Pierce Brosnan, Fan BingBing and Oscar winner William Hurt were in town to shoot the $40 million fantasy adventure film, The Moon and the Sun in early 2014.
The film, secured for Melbourne with the assistance of our Production Incentive Attraction Fund, is based on the award-winning novel by Vonda McIntyre about an aging French king (Brosnan) of the 17th century seeking immortality through the wiles of a beautiful mermaid (Fan Bingbing).
After a two week shoot at the lavish provincial palace of Versailles, Cosmos Filmed Entertainment in association with Lightstream Pictures and the China-based Maodi Group moved this international co-production to Docklands Studios Melbourne.
The film generated an estimated $25 million in expenditure in Victoria and provided jobs for around 1,200 of our skilled local cast and crew, including post-production by Luma Pictures.
Producer Bill Mechanic said it was an honour to bring the international production to life in Melbourne. “We had 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,” Mr Mechanic said.