Has Catherine Hardwicke Been Booted from the 'Twilight' Sequel?
Filed under: RumorMonger, Celebrities and Controversy, Fandom, Comic/Superhero/Geek
UPDATE: In a press release tonight, both Summit Entertainment and Catherine Hardwicke jointly announced that Hardwicke will NOT be directing New Moon. She says, "I am sorry that due to timing I will not have the opportunity to direct NEW MOON. Directing TWILIGHT has been one of the great experiences of my life, and I am grateful to the fans for their passionate support of the film. I wish everyone at Summit the best with the sequel-- it is a great story."Twilight set a record for the best opening weekend ever achieved by a female-directed movie, but that director, Catherine Hardwicke, won't be able to enjoy it for long. Nikki Finke, at Deadline Hollywood Daily, is claiming inside knowledge that Hardwicke is definitely not being re-hired for the sequel, and that an official announcement from Summit Entertainment is imminent.
Rumors about Summit replacing Hardwicke have been swirling ever since the sequel was officially greenlighted after that $70 million opening weekend. Finke quotes anonymous insiders as saying it was the film's cinematographer and editor who saved Twilight after Hardwicke's mishandling of it; indeed, some people wondered all along if Hardwicke -- whose prior experience was with small, intimate dramas, not vampire movies -- was the right choice.
If it's true that Hardwicke is out -- and Finke claims absolute certainty that it is -- then Summit will have to be careful how it handles replacing her. Getting a man to take her place might send the message that Summit thinks a woman can't adequately direct an action movie, and it would be a setback to an industry where there's already a ridiculous lack of feminine input. As Erik Davis reminded us a couple weeks ago, only 6% of the 250 top-grossing films of 2007 were directed by women. (More stats here.)
Furthermore, while the Twilight books have their action sequences and supernatural elements, they're more focused on relationships and emotions, and they appeal to a mostly female audience -- all of which makes hiring a female director seem even more logical. On the other hand, plenty of good films matching that description have been made by men, too. So maybe the best option is to simply find whoever will do the best job, regardless of gender. But if it comes down to two people who'd be equally good, and one's a man and one's a woman, for heaven's sake, Summit -- choose the woman. Try to save some face here.
Now the question is: Who should replace Hardwicke? Any suggestions from the Twilighters? Or does it matter who directs the film as long as there are lots of close-ups of cute vampire boys?









Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
12-07-2008 @ 6:42PM
rob said...
sounds like they picked her so they wouldn't have to pay a big named director a ton of money.
I really think another women should do thesequel.
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12-07-2008 @ 6:49PM
Sarah said...
I thought Hardwicke did an ok job, but the camera angles and weird close ups of the actor's faces were just werid!
And sometimes the music was crap and cheezy. for example when Edward first smells Bella.
The next director needs to avoid making it cheezy like Hardwicke.
And also, Catherine obviously did NOT work well with Rob, they are waaay too different and had different ideas about Edward.
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12-07-2008 @ 6:54PM
Peter Hall said...
Bring on Kathryn Bigelow!
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12-07-2008 @ 7:02PM
Jen said...
I sure hope so, this gives me so much more hope for the next films. hardwicke was horrible. enough said.
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12-07-2008 @ 7:17PM
pinsleric said...
I really liked Twilight, but I wouldn't mind getting a new director, and a few changes... Jasper's hair and Jacob's friends especially.
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12-08-2008 @ 4:54PM
Annie said...
One of Jacob's friends (Embry?) had plugs. Wtf?
12-07-2008 @ 7:59PM
Ed said...
I have also heard that the editor "really" saved this film. I'm not
the target audience but I found that the majority of the actors way over acted.
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12-07-2008 @ 8:16PM
carg0 said...
if true, the timing of this couldn't be any more shamefully inappropriate. for christ's sake, the movie just came out plus they're still doing press tours...
Hardwicke's being railroaded and Summit Entertainment deserves whatever backlash they incur.
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12-07-2008 @ 8:48PM
Liz said...
Some of the camera angles and such in Twilight really annoyed me as well... like when they randomly pulled back and spun things around. Also, they need some new makeup and special effects people because yikes... I could see their foundation balling on their skin.
But Book 2 really has almost no action at all, so I don't think you could call it an action movie by any stretch.
