James Franco to produce “Mother, May I Sleep With Danger?” remake

PanARMENIAN.Net - Another funnyman is coming to Lifetime. James Franco is set to executive produce a remake of the cult classic Mother, May I Sleep With Danger? for the cable channel, The Hollywood Reporter has learned.

Franco penned the story for the remake, with a script written by Amber Coney (Class). Melanie Aitkenhead (Franco's upcoming film Actors Anonymous) will direct, and Franco will exec produce with Vince Jolivette (Spring Breakers), Diane Sokolow (The Perfect Husband: The Laci Peterson Story) and Rachel Verno (The Perfect Husband: The Laci Peterson Story). The remake hails from Sony Pictures Television in association with Rabbit Bandini Productions, and will air in 2016.

Franco's collaboration with Lifetime, which will help mark the original film's 20th anniversary, comes on the heels of the network's surprise collaboration with Will Ferrell and Kristen Wiig for A Deadly Adoption earlier this year. The project, which was first reported by The Hollywood Reporter on April Fool's Day, was made in secrecy and denied by the network several times — that is until billboards started popping up in Los Angeles two months later. The film drew more than 6 million viewers over its premiere weekend.

Franco hasn’t been afraid to explore alternate avenues within Hollywood. In addition to his varied TV and film work, the Oscar-nominated actor recurred on General Hospital from 2009-2012. Mother, May I Sleep With Danger? is the latest TV project for Franco, who also headlines Hulu's 11/22/63 series and will star in David Simon's porn drama The Deuce for HBO. He is repped by CAA, Untitled Entertainment and Sloane Offer.

The original Mother, May I Sleep With Danger? starred Tori Spelling as a young woman with a dangerous and obsessive boyfriend. The film eventually aired on NBC in September 1996.