Pierce Brosnan’s latest film The Moon And The Sun has hit something of a roadblock shortly ahead of its release. In fact roadblock is putting it mildly, because the film has now been yanked from schedules by Paramount just three weeks before it was due out.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, The Moon And The Sun’s release has been delayed because its special effects aren’t quite up to scratch. A source told the publication that it was taking "more time than expected" to put the finishing touches to the movie. But rather than trying to rush this element of the film the powers that be have decided to delay The Moon And The Sun for an undetermined amount of time. The insider has speculated that it might hit cinemas at some point in the summer, but Paramount are yet to announce the new release date.
And while it would be easy to poke fun at The Moon And The Sun for its inability to complete production on schedule there’s something quite noble in their decision to delay its release. Every year a plethora of films are hurried and rushed in post-production just to meet their planned spot in the cinematic diary. And most of the time this hast is plainly evident on screen. With this delay, those in control of The Moon And The Sun have made the hard choice, risking the film’s reputation in the process, and there’s every chance that its box office could be affected by it. If they are able to get the film’s effects right, then it will have been worth it though. But it’s safe to assume that the powers that be at Paramount measure success much differently.
The problem is this isn’t just an independent movie, Paramount as well as a number of other co-financiers for the film have spent the hefty sum of $40 million on The Moon And The Sun. And because of this amount there’s no escaping the fact that it is pretty embarrassing that it will fail to be released on time. Especially when you look at when the film’s production was actually completed. Shooting on The Moon And The Sun wrapped up last May 2014, meaning that those involved have had just under a year to complete everything that was needed. I imagine they weren't sitting around twiddling their thumbs for this period so something must have gone wrong in between to cause this chaos.
The historical fantasy has been brought to the big-screen by Sean McNamara, whose most recognized work to date is 2011’s Soul Surfer. Adapted from Vonda N. McIntyre’s novel of the same name, The Moon And The Sun will at some point star Pierce Brosnan as King Louis XIV, whose pursuit for immortality leads him to capture and steal a mermaid’s life force. However when his illegitimate step-daughter discovers the creature he has to go to great lengths to cover his tracks.
And while there’s no denying the fact that The Moon And The Sun sounds kooky its impressive cast of Brosnan, Kaya Scodelario, William Hurt, Fan Bingbing, and Rachel Griffiths suggests that it must have something going for it. We'll see if that's the case when The Moon And The Son is hopefully released later this summer. By that point its special effects better be gleaming.
