James Franco Takes On Faulkner In 'As I Lay Dying' [Trailer & Pictures]

As I Lay Dying, written, directed and starring James Franco, is aiming to become the first American movie to win the Un Certain Regard award at the Cannes Film Festival since 2008's Tyson documentary. Franco's movie is adapted from William Faulkner's classic American novel of the same name and stars the Oscar nominee as a son's quest to bury the body of his mother in accordance with her wishes.

Watch the As I Lay Dying Trailer!

Though the trailer hints at Franco's penchant for the avant-garde, it looks far more of a straight narrative affair then, say, Interior. Leather Bar. Franco plays the second oldest child Darl, while Tim Blake Nelson appears to do a sublime job of portraying father Anse. Danny McBride plays friend of the family Vernon Tull while Ahna O'Reilly - who's making a buzz with the Weinstein's Fruitvale - plays daughter Dewey Dell. The movie has a reasonable chance of scooping for 30,000 euro prize at Cannes, though it's safe to assume festival favorite Sofia Coppola is the frontrunner with hipster tale The Bling Ring - still, it would be a long-awaited American success.

As always, it's a busy time for Franco, who recently wrapped up Child of God, an adaptation of Cormac McCarthy's novel, and starred in Oz The Great and Powerful, one of the biggest grossing movies of 2013 so far. Later this year, he'll play Hugh Hefner in the Linda Lovelace biopic, starring Amanda Seyfried.