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Reviews & Articles:

The Hollywood Reporter:
- "Sunshine" is an extraordinary film, operating simultaneously at visceral, psychological and spiritual levels as it takes us on a voyage into space with the fate of mankind at stake
- A terrific space adventure with much on its mind

Guardian Unlimited:
- One of the most exciting British movies this year

Epoch Times:
- Technically perfect, Sunshine features spectacular special effects on a comparatively shoestring budget

NPR:
- Sunshine is a thoughtful genre film... The film has also devoted time and effort to making the Icarus crew into recognizable people rather than Hollywood stick figures

MTV:
- the picture brings a new visual dimension to the sci-fi genre

Toronto Star:
- engrossing, believable and intelligent sci-fi filmmaking at its best

Reviews on "Rotten Tomatoes"

Release Dates:
April 4, Taiwan
April 5, U.K.
April 5, Hong Kong
April 5, Singapore
April 5, Thailand
April 6, Mexico
April 6, Iceland
April 7, Philippines
April 11, France
April 11, Belgium
April 11, Egypt
April 12, Malaysia
April 12, Australia
April 12, New Zealand
April 12, Hungary
April 12, Portugal
April 12, Slovenia
April 12, Croatia
April 13, Brazil
April 13, Norway
April 13, Denmark
April 13, Poland
April 13, Vietnam
April 14, Japan
April 19, South Korea
April 19, Germany
April 19, Russia
April 19, Holland
April 19, Austria
April 19, Czech Republic
April 19, Slovakia
April 19, Greece
April 19, Peru
April 19, Switzerland
April 20, Italy
April 20, Sweden
April 20, Finland
April 20, Colombia
April 20, Spain
April 20, South Africa
April 26, Israel
April 26, Chile
May 11, Turkey
May 16, Kuwait
May 17, India
May 17, Lebanon
May 17, United Arab Emirates
July 20, North America

Sunshine News: 
© MichelleYeoh.info
[* For more news on Michelle Yeoh or site updates, please visit News page ]
[** More information to share? Please e-mail webmaster ]

(12/01/10) A few Michelle related excerpts form an interview with director Danny Boyle:
      "Remember the scene where Michelle Yeoh discovers the little seedling in the ashes of the oxygen garden? The American backers walked out of the screening when we killed her. He's saying that's the hope, that's the hope we're holding onto, everything's going to be OK, and then you kill her..."
      "It was a great chance to work with Michelle Yeoh, and to get a cast like that together is a bit of a dream. It's very difficult to create stories that have that kind of cast... it equalises everybody. It doesn't really suit stars in a sense, I think it's because you want everybody equal - then you can kill them in any way that you want."
      "...there was no real gender indication to the characters. It's interesting the way space harmonises everyone, equalises everyone. It had to be Michelle Yeoh first, I said to Michelle you can play anybody you want, because it wasn't gender specific, and then we just slotted everyone in."
(from Mountain7: Danny Boyle on Sunshine)

(02/23/09) Congratulations to director Danny Boyle for his Slumdog Millionaire winning 8 Oscar awards! Danny Boyle told Hong Kong reporters recently that he hopes to work with Michelle again, and he hopes he can make a film in China.

(04/24/08) Video: The Making of Sunshine - interviews of cast and crew members. (08:26, YouTube by SunshineFan)

(02/22/08) - Michelle was named Best Supporting Actress at the 2008 PopMatters SEALS (Short Ends and Leader's Annual Film Awards) for her performance in Sunshine:

Best Supporting Actress - Michelle Yeoh (Sunshine)
Considering the massive scope of his movie (this is a sci-fi film about saving an entire GALAXY), Danny Boyle had his work cut out for him when it came to making the speculative stakes more personal. Luckily, he had a magnificent cast, including this Chinese icon as the starship's resident botanist. If a single moment can sell a performance, it's the instant that Yeoh recognizes that all the food in the interstellar garden has been destroyed. Her face, a combination of shock and sadness, literally breaks your heart. If cameo-sized stunts can earn Oscar nods (and gold), this more substantive turn should as well.

- Fox's Sunshine DVD website

(12/28/07) Video clips:
    1. Washing Carrots in the Oxygen Garden (1:16, YouTube by SunshineFan)
    2. Cooking (1:16, "MovieWeb")
The deleted scenes are included in the Special Features on the DVD. The Sunshine U.S. DVD and Blu-ray disks will be available on January 8, 2008. (list of Special Features)

(12/02/07) SunshineDNA Fan Intervew is currently accepting fan-written questions for select members of the Sunshine crew. The deadline is December 16.

(11/30/07) Sunshine won the "Best Technical Achievement" award at the 2007 BIFA (British Independent Film Awards).

(11/27/07) Sunshine will be screened in Shanghai, China as a part of the London Film Week (December 6-12). For tickets information e-mail 2007londonfilm@sfa.sh.cn .

(11/07/07) Sunshine is screening in Bloomington, Indiana as a part of university's Union Board Film Series, November 8 - 10, 8:00pm and 11:00pm.

(11/07/07) Michael Elson of MPC will discuss and show the processes behind the stunning visual effects used in the film during the SAND Conference on Thursday November 29.

(10/31/07) Fox Home Entertainment has officially announced the DVD and Blu-Ray Disc release of Sunshine in U.S. and Canada. The Sunshine DVD features deleted scenes, director commentary, web production diaries and two short films and is available for the suggested retail price of $29.98 U.S./$43.48 Canada. Sunshine will also be available day-and-date in high-def format on Blu-ray Disc (BD) priced at $39.98 U.S. / $49.98 Canada. Prebook is December 12, 2007. For details on deleted scenes and web production diaries see press release.

(10/29/07) More Sunshine props for sale: The Propstore of London

(10/23/07) The release date for the Sunshine Region 1 (U.S.) DVD is January 8, 2008.

(10/10/07) Win Danny Boyle DVDs - including Sunshine.

(10/04/07) Two clips of deleted scenes from the Sunshine DVD: (thanks SunshineFan)
   Rough Docking Procedure
   Fight and Then We Die

(09/06/07) - U.K. Sunshine DVD was officially released on August 27th. (Order from Amazon UK)

- Design Sketches (SunshineFan)

- Thanks Gia for two new HQ photos! (click to enlarge)

HQ version	HQ version

(08/13/07) Sunshine script can be ordered from Amazon.

(08/13/07) If you would like to listen to the end credit song, "Avenue of Hope" by I Am Kloot, here are two YouTube videos:
    Sunshine trailer with Avenue of Hope music (partial)  (02:07)
    Sunshine extended trailer with Avenue of Hope music  (04:27) [new 08/15]
For the lyrics please see news on July 29th.

(08/13/07) - Sunshine videos:
    Sunshine interview: training  (02:21, YouTube)
    Sunshine Interview: Visual FX & Danny Boyle  (03:52, YouTube)

- Sunshine Fandoms, interesting.

(08/09/07) SunshineFan published several fan made wallpaers, most of them feature Hiroyuki Sanada and Michelle - KANEZON wallpapers, as they call them. ;-)

(08/08/07) New Sunshine images. (click to enlarge. photos from SunshineDNA)

Corazon and Trey	Harvey and Mace	Kaneda

(08/07/07) Sunshine DVD release dates. It comes out in many territories in August and September. The date for the U.S. is not yet available. For more information on the DVD features please see updates on June 28. Photo at right: DVD cover. (click to enlarge).

(07/29/07) Lyrics of the end title songs of Sunshine (thanks SunshineFan):

AVENUE OF HOPE by I Am Kloot

Along the avenue of hope
The footsteps falter, the fingers grope
and days, stretch out, beneath the sun
No one's born, and no one dies, no one lives, so no one cries
and we wait to see just what we will become

Don't let me falter, don't let me ride
Don't let the earth in me subside
Let me see just who I will become

You're like the clouds in my home town
You just grow fat and hang around
and you're days stretch out beneath the sun

and you don't live, you don't die, you don't love so you don't cry
and we wait, to see just what we will become

Don't let me borrow, don't let me bring
Don't let me wallow, don't make me sing
Let me see just who I will become

Don't let me falter, don't let me hide
Don't let someone else decide
Just who or what I will become

Don't let them borrow, don't let them bring
Don't let them wallow, don't make them sing

- * - * - * - * - * - * - * - * - * -

PEGGY SUSSED by Underworld

I can feel Geography
I can feel the ground and
I can feel the pull of the train

Hallelujah!

Lights on beneath the sea
I'm a broke leg pony that's winning the race

Hallelujah!

Mickey walks on the face of the water
He makes bad good
And he makes the dirt clean

Hallelujah!

