The Shakespeare adaptations, they just keep a-coming! On the heels of two King Lear pics, two wild re-dos of Macbeth, and Julie Taymor taking on The Tempest, Catherine Hardwicke has decided to jump on the bardwagon ... now that she's done with those PG vampires. Luckily, she's not crazy enough to take on Taymor and make it three dueling adaptations. The Hollywood Reporter posts that she'll helm a modern take on Hamlet, with Emile Hirsch starring.

It seems that Hirsch helped conceive the idea, which Ron Nyswaner (Philadelphia scribe) will adapt, taking the themes of Hamlet and throwing them into contemporary America (again). Young Hamlet will have to decide whether he should kill his uncle and avenge his father's death. In other words, it sounds just like Ethan Hawke's Hamlet without the corporate intrigue. Milk producers Dan Jinks and Bruce Cohen are whipping this up, and they say their "goal is to present the story as a suspense thriller. We want to make it exciting and accessible for an audience today." Taking into account Hardwicke's track record, I wonder -- all-age thriller, or Hamlet for the teen girl crowd?

Shauna Cross, who wrote the screenplay for Whip It! and the book it's based on, has signed on to adapt the young adult book If I Stay, which will be directed by Twilight's Catherine Hardwicke.

Sounds like it will be a challenging write, because If I Stay's protagonist Mia is in a coma after a horrible car accident that killed both her parents. Similar to The Lovely Bones, the 17-year-old spends her time looking back on her life and watching her loved ones wrestle with this tragedy -- and deciding whether or not she still wants to live. It was positively reviewed by Publisher's Weekly and Kirkus Reviews, and I will definitely be picking it up ASAP. The book came out in April and is still in hard cover.

If you haven't read The Lovely Bones, please do pick it up -- and hide the razor blades. It's told from the POV of a young girl who was raped and dismembered who is looking down from heaven on her family, friends, and murderer. Bring your hankies for the big-screen version helmed by Peter Jackson that's coming out a few weeks before Christmas. Cheery!

The kicker is that Summit Entertainment, which severed its Twilight ties with Hardwicke after the first Twilight and brought on board Chris Weitz to direct The Twilight Saga: New Moon, is distributing If I Stay. Seems like this project will be more in tune with Hardwicke's strengths, who has proven she can handle teen subjects with sensitivity and depth, given the right material to work with. Cross is definitely one to watch (Variety said so!), and I can't wait to see what these two do with If I Stay. Sounds like some girl power is back in the house of Summit.

Dust off your fangs and your body glitter, the Twilight DVD is on its way. But the bigger news (courtesy of MTV) is that Summit is trying something a little different and offering the teen romance on VOD the same day the two-disc edition will hit shelves. So that means if you can't make it to one of those midnight release parties being held across the US, you can still be first on your block to fall in love with the pigment-challenged Edward Cullen all over again.

If you do decide to drag your poor parents out in the middle of the night line up for a copy, here's what you're going to get: the two disc set will have plenty of extras for lovers of all things Edward and Bella. Disc one provides the usual goodies like extended scenes and audio commentary from director Catherine Hardwicke and stars Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart. Disc two, however, is for the truly devout and has a seven-part documentary about bringing the novel to the screen, along with deleted scenes and a comic-con feature.

Studios have been trying for some time to close the gap between theatrical and home video releases. Back in 2006, Steven Soderbergh tried something similar with the release of his murder mystery, Bubble, but unfortunately for him it didn't quite work out as planned. But for fans of the Twilight series, collecting is a big pastime (no matter how creepy it gets) -- so even if they tune in rather than line up at their local Hot Topic, I'm pretty sure most fans will be buying a copy of the DVD either way.

Now I'll leave it to the fans out there: will you be first in line for Twilight, or will you be swooning from the comfort of your own home?

