A very interesting project is starting to take shape. Rebecca Miller's “Moonsong: A Life in Seven Verses,” her biopic of “Goodnight Moon” author Margaret Wise Brown.
Take a look at the cast that's signed up. There's a lot of talent. Julianne Moore, Elle Fanning, Josh Hartnett, Emma Thompson, Sally Hawkins, Danny Huston, Robert Aramayo and Chloe Pirrie will all be part of the sprawling ensemble.
That's two Oscar winners (Moore and Thompson), an Oscar nominee (Hawkins) and a freshly minted BAFTA winner (Aramayo) surrounding Fanning, herself an Oscar nominee, who will be playing the lead in ‘Moonsong.’ Cameras roll in May 2027, which puts this squarely on track for a 2028 release.
The film is set in 1930s New York and follows Wise Brown as she discovers her knack for children's stories and helps pioneer a more sensory approach to kids' literature, surrounded by a circle of artists and educators. Now, before you head for the exits, this isn't a storybook biopic. Her personal life was intense, including wild affairs and destructive behavior. She also died very young. Brown's books have since sold north of 300 million copies in more than 25 languages.
This will be Miller's sixth narrative feature. Her narrative work has been hit-and-miss for me. “Personal Velocity” still holds up (check out Parker Posey's incredible performance), “Maggie's Plan” was charming, and “She Came to Me” landed with a thud. She also convinced her husband, Daniel Day-Lewis, to star in “The Ballad of Jack and Rose,” a moody, underseen 2005 drama about a dying father and his isolated teenage daughter on a crumbling island commune. It's very flawed, but Day-Lewis is ferocious in it.
Of course, Miller is coming off the best reviews of her career with “Mr. Scorsese,” the five-part Apple TV+ documentary that swept the Emmy for Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Series, the DGA Award and two Critics Choice Documentary Awards. Fittingly, Scorsese himself is on board ‘Moonsong’ as executive producer.
Side note: I sure hope that, with his now close ties to the family, Scorsese can convince the newly unretired but very selective Day-Lewis to take part in his next film. Wouldn't that be something?
The below-the-line team on ‘Moonsong’ also got my attention. Jarin Blaschke, the Oscar-nominated DP behind “The Lighthouse” and “Nosferatu,” is shooting it. That alone tells you this won't look like some standard prestige biopic. Even more intriguing is the addition of Neal Scanlan, the Oscar-winning creature effects and puppetry wizard from “Project Hail Mary.” Puppetry and animatronics in a Margaret Wise Brown movie? I have no idea what Miller has planned, but count me in.
There's a lot of talent. Julianne Moore, Elle Fanning, Josh Hartnett, Emma Thompson, Sally Hawkins, Danny Huston, Robert Aramayo and Chloe Pirrie will all be part of the sprawling ensemble.