The video game franchise Doom is one of the most popular and influential series in gaming history, helping pioneer what is known today as the first-person shooter. It has the player fight demons from Hell on the planet Mars as a space marine, and showed off some of the earliest versions of 3-D graphics. The story of its creation will now be the subject of a television series, courtesy of James and Dave Franco.
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Ordered by USA Network, Masters Of Doom is based on the nonfiction book of the same name by David Kushner, It follows John Carmack and John Romero, the co-founders of game developer id Software, as they set out to make Doom. Though they initially work well together, the success of the game leads to conflicts between the two and an eventual separation.
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The Franco Brothers will be executive producers on the show, which will be written by Tom Bissell, the co-writer of The Disaster Artist, the story of the making of the famously bad movie The Room that was adapted into an Oscar nominated film starring James and Tommy Wiseau and Dave as Greg Sestero. Bissell has also written for other video game franchises such as Gears of War and Uncharted.
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Should the series get renewed, USA hopes to position it as an anthology series, having each season focusing on a different point in gaming history.
Franco’s had a big year between The Disaster Artist (which will likely score an Oscar nod or two) and his acting and directing work on HBO’s, The Deuce. Like Franco, Silverstein was kind of a jack-of-all-trades. Not only did he write children’s literature (most famously The Giving Tree), but he also penned hit songs and worked on scripts with David Mamet. Silverstein passed away in 1999 at the age of 68, but he lived a full life. A full enough life, anyway, to merit a biopic.
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Biopics on authors (e.g. Howl, Kill Your Darlings, Rebel in the Rye) can sometimes be a little stuffy and grim. Hopefully Franco can bring some levity to the material. After all, it’s a movie about Shel Silverstein. It has to be funny, right? Plus, Franco’s more than proved his comedy bona fides between Pineapple Express, The Disaster Artist, and Freaks and Geeks.
Franco’s got a pretty busy schedule in the next few years, so no sign of when A Boy Named Shel will come out. It might not be for a while, but keep it in mind when thinking about what you have to look forward to.
Winter is coming. Specifically, winter will be here in like three weeks. Arguably the best time to watch a movie is when the dead leaves sit in the street, shriveling into crispy corpses. You can always warm up and forget the frigid outdoors with a big bucket of popcorn slathered in butter flavoring. Or maybe you’re one of those sickos that prefers pretzel nuggets and slightly spicy cheese sauce. Whatever your preferred concession, here are the best movies to see this December if you also love books.
December 1
The Disaster Artist
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James Franco’s movie about a book about a movie is getting some serious buzz. The movie’s based on The Room star Greg Sestero’s non-fiction book of the same name. The story recounts Sestero’s friendship with the director of the cult classic The Room, Tommy Wiseau. Wiseau’s flick is widely considered the best bad movie of all time. James Franco and his brother Dave star as Wiseau and Sestero, and, if nothing else, Franco’s Wiseau impression is worth the price of admission.
The Tribes of Palos Verdes
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Emmett and Brendan Malloy’s movie is based on Joy Nicholson’s novel of the same name. The story follows a family living in a rich suburb of Los Angeles called Palos Verdes. Jennifer Garner looks like she’s turning in a wonderful performance as a stressed out suburban mom, feeling the pressure to get plastic surgery, to diet, and to just live a generally appearance-obsessed life. This one’s looking like the way to go for book lovers who aren’t Franco fanatics.
December 8
November Criminals
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November Criminals, which I guess would have been too obvious to release in November, is based on Sam Munson’s The November Criminals. Baby Driver star Ansel Elgort plays the role of Addison, whose friend gets killed in a robbery. Addison is then determined to get to the bottom of what really happened to his friend, but things are more complicated than they appear and nobody is who they seem. Watch November Criminals…this December!
December 25
Molly’s Game
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Aaron Sorkin’s directorial debut is based on Molly Bloom’s memoir Molly’s Game: From Hollywood’s Elite to Wall Street’s Billionaire Boys Club, My High-Stakes Adventure in the World of Underground Poker. Despite the title tragically suffering from the non-fiction trope of short title and offensively long subtitle, the story seems cool. Bloom founded a secret poker empire which was frequented by various celebrities and rich people. She was then the target of a massive FBI investigation. Jessica Chastain stars and, judging by the trailers, she’s a great fit for Sorkin’s signature dialogue.
December 29
Film Stars Don’t Die in Liverpool
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Based on Peter Turner’s memoir of the same name, this one’s about a young actor who falls for an older woman who happens to be legendary, Oscar-winning actor Gloria Grahame. Paul McGuigan directs Jamie Bell in the role of Turner and Annette Bening, who’s playing Grahame. This looks like a nice light-hearted romance to round out a tough year and welcome a hopefully brighter 2018. Then again, I have neither read the book nor seen the movie, so it could be a miserable story that will leave you feeling wretched. Let’s hope not!
James Franco’s The Disaster Artist, based on Greg Sestero’s book of the same name, may not come out until December, but it’s already raking in great reviews. Peter Debruge of Varietynotes: “…boasting a genuine capacity to delight, whether or not the audiences in question have seen The Room.” Hopefully you have. I hope you have seen The Room. If not, stop reading this article and go watch it.
But, first, watch the first full trailer for Franco’s The Disaster Artist:
Sestero starred opposite Tommy Wiseau (the mad genius himself) in the film that started it all. The book seems surprisingly heartfelt considering it’s about the making of the worst movie ever made (sorry, Ed Wood), and the movie looks bizarrely moving as well.
The trailer is here for James Franco’s new movie ‘The Disaster Artist,’ based on Greg Sestero’s book of the same name about his time working on cult film ‘The Room.’
via YouTube
‘The Disaster Artist‘ was published in 2013 and won the Best Non-Fiction award at Bookish Oscars, and at the National Arts & Entertainment Journalism Awards where the judges commented “‘The Disaster Artist’ is not only a hell of a good read, it will make a great film if ever adapted.”
Image Courtesy of Esquire
Fans of the book and the original film that inspired it all are sure to enjoy this movie which premiered to standing ovation at South by Southwest in March.
