James Franco may have just starred in Oz The Great And Powerful, one of the biggest hits of 2013 so far, but the paycheck from the movie must not have been big enough for him to make his new pet project, a film version of his Palo Alto book. The actor has launched a crowdsourcing project to raise $500,000 for it.
Franco is using Indiegogo.com to raise money for Palo Alto Stories, a series of three films based on short stories in Palo Alto, the 127 Hours actor’s first book. The stories were based on Franco’s experiences growing up in Palo Alto, California. “For this project, I have invited the talented up and coming filmmakers Nina Ljeti, Vladimir Bourdeau, Bruce Thierry Cheung, and Gabriel Demeestere to adapt and direct some of my short stories into three different feature films: Memoria, Killing Animals, and Yosemite,” he wrote.
According to Deadline, Franco wants to start filming in August and he hopes to take it to the festivals to find a distributor. If you donate $10 to the project, you get exclusive updates and a PDF of the script. For $350, Franco will send you a personalized video and for $10,000, you get an executive producer credit and dinner with the Oscar nominee.
Franco said that the profits from the films will go to the Art of Elysium non-profit organization, which helps artists connect with children fighting medical conditions.
Franco played the title character in Oz The Great And Powerful, which grossed $234 million earlier this year. He currently stars in This Is The End as himself.
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