James Franco sure is a busy bee. He constantly signs on for new acting roles, as well as directing and producing gigs and seems to be able to fit a lot into his hectic schedule. Now THR reports that he’s close to signing to appear in The Game, an adaptation of Neil Strauss’ best-selling guide to picking up women.

The book is part how-to, part memoir, and recounts Neil’s efforts to become a pick-up artist, as well his stay at a Sunset Strip mansion that found him competing with a group of likeminded individuals all trying to find love. James Franco is set to play Mystery, a man who serves as Neil’s teacher in the art of seduction throughout the book. The real Mystery later served as the host of VH-1’s reality game show The Pickup Artist.

A film based on Strauss’ book, ‘The Game: Penetrating the Secret Society of Pickup Artists’, has been in the works since 2005, but it finally seems to be going ahead now at MGM.

General movie news courtesy of Movie Muser