Superstar Pierce Brosnan, fondly remembered as the suave and sophisticated version of James Bond, has returned to the big screen in a period drama funded by one of China's top producers.

China's Kylin Network owned by James Pang has invested US$20.5 million in Pierce's "The Moon and the Sun," which is based on the alternate history novel of the same name written by Vanda McIntrye.

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The novel won the Nebula Award for Best Novel in 1997, beating out A Game of Thrones by George R. R. Martin.

Kylin's investment is China's biggest financial investment yet in a non-studio movie produced outside mainland China. Another Chinese investor, Evergrande Pictures, has placed US$3 million in the movie that is currently being shot in Melbourne, Australia.

Both Chinese firms' investment accounts for US$23.5 million of the movie's total investment budget of $40.5 million. The rest of the investment came from US investors.

The movie is being directed by Sean McNamara who previously directed Soul Surfer. It stars Brosnan as France's King Louis XIV; Chinese superstar, Fan Bingbing, as the mermaid; Kaya Scodelario as Marie-Joséphe and William Hurt as Pere de Chaise (a character created for the movie).

Producers believe The Moon and the Sun will be a hit among women of all ages. They described the film as "somewhere between Twilight and Alice in Wonderland."

Bill Mechanic, owner of Pandemonium Films, is co-producing the movie along with Pang. The other producers are Bliss Media's Wei Han and Lightstream Pictures' Paul Currie.

Mechanic and Currie hope to make more films with their Chinese partners, including a World War 2 drama and the contemporary thriller "2:22," a film where the hero's life is torn apart when an ominous pattern of events repeats itself in exactly the same manner every day, ending at precisely 2:22 p.m.

The Moon and the Sun will be released by Universal's Focus Features in the U.S. while international sales will be handled by Good Universe.

TagsPierce Brosnan, film, actor, The Moon and the Sun