Saturday
13Dec2008
Chris Weitz Officially Named 'New Moon' Director
Saturday, December 13, 2008 at 5:35PM
In an studio press release about the upcoming
sequel to
Twilight, Summit Entertainment President of
Production Erik Feige wrote, "Thinking long and hard about how to turn
New Moon into the amazing movie we know it will
be, and working with
Stephenie Meyer to find the right candidate, we
are thrilled to announce
Chris Weitz as director of the film."
So that's that. This all came very swiftly, what with the first film in the series released just three weeks ago. Despite the film's soaring box office, the studio felt it needed a change and director Catherine Hardwicke took the fall.
I don't know enough about processes like these to say either way, but even for something like this, where the source material is well-known and the profit margin will be pretty high, doesn't one week sound like a pretty short courtship for a studio and a director? Aren't there a lot of hoops to jump through, contractually speaking? News about Hardwicke's departure isn't even cold yet, and a few days later, her replacement is announced. I just wonder if this hadn't been percolating for some time.
Weitz, who most recently directed Golden Compass, expressed his gratitude for the opportunity:
"I am honored to have been entrusted with shepherding New Moon from the page to the screen. The extraordinary world that Stephenie has created has millions of fans, and it will be my duty to protect on their behalf the characters, themes and story they love. This is not a task to be taken lightly, and I will put every effort into realizing a beautiful film to stand alongside a beautiful book."
Twilight continues to make money; it will likely cross the $150 million mark this weekend in domestic receipts, as it approaches $200 million worldwide. We're hearing that the plan is to release New Moon around the same time in 2009, and follow that up every year with new installments in the series. Not that she played a major role in the first film, but it wouldn't surprise me to see Nikki Reed (Rosalie) leave the franchise if she has the option to out of loyalty to Hardwicke. They co-wrote the Oscar-nominated Thirteen script when Reed was 15, and she had also appeared in the director's Lords of Dogtown prior to her work in Twilight. And now with Hardwicke's swift removal...well, I just think it's something to keep an eye on.
Colin Boyd | Permalink | in Adaptations, New Moon, Sequels, Twilight, Vampire Movies | Print Article | Email Article | 1 Comment | Share Article
Reader Comments (1)
While I really liked Hardwicke's signature on the film, this sounds promising. Chris Weitz's The Golden Compass, though not a commercial success, was a great movie...