Franco steps up to direct

NEW YORK • Actor James Franco will direct a short film for shoe designer Stuart Weitzman.

Four vignettes, which will debut on the brand’s Facebook page, follow model Petra Nemcova as she takes what the company describes as “a midnight fantasy stroll.”

The inspiration came from the 1988 movie Mondo New York; Nemcova struts to an updated version of the Patsy Cline song Walking After Midnight.