Oscar-winning La La Land director Damien Chazelle’s mystery thriller script titled The Claim has been optioned by Oceanside Media. Oceanside’s Scott Clayton will produce the pic with Route One Entertainment’s Russell Levine and Motion Picture Capital’s Leon Clarance. Motion Picture Capital will fully finance the film, which is slated to begin production this year. The producers say they are in talks with a U.S. distributor with an eye on a 2018 release.

Chazelle, who was nominated for La La Land‘s original script this year as well as for writing his 2014 Oscar nominee Whiplash, is not attached as a director. Hot off six total Oscars for La La Land, his next project as director is the Neil Armstrong moon-landing pic First Man with Ryan Gosling. That pic has an October 12, 2018 release date via Universal.

The Claim, a suspense thriller, centers on a single father with a criminal background who must uncover the whereabouts of his kidnapped daughter while fighting the mysterious claims of another couple who insist the child is theirs. Route One has been aboard since the script made the 2010 Black List.

“I am excited to be partnering with Route One and Motion Picture Capital to produce this amazing project from Damien Chazelle,” said Clayton, founder and executive chairman of Aussie-based Oceanside. “He has written a mesmerizing and bone-chilling thriller confirming his talent as a truly versatile screenwriter. We look forward to bringing this haunting film to audiences around the world.”

Added Levine: “We’ve been looking for just the right partners to join us in making The Claim and we’ve got them in Oceanside and MPC. This is one of Damien’s best scripts and now we have a great team to bring it home.”

Jay Stern and Chip Diggins are also producing, with the latter first bringing the project into Route One. Chris Lytton and MPC’s Laure Vaysse are also executive producing.

Route One’s recent films include Tallulah with Ellen Page and Allison Janney, and it has upcoming The Circle with Tom Hanks and Emma Watson and Colossal with Anne Hathaway and Jason Sudeikis.