So maybe vampires just weren't Catherine Hardwicke's thing, because she certainly has nothing against fantasy franchises. After a less than enthusiastic response to her adaptation of the bloodsucking romance Twilight, most of us were probably not expecting her to tackle another fantasy property any time soon. But I think we may have jumped the gun a bit, because The Hollywood Reporter announced that Hardwick has signed to direct a feature film adaptation of James Patterson's Maximum Ride series.

The best-selling novels center on a headstrong 14-year-old named Maximum Ride, and her group of human-avian hybrids known as The Flock. There were five books in the series and they all pretty much focus on "The Flock working towards protecting the world from domination by mysterious figures". But, according to THR, the film will focus on the group as they learn to fly, escape some laboratory-house where they're being held and "are pursued by a pack of creatures called the Erasers that are part human and part wolf."

Don Payne (Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer) is already at work on a script, but so far no leads have been cast ... though, for Hardwicke, it will probably come as a bit of a relief that this particular casting process probably won't have the same level of scrutiny as that other young-adult series. James Patterson (who is also serving as executive producer) has already hinted that that there are plans to make two more films from the series -- so let's just hope that this time Hardwicke gets to stick around for the sequel.

Maximum Ride is scheduled for release in 2010.

Austin was celebrating film this week before the SXSW crowds even arrived. On Thursday night, Austin Film Society held its ninth annual Texas Film Hall of Fame awards gala at Austin Studios, honoring Texans and "honorary Texans" in the film industry. It's a fundraising event for filmmaker grants and educational programs, and attire ranges from the glitziest cocktail dresses to blue jeans and cowboy boots. Thomas Haden Church emceed the ceremony, revealing surprising depths of bizarre-yet-enjoyable humor. Really, I think someone should consider him to host the Oscars next year, although I don't know what his singing and dancing talents might be.

Thirteen and Twilight director Catherine Hardwicke, shown above, received the Ann Richards award for someone in film who "who breaks barriers and forges new creative paths." Her award was presented by Brendan Fraser. The Star of Texas award for an exceptional film made in Texas went to Rushmore, which was filmed in Houst -- Luke Wilson accepted the award. Linda Gray, who nearly goosed Thomas Haden Church onstage, inducted her Dallas co-star Larry Hagman into the Hall of Fame. Keith Carradine inducted Powers Boothe. Austin filmmaker Richard Linklater shared a tribute to Texas playwright and screenwriter Horton Foote, a Hall of Famer who died earlier this year. And Dennis Quaid presented the Tom Mix Honorary Texan award to his The Alamo co-star Billy Bob Thornton, who explained to us how he was more of a real Texan than an honorary one, anyway.

We've got photos of the event's honorees in the gallery below (as well as a few other familiar-looking attendees); check 'em out.

There's a real communication problem going on with the follow up to the vampire romance Twilight. Everywhere you look there are conflicting casting announcements, different release dates, and even one of the stars was shocked to find out that he had a job until 2010 -- so you'll forgive me if this seems a little confusing. Twilight newcomer Kellan Lutz recently spoke with MTV and spilled the news that not only is Drew Barrymore out, but Summit might have already hired and lost another director for the third Twilight installment, Eclipse. Lutz tells MTV, "I actually heard rumors that they did have a third director, and he fell out, and then they saw more people." According to Lutz, another director has already been hired, but unfortunately, he just isn't sure who it is: "I would say [the name] if I could remember it. But I know it was a guy."

So why has it been so hard to find a new director for Eclipse? I know it wasn't exactly a surprise when Catherine Hardwicke did not return for a second film, but you would have thought that there would be a bunch of folks lining up, willing to take a shot at the franchise. One theory that's emerged (for better or for worse) is that finding a director has been difficult because a woman is better suited to handle the hearts and flowers of the story, and the sad truth is there just aren't many working female directors that studios are willing to take a chance on. (Wow, here we are in 2009 and the best we can come up with is "chicks are better at the mushy stuff"?)

