The Moon & The Sun (aka The King's Daughter)

[eaz35173]

www.screendaily.com/news/distribution/brosnan-to-play-louis-xiv/5054639.article

Brosnan to play Louis XIV
7 May, 2013 | By Jeremy Kay

EXCLUSIVE: Good Universe has acquired international sales rights to Pandemonium’s The Moon And The Sun starring Pierce Brosnan and will kick off pre-sales in Cannes.

The fantasy-adventure centres on imagined events during the reign of King Louis XIV as the French leader’s bid for immortality leads him to capture and attempt to steal the life force from a mermaid, to be played by rising Chinese star Fan Bingbing.

Complications arise when the Sun King’s 18-year-old illegitimate daughter Marie-Josephe falls for the mermaid’s keeper and risks everything trying to set him and the mythical creature free.

Sean McNamara, whose credits include Soul Surfer, will direct The Moon And The Sun.

Pandemonium head Bill Mechanic will produce and adapted Vonda McIntyre’s novel with co-writers Barry Berman, James Schamus and Laura Harrington.

[Ace]

Behold the Sun King




Richard Chamberlain in all his Sun King glory in The Man In The Iron Mask



I do so hope Pierce gets to be painted gold and they better not skint on the red higheeled shoes.

[Lauryn]

Pity Baz Luhrmann isn't filming it. Then Pierce as Louie Quatz could sing Jay Z sampling Elvis Costello:

Oh I used to be disgusted
And now I try to be amused.
But since their wings have got rusted,
You know, the angels wanna wear my red shoes.
But when they told me 'bout their side of the bargain,
That's when I knew that I could not refuse.
And I won't get any older, now the angels wanna wear my red shoes.
Oh I won't get any older, now the angels wanna wear my red shoes.

With the Beatles thrown in there somewhere

Here comes the Sun King....

Ace, you know part of you is dying to see that

[Ace]

Commercials of The Great Gatsby actually make me nauseous. The only Baz Lurhman I can stomach is Strictly Ballroom. It's a perfect match for his outlandish colorful kitch. The Sun King and mermaids though might be another.

[Ace]

Reading the reviews, I realize I read this book about 15 years ago. I recall liking it quite a lot though the details are fuzzy.


The Moon and the Sun
by Vonda N. McIntyre

Soon to be a major motion picture.

The Nebula-winning novel has been optioned by Bill Mechanic (executive producer of The New World) and Pandemonium Films (Coraline).

“Inspired by tales of ancient sea-monsters, McIntyre spins a marvelous alternative-history fable about greed and goodness, power and pathos set at the 17th century court of Louis XIV, France’s glittering Sun King…. McIntyre vividly re-creates a Versailles poised on the cusp between alchemy and modern science. Her imaginings enliven her history with wonder, but, as in the best fantasy, they serve less to dazzle by their inventiveness than to illuminate brilliantly real-world truths — here, humanity’s responses, base and noble, when confronting the unknown.”

— Publishers Weekly


In this rich and engrossing tale, Vonda N. McIntyre proves once again that her plotting and mastery of language are among the best in the business. The Moon and the Sun, which won the 1997 Nebula Award for best novel of the year, is the story of Marie-Josèphe, a young lady in the court of Louis XIV. When her brother Yves returns from a naturalist voyage with two sea monsters (one live, one dead), Marie-Josèphe is caught up in a battle of wills involving the fate of the living creature. The king intends to test whether the sea monster holds the secrets of immortality, but Marie-Josèphe knows the creature to be an intelligent, lonely being who yearns only to be set free. In a monumental test of the limits of patience and love, Marie-Josèphe defies the will of the king, her brother, and the pope in defense of what she knows is right, at any cost. McIntyre's atmospheric prose envelops the reader in a fully realized world--sights, smells, and sounds are described in great detail. The author completely represents the Sun King's court at Versailles--her research for the book must have been quite extensive. The blend of history, science, and fantasy makes for a book you will want to gulp down. --Therese Littleton/ Amazon.com Review


“The Moon and the Sun is, quite simply, a breathtaking novel. Vonda N. McIntyre, best known for her science-fiction/fantasy tales, here weaves a story of love, betrayal, and redemption that will enthrall readers across the genres. This belongs on a shelf labeled ‘The Best of the Best’.”

