Tom Ford 'Nocturnal Animals' Second Movie

[Chanelcouture09]

Focus Features has won the Cannes bidding battle for fashion designer Tom Ford’s second movie as a director, “Nocturnal Animals,” starring Amy Adams and Jake Gyllenhaal.

Backed by its parent studio Universal Pictures, Focus is understood to have taken worldwide rights in a deal costing it more than $20 million.

That price tag — and a p&a commitment in excess of $10 million — makes it by far the biggest deal seen during the Cannes festival so far. And it comes following a highly unusual pitch given by Ford on Thursday at the festival.

Ford said he wanted maximum creative control and that he was prepared to self-finance the production in order to preserve that. However, after a welter of offers, he appears to have had a change of heart and settled with a supportive studio deal.

“Tom’s vision for his film is unique and inspiring and something that global audiences will be thrilled by,” said Focus CEO Peter Schlessel in a statement. “Tom has proven his prowess as a filmmaker and this romantic tale of revenge and regret will be a fantastic addition to our slate”

Rights were handled by Glen Basner’s FilmNation and by CAA.

George Clooney and producing partner Grant Heslov had been attached to produce through their Smokehouse banner when Adams and Gyllenhaal came on board in March, but they are no longer involved with the project.

Clooney’s rep confirmed a recent report in the New York Post in which the actor-producer denied that there had been disagreement with Ford: “No falling out at all. It was just scheduling. Grant and I love the project and think Tom is fantastic. We just couldn’t do it when he needed to go.”

The film is an adaptation of the 1993 novel “Tony And Susan” by Austin Wright, described as a two-part “story inside a story.”

The first part follows a woman named Susan who receives a book manuscript from her ex-husband, a man whom she left 20 years earlier, asking for her opinion. The second part includes the manuscript, titled “Nocturnal Animals,” which revolves around a man whose family vacation turns violent, along with Susan recalling the previous marriage and confronting some dark truths about herself.

“Nocturnal Animals” marks Ford’s return to directing, six years after the release of “A Single Man,” which Ford self-financed. TWC distributed “A Single Man,” which grossed $24 million worldwide, and Colin Firth received a best actor Oscar nomination for portraying a depressed gay British professor living in Los Angeles in 1962.

Focus Features president of acquisitions, Lia Buman, and executive VP of business affairs, Beth Lemberger, negotiated the “Nocturnal Animals” deal on behalf of the studio. Peter Kujawski, managing director of Universal Pictures International Productions, was also instrumental in the agreement.

*Variety.com

 

[Lola701]

I'm excited for this film. The pressure must be even higher than it was for ASM.
I was quite skeptical about Amy Adams at first but i re-watched American Hustle and she can be a "Tom Ford woman".

I wonder how this project will impact his fashion work. His earlier work at his own brand for the womenswear was quite exclusive and almost baroque...like the Julianne Moore"s character in ASM.

And i can't already wait for the Promo tour..

 

[Chanelcouture09]

^Well we've already seen what a perfect Tom Ford Man Jake Gyllenhaal has made during Cannes 2015. #1 & #2

 

[Lola701]

^Well we've already seen what a perfect Tom Ford Man Jake Gyllenhaal has made during Cannes 2015. #1 & #2

Yes! He is perfect even if i hope he will wear some colorful pieces. Tom Ford offers some amazing evening looks for men. It is almost a pity to only see dark velvet and black tux in the RC.

 

[Miss Dalloway]

Amazing he got such an epic deal, it says a lot about him, and the vision he has for the movie. Very excited that he will do another movie, for a while i thought he won't direct anymore.

 

[GIVENCHYlover]

Can't wait

 

[arlekindearrabal]

I can't stand Jake Gyllenhaall though.

 

[Thefrenchy]

Very much looking forward to that as A Single Man is one of my favourite movies.

 

[Wolkfolk]

Another stellar casting for Ford !
I'm really looking forward to this. A Single Man was magnificent and I love both Jake & Amy who are tremendous actors. I'm also excited because the tone of the film seems to be quite different from ASM.

 

[happycanadian]

Will be one of my most anticipated films. I adored A Single Man.

 

[Wintergreen]

His first movie was so good and beautiful, I'm so looking forward to this.

 

[Sweet rus]

I can't believe I missed the news! I am very excited about the new film, "A Single Man" was amazing. Any idea on when we will be able to see it? I just can not wait

 

[Chanelcouture09]

Insiders also say that Joaquin Phoenix and Aaron Taylor-Johnson are also being sought for leading roles.

EXCLUSIVE: Kim Basinger has joined the growing cast of Nocturnal Animals, the Focus Features adaptation of the Austin Wright book Tony And Susan that Tom Ford wrote and will direct beginning in the fall. Basinger, who won the Oscar for L.A. Confidential, will play Anne Sutton, a wealthy Texas socialite and the mother of the character played by Amy Adams. Jake Gyllenhaal, Michael Shannon and Aaron Taylor Johnson are also starring in the film.

This was the picture that became the splashiest deal at the Cannes Film Festival, when Peter Schlessel and Ford negotiated a deal for world rights that was worth $20 million plus an 8-figure P&A commitment that made it one of the biggest pre-sale deals on the Croisette in years. In the film, Susan Morrow (Adams) receives a package out of the blue that contains a manuscript of her ex-husband’s first book. Drawn into the book’s violent fictional world of a character named Tony, Susan must confront her own past. The Nocturnal Animals title is taken from a story in the fictional book. Ford is producing, and Robert Salerno has also joined him as producer, a role that Salerno played on Ford’s directorial debut A Single Man. APA and Radius rep Basinger.

