James Franco, who is headed to Cannes next month with his film As I Lay Dying, has signed on to direct and star in his next project, an adaptation of author Andre Dubus III's The Garden of Last Days.  From the writer of the bestselling novel House of Sand and Fog comes a contemporary American thriller that tells the tales of three strangers whose paths intersect one September night in a Florida strip club.  Dubus III originally set the piece during September 11, 2001, but has given the okay for filmmakers to change it to a more contemporary setting in New York.  Filming is expected to start July 8th in New York. Hit the jump for more.

Deadline reports that Franco will direct and star in The Garden of Last Days adaptation.  From the book description, it sounds like Franco would likely play AJ, an angry and lonely drunk who gets tossed out of the club.  Franco will star in Good People opposite Kate Hudson and Omar Sy after Cannes, and then move on to direct The Garden of Last Days, from a script by Hanna Weg (Hercules 3D).

Here's the book description for The Garden of Last Days (via Amazon):

In his stunning follow-up to the #1 best-selling House of Sand and Fog, Andre Dubus draws us into the lives of three deeply flawed, driven people whose paths intersect on a September night in Florida. April, a stripper, has brought her daughter to work at the Puma Club for Men. There she encounters Bassam, a foreign client both remote and too personal, and free with his money. Meanwhile, another man, AJ, has been thrown out of the club, and he’s drunk and angry and lonely. From these explosive elements comes a relentless, raw, and page-turning narrative that seizes the reader by the throat with psychological tension, depth, and realism.