In Dubious Battle

Building on his established resume as a director and producer, James Franco — of 127 Hours and the recently controversial comedy, The Interview — has just wrapped up his newest project, In Dubious Battle.

Directing and starring in the film adaptation of John Steinbeck’s first major work by the same name, Franco depicts the rise of an activist, Jim Nolan, within a labor struggle between migrant fruit pickers and local fruit growers in 1930s California.

Franco assembled a surprising cast of veterans as well as younger up-and-coming actors. The troupe includes: Selena Gomez, Vincent D’Onofrio, Robert Duvall, Ed Harris, Bryan Cranston, Danny McBride, Josh Hutcherson, Zach Braff, Analeigh Tipton, Ashley Greene and Ahna O’Reilly. Principal photography for the film began back in March and wrapped up in early April. There is no release date yet.

In Dubious Battle serves as Franco’s second foray with a major John Steinbeck work. In 2014, he starred in the stage revival of Of Mice and Men (Franco’s George Milton played opposite Chris O’Dowd as Lennie Small). Of Mice and Men was Steinbeck’s follow-up book to In Dubious Battle, and tackled similar issues concerning labor and migrant work within the 1930s United States.