I'm touched by the hand of Mickey
I'm sugar on a stick

Hallelujah!

Eeeven you would laugh out loud
Tied to a balloon

Hallelujah!

An image of your face
A picture of you

Hallelujah!

Inside a fate
This is my car
Or it could be one day when I make it!

This is me in the picture
And in walks someone skinny

Hallelujah!

Killing time on the line
Between home and the hog

Hallelujah!

Feel the fizz
The electricity run through you!

Hallelujah!

(07/26/07) Sunshine is expanding to more cities tomorrow (some start at midnight today). You may check Moviefone for theatres in your area. It is recommended to find a theatre with bigger screen and better sound effect for this film. For L.A. area, hey they will be showing it at Universal Studios' IMAX Theater!

(07/26/07) These are some photos posted by Gia on Sunshine Facebook. They were taken in workshops at 3 Mills (click on images to enlarge).


(1)(2) Making golden spacesuit; (3) spacesuit's cover; (4) they are actually selling some of those (foam latex) bodies on the Sunshine Props Auction (1, 2) (may contain spoilers). Talking about the props auction, I think this (Spoiler warning!) SFX Scalpe is a Corazon related item too although it is not stated directly on the auction site.

(07/23/07) - Released at 10 theaters in 6 cities, Sunshine opened to good numbers at the box office, pulling in $242,964 with an average $24,000 per theatre (the per-screen average was three times bigger than Harry Potter's).

Sunshine expands to 400+ theaters this Friday (July 27th).

- And finally, I have seen Sunshine on big screen! I attended the promotional screening at the Landmark West LA last Thursday. Must say I like the film. The various elements are blended nearly perfectly - visual, pace, characters, ship and the Sun - it feels poetic to me. It was a full house and the audience laughed and gasped at the right moments, and some even applauded when the film ended. A group from a local radio (rap) station was entertaining people before the screening. They were giving away Sunshine posters and other things. One T-shirt flew at me (I didn't raise my hand since it was not a Sunshine shirt) so I took it. Oh yeah - I was wearing my Corazon T-shirt (with Icarus II logo).  ;-)

(07/20/07) As a celebration of the first day of Sunshine's North American release, the Prop Store London is holding another Sunshine Props Auction.

(07/19/07) - Director Danny Boyle will be participating in a Q&A this Friday July 20, following the 8:10pm screening at Landmark's Sunshine Cinema, New York.

- Sunshine is coming to selected theatres - tomorrow (Friday)! The following theatres will have it (10 theatres):
  - L.A.: ArcLight Cinemas Hollywood, Landmark West LA
  - N.Y.: AMC Theatres Empire 25, AMC Loews Lincoln Square, Landmark's Sunshine Cinema
  - San Francisco: AMC Loews Metreon
  - Boston: Landmark Kendall Square Cinema, Landmark Kendall Square Cinema at Cambridge
  - Toronto: Cumberland Cinemas
  - Chicago: Kerasotes Chicago Webster Place 11
ArcLight Cinemas Hollywood is having a midnight screening at 12:10am (tonight). To check if Sunshine is showing in your area this weekend, you may go to Moviefone. The film will open nationwide on July 27th.

(07/16/07) Seems like FoxSearchLight is determined to spoil the movie for everyone! They have put up a group of new videos and gave out the worst possible spoilers you can think of! Unless you have seen the film or you are ready to accept the big spoilers, you don't even want to read the titles of the videos. If you are ready to see them, you may highlight the text/links in the brackets.
[ Videos: "Nothing survives not even the stars" - The Death of... Captain Kaneda, Ship's navigator Trey, Ship's communications officer Harvey, Pilot Cassie, Physicist Capa, Ship's engineer Mace, Ship's botanist Corazon, Ship's psychologist Searle ]

(07/15/07) Free Promotional Screenings! July 16 - 26. San Francisco, Toronto, New York, Boston, Los Angeles, Calgary, Plainville, Memphis, Cleveland Heights, Leawood, Austin, Kenner, Albuquerque, San Diego, Scottsdale, Sacramento, Washington, Eden Prairie, San Antonio, Richmond, Las Vegas, Virginia Beach, Houston, Montreal, Brookfield, Columbus, Santa Clara, Montreal, Baltimore, Novi, Denver, Indianapolis, Cincinnati, Louisville.

Sunshine opens in six cities on July 20th - this coming Friday (!) - LA, NY, Chicago, San Francisco, Boston, and Toronto. It will open elsewhere on July 27th.

(07/15/07) Articles & interviews:
- "Premiere": Danny Boyle Basks in the 'Sunshine'   'Sunshine' Stills
- NY Daily News: Memoirs of a Sensation - 'Sunshine' star Michelle Yeoh hits the heights
- ShockTillYouDrop: Danny Boyle interview (video)

(07/11/07) Thanks Gia of SunshineDNA for these new photos: Corazon, Mace, Capa, Trey, and Cassie. (click to enlarge)


HQ photos (Corazon and Kaneda):  1 2 3

(07/06/07) New videos:
     Behind the Scenes Footage Part 1 (04:54)
     Behind the Scenes Footage Part 2 (05:20)
     The Eight Actors of Sunshine (02:25)  * if the video doesn't play, try this direct link
     Michelle Yeoh Interview (00:45)
All four video clips have Michelle featured. Toward the end of the Behind the Scenes Footage Part 2, it shows Michelle's Zero-G experience in the plane. For more production videos and the interviews of other actors, visit FoxSearchlight and SunshineFan videos.

(07/03/07) SunshineFan heard from FoxSearchlight that Sunshine will open in six cities on July 20th - LA, NY, Chicago, San Francisco, Boston, and Toronto. It will open elsewhere on July 27th.

(07/03/07) Director Danny Boyle talks about the casting for Sunshine:

"... So we made it American-Asian and then I just started to search for my favorite bunch of actors, an interesting mix of actors that I could get out there. Michelle Yeoh was the first to be cast and I remember saying to Michelle, 'You can play any part you want.' There were eight. She could have picked any one of the eight parts and she picked Corazon which is actually a Mexican name. I think that was only because Alex [Garland]'s girlfriend is partly Mexican so maybe he thought we were going to cast her. We didn't in the end, although she plays the girl right at the end with the children. So we cast Michelle and then we went on from there and I phoned the Japanese actor (Hiroyuki Sanada) whom I loved for the Captain and a couple of actors here, Chris Evans and Troy Garity; a couple of actors from home, Cillian (Murphy) whom I knew and Benny (Benedict Wong) who I also knew a little bit and then Rose (Byrne) from Australia and Cliff (Curtis) from New Zealand. They're from all over the world really."   (for full interview please read at Movies Online)

After the press screening in New York, Sunshine also had another one in L.A. with Q&A with Danny Boyle next day. In some interviews Boyle said there are no sex scenes in the film since they don't work in space movies. "You think it would develop romantically," Boyle said. "We tried it, we wrote some stuff, and it was just embarrassing."

Earlier scripts in fact had romance written, between Capa and Cassie.

(06/30/07) New extended trailer of Sunshine - full of spoilers!
   Watch: Apple Trailers (4:28)
   Quicktime download (right click):    1080p (310 MB),  720p (241MB),  480p (130MB), 

(06/29/07) In additional to Day Watch, the trailer of Sunshine is also attached to Michael Moore's health care documentary, Sicko.

(06/28/07) - DVD release information: the U.K. DVD of Sunshine will be released on August 27, and the Japanese DVD will be on September 7. Special features will include:

• Director Danny Boyle commentary
• Dr. Brian Cox commentary
• Alternate Ending
• Deleted scenes with optional commentary by Danny Boyle.: 1. playing chess "it really takes it out of you"; 2. washing carrots in the Oxygen Garden; 3. coolant redirection; 4. cooking; 5. wake-up; 6. demolished Oxygen Garden; 7. Searle meets Capa; 8. in deeper space than we are; 9. prepping for docking; 10. rough docking procedure; 11. fight and then we die
• 23 web production diaries
• Theatrical teaser, theatrical trailer

- A version of Russian DVD has been already out (not sure if official). Some Chinese video websites have it online with Chinese subtitles over the Russian ones.

(06/28/07) Danny Boyle interview on Back Stage.

(06/28/07) According to SunshineFan, there was a special screening of Sunshine at Tribeca Cinemas in New York yesterday and director Danny Boyle was scheduled for a Q&A session afterword. Several promotional press screenings (including the one in NYC) will be held in major cities nationwide before the film releases on July 20th.