— The Romance Reader (Five Heart Review)

[Ace]

if.com.au/2013/08/09/article/Australia-attracts-The-Moon--the-Sun/SSUGQUDEHX.html

Australia attracts The Moon & the Sun

[Fri 09/08/2013 01:21:07]

By Don Groves

Pierce Brosnan, Bill Nighy and Fan Bingbing are attached to star in The Moon & the Sun, a Hollywood film which will shoot in Australia and France.

The producer, Bill Mechanic of Pandemonium Films, told IF he will probably shoot a second film Down Under, WW2 drama Hacksaw Ridge (aka The C.O.).

The news is a feather in the cap for Ausfilm, which organised Mechanic’s trip to Oz two weeks ago to scout locations, inspect studio facilities and meet key crew, as part of its program of in-bound visits for offshore producers.

Based on a novel by Vonda McIntyre, The Moon & the Sun is an adult fairytale centring on Louis XIV, who brings a mermaid into captivity in order to steal its life force. The King’s quest is complicated when he brings to Court the daughter of the mistress he always loved and the creature seeks out the girl. When the girl, Marie-Josephe, discovers what her father intends to do, she sets out to free the mermaid.

Brosnan will play the King, with Fan Bingbing as the mermaid, a Gollum-type digital creation. Nighy will play a character named Pere de Chaise. The girl hasn’t been cast yet.

Mechanic wrote the screenplay after revisions by Barry Berman, James Schamus and Ellen Harrington. The director is Sean Patrick McNamara, whose credits include Soul Surfer, Bratz and Raise Your Voice.

“We are going to shoot in Versailles and then the studio and tank work in Australia this spring,” said Mechanic, a former chairman and chief executive officer of Fox Filmed Entertainment during the era of Titanic, X-Men, Moulin Rouge!, Independence Day, Fight Club, There's Something About Mary, True Lies and Die Hard with a Vengeance.

“The creative work done on The Great Gatsby and The Wolverine convinced me that the production plan not only would work, but there were so many talented artists in Australia for my movie that it might even be best made here,“ he said. “Originally it was the financing, which is necessary as the film is being made independently and couldn’t be done without subsidies, but the department heads I met made the decision an easy one.”

Hacksaw Ridge chronicles the battle for Okinawa's Maeda Escarpment in WW2 and the heroic actions of aid-man PFC Desmond Doss, for which he was decorated with the Medal of Honor. Robert Schenkkan penned the original drafts and Randall Wallace (Braveheart, We Were Soldiers) is writing the screenplay.

Mechanic said it will “most likely” shoot in Australia early next year, adding, “That makes sense since it’s being done on a tight budget and we shot The Thin Red Line there and HBO shot The Pacific in Australia.”

[eaz35173]

Aug 8, 2013 23:26:43 GMT -5 Ace said:

“We are going to shoot in Versailles and then the studio and tank work in Australia this spring,” 

Mechanic said it will “most likely” shoot in Australia early next year.”

Seems somewhat contradictory.  Are they talking spring in the southern hemisphere or spring in the northern hemisphere?  Because "early next year" in Australia would be autumn for them.  I'm sure the PB fans living in Australia want to know!!

[Ace]

So scheduled Jan pre production and April filming

chttp://bigpondnews.com/articles/Entertainment/2013/09/25/Fantasy_film_to_bring_stars_to_Melbourne_909353.html

Fantasy film to bring stars to Melbourne

Wednesday, September 25, 2013



Pierce Brosnan and Bill Nighy will star in a new fantasy film, The Moon & The Sun, to be shot in Melbourne.


Pierce Brosnan and Bill Nighy are among international stars in a new fantasy film, The Moon The Sun, to be shot in Melbourne early next year.

Brosnan will play King Louis XIV in the screen adaptation of Vonda McIntyre's 1997 award-winning novel, while Nighy has been cast at the character, Pere de Chaise.

The fantasy-adventure focuses on the French king's capture of a mermaid in order to steal her lifeforce in a bid for immortality.

Chinese actress Fan Bingbing will play the mermaid.

Victorian Innovation Minister Louise Asher said on Wednesday the film will employ up to 1200 Victorians in cast and crew and add around $25 million to the local economy.

The Moon The Sun is scheduled to commence pre-production in January with principal photography to start in April.

Filming will mainly take place in Melbourne's Docklands Studios but will also use other Victorian locations.

Producer Bill Mechanic said he looked forward to bringing the film to life in Melbourne.

'We have a beautiful French story, acclaimed English and Chinese actors, and the best Australian creative talent all combining to make a completely unique adult fairytale,' Mr Mechanic said.

