Scott Haze and Janet Jones all also have roles.
Here’s the official synopsis:
Directed by and starring Academy Award nominee James Franco, The Sound and The Fury captures the lives and passions of the Compsons, a once proud Southern family caught in a tragic spiral of loss and misfortune. Based on the novel by Noble Prize winner author William Faulkner and considered among the 20th century’s greatest works, The Sound and the Fury encapsulates the universal theme of the death of honor, social injustice and forbidden love.
Franco will unveil The Sound and the Fury at the Venice Film Festival, where it will screen Out of Competition.