(06/24/07) Images from Sunshine: Corazon, Capa, Searle, and Icarus. (click to enlarge)


(06/22/07) More production videos (from MovieWeb):
   Behind-the-Scenes: Fire
   Behind-the-Scenes: Production Design
   Featurette: Pre-Viz
   Behind-the-Scenes: HiroYuki Sanada, Cillian Murphy and Danny Boyle talk about the suits in the film

(06/19/07) Video: Anita Dhillon, Sunshine's graphic designer who designed the insignia worn by crew aboard Icarus II, explains her concepts behind the symbols.

(06/15/07) Photo at right: new Michelle image, from Sunshine - Official Facebook Group. (click to enlarge)

(06/15/07) A trailer of Sunshine is attached to all prints of Day Watch, which is having a limited theatrical release from FoxSearchlight. The new trailer is mostly the same as the earlier one - with a couple of different clips and a different tempo to Cillian Murphy's dialogue at the beginning. (I also heard some projectionists played the old trailer in front of the movies of their choices.) (thanks Lori)

(06/13/07) - New Sunshine poster by FoxSearchlight. (click to enlarge. Shock Till You Drop)

- Sunshine, together with another upcoming film for Michelle, Babylon A.D., are on the preliminary list of featured films for the Comic-Con International San Diego, which will be held July 26 - 29 in San Diego, California.

(06/08/07) The screening of Sunshine, scheduled on July 1st as the closing film of the Los Angeles Film Festival, will be the North American premiere of the film, according to the festival page. The film runs 107 minutes at 7:00pm, Wadsworth Theatre, Los Angeles. Tickets to the closing gala are only available through pass purchase.

(06/05/07) This is not directly related to the film Sunshine but it started because of it... Through the project I "met" Gia, the blogmistress of the official DNA "Sunshine" Blog, who's also a coordinator of the international blogging project, "121", for the U.K.'s Channel 4. Several months ago, Gia asked if I would be interested in doing a Falun Gong-related blog as a part of the "121". The blog started in April and I became one of the main bloggers. If anyone is interested in the topic you are welcome to visit the Falun Gong Blog at Channel 4's 121. (you may read the oldest posts - April's - first, where we started with some personal stories.)

(05/23/07) Sunshine is finally coming to the U.S. (and Canada)! Fox Searchlight has just announced July 20th date - WIDE release!

(05/15/07) My winnings from the Sunshine Props Auction arrived today! Thanks to Rei (a fan of Hiroyuki Sanada) for the tips on eBay bidding, I actually won a Corazon T-shirt (with Icarus II logo) and a set of costumes of Corazon's! Oh am I excited ;-)  And as I have hoped - the costumes fit me perfectly. So I now have my Halloween costume for this year - as an Asian with long hair, I can be a quite convincing Corazon, can't I? LOL. Now all I need is to find a "Pinbacker" (Major spoiler warning - don't read if you haven't seen the film - highlight the text in the brackets to read) [ and drag him with me... mm, maybe a bloody knife too so I can stab the "Pinbacker" on the back - as a revenge of Corazon!]

(05/08/07) Sunshine will be the closing film for the 2007 Los Angeles Film Festival (June 21 - July 1). Festival passes will be on sale starting May 17th and individual tickets June 8th. According to "Variety", the FoxSearchlight film is currently scheduled for a wide release in the U.S. in the third quarter of the year.

(05/02/07) Video clips:
   - Cast talk about Danny Boyle
   - Early pre-production animations

(04/23/07) Two crew photos seen onboard the Icarus II, showing the crew taking a group photo of them celebrating christmas. (click to enlarge)


Both photos are on Sunshine Props Auction: 1 2

(04/23/07) Sunshine was released on 652 screens in six territories three weeks ago and has been increased to 3,200 screens in 44 markets. Its current international total stands at $18.6 million.

(04/16/07) Giant posters of Sunshine on the streets of Brunei. Michelle's name is highlighted. (click to enlarge. photos from a Chinese blog)


(04/15/07) The Sunshine script, written by Alex Garland, is available for pre-order at Amazon.

(04/12/07) "Corazon is more like a maternal character because she is the provider, of oxygen and food. She's lucky because she's surrounded by greenery most of the time, compared to others who are listening to waves or turning knobs. Character-wise, she's more spiritual; perhaps, it's the Asian influence or that she's always constantly surrounded by organic things -- she's very grounded and more down-to-earth." -- Michelle speaking about her role in Sunshine. Read the article from Malaysian "The Star": To infinity and beyond.

(04/12/07) Icarus II ship (click on images to enlarge):


(04/12/07) Scans of a booklet of Sunshine, Hong Kong. (Thanks Xiaoyi)


(04/11/07) Click on the images to see the identification of each Icarus II crew member:


The last section of Icarus II, Earth Room, has been opened at Sunshine Explore.

(04/09/07) Malaysia's "Sin Chew" published an article (in Chinese) about Michelle in Sunshine. FOX arranged for Malaysian media to have a phone interview with Michelle during her short stop in Hong Kong last month. Reporters asked Michelle if it's true director Danny Boyle let her choose any role in the script. "They had a different role for me initially," answered Michelle. "Could I choose any role I wanted from the script? It's hard to answer... You can ask the director that question."

Michelle admitted there aren't many good roles for Asian actors in Hollywood/European movies. "I've been very lucky to have the chance to challenge different roles," said Michelle. "I don't think I'm in a position that I can choose any roles I want. Rather, I think, it's the roles which choose me." She added that she hopes that future opportunities will keep knocking on her door, and more great directors will challenge her acting skills as well as physical limit.

Asked if her character dies in the film, Michelle said: "Shhh, that question should be answered by watching the film." Will Asian actors die sooner than westerners in the film? "That depends on the story and the individual characters," said Michelle. "I hope audiences can remember all eight of us after watching it."

Michelle said she hopes she could come back to Malaysia to promote Sunshine. But if she really can't (she's currently filming another movie), she will try to take a short vacation in the country before the end of May. The film opens in Michelle's home country, Malaysia, on April 12th.

Reporters asked her if she believes whether humans on the earth are the only kind of high-intelligent creatures in the universe. Michelle laughed: "Come on, I'm a super-fan of X Files!" Asked if she thinks our sun would die as described in the film, "anything is possible," she said, "but I hope it will never happen."

Malaysian "China Press" quoted director Danny Boyle speaking of Michelle. He said Michelle is not only an excellent actress, she also knows all the key elements of movie making. The newspaper quoted Boyle saying: "I recommend all filmmakers to work with Michelle when they have a chance. I'm sure they will enjoy working with her!"

(04/05/07) Sunshine Props Auction opens April 5 - 15, hosted by the Prop Store of London. Two of Corazon's items are available: a set of garden costume and four sweat bands. You can see photos and descriptions of all "Sunshine" items up for bid at Sunshine Fan,

(04/05/07)
(click to enlarge. photos from "Sina" and "Empire") (1) Capa, Corazon, Mace, and Searle in the briefing area
(2) Corazon on scooter in a corridor

(04/05/07) Rose Byrne in her interview with indieLondon talked about her experience on Sunshine including a bit when they lived in student digs for 12 days to "bond". She speaks of Michelle: "I got along really well with Michelle. She's an absolute joy. She's like a diplomat and she has this incredible lifestyle that takes her all over the world. She's an international film star, huge in Asia, and I love her work. I adore her -- she's so graceful and poised." (thanks Brenda for the link)

(04/03/07) U.K. "The Sun" has a film clip revealing one of the final fight sequences - SPOILER warning.

(04/02/07) Official Corazon MySpace,   Official Sunshine MySpace   (including MySpace for Capa, Mace, Cassie and Corazon)

(04/02/07) French "AlloCine" published a sequence of film clips from Sunshine: (Spoilers)
    - Clip (a): Capa's last message; Corazon's visit to Kaneda in Observation Room (2:53)
    - Clip (b): discussing the beacon from Icarus I (1:26)
    - Clip (c): 'mission in jeopardy' (1:05)
    - Clip (d): Corazon: 'we need to lose two more' (0:38)
    - Clip (e): airlock decoupled (0:58)
    - Clip (f): flying back to Icarus II (1:22)
    - Clip (g): Capa: 'who's the fifth crew member' (1:08)

And a few other interesting video clips:
    - Japanese TV Spot (English & Japanese, quicktime, 6:54)
      including interviews with Danny Boyle, Cillian Murphy, Michelle, and Hiroyuki Sanada. The reporter is American actor Michael Cornacchia. (SunshineDNA)
    - Danny Boyle interview (MSN)
      including creation of the O-2 garden
    - Danny Boyle go Zero-G (Empire)

(04/02/07) Video: Cillian Murphy interview (1:40, MTV)

(03/30/07) Photoshoots of Corazon, the botanist / astronaut / scientist. (click on images to enlarge)


For photoshoots of some other crew members of Icarus II, please visit Sunshine Fan.