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12-07-2008 @ 8:53PM
Wray said...
The timing could not have been worse for this kind of an announcement as Ms. Hardwicke is still promoting the film. I don't know about insider information, but I find it hard to believe that the cinematographer and editor "saved" the film. As much criticism as there has been for the films problems, there has also been significant praise for Hardwicke's direction.
Whether the new director is male or female probably matters less in the long run than whether or not the next film will remain true to the book. Many of the problems associated with the film can also be attributed to the original story. On the other hand, if there is too much deviation from the story there is a great risk of alienating the core fans.
Catherine Hardwicke has made a very successful little film. I do not understand why she needs to be replaced.
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12-07-2008 @ 9:26PM
pinsleric said...
its official now!!
http://moviesblog.mtv.com/2008/12/07/twilight-director-catherine-hardwicke-will-not-direct-new-moon/
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12-07-2008 @ 9:34PM
Silver said...
I love Catherine for adding Rob's music to the movie, and maybe even for the casting of him. For that I am eternally grateful. She brought great enthusiasm to the Twilight promo experience. Heart her! But I'm kinda glad as bad as that sounds. She has GREAT actors, she really needed to redirect several scenes better. THEN NEED A NEW SCREENPLAY WRITER! That's the one that needs to get fired.
Fire Niiki Reed too. Not pretty enough.
Get a badass director now!! Don't be CHEAP SUMMIT. Fork out the damn money.
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12-07-2008 @ 9:46PM
Ken said...
I have to say, I saw this movie last night not expecting much, and it certainly lived up to it. I agree that the action sequences weren't up to par. Some of the effects seemed adolescent, and the acting seemed hackneyed. It's unfortunate that it has to come down to gender terms, and not strictly directing chops and talent, but it may prove to be the only logical answer to this mess of a film. If indeed they do replace Hardwicke (whom I thought did a wonderful job with Thirteen) they should pick someone who is best suited for the job regardless of gender.
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12-07-2008 @ 9:55PM
DylanG said...
Good riddance. I haven’t seen Twilight and don’t plan on it, but Hardwicke came across as both arrogant and ignorant in every interview I have read with her.
She harps on and on about sexism, complaining about why Sam Raimi and Peter Jackson got to direct Spiderman and LOTR, while studio bosses don’t give her any of these big films. News flash: Sam Raimi and Peter Jackson were both widely accomplished and successful directors before they took on those franchises. With Hardwickes dismal reviews for Twilight, I doubt she’s half the director either of them are. Sexism has nothing to do with it.
Second of all, she complained that studio heads dislike how she breaks down on set and cries, but accept male directors having affairs, yelling, being abusive, etc. While none of this is acceptable, a directors job is to guide the production. They cannot be breaking down on set and crying. They are supposed to be in charge. Crying is completely giving up control. It has nothing to do with whether you are a man or woman; that is not acceptable behavior for a director!
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12-07-2008 @ 11:08PM
Andrea said...
It's disappointing, but this doesn't mean the end for the franchise. I just hope that Summit realizes that a bigger budget is needed for the remaining stories in the Twilight series... The fans will NOT accept cheesy effects for the warewolves and the running sequences? Come on, now! Let's fire it up and do it right!
Suggestions for directors? Maybe Julie Taymor (Across the Universe, Broadway's The Lion King), or Sarah Polley (Away from Her, former child actor...) both are female's with a great understanding of relationships in films/plays...
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12-08-2008 @ 12:24AM
dana said...
I have to agree with replacing hardwicke, something was just a little off. More importantly I hope they allot a slightly bigger budget, you could just tell they had to skimp on so much stuff.
New Moon doesn't have as much "action" scenes but getting the transformation to wolves is gonna be tricky, I just hope they don't screw it up.
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12-08-2008 @ 12:34AM
Fenris said...
Alfonso Cuarón!
Alfonso Cuarón!
Hire him!
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12-08-2008 @ 2:27AM
Jessi said...
