The wind is gusting over 50 miles an hour, slamming torrential rain against the crusty, glistening stone of the medieval castle. The night is lit by a blazing bank of lights - 196 650-watt lamps - mounted in a giant steel frame that dangles from a cherry picker 100 yards from the Chateau des Cordes in Orcival in France's Massif Central. This "Wendy Light" rig, one of only three known to exist, looms over the chateau as director Franc Roddam's 1,100-amp moon. Until now the night had been gorgeously serene and clear, with a shiny sliver of real moon above, tiny in the starry heavens beyond the ferocious manufactured maelstrom. Roddam, in a long slicker and hat, yells "CUT." Then, another take. Cameras roll: A giant propeller in a square steel cage again whips up the "rain," which is shooting from three 20-foot-high tripods near the castle entrance...