David Thompson’s production company Origin Pictures and BBC Films have secured film rights to William Boyd’s new novel Ordinary Thunderstorms, ahead of its publication in September.

The book, which Boyd will adapt himself, is a thriller set against the backdrop of a huge drug-testing conspiracy, where an ordinary man is accused of a crime he did not commit and has to evade the powers that want him dead.

Thompson said:  “It’s a hugely exciting proposition and very rare to come across a big London-set thriller that is both sophisticated and unpredictable in equal measure. We’re thrilled to be working with Will and the BBC, and are itching to get on and make this film.”

The project was brought in by Ed Rubin, head of development at Origin. Stephen Durbridge at The Agency negotiated Boyd’s deal with Origin and the BBC.

Boyd’s novels include The Blue Afternoon, Any Human Heart and spy thriller Restless, which won the Costa Novel of the Year award in 2006. His screenwriting credits include Chaplin, The Trench (which he also directed), and adaptations of his own novels A Good Man In Africa and Armadillo

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