Jimmy Franco Pulls Double Duty In "The Garden"

James Franco will both direct and play a key role in the contemporary thriller "The Garden of Last Days" says Deadline.

Based upon author Andre Dubus III's book--The story involves three interwoven story lines - a stripper forced to bring her three-year-old daughter to work; an angry, loner who gets thrown out of the club; and a foreigner with an endless supply of cash about to commit a terrifying act.

The film will be set in present day New York rather than around the September 11th attacks time frame of the book. Hanna Weg is writing the adapted screenplay

Weg, Gerard Butler, Alan Siegel, Danielle Robinson, Vince Jolivette and Miles Levy will produce.

Production starts om July 8th in NYC once Franco wraps on "Good People" and stops by the 2013 Cannes Film Festival in May.