Sal, the new film from James Franco, has just released its first trailer. The film will be a biopic about the actor Sal Mineo, who’s most well-known performance was when he appeared in the 1955 film, Rebel Without A Cause. Many people might have overlooked his performance with the standout performances given by both James Dean and Natalie Wood in the film, but Mineo was actually nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his part in the film.
James Franco has been racking up all sorts of credits lately and has turned to being a director, in an effort to seem more artsy in the industry maybe? In any case, he has been very busy and in addition to this project, he is also working on adapting novels by both Cormac McCarthy and William Faulkner, according to Entertainment Weekly. He is adapting McCarthy’s Child of God and As I Lay Dying by Faulkner.
The biopic will focus on the end of Mineo’s life, who was also a homosexual, and was one of the first major Hollywood actors to publicly acknowledge his homosexuality. He was born in the Bronx and was enrolled in dancing and acting school at a young age. He had his first stage appearance in The Rose Tattoo, a play by Tennessee Williams and also appeared opposite Yul Brynner in the stage musical The King And I. Mineo was stabbed and killed at the age of 37. Mineo rose to fame at a young age as a teen idol, much like his co-star James Dean, but was never recognized in the same way.
Franco’s biopic about the legendary actor is simply titled Sal and will focus on the end of his life. Deadline Hollywood mentions that the film follows Mineo in his final hours as he struggles to regain career momentum. He was on the way home from a rehearsal for the play P.S. Your Cat Is Dead, on the night that he died. The film stars Val Lauren as Sal. Tribeca Films will release the film on VOD and itunes on October 22, with a limited theatrical run on November 1st.
Sal Mineo's last day – out in theaters soon http://t.co/CCRhHzZJsL
— James Franco (@JamesFrancoTV) October 2, 2013
James Franco will also play a small role in the film, portraying director Milton Katselas. The film is finally being released to the public, after its original premiere at the Venice Film Festival in 2011.
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