SYNOPSIS
Set in Los Angeles in 1962, at the height of the Cuban missile crisis, A SINGLE MAN, is the story of George Falconer, a 52 year old British college professor [Colin Firth] who is struggling to find meaning to his life after the death of his long time partner, Jim [Matthew Goode]. George dwells on the past and cannot see his future as we follow him through a single day, where a series of events and encounters, ultimately leads him to decide if there is a meaning to life after Jim. George is consoled by his closest friend Charley [Julianne Moore], a 48 year old beauty who is wrestling with her own questions about the future. A young student of George's, Kenny [Nicholas Hoult], who is coming to terms with his true nature, stalks George as he feels in him a kindred spirit.
A SINGLE MAN is a romantic tale of love interrupted, the isolation that is an inherent part of the human condition, and ultimately the importance of the seemingly smaller moments in life.
The story is an adaptation based on a novel by Christopher Isherwood and is directed by Tom Ford.

PRODUCTION NOTES
It is 1962, and nuclear warfare looms imminently. Fear pervades the world. Societal values are represented in over-simplistic black and white terms, but the complexities of human relationships remain just as convoluted as they are today.
FADE TO BLACK, in association with DEPTH OF FIELD presents A SINGLE MAN starring COLIN FIRTH, JULIANNE MOORE, MATTHEW GOODE and NICHOLAS HOULT. Based on the 1964 novel of the same title by Christopher Isherwood, A SINGLE MAN was written, directed and produced for the screen by TOM FORD. The screenplay was co-written by DAVID SCEARCE, while CHRIS WEITZ, ANDREW MIANO and ROBERT SALERNO produced the film with FORD.
Behind-the-camera talent includes Oscar nominee ARIANNE PHILLIPS, costume design, DAN BISHOP, production design, EDUARD GRAU, director of photography, JOAN SOBEL, editor, and ABEL KORZENIOWSKY and SHIGERU UMEBAYASHI, composers.

Set in Los Angeles almost 50 years ago, at the height of the Cuban missile crisis, A SINGLE MAN is the story of George Falconer, a 52 year old British college professor [COLIN FIRTH] who is struggling to find meaning to his life after the death of his long time partner, Jim [MATTHEW GOODE]. George dwells on the past and cannot see his future as we follow him through a single day, where a series of events and encounters, ultimately leads him to decide if there is a meaning to life after Jim. George is consoled by his closest friend, Charley [JULIANNE MOORE], a 48 year old beauty who is wrestling with her own questions about the future. A young student of George's, Kenny [NICHOLAS HOULT], who is coming to terms with his true nature, stalks George as he feels in him a kindred spirit.
A SINGLE MAN is a romantic tale of love interrupted, the isolation that is an inherent part of the human condition, and ultimately, the importance of the seemingly smaller moments in life.
"I first read the book, A SINGLE MAN, in the early 1980s and was moved by the honesty and simplicity of the story," says Tom Ford, writer-director-producer of the film. "Three years ago, after searching for the right project to develop as my first film, it occurred to me that I often thought of this novel and its protagonist, 'George'."
"I picked it up and read it again and the book resonated with me in an entirely different way. It is a deeply spiritual story of one day in the life of a man who cannot see his future. It is a universal tale of coming to terms with the isolation that we all feel, and of the importance of living in the present and understanding that the small things in life are really the big things in life."
The gestation for Ford's directing debut has been years in the making. As both a student and obsessive fan of motion pictures, Ford was familiar with the types of films that stirred him emotionally. His work as a creative director of still photography, advertising campaigns and commercials in the fashion industry for the past 25 years helped Ford understand framing, lighting, and the importance of image in the telling of a story. Ford is quick to point out, however, that image and style can also kill a film if there is not a story or message that deserves to be told and challenges the viewer. For Ford the story is all: "We seem to have lost character driven films with dialogue, and these are ultimately the most rewarding films for me as a viewer and this is the type of film that I set out to make."
Ultimately for Ford, A SINGLE MAN was the right story at the right time. "I have always had a kind of intuition or inner voice that has served me well. Fashion is so much about intuition because you have to anticipate what people will want a year before they want it." When A SINGLE MAN kept nudging his psyche, his intuition told him that he had found the right property.
"I've been working on this project for quite a while. I worked on the screenplay off and on for almost two years and did many drafts. When you are imagining a scene while writing it, there are no problems. Actors speak their lines perfectly. The shot is beautiful. But, that is because you aren't working in reality," muses Ford.
Ford optioned both the Isherwood novel and a completed screenplay written by David Scearce, but realized quickly that neither would make the film that he wanted to make and set about creating his own plot points from scratch and writing a new screenplay on his own. His final screenplay differs considerably from both the book and the previous screenplay, but his primary goal was to maintain the essence of the story. He understood that the interior monologue style of Isherwood's novel would not work visually for the film, and so he invented a variety of personal encounters throughout George's day. Most significantly, he added a vital new angle to the story - George's planned suicide at the end of his day. "George has been living in the past, he cannot see his future and cannot shake a deep depression and so decides to end his life. Thinking that he is seeing things for the last time, he begins to view the world differently and finds himself for the first time in years living in the present and confronted with the beauty of the world. This is a timely subject, I believe, as it is now more important than ever for us to all appreciate the gifts that we have in our lives."
While the hero of the story is gay, Ford points out that the film transcends sexuality. "The movie is about loss and loneliness. It could be the same story if it was George's wife, instead of his partner, who had died. This is a love story and one man's search for meaning in his life. The theme is universal."
Ford put an autobiographical imprint on A SINGLE MAN. The suicide that George constructs in the film is a replica of a suicide in Ford's family. More importantly, Ford went through his own difficult juncture, like George, a few years ago. "There is much of me in my version of George. A kind of spiritual crisis at mid life comes to many people. I achieved much in the material world at a very early age: financial security, fame, professional success, more material possessions than I knew what to do with. I had a full personal life, a wonderful life partner of 23 years, two great dogs, and lots of friends but somehow lost my way a bit. As a fashion designer, one spends one's life living in the future designing collections several years ahead of when they will actually be in stores. Our culture encourages a belief that all of our problems can be solved with material things. I had completely neglected the spiritual side of my life."
Ford then reawakened himself with a new interest in philosophical matters such as the Tao Te Ching and similar introspective works. "In re-reading the Isherwood book at this point in my life, I realized that it was a book written by the true self about the false self. Christopher Isherwood was a student of Vedanta and this is very evident in the novel. It is incredibly spiritual and very much about the struggle of living in the present. I think that people who know my work as a fashion designer will be surprised by this film. It is very personal and an expression of a side of my character that most people don't know."
After he was satisfied with his script, the project came together in a relatively short period of time in film terms.
Ford was conscious of what kind of films move him as a moviegoer while working on the project.
"A great movie haunts you," says Ford. "It's both entertaining and thought provoking. In that way, I hope that A SINGLE MAN makes you question things…think about things in a way that you haven't thought about before."
He adds, "I am hopeful that it will show the audience that the small things in life are really the big things in life."