*Deadline.com

 

[Benn98]

Yes @ Kim Basinger!! Her presence alone in LA Confidential was astounding. I'm sure Ford will capitalise on that moneyed sophistication which she exudes. The rest of the cast sounds ok, though I cannot bear that Aaron guy.

 

[Chanelcouture09]

Armie Hammer joins Tom Ford’s Nocturnal Animals

Armie Hammer has landed a role in Tom Ford’s upcoming drama Nocturnal Animals, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The film is the director’s first effort since A Single Man, Ford’s directorial debut, which led to Golden Globe, Screen Actors Guild, and Academy Award nominations for Colin Firth, as well as a Golden Globe nomination for Julianne Moore. Now Amy Adams and Jake Gyllenhaal, who began talks for Nocturnal Animals in the spring, will have their eyes on awards season as Ford’s leads.

Based on the novel Tony And Susan by Austin Wright, the film follows Susan (Adams), a woman whose ex-husband gives her his book manuscript and asks for notes, even though she left him 20 years earlier. The film is then split into two parts: the story outside of the novel, titled Nocturnal Animals, as well as the story within, about a man (Gyllenhaal) whose family vacation takes a violent turn that will likely end up being a metaphor for the other half of the story. As she immerses herself in the book, Susan gets lost in memories of her first marriage, and things get very dark and emotional from there. It sounds right up Ford’s alley. And if A Single Man is any indication, everyone’s wardrobe is going to be on-point, even at their most emotionally unstable.

Hammer, who will play Susan’s new husband, can currently be seen in theaters alongside Henry Cavill in the feature-length thirst trap Man From U.N.C.L.E. Nocturnal Animals will also star Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Michael Shannon, and Kim Basinger. George Clooney was originally set to produce alongside Ford, but he backed out due to scheduling conflicts, leaving Ford to produce through his Fade To Black production company, as he did for A Single Man. Production on Nocturnal Animals is slated for this fall.

*avclub.com

 

[Chanelcouture09]

Isla Fisher is set to star alongside Jake Gyllenhaal and Amy Adams in Tom Ford-directed thriller Nocturnal Animals

Bubbly red-head Isla Fisher will get a opportunity to work her more serious side in the upcoming thriller Nocturnal Animals, according to Deadline Hollywood.
The actress, who moved from Oman to Australia with her family in the 80s, is most widely known for her hilarious roles in Wedding Crashers and Confessions of a Shopaholic.

Adapted from the 1993 novel Tony and Susan by American author Austin Wright, Nocturnal Animals will be a story within a story.

Susan Morrow, to by played by Amy Adams, receives the manuscript for her ex-husbands's first novel and a note asking her to read the book.
Susan becomes enthralled with the fictional life of the protagonist, Tony Hastings and his wife Laura, and as both stories unfold, Susan is plunged back into her dark past.

Fisher, 39, will be starring as Laura, and the role of Tony is set to be played by Jake Gyllenhaal.
Celebrated American fashion designer and former Gucci Creative Director Tom Ford is credited to have written the script and will produce as well as direct the film.
This will be Ford's second foray into film direction, having debuted with A Single Man in 2009 for which Colin Firth received an Oscar nomination for Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role.
Nocturnal Animals will be Fisher's first project with Ford, and Michael Shannon, Kim Basinger and Armie Hammer are also down for roles in the film.
Fisher, who's married to Borat actor and comedian Sacha Baron Cohen, has just wrapped up shooting for comedy Keeping Up with the Joneses alongside Jon Hamm.
After a bidding war at the Cannes Film Festival, Focus Features is rumoured to have paid $20 million for the worldwide distribution rights to Nocturnal Animals.
The motion picture is currently in pre-production, and is set for release in 2016.

*Dailymail

 

[Chanelcouture09]

Ellie Bamber has rounded out the cast of the Focus Features and Tom Ford drama “Nocturnal Animals,” sources confirm to Variety.

Jake Gyllenhaal, Amy Adams, Isla Fisher, Kim Basinger, Michael Shannon and Aaron Taylor-Johnson are also on board to star, with Ford writing, producing and directing.

Focus Features is handling worldwide distribution after winning a bidding war this past May at the Cannes Film Festival.

The film is an adaptation of Austin Wright’s 1993 novel “Tony And Susan.” The first of the two-part story follows a woman (Adams) who receives a book manuscript from her ex-husband, whom she left 20 years earlier, asking for her opinion. The second part revolves around a man (Gyllenhaal) whose family vacation turns violent.

Bamber will play Gyllenhaal’s daughter in the pic.

The actress was most recently seen in the Carol Morley-directed British indie “The Falling.” She’ll play Lydia Bennet in the upcoming “Pride And Prejudice And Zombies,” opposite Lily James, Douglas Booth, Sam Riley and Matt Smith. She’s repped by Curtis Brown in the UK and UTA.

Deadline Hollywod first reported the news.

*Variety.com

 

[Chanelcouture09]

Dailymail: Gun-wielding Jake Gyllenhaal looks terrifying with blood-soaked face and tattered clothing while shooting thriller Nocturnal Animals

 

[softgrey]

let's hope he doesn't make all the women look like depressed drag queens like he did to poor julianne moore in his first movie...

though the casting of kim basinger makes me think that he is planning to do just that...

Oy vey...

 

[dodencebt]

I personally adored what he did with Julianne in A Single Man. There is so little visual drama in movies nowadays.