In an interview with The Wall Street Journal in 2009 McCarthy denied this notion, with his perspective being that it would be "very difficult to do and would require someone with a bountiful imagination and a lot of balls. But the payoff could be extraordinary." Screenwriter Steve Tesich first adapted Blood Meridian into a screenplay in 1995. In the late 1990s Tommy Lee Jones acquired the film adaptation rights to the story and subsequently rewrote Tesich's screenplay with the idea of directing and playing a role in it. The production could not move forward due to film studios avoiding the project's overall violence. Following the end of production for Kingdom of Heaven in 2004 screenwriter William Monahan and director Ridley Scott entered discussions with producer Scott Rudin for adapting Blood Meridian with Paramount Pictures financing. In a 2008 interview with Eclipse Magazine Scott confirmed that the screenplay had been written, but that the extensive violence was proving to be a challenge for film standards. This later led to Scott and Monahan leaving the project, resulting in another abandoned adaptation. By early 2011 James Franco was considering adapting Blood Meridian, along with a number of other William Faulkner and Cormac McCarthy novels. After being persuaded by Andrew Dominik to adapt the novel, Franco shot 25 minutes of test footage starring Scott Glenn, Mark Pellegrino, Luke Perry, and Dave Franco. For undisclosed reasons, Rudin denied further production of the film. On May 5, 2016, Variety revealed that Franco was negotiating with Rudin to write and direct an adaptation to be brought to the Marché du Film, starring Russell Crowe, Tye Sheridan, and Vincent D'Onofrio. However, it was reported later that day that the project dissolved due to issues with the film rights. References Bibliography Further reading External links James, C., Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy, The New York Times, Apr 1985 Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy, reviewed by Ted Gioia ( The New Canon) NPR interview with Ben Nichols about his record The Last Pale Light in the West, inspired by Blood Meridian 1985 American novels Novels by Cormac McCarthy American bildungsromans American historical novels Western (genre) novels Novels set in Texas Novels set in Mexico Novels set in Arizona Novels set in California Fiction set in 1849 Fiction set in 1850 Fiction set in 1878 Fiction about immortality Novels set in the 1840s Novels set in the 1850s Novels set in