Franco May Play Mapplethorpe

James Franco would add yet another performance as a real-life icon to his résumé if he takes on the role of photographer Robert Mapplethorpe in a proposed film biography, according to website Showbiz411. During a Q&A session while Franco was promoting his latest film, 127 Hours, documentary filmmaker Ondi Tinomer asked Franco if he would be interested in playing Mapplethorpe in a project she's developing. "I'm your man," Franco responded. Timoner hopes to cast French actress-singer Charlotte Gainsbourg as Mapplethorpe's close friend, punk rock performer Patti Smith.

Franco has previously portrayed actor James Dean, poet Allen Ginsberg, and Harvey Milk's lover Scott Smith. 127 Hours, in which he plays Aron Ralston, the hiker who made headlines when forced to amputate his own arm, will open in theaters in November.