Sometimes, it’s not easy being a former James Bond. Pierce Brosnan made a movie, titled The Moon And The Sun, with Academy Award winner William Hurt, and Paramount Pictures has just cancelled its imminent release. It would have been Brosnan’s first film since the triple 2014 disappointment of The Love Punch, The November Man and A Long Way Down.
Directed by Sean McNamara (Field Of Lost Shoes), The Moon And The Sun is based on the award-winning 1997 novel of the same name by Vonda N. McIntyre. The story brings together elements of science fiction and historical romance, to tell the tale of the Sun King, King Louis XIV (Brosnan) in 17th Century France, and his quest for immortality.
Seeking endless youth, he dispatches representatives to capture endangered sea monsters, rumoured to provide eternal life. Father Yves de la Croix (Benjamin Walker) returns with two – one dead and one alive. The living creature is placed in a fountain until such time as King Louis XIV is ready to consume it, but Lady-In-Waiting Marie-Josephe (Kaya Scodelario) discovers that the creature is, in fact, a mermaid – and sets out to save her.
The script is adapted by Ronald Bass, Barry Berman, Laura Harrington, Bill Mechanic and James Schamus, with the screenwriters having created an entirely new character for the movie – Pere La Chaise, played by William Hurt. Having wrapped its principal photography in May 2014, Paramount Pictures were set to release the film in the U.S on April 10th 2015, but The Wrap is now reporting that the film has been pulled from the schedules. There is speculation that the film could reappear later in the year, however.
When previously announced release dates are delayed, or removed entirely – temporarily or not – the inevitable damage to the early perception of a film can be catastrophic. This being the case, it will be interesting to see how quickly Paramount reveals a new release slot for The Moon And The Sun – if at all. The longer they wait, the greater the audience assumption will be that the film might be irretrievably flawed.
