James Franco can now be added to the growing list of actors and directors turning to crowdfunding in order to finance their films. Franco is hoping to use the funds, which will be collected via Indiegogo, to produce film versions of the short stories found within his book, Palo Alto. Published in 2010, Palo Alto includes collections of short coming of age stories all set within Palo Alto, California. Franco grew up in Palo Alto and some of the book’s stories were inspired by Franco’s life as well as stories submitted to Franco by Palo Alto High School students. Many of the narratives revolve around drinking, drug use, acts of violence, and the characteristics of a male’s coming of age. The campaign includes various donation rewards, from a PDF of the script for a $10 donation to an EP credit and private dinner for $10,000. The fundraiser will close July 17th. 

Franco’s participation in the trending form of financing should come as no surprise; the actor seems to have made it his mission to make his resume as long as humanly possible. From acting in a soap opera to enlisting in a PhD program at Yale, Franco truly is becoming a jack of all trades. Franco’s other projects include finishing Yale’s PhD program as well as multiple film projects, including voicing The Little Prince (Rachel McAdams, Marion Cotillard, and Jeff Bridges will also provide their voices) and Third Person (directed by Crash director and Million Dollar Baby writer Paul Haggis and starring Liam Neeson, Mila Kunis, and Adrien Brody).