All kinds of names have been tossed around for the lead role in Danny Boyle's 127 Hours, the true story of climber Aron Ralston, who was forced to amputate his own arm when it got pinned between boulders out in the wilderness. But as far as I can remember, no one was predicting a General Hospital actor would get the gig.

Well, OK-- the actor in question is James Franco, but still, his most recent acting credit is on the soap opera. According to Production Weekly Franco has been cast in the film and production will begin in Utah in March. Franco looks a little like Ralston(pictured above), but more importantly, he's young and scrappy and intense enough to fit the job. I had been worried that he'd follow up his terrific turn in Milk with a lot of pretentious-seeming MFA degrees and stints playing Allen Ginsberg in tiny indies, so it's good to see Franco resurfacing once again in the mainstream. Yes, I guess Danny Boyle is mainstream now.