[piercebrosnanhot]

thanks for the good news!!

[Ace]

Sun rises on Brosnan's Australian film shoot

Date
September 26, 2013 - 8:43AM

Karl Quinn

National Film Editor

Pierce Brosnan is coming to Melbourne to make the fantasy-adventure film The Moon and the Sun.

Former James Bond star Pierce Brosnan, craggy-faced Englishman Bill Nighy and Chinese actress, singer and producer Fan Bingbing will head the cast of a major fantasy-adventure film to be shot at Melbourne's Docklands Film Studios in the first half of 2014.

Victorian Minister for Innovation Louise Asher confirmed the long-rumoured deal on Wednesday, claiming it would generate "$25 million in production expenditure" and employ "up to 1200 Victorians in cast and crew".

“These estimated jobs provide opportunities to enhance the local skills base and include set builders, lighting technicians, editors and special effects artists,” Ms Asher said.

Although Australia and China have a co-production agreement, it does not apply to The Moon and the Sun, which is what is known as a "runaway" production – a foreign film that utilises Australian facilities and crew, enticed in part by the federally funded location offset (which grants a rebate of 16.5 per cent of local expenditure) and a range of additional state government subsidies.
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The film is in fact being financed by Chinese and American interests, though Melbourne-born, US-based Paul Currie – co-founder with Jim Stynes of the Reach youth support foundation and director of the documentary Lionheart: The Jesse Martin Story and the feature film One Perfect Day – is a producer.

Hailing the project as "truly distinctive", Film Victoria chief Jenni Tosi said The Moon and the Sun "will provide a brilliant opportunity for Victorian screen practitioners and visual effects artists to demonstrate their talent and skills to the international market”.

Certainly it represents a rare opportunity to showcase Australian filmmaking capabilities to the Chinese sector, one that has this week unveiled ambitions to usurp Hollywood's supremacy in the industry.

Wang Jianlin, reputed to be China's wealthiest investor, announced on Sunday plans to spend up to $8.2 billion to develop the Qingdao Oriental Movie Metropolis, a complex that would include hotels, an amusement park and movie studios.

Nicole Kidman, Leonardo DiCaprio and John Travolta were among the guests who showed up for the announcement, a sure sign that Hollywood is taking it seriously.

China is tipped to become the world's largest cinema market by 2018, but despite Australia's close relations with the Asian giant, there has been little cinematic commingling until now.

Jackie Chan's 1997 action film Mr Nice Guy was shot in Melbourne, Sydney and on the Gold Coast, the 2011 romantic comedy Love In Space was partly filmed in Sydney, and the 3D sharks-in-a-supermarket film Bait had sequences shot in Beijing especially for the Chinese market. A handful of co-productions have also been made since the Australia-China co-production treaty was signed in August 2007.

The Moon and the Sun is based on a 1997 novel by US science-fiction writer Vonda McIntyre, whose past works include several novelisations of Star Trek films.

[Ace]

if.com.au/2013/09/26/article/The-Moon-and-the-Sun-to-shoot-in-Victoria/ELFCGTSGBK.html

The Moon and the Sun to shoot in Victoria

[Thu 26/09/2013]

By Don Groves

Scouting locations for The Moon and the Sun, a fantasy/adventure film starring Pierce Brosnan, Bill Nighy and Fan Bing Bing, the producers weighed offers from a number of countries.

Victoria won out thanks to a combination of the location offset, state rebate, quality of the crews and the expertise of VFX houses, according to Paul Currie, who is one of the principal producers alongside Pandemonium Films’ Bill Mechanic.

Budgeted at $US40 million, the film will shoot for two weeks in Versailles, France in March, then move to Australia in April using the stages of Docklands Studios and locations throughout Victoria.

An Aussie who’s based in Los Angeles, Currie tells IF, “$40 million goes a long way in Australia. Cost effectively we do great work for realistic budgets.”

Film Victoria, Screen NSW and Screen Queensland all pitched for the project and Ausfilm was co-operative. Currie was grateful for the agencies’ enthusiastic support and said the assistance offered by Film Victoria CEO Jenni Tosi tipped the balance.

Based on a novel by Vonda McIntyre, The Moon and the Sun is an adult fairytale centring on Louis XIV, who brings a mermaid into captivity in order to steal its life force The King’s quest is complicated when he brings to Court the daughter of the mistress he always loved and the creature seeks out the girl. When the girl, Marie-Josephe, discovers what her father intends to do, she sets out to free the mermaid.

