Everybody know George Clooney is a motherf*ckin’ Monster (of Florence)

THE MONSTER OF FLORENCE is a project that’s been kicking around for a few years. Tom Cruise originally acquired the rights of the book the film would be based on shortly after it was published in 2008 for United Artists, intending to produce and possibly star. That never did pan out, though the actor did bring on his VALKYRIE writing chum Christopher McQuarrie to pen the script and also produce. Project’s been in turnaround since due to MGM’s then occurring restructuring fiasco.

THR today, however, is reporting that Fox 2000 has now picked up the rights to the Douglas Preston and Mario Spezi best-selling book, with McQuarrie still on tap to write along with Nathan Alexander, and that actor George Clooney is now attached to star. Here’s THR with more:

“Preston and Spezi’s book is an investigation into the murderer (or murderers) known as Il Mostro, who killed more than a dozen people from the late 1960s to the mid-1980s without being caught. In the course of their digging, Preston, who had moved with his family to a villa in Florence, and Spezi, an Italian crime journalist, were themselves then investigated by the police.”

In their own report, Deadline is saying that Clooney will be playing the part of author Douglas Preston himself.

Now who could potentially direct the adaptation? Clooney might be too busy this year, prepping to direct and star in THE IDES OF MARCH as well as appearing in Alfonso Cuaron’s sci-fi space flick GRAVITY. But what about buddy Steven Soderbergh? Or Grant Heslov (THE MEN WHO STARE AT GOATS) who’s also now a producer on this? Or maybe SYRIANA’s Stephen Gaghan?