(03/30/07) The Oxygen Garden at the Explore section is now open. You can find Corazon's ID card there.

(03/30/07) Photo at left: Hiroyuki Sanada and Cillian Murphy, with a "Sunshine" spacesuit, at the Japanese press conference in Tokyo on March 29 ("Eiga" photo. click to enlarge). A full Japenese poster can be seen in Posters.

(03/29/07) Video: Oxygen Garden & Earth Room, with Corazon and Kaneda.   (Windows Media, 00:32, 22.8MB. "Sunshine Assets")

(03/29/07) Article/Interview: It's like going to space camp   ("The Electric")
The Singapore press did a phone interview with Michelle when she was in Hong Kong last week. Michelle talked about their "bonding session", or "astronaut camp", before the filming started. The film story starts with a group of astronauts who has lived together for 16 months on the spaceship, Icarus II. (Note: the part of the article about "Wedding Plans" is only rumor based.)

(03/29/07)


(click to enlarge. from "Empire", "Fox", "SunshineFan" and "Epoch Times")
(03/28/07) In a phone interview with Taiwanese reporters on the 28th, Michelle said she thinks Sunshine is less a science-fiction compared to Babylon A.D., the film she's shooting right now. Sunshine is in fact very much science based. She also revealed that Danny Boyle initially intended to let her play the captain. Since she has done many leader type of roles, Michelle thought she would choose something different for a change.

I have (luckily) read two early scripts of Sunshine. From the very beginning, Alex Garland wrote the characters of Corazon and Cassie as female, and all other Icarus II crew members are male. But I can see the captain role can be easily changed to female, and Michelle, based on what we have seen in her past films, can be perfectly pictured as the calm and capable captain. (It is not saying that Hiroyuki Sanada, Michelle's co-star in the 1986 Hong Kong actioner Royal Warriors, can not be seen as a perfect captain of Icarus II as well. In the early scripts, the name of the captain character is "Asher".)

Michelle described the film as "intense and amazing". Taiwanese media commented Michelle's character in the film is "gentle and determined".

(03/28/07) Another set of desktop/wallpaper of all eight main actors have been added in Promotion Photos, from FoxSearchlight. Below are the three officially released Corazon wallpapers (1280x1024):

(click to enlarge)

(03/27/07) - Character Backstories. Quote: "In Corazon's final recorded message to her husband, she spoke no words. Instead she gazed at the screen for exactly one minute, then smiled, and sent the message home."

- Posters from Taiwan and Hong Kong. Note that they have different Chinese titles.

- A video report (01:25, in English) from Beijing Image Online.

(03/24/07) More Sunshine photos from Hong Kong and Taiwan websites.

Michelle as Corazon		Corazon and Capa	Corazon, Cassie and others
(click to enlarge. photos from "Moovi" and "Wenwei")

(03/22/07) Video: Hiroyuki Sanada interview (1:49, Download, Quicktime 6MB)

(03/21/07)
   - Another trailer, from Sweden website
   - Video report from Chinese TV (0:55): 1 or 2 (may need to use IE to watch)
Both clips have some film scenes which I haven't seen before.

(03/19/07) On set photo: director Danny Bolye (left), Michelle, and Hiroyuki Sanada. (photo from "Epoch Times". click to enlarge)

(03/18/07)
- Video: Taiwanese TVBS on "Sunshine" (1:21, in Chinese and English).
- Video: Rose Byrne interview

(03/16/07) HQ photos of Corazon:  1 2 3 4

(03/16/07) So what is this mysterious character, Pinbacker, played by British actor Mark Strong? If you don't mind spoilers (SPOILER WARNING) - read here. Mark Strong also co-stars with Michelle in Babylon A.D., which is currently under production.

(03/15/07) The International "Sunshine" Site has links to the official film websites from various territories. The U.K. site has a Gallery up and the New Zealand site has different design and a special "Sunspots" feature.

(03/15/07) From the Official Sunshine Blog about Michelle/Corazon:

International star Michelle Yeoh plays Corazon, the Biologist in charge of the Icarus II's oxygen garden -- the ship's primary source of oxygen and fresh food. "I almost want to say that Corazon is the luckiest crew member as she has the oxygen garden," says Yeoh. "She just keeps on running her experiments and growing food. But, of course, none of us are prepared for the tragic events that occur. This movie has turned out to be much more psychological and spiritual in a way. The crew is on a very intense journey. When you look out into space, what are you looking for? If you stare into the abyss long enough, you might lose your soul."

"Reading the script I knew I wanted Michelle to be in the film," Boyle explains. "Before I'd seen CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON, I'd seen her in TOMORROW NEVER DIES and I was completely captivated by her. She takes the Bond Girl and inhabits it with her own individuality and identity and I loved her in it."

"I always believe the director is the soul of a movie," notes Yeoh. "You may have a great script but if you don't have a director with vision, you have an ordinary film. Danny has that vision and is passionate and dynamic. He is wonderful to work with and always surprises you. He challenges you as you work together and he gives you a sense of doing something new, making you reach out for something that has not been done before."

Also read about other main cast members: Cillian Murphy/Capa, Chris Evans/Mace, Rose Byrne/Cassie, Hiroyuki Sanada/Kaneda, Cliff Curtis/Searle, Troy Garity/Harvey, and Benedict Wong/Trey.

(03/14/07) Video interview with Michelle/Corazon is up at MTV.   [updated 03/15] Many thanks to Gia of the Sunshine Blog for providing us a downloadable version of the clip! Download Quicktime (02:19, 11.3MB)

(03/14/07) Malaysian "SinChew Daily" reported that director Danny Boyle accepted a phone interview with Malaysian media, and during the interview he said Malaysia will be one of his stops for the film promotion tour. Boyle praised highly Michelle's performance and he mentioned again that Michelle had first pick of the roles and she chose to be the botanist. Sunshine is currently scheduled to be released on April 12 in Malaysia, Michelle's native country.

(03/14/07) More film photos:

Corazon searching for a sign of life	preparing to film in the airlock	Mace, Capa and Harvey	Cassie reading on her watch
(click to enlarge. more images on Fox SearchLight)

(03/13/07) Hong Kong release date of Sunshine is set to April 5 and Taiwanese date has been moved forward to April 4. Interestingly, the Chinese titles for the two places are translated differently - "Sun Calamity" in Taiwan and "Sun Countdown" in Hong Kong.

(03/13/07) New in Posters: French, German, Korean and another Russian posters.

(03/08/07) BFI will hold a special preview screening of Sunshine on March 19, 6.30PM, at BFI Southbank, London. Following the screening, director Danny Boyle will be live on stage to take part in a Guardian Interview, discussing the film and his career to date. (Buy tickets  Win tickets to the event)

(03/07/07) Three new video interviews, with Cliff Curtis (Searle), Benedict Wong (Trey), and Troy Garity (Harvey), have been added on MTV's 'Sunshine': A thriller of a Space Odyssey.

(03/06/07) Irish premiere of Sunshine will be held on 7:45PM, March 26, in Dublin by Irish Film Institute. The special preview screening will be followed by a Q&A with director Danny Boyle, producer Andrew Macdonald, and Irish actor Cillian Murphy. (tickets)

(03/05/07) Advance preview screenings of Sunshine in Australia next week: March 11th, 6:00PM at the Greater Union Bondi Junction, Sydney, and March 12th, 7:00PM at Hoyts Melbourne Central, Melbourne. Both screenings will be followed by on stage discussion and audience Q&A with the film's director Danny Boyle. (More film details and tickets: Sydney, Melbourne)

'... Director Danny Boyle was drawn to both the literal voyage to the Sun as well as its crew's psychological journey as they head out across the cosmos. "There is the question about what happens to your mind when you meet the creator of all things in the universe, which for some people is a spiritual, religious idea, but for other people it is a purely scientific idea" he explains. Part of Boyle's process involved having his actors submit to an intensive rehearsal period that included extensive research while they lived together to build up a certain kind of familiarity before shooting.' (Popcorn Taxi)

(03/05/07) New U.K. trailer. Download ASF (2:04): 13.7Mb   4.4Mb

(03/05/07) Photos of Corazon and her O-two lab.


(click to enlarge. Photos from "Empire" and "Kino-Express")
(03/05/07) Sunshine article from the U.K "Empire" magazine, April 2007 issue.