Brosnan will play the King, with Fan Bing Bing as the mermaid, a Gollum-type digital creation. Nighy will play a character named Pere de Chaise.

Sean McNamara (Soul Surfer, Bratz, Raise Your Voice) will direct from a screenplay by Mechanic, with earlier drafts by James Schamus (Brokeback Mountain, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon) and Barry Berman (Benny & Joon).

Cosmos Filmed Entertainment will produce in association with Currie’s Lightstream Pictures and the China-based Maodi Group. The producers are Mechanic, former CEO and chairman of Fox Studios and producer of Coraline, Currie, James Pang (Painted Skin: The Resurrection), and Evergrande's Timothy Mou.

Universal’s Focus Features will release the film in the US and Good Universe will handle international sales. The producers have yet to decide which VFX houses will be assigned but Currie says all the post will be in Australia.

Currie hopes to shoot another film, 2:22, a thriller about an air traffic controller who investigates a mysterious flash of light, with Mechanic in Australia later next year. He will direct from a screenplay based on an original concept by Todd Stein and Nathan Parker. Jackie O’Sullivan (The Proposition) will be one of the producers.

Currie directed and co-wrote the 2004 Australian drama One Perfect Day, which starred Dan Spielman, Leeanna Walsman and Nathan Phillips. Since moving to the US he has produced Oren Moverman’s Rampart, a crime drama starring Woody Harrelson, Ben Foster and Sigourney Weaver.

He's just finished producing Max Rose, which features Jerry Lewis as a jazz pianist who fears, days before the death of his wife, that his 65-year marriage was a lie.

[Ace]

variety.com/2013/film/news/mechanics-moon-finally-set-to-rise-in-oz-1200672608/

Mechanic’s ‘Moon’ Finally Set to Rise in Oz

Bill Mechanic, producer
September 27, 2013 | 06:16AM PT
French-set fantasy to shoot in Melbourne with Chinese finance, star
Patrick Frater

HONG KONG — Bill Mechanic’s long-gestating fantasy film “The Moon And The Sun” is finally set to start shooting from April 2014 in Australia.

The $40 million picture will be directed by Sean McNamara and star Pierce Brosnan, Bill Nighy and China’s Fan Bingbing.

News of the project’s updated status came from the Australian state of Victoria, where government minister Louise Asher announced that the film had committed to shoot there.

“In addition to an estimated $25 million in production expenditure, ‘The Moon and the Sun’ will employ up to 1,200 Victorians in cast and crew – reaping extensive benefits for the Victorian screen industry and broader economy,” she said in a statement. Asher did not reveal how much Victoria is injecting into the project, though it seems likely that after competing with other states it will have to make a direct financial commitment to the film.

The film’s other finance will come from U.S. and Chinese sources. Cosmos Filmed Entertainment will produce “The Moon and the Sun” in association with Lightstream Pictures, and the China-based Maodi Group. Mechanic, former CEO and chairman of Fox Studios and Producer of Coraline, James Pang (“Painted Skin 2”), Melbourne-born Paul Currie (“Rampart,” “One Perfect Day”), and Evergrande’s Timothy Mou are all producing on the project.

Production will be focused at the Docklands Studios in Melbourne. Preproduction will start from January and lensing from April. Two weeks of shooting in Versailles France will also take place.

Universal’s Focus Features will release the film in the U.S. and Good Universe will handle international sales.

The film is a is a fantasy/adventure feature, based on the award-winning novel by Vonda McIntyre about French king Louis XIV, who kidnaps a mermaid in order to steal its life force. Mechanic has been handling the project since 2001, when it was set up at Disney with Nathalie Portman starring and the Henson Co producing. It was also called “Mermaid” and at one time was set with Greg Hoblit to direct.

“We have a beautiful French story, acclaimed English and Chinese actors, and the best Australian creative talent all combining to make a completely unique adult fairy tale,” Mechanic said in a prepared statement.

[eaz35173]

It's nice to see that it already has a US distributor.

[Ace]

www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/divergent-actor-ben-lloyd-hughes-689802

'Divergent' Actor Ben Lloyd-Hughes Joins Pierce Brosnan in 'The Moon and the Sun'
4:57 PM PDT 3/19/2014 by Rebecca Ford


Ben Lloyd-Hughes - P 2014
Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP

"Soul Surfer" helmer Sean McNamara is directing the film, which is based on Vonda McIntyre's fantasy novel.

