![\"'11.22.63'](\"http:\/\/james-franco.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/11-22-63-premiere-james-franco-jj-abrams.jpg\")
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The latest adaptation of one of bestselling author Stephen King\u2019s novels, Hulu mini-series \u201c11.22.63,\u201d launched with a premiere at L.A.\u2019s Bruin Theater on Thursday. Executive producer J.J. Abrams told Variety how an article that star James Franco wrote about the book led to the actor\u2019s casting.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen I read this piece that Franco had written, it was so passionate about this character, about this world, about this story,\u201d Abrams said. \u201cHe was also, in the piece, giving me s\u2013t for being involved in too many projects, so I thought at the very least I should reach out and see if he wanted to be involved in this one with me.\u201d<\/p>\n
Franco revealed that King\u2019s time-travel novel was one of the first books that he picked up after having to read 150 for his oral exams as a student in the Yale English department. The book caught his eye, and he was pulled in.<\/p>\n
\u201cI had to read 150 books, a lot of them were academic books, and as soon as I had passed my oral exams, I had the chance to read whatever I wanted to read,\u201d Franco said. \u201cI immediately jumped into it \u2014 it\u2019s about 1,000 pages, and it was so engrossing. I read it aloud with my assistant in about a week.\u201d<\/p>\n
Franco plays Jake Epping, a high school English teacher, who is tasked by his friend and diner owner Al Templeton (Chris Cooper) to travel back in time to stop the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. The catch? Traveling through time always puts him in October 1960 \u2014 meaning that he has to spend three years in the past until the big event.<\/p>\n
Both Abrams and showrunner Bridget Carpenter believed that the colossal King novel was better suited for a mini-series format than a feature film \u2014 which it was originally intended to be.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis book felt too long, too detailed, too nuanced, to condense,\u201d Abrams said. \u201cI thought, maybe the better idea would be to let it breathe and let it exist in a longer form.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe novel is 900 pages; it\u2019s huge,\u201d Carpenter said. \u201cThere is such a wealth of not just information, but a wealth of story and plot. You don\u2019t want to lose anything.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hulu will release the first episode of \u201c11.22.63\u201d \u2014 whose cast also includes Sarah Gadon, Josh Duhamel, Daniel Webber, George MacKay, Lucy Fry, T.R. Knight, Nick Searcy, Leon Rippy and Gil Bellows \u2014 on Feb. 15 (Presidents\u2019 Day).<\/p>\n
After the screening, Hulu staged a party at the nearby Broxton Lot, which had been converted into a \u201960s-themed diner, complete with vintage Nixon and Kennedy campaign posters, classic TV sets and a DJ spinning \u201960s tunes. Even the food complemented the retro theme, from the beef wellington hors d\u2019oeuvres to the mini pecan and cherry pies.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n