(click to enlarge. courtesy of "Sunshine" Fan Online)
(03/02/07) Sunshine will be the opening film of the 25th Brussels International Festival of Fantastic Film (BIFFF, April 5-17). 8PM, at Tour & Taxis, Brussels, Belgium.

(03/02/07) Japanese trailer is available at the Japanese official Sunshine site.

(03/01/07) Sunshine had a press conference in L.A. yesterday, attended by director Danny Boyle and some of the cast. Michelle was absent since she is currently busy with another project.

According to Taiwanese "Apple Daily", Danny Boyle told reporters that he admires Michelle very much and he said that in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, Michelle's performance is so calm and composed, restrained, yet powerful. When he showed the script to Michelle, he actually told her she could choose any role she would like since she is capable of portraying any of them.

In another "Apple Daily" report, they described in detail the fate of the characters in the film. Full of spoilers...

(03/01/07) The North American release date for Sunshine is currently set for September 14, 2007, while the rest of the world set for April - next month.

(02/28/07) Two more posters posters of Sunshine: U.K. and Spainish. Note that on the Spanish poster the actors are arranged differently from the international and Japanese posters. More film stills can be seen at RopeofSilicon and Kino-Express.

(02/26/07) Ask director Danny Boyle a question (Fox Searchlight)

(02/25/07) A new trailer - voiced by Captain Kaneda.

(02/23/07) Official "Sunshine" Blog has put up a film clip - Mercury. It shows the scene when "Icarus II" meets the planet.


(02/23/07) OK... friends reminded me that "Muggles" have invented this electronic messaging method which is called e-mail. One does not need "owl post" to send in "HOWLERs". Here are some e-mail addresses of Fox people:
   tom.rothman@fox.com (Tom Rothman, co-chairman and chief executive, 20th Century Fox)
   jim.gianopulos@fox.com (Jim Gianopulos, co-chairman, 20th Century Fox)
   peter.rice@fox.com (Peter Rice, president, Fox Searchlight)
   nancy.utley@fox.com (Nancy Utley, president of marketing, Fox Searchlight)

(02/22/07) Chero and Brittany of Sunshine Fan Online informed us this IESB video clip on a red carpet interview with Fox Chairman Tom Rothman, who said the U.S. release date of Sunshine is slated for "FALL 2007"!   $^*#^&!!!   Can someone lend me an owl? I want to send FoxSearchlight a HOWLER!!! (a "Harry Potter" reference)

(02/21/07) Here are some posters of Sunshine. According to Gia, there are several different versions of the official poster depending on who each particular country feels like putting in the front.

international	Japanese	teaser
(click to enlarge)

(02/21/07) The film will be released in Japan on April 7 under the title "Sunshine 2057" (Japanese official Sunshine site). The official Chinese title of the film is literally translated as "Sun Calamity".

(02/15/07) The release date of Sunshine in Taiwan is officially set to April 5 (Taiwanese official Sunshine site). Also the tentative release date in Malaysia, Michelle's home country, is scheduled for the same day, according to Malaysian "The Star".

(02/14/07) According to "ScreenDaily", Sunshine is now awaiting approval from Chinese censors for an April/May opening in Mainland China.

(02/14/07) The screening of Sunshine at the Dublin International Film Festival, previously scheduled on the 23rd and sold out, has now been canceled.

(02/13/07) Now we know that the U.S. Sunshine release date will not be March 16th. Hm, don't think we can expect it will be released earlier...

Some HQ images from Sunshine can be seen at the Russian Kino-Express.

(02/12/07) The upcoming screening (world premiere?) of Sunshine on the 23rd at the Dublin International Film Festival has been sold out.

On FoxSearchlight's website, they have changed the U.S. release date from "Spring 2007" to "Coming Soon". What is that supposed to mean?! Don't tell me they won't release the film in the U.S. until summer!! (for some known release dates of the film in other territories please see the left side of this page.)

(02/11/07) Two new photos: one is the Icarus II crew with director Danny Boyle, and another is Corazon and Cassie in the flightdeck.


(click to enlarge. from a Korean site and Sunshine Fan Gallery)
(02/10/07) Q & A with Suttirat A. Larlarb, the costume designer. Excerpt: Q: "Which character/actor was the easiest to plan for? Who was the hardest or most complicated?"   A: "... I will say, though, it is a VERY COMPLICATED thing to make Michelle Yeoh and Rose Byrne look less glamorous than they do everyday - and that definitely is something that was purposely thought of in their costumes. Both of them are beautiful and their beauty exudes no matter what they wear. We have to believe they are on the mission for their expertise, which of course comes from their great capabilities as actors - but visually can be helped by costumes being a reflection of their characters, not merely a styled version of the actors."

(02/08/07) Links:
   - Sunshine photo gallegy (MTV)
   - Sunshine on "Premiere" magazine
   - Cillian Murphy interview (Premiere magazine)
   - Chris Evans interview (FoxSearchlight video)

HD trailer download can be found in Sunshine Trailers & Clips. WindowsMedia and RealVideo versions of the trailers are also available, in addition to Quicktime.

(02/06/07) Two crew members talk about filming and post-production of Sunshine: interviews with Alwin Kuchler, the director of cinematography, and Tom Wood, the visual effects supervisor for the project. The film is the first user of the Ultra Prime 8R lens and it has more than 700 CGI shots.

(02/03/07) U.K. "Empire" has both old and new cast photos, which can be downloaded as wallpapers. Here are the direct links to Michelle's Corazon: 1 2

(02/01/07) Sunshine is going to be screened at the Dublin International Film Festival on Friday February 23, 8:30pm, at Cineworld.

"Fifty years in the future, the sun is dying, and the earth and its inhabitants are dying with it. Seven years have passed since several crew members on board the 'Icarus' disappeared without a trace while on a mission to save the planet.

Eight scientists on board the 'Icarus II', some from America, the rest from China, represent the earth's final hope. They are carrying a massive bomb, the size of Kansas, which will be used to reignite a part of the dying sun.

Deep into their journey, with radio contact far out of reach, the group begins to make critical mistakes. Their voyage becomes even stranger when they pick up a distress signal from the original 'Icarus'. Now, in the darkest reaches of the galaxy, the men and women who may hold the key to ultimate survival find themselves not only struggling for their lives, but their sanity as well..."   (read more at DIFF).

It is listed with a running time 108 minutes, and principal cast: Chris Evans, Michelle Yeoh, Cillian Murphy.

(02/01/07) Explore Icarus II!

(01/31/07) Still images of Michelle and Hiroyuki Sanada in Sunshine and also some behind the scene photos, published by Hong Kong media.



(click to enlarge. photos from "Yahoo HK", "Cri" and "Sina")
Sunshine is scheduled to be released in Hong Kong on April 19th and Taiwan on April 13th.

(01/29/07) High Definition trailer is available at Apple.

(01/26/07) The trailer of Sunshine is being played in U.S. cinemas now - at least in some Regal Cinemas with Blood and Chocolate, Epic Movie, and Smokin' Aces. It may not be the same for all cinemas and you may check with their customer services on which prints they have the trailer.

(01/18/07) Russian Filmz.ru features both international and U.K. (the second one) trailers of Sunshine.

(01/17/07) Watch the trailer Sunshine!

(01/12/07) Sunshine has received the MPAA rating of "R" - "for violent content and language". It's not really a surprise since we are talking about a Danny Boyle film after all!

Fox Searchlight gives the release date of the film as "Spring 2007". No specific date.

(01/11/07) The trailer of Sunshine is currently playing in Vue cinemas in the U.K., with White Noise 2 and Casino Royale, and will be playing on more screens from this Friday. It can be expected online in a couple of weeks! ("Sunshine" Official Blog)

(01/04/07) Taiwanese "UDN" said Michelle and Hiroyuki Sanada may come to Taiwan for the film promotion in March.

(01/04/07) In case you haven't seen, here is a cool Music Video from the "Sunshine" Fan Forum. The forum was created by fans of Sunshine and it is a good place to discuss the film and related topics. Gia, the blogmaster of the official site, is a moderator and frequent poster on the forum.

(12/14/06) - According to the "Sunshine" Official Blog, the film is now completed and ready to go!

- Chris Evans talked about the psychological thriller Sunshine to "MTV": "... It's going to have layers. Whatever you think it is on the surface, there's more intellect to it in the script."

(11/28/06) The French release date for Sunshine is scheduled at April 11, 2007, according to Twentieth Century Fox France.

(11/21/06) New video from the official "Sunshine" blog. It features interviews with Alwin Kuchler, director of photography, director Danny Boyle and producer Andrew Macdonald, and some new shots from the film, mainly Kaneda and Searle. (01:53)

(10/31/06) - A new science video from the official "Sunshine" site: Physiology of space flight.