I think they need to get a new director. The book gave her soooo much great material and most of it was cut out and other junk(that didn't even fit) was put in its place. Some of the most well known and loved parts(stupid shiny volvo owner, THE meadow, sadie hawkins.... I could go on all day people! LOL) I think she took a beautiful peice of literature an turned it into a cheese-ball movie. I think a new director should go as close to the book as possible. Not twist and turn it so it is so "Hollywood"....sigh.... As for the actors, I think Rob is a really good Edward but you could tell he wasn't feeling some of the direction he was given. I imagined Bella would look somewhat like Kristen but her voice is annoying. Why does she always sound like she is whispering??? Carlisle was VERY WRONG! His makeup was AWEFUL! And in the book, he is very kind and loving. In the movie, he seems like a jerk. Esme didn't talk much so it didn't really matter. Renee was good and the actor who played Charlie was good, but that isn't how Charlie is in the books. Alice, in my book, was a good choice. She was very pixie-like and cute. Rosalie was wrong as well. She is supposed to be a goddess!! In the movies, she looks like the girl next door, someone you see every day. Emmett was ok, not really big like the book describes. Jasper was just weird... I understand he is in pain but he just looks like an idiot to me. Jacob was pretty good, but I don't know how he is gonna grow up quick like in the books! The other Quilete friends were a weird choice. I didn't like that James had long hair b/c it is supposed to be cropped. And Victoria is supposed to have flaming red hair, so why is it blonde?
I think the best thing that they could do is start over and make a new Twilight. Keep it close the book. Don't get mixed in with the hollywood crap! If they did this, I know it would outsell this movie, by far! The REAL TWILIGHTERS want something that is organic and raw, not tainted by what Hollywood thinks the book should be. Maybe Stephenie should advise more. I just think if they are going to get a better director for New Moon, they should go back and make a better Twilight...I know alot of the Twilighters feel the way I do. It was ok, but it could have been amazing!!!!!
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12-08-2008 @ 2:25PM
clementine said...
You guys present a very poor argument about Catheirne Hardwicke's direction on this film. You claim there were cheesy close-ups of characters and the angles were weird. Correction: you are trying to justify what isn't there. Do you even realize what book you are talking about? 'Twilight'... the damn book is cheesy, did you not get that from the 1897 times you read it?
"His hair was dripping wet, disheveled-- even so, he looked like he'd just finished shooting a commerical for hair gel. "
Does that not scream cheesy to you? But Twilight was the great kind of cheesy, the kind none of us were afraid to admit because the same magic that enraptured us, enraptured everyone else.
But Hardwicke's production of this film was a direct reflection of everything that was represented in the book, if not, even more beautiful. I have talked to some people saying they were surprised and disappointed that it didn't come out big scale. Big scale?? I implore those who feel this way to go back to Twilight and realize that the book itself is simply one girl's infatuation with a godly other, S. Meyer's vicarious experience with one of the most genius male creations-- Edward Cullen. Hardwicke's take on 'Twilight' was unimaginably beautiful and personal--- just like the book. I implore those to do a little research, this film had a budget of 35 million... you wanted big- scale? then you should have donated. In the early search for the right script, the original one had Bella as a trackstar, and it was Hardwicke who presented a well-watched vision of the book and convinced execs to do it her way. This film could have been blown out of proportion, they could have made it into a damn musical if the same money-ambitious execs had reason to believe that a musical would have earned twice the budget.
Doesn't it smell a bit fishy that two weeks later, an incredible worldwide gross of 158 million, they boot the woman who interpreted 498 pgs of a beautiful book onscreen? Her production-designer experience was vital to this film, the fact that it was shot in such a way, in my opinion, was indeed personal... and that is exactly the point of the 'Twilight'. I give my utmost thanks to her for contributing to the film and the series, but I am thoroughly surprised and suspecting of the claims that the film had to be 'saved' by the cinematographer and editors. Just watch 'Thirteen' and you will see remarkable similarities, this was very much Catherine Hardwicke. When it comes down to it, 'Twilight' is a love story, not some action ambitious series parallel to the 'Matrix' films. So don't try to make it out to be. You need a much better argument than that.
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12-08-2008 @ 4:43PM
Annie said...
The two main things I didn't like about the movie we're:
First, when Edward sparkles, the sparkles make sparkely sounds. I realize that's probably for the people who are a little slow to realize he's sparkeling, but still.
Second, I found they over used music in this movie. I mean, is a little silence going to kill anyone. I find some of the moments we're ment to be very intence, but some of the music didn't really have the effect they we're trying to portray.
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