James Franco's Sal Mineo Movie Premieres In North America

The James Franco-directed drama about the final days in the life of Sal Mineo that stars Val Lauren as the murdered gay actor will premiere in Carmel, Calif. on Sunday.

The film is adapted from Michael Gregg Michaud's definitive biography Sal Mineo which was published to much acclaim last year. After Sal's world premiere at the Venice Film Festival last month, The Hollywood Reporter praised Lauren's performance, calling it "front-and-center impressive," "energetic," and "magnetic." THR also said he is "often so at ease with [Stacey] Miller's dialogue that one starts wondering if the material might have been better served by being turned into a one-man play."

Franco is scheduled to attend the North American premiere of Sal, which will take place at the Carmel Art & Film Festival Sunday at noon.

To see photos from the making of Sal, click here.