James Franco in talks to direct ESPN movie

Los Angeles : Filmmaker James Franco is in talks for directing a movie called "Those Guys Have All the Fun: Inside the World of ESPN" for Focus Features.

The project is based on the 2011 book of the same name by James Andrew Miller and Tom Shales, which recapped the formation of the sports network, based on interviews with more than 500 people, reports variety.com.

ESPN was launched in 1979 by Bill Rasmussen and his son Scott as the world's first 24-hour cable TV network. It saw success by telecasting the early rounds of the NCAA basketball tournament and the NFL Draft.

The film is now being rewritten by "Halt and Catch Fire" co-creator Christopher C. Rogers and will be produced by Michael De Luca, Jamie Patricof, and Julie Yorn

Franco's directing credits include "In Dubious Battle," "As I Lay Dying," and "The Sound and the Fury." He is also starring in the Coen brothers' Netflix movie "The Ballad of Buster Scruggs," which will debut at the Venice Film Festival, and the sci-fi actioner "Kin."