Tom Ford made the remarkable transition from fashion designer to filmmaker with 2009’s excellent drama A Single Man, starring Colin Firth and Julianne Moore, and now it looks like he’s ready to get back behind the camera. THR reports that Ford is attached to produce a thriller called Nocturnal Animals, with George Clooney and Grant Heslov producing through their Smokehouse Pictures banner.

The film is an adaptation of the Austin Wright book Tony and Susan, which revolves around a woman named Susan who receives a manuscript from her ex-husband, whom she left 20 years earlier. He wants her opinion on the book, and so the narrative of Tony and Susan then tracks the manuscript (titled Nocturnal Animals) that focuses on a family vacation that turns deadly, and also the story of Susan, who begins reminiscing about her first marriage while perusing the novel.

Ford wrote the script for the film, which is described as a postmodern noir thriller. The project is still in the early stages and doesn’t have a studio attached just yet, but Smokehouse has a production deal with Sony Pictures, so it’s possible the movie could end up there. The Weinstein Company released A Single Man, so it's also possible that Ford could reteam with that studio.

Given how well-received Ford’s first effort behind the camera was, I imagine there will be considerable interest in Nocturnal Animals as it moves forward. It’s highly intriguing that Ford is tackling something as ambitious as a dual narrative noir for his second film, and I’m very much looking forward to seeing how it all comes together.

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Image via The Weinstein Company