According to the New York Post, the 127 Hours star is making this his feature directing debut, but will only start shooting this summer when he’s on a break from Yale. The film, also titled The Night Stalker, will show how Ramirez, currently on death row in California, became a killer. It’s being co-produced by Soundgarden lead singer Chris Cornell and Nicolas Constantine, who also wrote the screenplay.
Constantine said, “Phil Carlo painted such an amazing portrait of Richard Ramirez, the human being, and it’s that which drew us all to the project. Sure, 
Ramirez was a monster — but Phil investigated how he became that monster, and that’s what this film is about.
“This isn’t a horror film, nor does it glorify Ramirez in any way,” Constantine said. “James Franco shares that vision, and we all agree that he is absolutely the one actor, and now director, who can truly do this very intense role and story justice.
“I had no idea if he would do it, though, since it’s pretty dark subject matter. They told me he was studying to be a director and this was perfect for him. We watched three short films he made, two of which were dark and one of which was about a serial killer. That confirmed James definitely had this dark side, and it definitely sealed the deal for us. Sure enough, James read the material and responded to it immediately.”