The movie landscape for the next couple weeks is incredibly depressing if you don’t live in New York or LA. So I’m taking time to post a piece of half-news: Variety reports that Howl, the film starring James Franco as Allen Ginsberg, will begin shooting March 16 in NYC.

Devin reported on the basic casting news almost six months ago, and opined that this was more interesting news than who was playing Captain America. I agree with that sentiment, though to me it’s actually very similar. A film about Ginsberg starring someone as entertaining as Franco is essentially a superhero film for the lit set, with all the possibilities that implies.

To the best of my knowledge, the stellar supporting cast still stands as Devin originally reported:

David Strathairn as prosecuting attorney Ralph McIntosh
Alan Alda as Judge Clayton Horn
Jeff Daniels as prosecution witness Professor David Kirk
Mary Louise Parker as radio personality and prosecution witness Gail Potter
Paul Rudd as literary critic and defense witness Luther Nichols.

The film centers on the obscenity trial that targeted the poem Howl, and will animate portions of the poem as illustrated by Eric Drooker.