In this Jan. 29, 2015 file photo, James Franco, a cast member in "I Am Michael," poses at the premiere of the film during the 2015 Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah. (Photo by Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP, File)
LOS ANGELES (AP) --
James Franco will star in the small-screen adaptation of Stephen King's time-travel novel about President John F. Kennedy's assassination.
Franco's role in the nine-hour series based on King's "11/22/63" was announced Thursday by Hulu and Warner Bros. Television.
Franco will play a high school teacher who returns to 1963 to try to prevent Kennedy's shooting in Dallas. He's also a producer on the drama from J.J. Abrams' Bad Robot Productions.
Hulu Originals, which announced the "11/22/63" project last September, hasn't set a release date.
Signage is seen at the CNN Center in Atlanta on April 21, 2022. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart, File)
CNN expects to lay off about 200 people as part of a restructuring announced on Thursday that pivots the news organization toward a more digitally oriented future.
The company's CEO, Mark Thompson, said he expects the job cuts in CNN's television business to eventually be offset by new hires for the digital plans, which include a series of subscription products.
Thompson has been signaling the move ever since taking over at CNN more than a year ago. The network's ratings have been tumbling, particularly after President Donald Trump's election.
"Our objective is a simple one: to shift CNN's gravity towards the platforms and products where the audience themselves are shifting," Thompson said in a memo to CNN staff.
Thompson said the goal is to develop a way for digital subscribers to stream news programming on any of their devices. Corporate parent Warner Bros. Discovery is kicking in $70 million to implement the new plans, he said.
CNN is also planning to announce changes to its television lineup, expected to include a move of Wolf Blitzer to a morning show.