- The sound editing for the film is being done at ReelSound, a post production facility based in both Shepperton Studios and Pinewood Studios in the U.K..

- A picture of a cap. The caps were specially made as Christmas presents for the crew last year. (from this blog)

(10/24/06) Gia from the Sunshine Blog said we are going to see behind-the-scenes videos once every 3 weeks until December, once every 2 weeks in January, once a week in February, and 2-3 per week from then on up until the March 16th film release date.

Gia also mentioned that she has seen some tentative film trailers for Sunshine made by the film team which shows "the beauty of the photography as well as the action... beautiful, tense, intriguing."

(10/10/06) A new behind-scenes video is up at the Sunshine website: Zero G. It features all eight main actors and their reactions to being in a plane to experience Zero Gravity. I heard that Michelle went on the plane first - volunteered.   (Download 3.6MB, 1:24)

Picture at left: Michelle and Hiroyuki Sanada. (video scan)

(10/04/06) According to an assistant of Michelle's on the film Far North (aka True North), which is currently under production in the Arctic Circle, Michelle was in London on September 5th doing ADR (Automated Dialogue Replacement / Additional Dialogue Recording) for Sunshine.

(09/21/06) Sunshine website has a new video clip, showing the golden spacesuit. In the middle of the previous clip (Science of the Sun), there is a scene with Michelle in it, in case you haven't watched it yet.

(09/18/06) Underworld electronic music duo Karl Hyde and Rick Smith have been writing original music for Sunshine. "(Danny) showed us a rough screening," said Hyde in an interview. "We were completely hooked." Hyde says he and partner Rick Smith were enticed by the concept. "It's kind of a big budget sci-fi movie, and it's something quite extraordinary for Danny... He got some fantastic performances out of the actors."

"There's quite a sprawling palette of material now that we're picking out of," Hyde said about the soundtrack. "We're not looking to have anything near to finishing until the end of November, but we're enjoying the process nonetheless."

According to someone who attended a test screening of the film last week, despite the fact that the computer graphics of the film are not complete yet, the film is looking great.

(09/06/06) A new Michelle photo (right) from Sunshine. It's published on "Empire magazine".
(click to see larger version)

(08/06/06) HAPPY BIRTHDAY MICHELLE!

Many thanks to Gia of Sunshine, who got us this special photo of Michelle from the film, just for Michelle's birthday (August 6th).

Click on the photo to enlarge. And here you can get a larger version (1200x797) of the photo.

There is a special thread on the official Sunshine website for Michelle's birthday. Go there and send Michelle birthday wishes!


(06/20/06) First Teaser Trailer (Download link) of Sunshine, which includes part of a Danny Boyle interview. Cool!


(video scans of Michelle's Corazon) I know, we really didn't get enough Michelle in this clip... Aside from the water sprinkling scene, I only spotted Michelle at around 1:12 (shouting "no" and then running out) and 1:22 - a flicker of second of her at a fire scene. But that definitely doesn't mean there will be less of Michelle in the film than other characters.

(06/16/06) According to Gia of the official Sunshine Blog, who met with producer Andrew Macdonald and script writer Alex Garland a day before, both Andrew Macdonald and Alex Garland are very happy with how the film is coming along. They are taking it to LA within the next week or two for a screening. It's not really a test screening yet but it's going to be shown to people not involved in the making of it.

(06/13/06) In a newly published interview with Michelle at "Metro", Michelle describes Sunshine as "really a psychological thriller about how humans cope away from home."

(06/02/06) Underworld band is working on music for Sunshine (due out in October), according to their recent press release.

(05/09/06) The release date for Sunshine has been pushed back to March 16, 2007.

(05/07/06) On Fox Searchlight's official site, the release date of Sunshine has been changed from "October 13, 2006" to "TBD".

(04/24/06) During an interview at HKJC (for reports and photos please see News of April 24), Michelle said Sunshine is currently under post-production and she will return to London to do voice dubbing for the film.

(04/20/06) [Spoiler] "I play Mace; he's the ship's mechanic. He's the straight-shooter on the ship: honest, a little detached - he's not the most bubbly fellow." Chris Evans talked to "Total film" during the filming of Sunshine last fall. "It's much more claustrophobic. It turns into a very tricky situation where there's not enough oxygen for the whole crew to make it back, and it becomes this human drama of 'What would you do?' It explores the darker side of human nature." One thing we know is that Danny Boyle, working from an Alex Garland script, isn't doing a typical Hollywood actioner.

(04/19/06) Alex Garland, the script writer for Sunshine as well as a few other Danny Boyle films, talks about the idea of Sunshine: "It's a sci-fi script,... about a spaceship on a mission to the sun. As they get closer to the sun, the crew start getting increasingly fxxxed up. It's basically about man facing the inevitability of eventual extinction." Garland said, "So it's the same stuff I always do. Genre. Written with affection for previous books, comics, and films. All wrapped up in stoner 'philosophy'."
        This is from an interview with Alex Garland at the time when they were developing the script and trying to put the film together. The script had gone through MANY revisions and we won't know the final version of the story until we see the film.

(04/19/06) A new pic of Mace has been added. See 03/15/06

(04/14/06) In an interview the digital colourist Jean-Clement Soret mentioned that the film is "shot on all different type of formats -- there's 35mm and there's also HD and HDV." Soret said: "... this time the mix of different resolutions is part of the story. The pristine, clear 35mm is going to be used in outer space. It's about a long trip toward the sun, and I think the inside of the spaceship may be shot on a lower-resolution camera, maybe HD or HDV. There might be some material scanned at 4K as well."

(03/29/06) The "Official Sunshine Blog" has been re-launched. There are some new photos of Michelle's Oxygen Garden (photos 7-11). Also you can download a Michelle Desktop.

(03/15/06 . updated 04/19/06) New Sunshine photos (published at the official Sunshine Blog):

Corazon

Kaneda

Mace

Capa

Cassie

Searle

Harvey

Trey

(click on the photos to enlarge)
"This should not be a fashion show -- cool to impress the audience or each other," Suttirat Larlarb, the costume designer, says of Sunshine. "It's a group of scientists and experts. There shouldn't be a vanity to what they are wearing."

We have yet to see a picture of the peculiar costume used in the film - the GOLDEN spacesuits. The "Los Angeles Times" had an article earlier on Suttirat Larlarb talking about the costume design for Sunshine. "Danny always talked of the spacesuits as a wearable set," says Larlarb. "It's not just clothing. It's a protective vehicle." The clothes need to protect the astronauts from the sun's eviscerating rays, which yielded the giant Kenny-sized helmet used in a spacewalk.

(02/27/06) The title of the film is officially "SUNSHINE" and the U.S. release date has been fixed for Friday, October 13, 2006, according to Fox Searchlight.

(02/27/06) In a newly published interview with Ricky Lo at "The Philippine Star", Michelle briefly talks about Sunshine. Set 50 years in the future, the film "involves Chinese and American astronauts," said Michelle." It's about what happens when people, eight of them, are isolated from the earth, and what really is there in outer space."   (full interview)

So this is a British film about Chinese and American astronauts. No wonder we can see Chinese characters on their spacesuits and equipment in the released photos. Also Cillian Murphy had said that his role is an American in the film.

(02/27/06) According to news reports, British director Michael Winterbottom was planning to shoot an astronaut/space-set drama and he planned to use Danny Boyle's Sunshine sets at the Three Mills Studios after Boyle was finished. But apparently the two parties could not come to an agreement. Winterbottom has now shelved his plans.

(01/26/06) "Box Office Prophets" describes Sunshine at its 2006 Indie Preview: "It promises to be more of a thoughtful sci-fi film instead of simply an eye candy spectacle and Boyle has assembled a cast of actors who always seem to stand out in any movie they're in. They include Cliff Curtis, Chris Evans, Cillian Murphy, and Michelle Yeoh."

The U.S. release date of the film is currently scheduled at Friday October 13. According to "Variety" it will be a wide release.

(01/26/06) Michelle talks about working with Danny Boyle on Sunshine:

Q: You're working with one of our finest directors, Danny Boyle, on Sunshine - how's that going?

Michelle: Amazing. Last year we were in Hanamachi and you really felt, once you had you Kimonos on and you were walking down those cobbled stones, that you'd really been transported back in time to the twenties. And now I'm on a spaceship. Eight astronauts, the most fabulous actors - Cillian Murphy, Cliff Curtis, Benedict Wong, Hiroyuki Sanada - and we are carrying this immense bomb heading to the sun. Could it be any different?

