It’s a pretty big week for nerd messiah J.J. Abrams, whose newest picture [looks down at smudged notes marked on palm in pen] Tsar Warp: The Pores Awaken has put America’s cineplexes in a chokehold for the foreseeable future. But as the filmmaker basks in the glory of what is on track to be the biggest movie ever made under every conceivable vector of measurement, his side-project as executive producer, the time-travel thriller 11.22.63, has attracted a little attention of its own. The planned eight-part miniseries to run on Hulu adapts Stephen King’s similarly titled novel about a man who discovers the means to traipse back into the past, and uses it to travel back to Dealey Plaza and stymie the assassination of America’s handsomest President, John F. Kennedy.
While it’s presently unclear whether he will actually be performing in the series or instead assuming the appearance of a performance while in actuality ironically commenting on the very notion of “entertainment,” polymath James Franco is in the mix. The first trailer afforded viewers only the briefest glimpse at a confused-looking Franco as the disembodied voice of costar Chris Cooper instructed him to dive through his hole in the space-time continuum to bust up Lee Harvey Oswald (if you believe what the government tells you, sheep). With its combination of smooth oldies soundtrack and uncanny images played in reverse, the newly released trailer embedded above evokes a more stylized, unsettling vibe.
“The past hates trespassers,” warns the trailer, and indeed, time is out of joint in this curious clip. The image of Franco’s character whipping out an iPhone while dressed in period garb takes you off guard, and then the snapshot of roaches climbing up his body topples you over. Don’t be fooled, the series may be titled after the date of JFK’s death, but the series premieres on February 15, President’s Day of 2016. By my count, it’s been a couple years since the prolific Franco has appeared in anything actually good. (Referring to 2013’s mystifying, hypnotic Spring Breakers.) He’s due for another winner.
