Director Catherine Hardwicke Fired from 'Twilight' Franchise

A $70 million debut, one of the biggest box office hits of the year, ridiculous instant stardom for Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson, an almost unprecedented run for a non-major studio release...so what's the problem? Summit Entertainment apparently believes the problem with the Twilight franchise is director Catherine Hardwicke, who has been officially ruled out for the sequel.Nikki Finke from Deadline Hollywood talked to Summit CEO Rob Friedman who confirmed the news, saying, "Catherine and Summit have agreed to part ways on the sequel because our visions are different."If you don't think that's a bit of spin, consider that multiple insiders have whispered that Hardwicke was "difficult," "irrational," and other disparaging adjectives, and one source tells Finke that Hardwicke was pretty much just the director in name only:

"Summit didn't like her. They're saying [director of photography] Elliot Davis is the one responsible for the film's sumptuous visual look, that the editor Nancy Richardson had to save the film in post-production, and Summit thought Hardwicke's agent Beth Swofford was alternately ineffectual and hysterical [when it came to controlling her client]."

Since the studio is considering making New Moon and the third book in Stephenie Meyer's series, Eclipse, back-to-back, the odds are the hunt is on for one director to tackle both films. Because the audience is largely female, it will be interesting to see if Summit hires another female director of if the choice will come down to the hottest name available for the least amount of cash.

Comments

[Anonym]

I am not suprised at this new.. i actually agree with it.. these films have the potential to be good and the actors are preetty good.. its just some of those corny shots and weird angles that distracted me from the plot... i found the movie to be very rushed

[allie]

I hope dearly that New Moon and Eclipse are NOT combined! THAT would be rushed!

[wordygirl]

More importantly, they need a new screenwriter. The dialogue in the movie was horrible. Just because it worked in print (in the novel), doesn't mean it translates to film, and the screenwriting of Twilight was horrendous.

[laura Petersen]

I agree with Wordygrl, Twilight suffered in it's script with bland dialogue. Hopefully, Summit will combine New Moon and Eclipse. I found New Moon to be very slow, depressing and missing much-needed action. And I hope that the DP (director of photography) Elliot Davis can recreate the rich look of the first film.

[Meesh]

I've always been a fan of Hardwicke. I really think she could've made something great with a bigger budget. So I was understanding of some of the goofy stunts in Twilight. I was really looking forward to seeing her do New Moon, now that they have the cash. I really hope they keep the look and feel that Hardwicke created. I think the script was pretty bad. Some of Edward and Bella's most memorable quotes were switched and they made Edward kind of creepy. Which is not how I remember viewing him in the book. But everything else worked well. This pretty much sums up what I thought was missing from Twilight: http://www.reelzchannel.com/article/780/10-critical-ways-the-twilight-movie-differs-from-the-book

[netchaii]

Hardwicke's vision of the movie is way totally different from Meyer's. It is the best decision to have another one. twilight is supposed to be dark, romantic and thrilling. she just showed the giggling part of it. and isn't it very short of a movie? even harry potter lasts 2 to 3 hours. i hope they also consider male directors. as the audience. there was like a wall between us and the story which doesn't feel right. its best that your audience would feel what your characters feel and their issues. i hadn't felt that at all. its way too different.

[Moe]

I think that this is for the best. But I do have to disagree with those who say the dialogue in the book cannot be properly translated into the film. To me this makes it so that if you haven't read the books you have no idea what is going on. Which is good! It promotes reading which our current society is definatly lacking.

[Ann]

I am so happy they changed the director. Just because she didn't have a big budget doesn't mean the content had to suffer. I also blame her for the actors terrible acting, she could have given them some "direction". It seemed like the actors were left to fend for themselves. Also the person who did the adaptation forgot to read the book. They just grazed the surface when it came to the depth of their love, and why they fell in love. The movie never really made it clear why he loved Bella, all this could have come across so much better if the director had have had a real vision.