James Franco & Jonah Hill Team Up To Tell A 'True Story' With Producer Brad Pitt

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by Kevin Jagernauth
February 27, 2012 12:58 PM
6 Comments

"Starring Oscar nominee Jonah Hill" That's a bit of marketing play you better start getting used to because with Oscar recognition now under his belt, and having show off his range in both "Cyrus" and the awards season horse "Moneyball," there are going to be plenty more opportunities outside of comic roles for Jonah Hill and it looks like he's striking while the iron is hot.

Hill will be teaming with fellow Apatow crew fave James Franco for "True Story," produced by none other than Billy Beane himself, Brad Pitt through his Plan B shingle. Based on the memoir by journalist Michael Finkel, the absolutely bizarre story will find Hill playing the author of the book, who formerly worked for the New York Times, and found his life take a stranger turn when Christian Longo (Franco) -- a wanted man on the FBI Top Ten list for mudering his family -- was arrested in Mexico. The twist? He was living under the name Michael Finkel. The New York Times then fired Finkel saying he had made up portions of an investigate report. Things get even stranger when Longo says that the only representative of the press he'll speak to, is Finkel. Bonkers.

The project isn't quite a done deal as it needs financing, but with two Oscar nominees in starring roles (remember, Franco got a nod for "127 Hours") and the power of Pitt behind it, that shouldn't be a problem. Rupert Goold, who recently completed "Richard II" with Patrick Stewart for television, will direct. [Deadline]

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More: Jonah Hill, James Franco, True Story, Brad Pitt

6 Comments

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john walsh jr | February 27, 2012 6:57 PMReply

I am from Newport, Oregon, the town where Longo worked in (at a starbucks inside Fred Meyer), and I just want to say that this movie is just what the man wants for a reward for brutally murdering his family: Attention. That's exactly why he killed his family. He was a man who lived beyond his financial means, and was too embarassed to tell his family that they were poor, so he killed them instead. He dumped his little boy and girl's body in a swamp in Waldport, where they were found floating a few days later. He killed his wife and infant daughter, then chopped up their bodies, put them in a suitcase, and stuffed them underneath a dock to hide them. He then went to Mexico, where he was with another woman, and the FBI found him, literally, whithin days, hours really. He basically confessed the whole thing to an agent on the flight home, so this story is complete BS, if you don't believe me, do a bit of research. THIS IS NOT AN INTERESTING STORY, and it's just what the monster wants, attention, he wanted it his whole life, and Hollywood is REWARDING him. Franco, Hill, and Pitt are pieces of sh#t for doing this movie, Franco especially disappoints me, because he's the only one who strikes me as able to think for himself out of the three. Also, Hill looks way more like Longo, look them up. Why is Hollywood so fascinated by the worst of humanity, what is so uninteresting about the men who run down these pieces of crap? When's the last movie Hollywood made about a decent cop who isn't dirty? That's a movie that would be out of the norm right now... Bottom line: They're making a movie about a loser who murdered his family because he was too embarassed to tell them they were broke, how f-ing interesting! True story my @$$!
Mike | February 28, 2012 12:54 AM

You think you know everything cause you're from the same town he worked at a starbucks. you use the name John Walsh jr. because John Walsh was the host of Americas Most wanted. You say do your research on this. well i did my research buddy and while the story is sad, it poses for an interesting movie they way everything played out. Its actually a very interesting story how he presumed a different identity and then ironically became friends with the man whose identity he took. Hill looks nothing like Longo so i don't know what you saw in that, he actually looks eerily similar to Finkel i think Longo looks a little more like Channing tatum then Franco but whatever thats not important. While this guy is far from deserving of a movie being made about him the movie is more being made about Finkel and how his life was bizarrely hanged because a wanted fugitive assumed his identity. Do your research before you go off like that. Just because you live in a town where something horrible happens doesn't mean you know everything about it
Brad | February 27, 2012 2:25 PMReply

I am not sure what warranted Viggo getting an oscar other then prosthetics in a Dangerous Method, or Armie Hammer did besides doing the same thing he has done in all of the work he has done previous. The only person on your list SP deserving was Albert Brooks, who arguably did the same thing Jonah Hill did in Moneyball, playing against type. I perfer Brooks performance but it was never going to be something the Oscar's were going to get behind.
sp | February 27, 2012 6:37 PM

Brad, the point that KT & I are both making, is how utterly forgettable Jonah Hill's performance in " Moneyball." It was never a heartfelt performance. Trust me, it will not stand the test of time.
KT | February 27, 2012 1:39 PMReply

Hill gets nominated for an Oscar and yet I can't remember a single thing he said or did that was memorable in that movie. The film industry's going downhill on a rail.
sp | February 27, 2012 1:56 PM

KT, thank you, I couldn't agree more. After the Oscar nominations were announced, most of the press were shocked by Jonah Hill's nomination. How the hell did Jonah win an Oscar nomination over Albert Brooks , Armie Hammer, and Viggo Mortensen ?! Hollywood is definitely Hollyweird. Comedy is Hill's forte , not drama.