On March 24 , 2015 , it was announced that Smoke House Pictures ' partners George Clooney and Grant Heslov would produce a thriller , '' Nocturnal Animals '' , based on Austin Wright 's 1993 novel '' Tony and Susan '' . Tom Ford was set to direct the film , based on his own script . Ford said that the storytelling concept of the novel appealed to him , explaining , " The film is very different than the book it 's based on . However , the central themes are the same , meaning that when I read the book , what appealed to me as a writer and a filmmaker was the idea of this device of communicating to someone through a work of fiction . Through a '' written '' work of fiction . And thereby communicating something that they had not been able to really communicate clearly . I loved that concept . " Jake Gyllenhaal was set to star in the dual lead roles , Amy Adams was in talks for the female lead role , and sources confirmed that Joaquin Phoenix and Aaron Taylor-Johnson might be cast in other roles . Focus Features acquired the US distribution rights to the film on May 17 , 2015 , while Universal Pictures handles the international distribution . Focus ' deal was made with $ 20 million , making this the biggest deal of the 2015 Cannes Film Festival , and one of the biggest of the mid 2010s . On August 6 , 2015 , Taylor-Johnson was confirmed to play a mysterious character who poses a threat to Gyllenhaal 's character Tony 's family , while Michael Shannon was also added to the cast , playing a detective investigating the violent incident . On August 28 , 2015 , Armie Hammer also joined the cast of the film , to play Hutton Morrow , Adams ' character 's husband . On September 9 , 2015 , Isla Fisher joined the film to play Laura Hastings , Tony 's wife . On September 18 , 2015 , Ellie Bamber was cast in the film to play Tony 's daughter . On September 30 , 2015 , Robert Aramayo was added to the cast . On October 5 , 2015 , Karl Glusman signed on to star in the film . On October 8 , 2015 , Peter Nyong ' o was also cast in the film
2015 Cannes Film Festival
2015 Cannes Film Festival
Nocturnal Animals