Director Tony Tarentino (Blood Money, Harvest Moon) has written the adaptation of his upcoming top-cop docudrama Prism, from Thomas J. Nichols critically acclaimed book, The Color Of The Prism.

Prism had been trolling around pre-production hell for some time, but it finally has a release date: December 25, 2013. The adaptation from Thomas J. Nichols suspenseful book draws from Nichols’ personal experience handling drugs, and the true world of crime. The story illuminates the corruption unseen by the mainstream public.

Set on the Arizona-Mexico border, Prism blends fact and fiction, telling the story of Antonio Castenada, a young detective who infiltrates the inner circle of prominent businessman and drug kingpin Reynaldo Guzman (think Donnie Brasco). Castenada isn’t going it alone – he’s backed by a team of federal and state law enforcement agents, as well as the latest in technology. The deception is being orchestrated by Guzman’s long-time mistress, disillusioned with her lover after witnessing his assassination of an entire rival family. The situation immediately gets scrambled when, in order to keep his police plant undercover, Castenada accepts an unwanted sexual experience with an underage Yaqui girl – a gift from Guzman.

The story is exciting and the 60 second trailer is enticing. There’s only one problem – IMDb lists the entire cast as “rumored”. And what a cast it is: James Franco (Oz, The Great and Powerful, Into the Wilderness) is “rumored” to be playing Castenada. Joaquin Phoenix (Gladiator, The Master, Her) is “rumored” to be  Guzman.  Top it all off with Michael Shannon (Man of Steel, Revolutionary Road, Iceman), “rumored” to be a Federal agent.

If you’re wondering about Tony Tarentino’s relationship to the more well-known Quentin, he is the estranged father of the director of Django Unchained and Pulp Fiction, and there is no love lost between these two Shakespearean-esque characters.

Prism was produced by Tony Tarentino Productions, Martin Denning and Arsen Bagdasaryan for $35 million. Is that enough to entice the Hollywood A-list? We’ll keep you posted.