By Ryan Parsons | Image property of Summit Entertainment, Variety
Twilight
Though Twilight had a good run at the box office, I think even Summit Entertainment has been forced to acknowledge that the film owes most of its financial success to hype rather than quality of movie.
Sorry, but somebody had to say it. I don't know if we can necessarily blame director Catherine Hardwicke for the sub-par installment -- the blockbuster did have a minimal budget after all -- but Summit isn't taking any chances with New Moon and has henceforth begun looking for a new director.
... But not for the reason we think.
Twilight Sequel, New Moon, Getting New Director
Driven by success, Summit is fasttracking New Moon at such a pace that Hardwicke balked and said she'd need more prep time to create a film that would require major special-effects work. Because of the studio's accelerated schedule, they have begun shopping for a new director.
Just how fast does Summit want New Moon in theaters? If they have their way, the Twilight sequel will arrive by 2009 or start of 2010 latest. If they pull it off, somebody better call Guinness.
Scribe Melissa Rosenberg submitted a finished script for New Moon to Summit the weekend Twilight opened. From that point the studio attempted to negotiate Hardwicke into pulling off an accelerated production. After two weeks the director formally passed on the project.
The reason for Hardwicke's fallout with Summit was due most in part to a complete difference in opinion. Both sides had a position on how the next installment should be made, and both were on opposite sides of the spectrum.
It turns out that New Moon has a more complex story than Twilight, and it leaves Robert Pattinson primarily out of the picture. The studio wanted to figure a way of giving his character more screen time, therefore changing some of the dynamics contained in the source material. In short, Hardwicke was afraid that the story adjustments and sense of hurry would only lead to a crappy movie.
Twilight
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