by John Robert
A powerful king (Pierce Brosnan) seeks to extract a mermaid’s life-giving force to gain immortality, but his defiant daughter (Kaya Scodelario) threatens to ruin his plans.
RELEASE DATE: Jan 21, 2022
STUDIO: Gravitas Ventures
DIRECTOR: Sean McNamara
STARRING: Pierce Brosnan, Kaya Scodelario, Benjamin Walker, Rachel Griffiths, Bingbing Fan and William Hurt
Narrated by: Julie Andrews
Based on Vonda N. McIntyre’s novel ‘The Moon and the Sun’
SCREENWRITERS: Barry Berman and James Schamus
MPAA RATING: PG
GENRE: Fantasy
It’s difficult to understand how this story from a great novel went so badly on its way to the screen. The back story is fairly complicated involving Disney, Paramount, Jim Henson Pictures, and, yes, the Chinese!
It may be the biggest bomb of the year! In the United States and Canada, the film earned $723,150 from 2,170 theaters in its opening weekend. It made $440,846 in its second weekend.
On Rotten Tomatoes, only 21% of 52 critics’ reviews are positive, with an average rating of 4.4/10. The website’s consensus reads, “A muddled mess that was clearly tinkered with in post-production to little avail, The King’s Daughter is a royal disappointment.”
On Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 30 out of 100 based on 17 critics, indicating “generally unfavorable reviews”.
Wikipedia summarises the bizarre back story like this:
The film is based on the 1997 novel The Moon and the Sun, written by Vonda N. McIntyre. The earliest development for the film began in 1999 when producer Michael London planned to acquire filming rights. He said he was drawn to “the weird juxtaposition (of) a completely imagined creature in this very specific historical world”. London proposed the film to The Jim Henson Company, who would release the film through their film company, Jim Henson Pictures. Theatre director Christopher Renshaw signed on to direct, while Laura Harrington would write the screenplay with McIntyre’s involvement. Stephanie Allain and Kristine Belson signed on as executive producers for Jim Henson Pictures. Following Sony terminating their joint venture with The Jim Henson Company, thus ending Jim Henson Pictures, production was shelved until film producer Bill Mechanic joined production and revived the film with Walt Disney Pictures after signing a five-year deal with the company in December 2001. Mechanic planned for the film to start pre-production in early 2002, with Natalie Portman to star, James Schamus to revise the script, and Gregory Hoblit to possibly direct. The Jim Henson Company would also remain as a producer.
In August 2013, it was announced that Sean McNamara would direct the film. The casting included Pierce Brosnan as King Louis XIV, Fan Bingbing as the mermaid, and Bill Nighy as Père De La Chaise, a character created for the movie. Nighy pulled out of the film due to a scheduling conflict and was replaced by William Hurt weeks before filming. Mechanic, still remaining on the film, had also revised the script with Barry Berman and Ronald Bass. The Chinese film company Kylin Films invested $20.5 million in the movie, making it China’s biggest financial contribution to a non-studio film produced outside China. In June 2020, it was announced that Julie Andrews would narrate the film…
On August 15, 2014, Paramount Pictures announced the release date for the film as April 10, 2015, while international sales would be handled by Good Universe. Just three weeks before the film was due for wide release, Paramount canceled without specifying a future release date. A source close to the film claimed that more time was needed to complete the special effects work. The film was later retitled The King’s Daughter, and on June 1, 2020, Arclight Films acquired distribution during the 2020 Cannes virtual event. In October 2021, it was announced Gravitas Ventures acquired distribution rights to the film and set it for a January 21, 2022, release.
So there you go. The whole crazy story. So many players. And such a devastating outcome. But truth be told, having read what you just did, you definitely would have low expectations going to see the film, you might be surprised when you see it might be better than you initially thought.
Here is what Director Sean McNamara said in a statement:
Versailles. The Beauty. The Legends. The Romance. When I read the novel THE MOON AND THE SUN by Vonda McIntyre, I completely fell under its magical spell. A King, a secret daughter, and an incredible mermaid that lived in the fountains of Versailles. I was hooked. I love to make inspirational movies that delight audiences around the Globe. We adapted the book into the feature film THE KING’S DAUGHTER. After making films like Soul Surfer, Spare Parts, and The Miracle Season, I wanted to branch out into making a fantasy film that would move an audience. When you meet the Mermaid, I want you to feel her journey as she adapts to her new world and meets Marie-Josephe D’Alember. My love of music combined with my love of the ocean was put together as Marie-Josephe plays her cello and communicates with the magical Mermaid. The love affair between Yves and Marie-Josephe is one for the ages. It’s pure and whimsical. In fact, after playing the roles in the movie, Kaya Scodelario and Benjamin Walker fell in love in real life and now have two beautiful children. This is the impact this film had on these two Genius Actors. Please join me as we go back in time to a magical and special place.
But I think, the premise is wonderful and filled with spiritual subjects, like the pursuit of eternal life. To be immortal has been a perpetual dream of humanity since the dawn of mortals. This might be a good film to discuss after watching it with a friend, you know, the whole business of eternal life. What do you think?
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