Before it was three or four hours of hair and make-up and getting into costume and now we're in spacesuits. There was no dancing in the spacesuits! None at all. But you're right, Danny is one of your finest. He actually reminds me a lot of Rob (Marshall). He's a very macho-man but very sensitive.

Danny is very sensitive but in a very manly way. He's big, he's tall and he's so commanding. He's very graceful - Danny strides into the room. Rob's almost like a Geisha in some ways, and Danny would sit there when he's talking about his characters and he gets into his head and he's ruminating saying, "Just think you're in space - what are you thinking?" and his hair is flying up like in zero-gravity! He's so funny!   (indieLondon)

"Zero-Gravity"...  I'm looking forward to seeing you flying up in that scene, Michelle!

(01/18/06) "Empire" (U.K.) has an exclusive - Cillian And Michelle Walk On Sunshine.

(01/10/06) A new photo of Corazon's Oxygen Garden is added to the photos in 10/12/05 (the bamboo one). As the biologist who is in charge of the Garden (their oxygen supply), Michelle will definitely have quite a few scenes there.

(01/06/06) Michelle talks about working on Sunshine:

"Danny Boyle is an amazing director. He has a different edge and take on things. When you want to work on a film, you're going to spend like six months of your life there, you want to work with someone who is passionate and has a passionate vision because they're going to show you things and take you places that you hadn't even thought of. 'How did that happen? How did they even go that far?' So it's been an amazing four months."

"I was thinking about something - last year at the same time I would be getting into all these layers everyday and transforming into this amazing geisha with three or four hours of makeup and hair and costume. And here in 'Sunshine' my makeup girl looks at me and she literally ruffles my hair goes, 'Okay.' We're astronauts who are up in space. Who's looking at what you're wearing? (Laughing) It's amazing."

"...... We're eight crazy astronauts carrying this immense bomb in front of our space ship and we hope to bring it back to life. But, you know, when you go to space what do you really find out there? When you look out at space long enough, what do you really see? Yourself? God? Some other being? So the story is very much about that. It's very psychological, but it's also very physical in that sense. But not physical in an action way."

For the full article and more quotes of Michelle on Sunshine, please see "About": Inside Danny Boyle's "Sunshine" Movie with Michelle Yeoh.

(01/03/06) Fox Searchlight released some pictures from the film. One of them has the entire "Icarus II" crew except Harvey (click to see a BIG version, 1500x997). Don't they look cool? Millions of miles away from the earth!

ComingSoon.net listed Sunshine as one of the 2006's most anticipated films.

on board of "Icarus II": crew watching a display. from left to right: Mace, Kaneda, Searle, Corazon, Trey, Cassie, and Capa	Mace (left) and Capa	on set: Danny Boyle (director, right), Alwin Kuchler (photography, second right), Chris Evans (left), and Hiroyuki Sanada

(click photos to enlarge. photos from Sunshine Blog )
(12/20/05) The release date of Sunshine is scheduled on October 13, 2006, according to several movie sites. (thanks Reiko)

(12/18/05) During the promotion of The Promise in Taiwan, Hiroyuki Sanada talked about filming of Sunshine. He said he and Michelle knew each other from a long time ago. Seeing each other again, they had a great time together. Off-set they went together for meals and drinks.

Hiroyuki Sanada plays the captain of the spaceship in this saving-the-world mission. He worked with Michelle in Royal Warriors twenty years ago (has it been that long? wow...) and both of them were truly amazing in that film. I definitely look forward to seeing them together on screen again. Will they survive their new mission?

(12/16/05) The principle filming of Sunshine has been wrapped. The post production is expected to take a few months.

(12/06/05) As the principle photography is approaching to the end, many filming sets are gone. These are some of the remains from the Oxygen Garden set, more specifically, from Corazon's lab. (photos and information from Sunshine Blog.)


(click to enlarge)
(11/30/05) From a recent "Variety" article on Sunshine:

"...'It's a story of eight people under immense pressure and how they start burning up psychologically and physically as they get closer to the most powerful thing in our universe,' says producer Andrew MacDonald, who's been working with Boyle since his first feature, 'Shallow Grave.'

Based on an original script by another Boyle regular, Alex Garland, who penned '28 Days Later' and the best-selling novel that 'The Beach' was based on, 'Sunshine' takes inspiration from Wolfgang Petersen's 'Das Boot.'

The nail-biting claustrophobia that characterized Petersen's submarine classic can already be felt on the elaborate set, which includes eight stages, 17 sets, detailed models and three film units. Boyle laughs as he admits he is 'beyond cabin fever' as he stands in the cramped cockpit, setting up the next shot with German-born lenser Alwin Kuechler.

Kuechler's atmospheric signature look combined with an inspired production design, which includes golden space suits, should make 'Sunshine' stand out from the sci-fi crowd. Indeed, its production design and below-the-line cost that soak up most of the budget. The cast is relatively low-key with Michelle Yeoh being the biggest name in the ensemble.

... MacDonald stresses that at this budget level the pic has to aim at the U.S. as much as international audiences. 'The concept behind this is big, it's about the whole of the world. But we're making it in England because that's where we know best how to make movies."

"Variety" has already listed Sunshine under "post-production" but other sources indicated the filming will still be going on for a few more days. Michelle returned to London after her New York trip but soon headed off to Tokyo for the Memoirs of a Geisha promotion.

(11/30/05) Below are some photos from the production, taken from Sunshine Blog. (click to enlarge)


The left one is the interior of the stellar bomb which is called "Int-Stellar Bomb" on the call sheets. The pic at right has six parts, described by Gia as the following: Red - on the Flight Deck set; Orange - on set lighting effects; Yellow - birthday cake for someone on production; Green - on the Oxygen Garden set; Blue - outside Three Mills Studios; Violet- on set during a Zero G rehearsal (blue screen seems to photograph violet and on video it comes out pink...).

(11/20/05) From "Sci Fi Wire" (Nov. 21):

Yeoh Talks Sunshine And Boyle

Michelle Yeoh told SCI FI Wire that she's currently playing an astronaut in Sunshine under director Danny Boyle and considers the SF movie a typically atypical choice for the director. "That's where Danny Boyle is amazing," Yeoh said in an interview while promoting her latest film, Memoirs of a Geisha. "If you look at his films you don't know what to expect from him."

Yeoh (Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon) co-stars in Sunshine with Rose Byrne, Cillian Murphy and Chris Evans in a futuristic story about a team of astronauts sent on a mission to re-ignite the dying sun. Yeoh said that Boyle brings something new to the SF material, much as he did with his zombie movie, 28 Days Later. "There are so many zombie movies out there," she said. "So why did he make it different? Because he had an edge. So [Sunshine] is, yes, eight astronauts going up to save the world. We've heard that so many times before. [But] you have to see it. It's got an edge. I loved that the first week of filming he said to me, 'You know, this is not a family movie, right?' [I said], 'Danny, I know your films. It's OK.'" (Alex Garland, who wrote 28 Days Later, also wrote Sunshine.)

Yeoh, who was born in Malaysia, said that Sunshine is a marked change for her as well, given that she'd just done the Japanese period drama Memoirs of a Geisha. "Last year I was the geisha," she said. "Four hours of makeup and every day walking around like a supermodel. This movie I'm the astronaut; 50 years ahead in time, 15 minutes in the hair and makeup. I'm like, 'Wait a minute. What about my eyebrows?' 'No, you're a real character. You're an astronaut. You're a physicist. You're a scientist. Go back to your lab.' It's fantastic." Sunshine will be released in 2006.

Michelle is in New York during 18 to 20th for the promotion of Memoirs of a Geisha.

(11/20/05) In a recent interview with "BackStage", Irish actor Cillian Murphy said his character in Sunshine is an American. Although he had worked with director Danny Boyle in a few films before, he still had to audition for the role. Filming is expected to wrap up next month.

(11/16/05) The person in the photo is not Michelle but Sue, the 3rd Assistant Director of the film, dressed as Michelle's character (Corazon) and working as Michelle's stand-in. As Gia explained, stand-ins are not doubles. Read the stories at Sunshine Blog.

(11/14/05) Gia put up a little story, Sneak Peek, on the Sunshine Blog. They showed a 'preview' the other day to some of the crew, one of whom was Michelle. Chris Gill, the editor, cut together a bunch of shots for the cast and crew to watch. "Even though there's no story to Chris's edit, it was exciting, action-packed, energetic... and full of menace...", according to Gia, "It's really, really good." After watching the preview an excited Michelle said: "I want to see it again!"