Divergent actor Ben Lloyd-Hughes has joined the cast of indie film The Moon and the Sun, starring Pierce Brosnan.
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The project, which will begin production at the end of the month, also stars Benjamin Walker, Kaya Scodelario and Fan Bing Bing.

Directed by Soul Surfer helmer Sean McNamara, the film is based on Vonda McIntyre's fantasy novel about a beautiful mermaid.

Brosnan stars as King Louis XIV who is determined to protect the future of France by reigning for all eternity. His search for immortality leads him to capture and steal the life force from a mermaid (Bingbing), but soon his 18-year-old illegitimate daughter (Scodelario) discovers the mystical creature and strikes up a friendship with her.

From a script by former 20th Century Fox chairman Bill Mechanic, former Focus CEO James Schamus, Barry Berman and Laura Harrington, The Moon and the Sun is being produced by Mechanic, James Pang, Wei Han, Paul Currie and David Brookwell.

Focus Features will release The Moon and the Sun in the U.S. in 2015. International sales are being handled by Good Universe.

Lloyd-Hughes stars as Will in Summit's hotly anticipated YA adaptation Divergent, which hits theaters on March 21. The English actor's previous work includes 2012’s Great Expectations and TV series The Hour. He's repped by CAA, ROAR and the Curtis Brown Group in the U.K.

[clacla64]

ooooh I love the world of legends!then..mr.Brosnan as Luis XIV..excite me so much ;d xxx kisses from clacla

[clacla64]

I would like make love with mr.Brosnan, and he with a wig on head and dressed as that time of Louis XIV ;d... Re Sole ... so exciting! xxx ciao clacla

[Ace]

Casting change for fantasy/adventure

if.com.au/2014/03/24/article/Casting-change-for-fantasyadventure/TLJIFRHCHH.html

[Mon 24/03/2014 09:10:26]

By Don Groves

William Hurt has replaced Bill Nighy in one of the key supporting roles in The Moon and the Sun, a fantasy/adventure which starts shooting in Paris next week and moves to Melbourne in mid-April.

Sean McNamara (Soul Surfer, Bratz, Raise Your Voice) is directing the film based on a novel by Vonda McIntyre.

Pierce Brosnan heads the cast as King Louis XIV, who is determined to protect the future of France by reigning for all eternity. His search for immortality leads him to capture and steal the life force from a mermaid, but soon his 18-year-old illegitimate daughter discovers the mystical creature and strikes up a friendship with her.

Chinese actress Fan Bing Bing portrays the mermaid, a Gollum-type digital creation. Kaya Scodelario (TV’s Skins) plays the daughter, Marie-Josephe. Hurt is Pere La Chaise, spiritual adviser to the king. The producers said Nighy dropped out due to a scheduling conflict.

The cast includes Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter’s Benjamin Walker as Yves, a young sea captain who is commissioned by the king to search the North Seas for the mermaid; Ben Lloyd-Hughes (who stars in Divergent, the No. 1 film in the US last weekend) as Lintillac, a wealthy young merchant who is angling for a position at court; and Orange is the New Black's Pablo Schreiber.

The producers are Bill Mechanic, former CEO and chairman of Fox Studios and producer of Coraline, LA-based Aussie Paul Currie, James Pang (Painted Skin: The Resurrection), Wei Han and David Brookwell.

The screenplay is by Mechanic, Ron Bass (an Oscar winner for Rain Man), James Schamus (Brokeback Mountain, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon), Barry Berman (Benny & Joon), and Laura Harrington.

Film Victoria, Screen NSW and Screen Queensland all pitched for the project and Ausfilm was co-operative. Victoria won out thanks to a combination of the location offset, state rebate, quality of the crews and the expertise of VFX houses, according to Currie.

The film will shoot at the Docklands Studios and locations in Victoria from mid-April through May. Universal’s Focus Features will release the film in the US and Good Universe is handling international sales.


[Mon 24/03/2014 09:10:26]

[eaz35173]

Ahhh, that explains why Pierce is vacationing in Paris with his family. I didn't realize any of the filming was taking place in France - I thought it was all happening Down Under.

[eaz35173]

Guess filming is starting.  This is from Kaya Scodelario's IG @kayascods (she's in the movie with him) ...

The king has arrived @piercebrosnanofficial #daddycool

[rosafermu]

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