The cast
"Julianne was the first actor to say 'yes'," Ford recalls. "Colin's part was the hardest to cast because there are very few actors in the world with the right sensitivity to play the part of George." Firth was originally busy with another film, and suddenly became available when the shooting schedule for A SINGLE MAN changed. Ford immediately flew to London and convinced Firth to take the part. Firth, a classically trained British theater actor, has been recognized for his work with numerous award nominations from the Screen Actors Guild, Emmys and BAFTA. Ford says, "The incredible thing about Colin is his ability to telegraph what he's thinking through his eyes, almost without moving his face and certainly without saying a line." He adds that Firth's subtle acting skills worked perfectly for the restrained character of George.  Read more

Shooting the film: a short pre-production period
One of Ford's toughest challenges was a very abbreviated pre-production period. That added considerable pressure on production to find the right locations in the Los Angeles area. "We needed to find a completely deserted college that was correct for the period," explains Ford. The company found a small school across from the Norton Simon Museum in Pasadena. Even tougher was locating George's house because of Ford's cinematic requirements. "The fact that Colin's character is British…I wanted something that was modern, yet filled with a lot of wood…warmth and wood paneling seemed right for George." Read more

Shooting the film in 21 days
Ford shot the film in a brisk 21-day schedule, but was ultra-organized to deal with each day's work. Discarding some early storyboards, Ford, instead, made detailed shot lists of each camera angle for each scene. The experience of his key actors as well as a concerted effort on the part of his crew helped the production move at the required quick pace. Ford jokes, "I was pushing the line producer which is the opposite of how it usually is." Read more

The Music
One of Ford's passions about films has been his love of motion picture sound tracks. He had some early ideas about what to do with the music in A SINGLE MAN.  "Usually, when we see a movie about the 1960s, it is littered with popular tunes from that period which is a little bit hokey and not at all right for a movie that is very emotional and inside someone's head," he says. Read more

DIRECTOR'S STATEMENT
I first read the book "A Single Man" by Christopher Isherwood in the early 1980s and was moved by the honesty and simplicity of the story. At that time, I was in my early twenties. Three years ago, after searching for the right project to develop as my first film it occurred to me that I often thought of this novel and it's protagonist, "George". I picked it up and read it again. Now in my late forties, the book resonated with me in an entirely different way. It is a deeply spiritual story, of one day in the life of a man who cannot see his future. It is a universal tale of coming to terms with the isolation that we all feel, and of the importance of living in the present and understanding that the small things in life are really the big things in life.

ABOUT TOM FORD
Tom Ford was born in Austin, Texas on August 27, 1961. He was raised in Texas and Santa Fe, New Mexico. Ford attended New York University and Parsons School of Design where he studied art history and architecture. Tom Ford is best known for his work as a fashion designer and is credited with reviving the fashion houses of Gucci and Yves Saint Laurent through influential collections and provocative advertising campaigns that turned Gucci Group into one of the largest and most profitable luxury fashion conglomerates in the world. Ford left Gucci Group in 2004 and founded his film production company, FADE TO BLACK, as well as his eponymous fashion company in 2005. Tom Ford's success in the fashion industry has been recognized by numerous awards including: five awards from the prestigious Council of Fashion Designers of America [CFDA], five VH-1/Vogue Fashion Awards and the Fashion Design Achievement Award at the Cooper Hewitt Design Museum's National Design Awards. In March 2007, Tom Ford was honored with the Vito Russo Award from GLAAD. Ford lives in London and Los Angeles.

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