Actor James Franco has chosen James Ellroy's "American Tabloid" for his new directorial venture, the actor revealed to MTV at the Sundance Film Festival.

No-so-good criticism from critics on his directorial debut "Interior. Leather Bar" has dampened actor turned director James Franco's spirits as he announced his next editorial venture.

Tuesday, Franco announced that he is looking forward to start directing the movie adaptation of James Ellroy's 1995 novel "American Tabloid". The actor also plans to star in it.

"We're going to do 'American Tabloid' by James Ellroy," Franco revealed to MTV's Josh Horowitz. He added that he'll be involved in the adaptation as both the star and director. "It's not all put together yet," he cautioned. "It's still early. You're getting the scoop."

Franco also revealed that the movie is at its early stages of development. The novel was titled Time Magazine's best fiction book of 1195. It tells the story of three American government agents and covers how they live their lives for five years leading up to the death of Kennedy November 22, 1963. During this time, they get involved with the mafia, CIA and FBI during various stages and also encounter historical figures such as Robert Kennedy, Howard Hughes, J Edgar Hoover and Jimmy Hoffa.

Franco is not the only actor who has tried his hands at making this novel a film. Earlier reports had it Tom Hanks and Bruce Willis were both in talks to be working on the movie adaptation of the novel. However, the project never saw the day of light. Franco also had not revealed whether he's looking to make films on all three books of the series or will be making just one stand-alone film.

Watch The interview below: