A film about the author of the legendary children’s book Goodnight Moon is in the works, Deadline reports.
Elle Fanning and Julianne Moore will star in Moonsong, an adaptation of Leonard S. Marcus’ 1992 biography, Margaret Wise Brown: Awakened by the Moon. A critic for Kirkus wrote of the book, “If Marcus doesn’t bring Brown to scintillating life, he does give an honest and informative account…and he does it without the sanctimonious reverence so endemic in his field.”
Brown, a Brooklyn native, was educated at Hollins College in Virginia and worked as a teacher before making her literary debut in 1937 with the children’s book When the Wind Blew, illustrated by Geoffrey Hayes. She would go on to publish more than 20 more books before writing Goodnight Moon, illustrated by Clement Hurd, in 1947.
The picture book, about a bunny wishing a good night to the objects in its bedroom, was not an instant hit, and it was initially excluded from the New York Public Library because the children’s librarian, Anne Carroll Moore, hated it. But the book became a bestseller in the years after Brown’s death in 1952 and is now regarded as a classic of children’s literature.
Moonsong will be written and directed by Rebecca Miller, whose previous films include Angela, The Ballad of Jack and Rose, and She Came to Me. The only cast members attached to the project are Fanning, who was recently Emmy-nominated for her roles as actor and producer on the series adaptation of Rufi Thorpe’s Margo’s Got Money Troubles, and Moore, whose next film, The Debut, is scheduled for release in December.
Martin Scorsese is among the executive producers of Moonsong, which will begin production next spring.
Michael Schaub is a contributing writer.
