Carl Franklin has signed on to direct 'City of Night.' This is a step up for the director, who's recently seen himself working in television - having directed the pilot of 'Falling Skies' and the premiere of 'Magic City.'

The film is being produced by Meyers Media Group and McDonald Entertainment, which says little of the likelihood of theatrical distibution, and is written by David Chisholm, according to The Hollywood Reporter. There are a number of Chisholms on the IMDb, but we like to believe this comes from the Chisholm who's credited with the 1989 Nintendo movie 'The Wizard.'

It's been a while since Franklin did anything of worth, but in the early 1990's he directed 'One False Move' and 'Devil in a Blue Dress.' The former features the greatest performance of Bill Paxton's career, and the latter introduced the word to Don Cheadle. He followed that with studio work, which led to some films of modest pleasures, and he's been keeping busy in television.

If we're still interested in Franklin, it's because of something Orson Welles once said. He was talking with Peter Bogdanovich about Greta Garbo, and Bogdanovich commented "It's too bad she only made two great films." Welles responded "You only need one." And if we're still curious to what Carl Franklin is up to, it's because he made two great films. Who knows if he's got a third in him.

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