While Twilight and Robert Pattinson fandom was busy watching the Oscars for a glimpse of the immortal heartthrob (and I was frightened by just how, er, undead he actually looks when not wearing fangs), a very important decision was being made. Clear your calenders, ladies (and some gents) -- according to Variety, Summit has not only made its plans for the third installment definite, they've given you something to hope for. Not only is the third Twilight installment officially on the pre-production runway, it has a release date.

So, without further ado: Eclipse is scheduled to be released June 30, 2010, a departure from the broody fall dates of the previous two installments. This also means Eclipse and New Moon will shoot back to back. On the upside, the actors won't age appreciatively between films. On the downside, the films may end up rushed and sloppy.

Pattinson, Kristen Stewart, and Taylor Lautner will return, of course -- although as we all know, Lautner narrowly won back the part of Jacob after adding some necessary bulk. Melissa Rosenberg, who penned the scripts for Twilight and New Moon is even now putting fingers to keyboard, and working on the script.
It's assumed by the trades that replacement director Chris Weitz will helm Eclipse but hey -- everyone kind of assumed Catherine Hardwicke would come back for New Moon, so there could always be a change up behind the camera.

Now you know your plans for June 30, 2010. It will be here before you know it.

Here's the short answer: Um, like, Robert Pattinson is still in it, right?

By now a majority of the universe is well aware that Catherine Hardwicke will not be returning as director on the next two Twilight films, New Moon and Eclipse, which may or may not be shot back-to-back so that Summit Entertainment hits it core audience before they grow up and have better things to do. Today, as Twilight has crossed the $150 million mark in worldwide box office grosses, folks wondered why Summit gave Hardwicke the boot, whether she was being difficult in demanding a little more time than, I dunno, a week to develop and plan out the next two sequels, or if there were other, more sensational reasons behind her exit. Needless to say, everyone (and their sexy vampire boyfriend) in our gossip-obsessed society wants to know what happened, and whether fans will drive a stake through Summit's wallet should they hire a male director to continue the franchise.

But does it really matter who directs the Twilight sequel? I mean, for something in the neighborhood of a twelve-dollar budget, Twilight hit the freakin' jackpot at the box office. Heck, New Moon could be all hand shadows and the flick would still pull in, like, 20 times more than Punisher: War Zone. Since Summit wants to introduce the Saw style of filmmaking to the series and churn out New Moon in one year (they're targeting a release date of late 2009, early 2010), chances are the film will feel rushed and rough around the edges no matter who's at the helm.

So here's our question: Does it matter who directs the Twilight sequel(s)? Does it need to be a female in order to retain the audience, or does gender not matter? Sound off below ...

Oh, and in other news: Here comes the Twilight conventions ...

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.)

It's being mentioned in a few of the box office reports showing up online, but we here at Cinematical felt it deserved its own post. In case you haven't noticed, Twilight's $70.5 million amounts to the best opening weekend for a female director ever. Not only did she break Mimi Leder's (Deep Impact) record of $41.1 million, but Twilight director Catherine Hardwicke destroyed it -- bringing her all the way up to the 29th best opening weekend in history (according to Box Office Mojo), slightly beating -- wait for it -- Michael Bay's Transformers by roughly $50 thousand on 600 less screens. I think this proved giant f**king robots are no match for millions of screaming girls.

But this isn't the only record Catherine Hardwicke could break. Our friends over at Over Thinking It pointed out that should Twilight gross more than $187 million domestic, the film will crack the top 100 grossing movies of all time (domestic) list. And if that happens, Hardwicke will become the first female live action American director to crack the holy top 100. I'm sure there's a bunch of other weird little records in there, but I failed math back in the day and I'm probably not the guy you want adding things up.

While this is a great achievement for Hardwicke and women filmmakers, however, there's this quote from a recent study conducted by Dr. Martha Lauzen of San Diego State University (via OTI): "Women accounted for 6% of directors in 2007, a decline of one percentage point since 2006. This figure is almost half the percentage of women directors working in 2000 when women accounted for 11% of all directors." Not good. Hopefully Hardwicke's fantastic opening will help open some eyes ...

Check out our interview with Twilight director Catherine Hardwicke over here.