Gia also reported that Michelle was asking a science advisor on the set about the science behind the film, since she was being asked about it in an interview.

The film is being shot in the studios of "Three Mills" and there are in total about 7 or 8 sets built. At least one of them has already been blown up - you can read the story in Nov. 8th's report.

(10/26/05) Now we have got the photos of all "Icarus II" crew members. Thanks Gia!!

(10/14/05) Michelle took a short break from Sunshine filming and visited Taiwan on Oct. 14th. During the interviews, Michelle said her character in the film is a scientist who studies photosynthesis in plants, so this is not an action role but very challenging all the same. (For more reports and photos please see News of Oct. 14 .)

(10/14/05) If you would like to get a feel of the production, I strongly recommend you visit the "Sunshine" Blog. In one of the comments on the Blog, Gia said: "I've been lucky enough to see a few rough cut scenes from 'Sunshine' that Michelle and Cillian have done (Chris Gill [the editor] kindly taken time out to show them to me). Both scenes I saw brought tears to my eyes; their performances were so powerful..."

(10/12/05) Set photos from Sunshine filming (click to enlarge):

Icarus II spaceship

The Oxygen Garden

The photos are from Gia Milinovich's official "Sunshine" Blog - a place you definitely should not miss. The Blog mistress, whose husband is one of the science advisors on the film, is hired to do the journal and permitted to visit the filming set. Full of information on the production - insider's set reports, photos and even videos. Awesome!

Before shooting started, in order to help the actors bond, they did all kinds of activities together including scuba diving, flight training, stunt flying... They even lived together for a while. They had science talks from biologists, astro-physicists, physicists, and an astronaut. (hey, that later part sounds like at my work at Caltech! Excecpt that I don't see astronauts often.)

There are only three scenes where all the actors appear together and they shot the last of them on September 29th. Hiroyuki Sanada just finished his last day on the shoot today.

Interestingly Gia has got character photos for all "Icarus II" crew members except for Michelle (Corazon). Top secret, huh? :-S

Michelle's character is the biologist in charge of the Oxygen Garden, which is their oxygen replenishment on the spaceship.

The entire film will be shot indoors in London. The visual effects department has already been putting together various scenes and will continue working for many months after filming finishes.

(10/10/05) According to Hong Kong and Taiwanese media, Michelle has requested filming of her parts to be wrapped up before the end of November. Michelle is scheduled for a sequence of activities for Memoirs of a Geisha promotion from the end of November to next January.

(10/04/05) The Hong Kong newspaper "Sun" interviewed Michelle recently during the filming of Sunshine in London. Michelle told reporters that before the filming started, in order for the main actors to get familiar with each other, director Danny Boyle arranged all of them live together for two weeks. One of the main actors is Hiroyuki Sanada, the Japanese martial art actor who co-starred with Michelle in Royal Warriors twenty years ago.

Michelle studied in England when she was a teenager. She said she's very happy to have a chance to enjoy the climate and the red tea again.

(09/18/05) Here are more excerpts from the "Prestige Hong Kong" interview with Michelle, done in early June and published this month.

Can you tell us anything about Sunshine?
I play a scientist. A botanist. It's a science fiction movie, so it will be a studio shoot. In East London. We are in a space ship - just eight of us. I said to someone, who asked me where the location would be, 'Darling, if I go somewhere beyond London, it will be in space.'

Are you now in preparation in any way?
I've been in preparation since I knew I was going to get the part, just before the Cannes Film Festival. I'm in contact with the entire creative team - the writer, director and producer. And when I'm not sure of something, I will call them and say, 'I don't get this in the script. What am I not seeing right? How do you see this particular character?' It's very important, because these are the people who know the depths of it, the soul of it, who can give you insight into all the different aspects. Because the worst habit of an actor is to see only your role and how you can expand your role and make it the biggest and the best. And kill everybody else. You're a virus. That's how it is. It's all about me, me, me. So when you talk to the director or the writer, they have the whole picture. They can explain the different relationships, the who and what and why.

For the full interview and photos please see YeohFanz.com.

(09/03/05) In the September issue of "Prestige", a new Hong Kong magazine, it features an interview with Michelle which was done earlier and she talked about Sunshine: "They have an amazing team ... I've wanted to work with these people for a long while." Reportedly Michelle plays a botanist in the film.

Sunshine (The Untitled Sunshine Project) is currently filming in central London's major studio complex 3 Mills Studios.

(08/23/05) Fox Searchlight Pictures issued a Press Release announcing principal photography begins on "The Untitled Sunshine Project". The main cast has been officially announced (in alphabetic order): Rose Byrne, Cliff Curtis, Chris Evans, Troy Garity, Cillian Murphy, Hiroyuki Sanada, Benedict Wong and Michelle Yeoh.

(08/16/05) "Are you going to fight against Michelle Yeoh in the film?" asked a Taiwanese "TVBS" reporter. Cillian Murphy: "No. Otherwise I probably will die miserably." Murphy told the reporter that he had seen many of Michelle's films. "She's really cool."

(08/14/05) Talking about Sunshine in another interview when he was in L.A. last week, Cillian Murphy told "Dark Horizons": "We're rehearsing. We start shooting at the end of August. I play a physicist. It's about a spaceship going towards the sun in the future. They have to reignite the sun, it's dying." Asked how he finds working with Danny Boyle, Murphy said: "Danny's just amazing. He's a real visionary. He has a very wonderful style, I think. I love his visual style. He's just a great storyteller, Danny is. He's a brilliant storyteller... It's just a great cast. We've got Michelle Yeoh and Chris Evans is in it; this great cast of actors."

(08/08/05) Last weekend Taiwanese "UDN" interviewed Cillian Murphy when he was in Los Angeles promoting his new airplane thriller Red Eye. The blue eyed Irish actor said to reporter: "Michelle Yeoh is incredibly charming! I can't wait to work with her when the shooting starts." He said he was a fan of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. He had met Michelle and they had started rehearsals for the film. "She's incredible," said Murphy, "It feels wonderful to go through action training with her."

In a news announcement from 3 Mills Studios (May 23), it says "production on Sunshine, a science-fiction film, will begin at the end of May 2005, with principal photography to commence mid-August."

(07/25/05) Michelle has arrived in London preparing for the film. In a phone interview with "UDN" (Taiwan,) Michelle said she can't disclose the details of the film but based on director Danny Boyle's style, it should be "very exciting".

Reportedly the production will take place from August to the end of the year. Michelle will have a lead role and have a chance to show a wide range of her talents including action. An unconfirmed rumor from Hong Kong media said that actor Sean Lau (Lau Ching-Wan) (Executioners, Running out of Time, La Brassiere) may join the cast too.

(06/12/05) From "Variety":

"Boyle is in the midst of casting his sci-fi project 'Sunshine,' with Michelle Yeoh, Cillian Murphy and Chris Evan in negotiations to head the crew of a spaceship transporting a nuclear bomb to reignite the dying sun. The original screenplay is by Alex Garland. Filming at London's 3 Mills Studios is set for late August."

(06/09/05) Michelle has been under negotiation to star in the British film, Sunshine. The space travel sci-fi adventure will be directed by Danny Boyle (Trainspotting, 28 Days Later) and will start shooting in U.K. this summer and aim for a 2006 release.

The story is about a team of astronauts sent to discover what became of a space mission crew gone missing. It will be produced by Andrew Macdonald through DNA Films. Fox Searchlight (Twentieth Century Fox) will distribute in the U.S.. The budget of the film is estimated between $40 million and $45 million.

In a recent interview while promoting his new film Millions, director Danny Boyle said: "We're doing this film Sunshine. In fact we're casting for it in a few minutes actually. It's about a mission to the sun. It's a sci-fi set in space. They're flying a bomb to the sun and the bomb is like the size of Kansas, this immense bomb that they built in space. They're flying it to reignite a section of the sun which is failing, but it's really about a mission that went earlier, seven years earlier, and failed. So it's sort of mystery of what happened. It's quite big at the end, you get to meet the sun. (Laughs) Quite spectacular hopefully."

More about the film:
   Trio Of Actors Walking On Sunshine (Empire, June 9)
   Exclusive: Boyle's Sun shines for 28 Weeks (FilmFocus, May 25)
   Danny Boyle Intervew (MovieWeb, March 7)


Links: 
International Site
U.K. Official Site
Official "Sunshine" Blog
FoxSearchlight Sunshine Site
MTV: 'Sunshine'- A Thriller Of A Space Odyssey
New Zealand Official Site
Taiwanese Official Site
Japanese Official Site
"Sunshine" Fan Online
IMDb Discussion: Sunshine