This year might indeed be the year of James Franco. Not only is he hosting the Oscars with Anne Hathaway this year, but he’s also a contender in the same ceremony for Best Actor for his lauded performance in 127 Hours (Colin Firth will most likely win it). He’s come a long way from bit roles in films and TV shows. But the actor’s ambitions go beyond appearing in front of the camera, as recent news has indicated.

According to Entertainment Weekly, Franco plans to write and direct adaptations of two classic novels, “As I Lay Dying” by William Faulkner and “Blood Meridian” by Cormac McCarthy. “As I Lay Dying” is a classic modernist novel concerning a rural family who attempt to transport the dead mother to her burial spot. The narrative shifts between family members as they grapple with the past and the difficult present. Considered to be one of the most difficult novels to adapt due to multiple perspectives and stream-of-consciousness writing, it, it has never been made into a feature film. How Franco will approach it is anyone’s guess, although the actor has already made several short films to prove his directing prowess. It may also help that he’s a graduate of creative writing.

The second novel, “Blood Meridian”, is from the much parised Cormac McCarthy. His novel No Country for Old Men was adapted into an Oscar-winning film by the Coen Brothers, and The Road and All the Pretty Horses were also translated for the silver screen. However, while the simple writing of those novels proved to be easily adaptable, Bloom Meridian is a very different beast. Drenched in the vernacular of the time and full of ambiguity, it depicts the horrors of the “wild west” through a kid who joins a group of scalphunters, and encounters the terrifying Judge Holden. If even half of the book’s violence was put on screen, the film would be banned from cinemas. The movie was originally set to be directed by Todd Field (Little Children), but now Franco is attempting to convince producer Scott Rudin to be given the reins. Apparently, Franco actually wrote and directed a scene from the film in order to impress.

More news on these projects as they emerge, but you have to respect Franco for his ambition.