When Tom Ford left his gig at the Gucci Group five years ago and signaled his intention to make Hollywood movies, there were plenty of naysayers. If the designer-turned-director ever doubted himself, he never let it show in public, and at the U.S. premiere of A Single Man at Grauman's Chinese Theatre last night, he was overcome by another, perhaps even rarer, sort of emotion: disbelief. "Being here, in a theater like this, is a dream come true," Ford said. "For me, it's almost surreal."

Like most of Ford's creative efforts, this one is garnering high praise: Among the awards it has picked up on the festival circuit was one for Best Actor for Colin Firth at the Venice Film Festival. And to hear his actors tell it, Ford's talent behind the camera is not unrelated to his success on the sartorial front (you may have heard a little about his menswear line). "Knowing so much about what the character wore and having that fashion background definitely helped," Nicholas Hoult, who plays Firth's student, explained. "In some scenes you see the dressing as an armor, or as the extension of the character. And Tom knew that. He was a brilliant director." His co-star Matthew Goode agreed with that last sentiment. Pacing the garden with Harvey Weinstein at the Chateau Marmont after-party, he offered, "Tom really smashed it out of the park on this one." As if anyone ever doubted he would.

— Derek Blasberg