Comments on: UPDATED: Catherine Hardwicke Off 'Twilight' Sequel, 'New Moon'

By: John Demetry

John Demetry — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 20:58:54 +0000

It goes without saying that Taylor Lautner MUST be Jacob! Where is Stephanie Meyer in all this? She needs to protect the integrity of her creation. Catherine Hardwicke is the perfect director for this: nothing in the book compares to the moment Bella enters Bio class in the film… Edward — repulsed — winged like an angel (flanked by a stuffed owl), Bella — self-conscious — her hair billows against the fan. The danger of sexuality, the grace of Desire. Beautiful. I dreamed that Hardwicke would continue to work through the ideas she introduces. It was like My So-Called Life with Godfather ambitions. In that tradition, I had hopes Part II would be better. Only one person could have gotten those performances from those actors (while d.p. Elliot Davis got the perfect look) — and now only these actors can retain that approach! This is a real shame. Oh well, here's praying Kathryn Bigelow or Sturla Gunnarsson or Neil Jordan or Patrice Chereau (!!!omg!1) will be hired to take over "New Moon". But something tells me they're not looking for artists (Chris Weitz?????? YUCK!!!). Anyone who directs "New Moon" should do screenings of "The Story of Adele H.", "Godfather Part II" & "III", and "The Company of Wolves" for inspiration and instruction.

By: Meeshell

Meeshell — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 06:10:16 +0000

im quite relieved…it would be kind of messed up if the movie changed because of the new director but hey you might as well make a new twilight movie i loved the dont get me wrong but the special effects had to go…im sorry budget or no budget i think it could've been better…i have an IDEA WHY DONT STEPHENIE MEYER DIRECT THE MOVIE… DIDNT SHE HELP DIRECT A MUSIC VIDEO?…PLUS SHE HAS ALL THE SCENES IN HER HEAD AND KNOWS EVERYTHING ABOUT THE BOOKS SO LET HER DIRECT HER BOOK…

By: Jen

Jen — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 14:22:27 +0000

@Rachel: Unfortunately I do think it is too late for them to change the cast. Oh well. The best we can hope for is that with a slightly bigger budget they can get her some acting lessons and hopefully with the special effects being a bit better and such, she won't be so awful. Although, New Moon is mostly about her, which is going to make it a bit more painful for me to watch. Hopefully, Jacob's character will steal the spotlight and make things more interesting. I understand the film adaptation of a book is never as good as the book itself and that they need to change certain things to make it more appealing to movie goers in general, but some pivotal scenes should not have been left out and/or screwed up (such as the meadow scene) in Twilight. I hope they don't do this in New Moon as well. They've already screwed up the casting - can they at least put in the important scenes?

By: Becca

Becca — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 05:15:36 +0000

I seems like everyone is focused and concerned about the special effects. What happened to the time, back in the day, when movies were focused on the relationships of the characters, the feelings, the acting, the story, etc? These days it seems movies and people only care about the special effects, and usually forget about the other important, i believe most important, factors that make a movie great. New Moon should make the special effects better just because they can. But i think they need to stay true to the integrity of the relationship between edward and bella, their acting is amazing, establish the relationship more b/w bella and alice, give RObert more screen time- maybe divide up the time b/w edward and bella when they're separated, and show their separation and what they go through, but also have Bella establish the relationship w/Jacob, but keep Robert and Kristen the main stars. I loved the close up face shots, the shots of the nature, it was very raw and real, and artistic. It brought beuaty and grace of a movie on screen. I love that!

By: Rachel

Rachel — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 04:19:09 +0000

Jen, your comment is hilarious. I totally agree that Kristen was NOT a good choice…like you said, total lack of emotion! Boring! Needs a new makeup artist…and who in their right mind would dress her that way (in the movie)? I wish they could keep Alice and Jasper and start Twilight from scratch. I cannot understand how the movie could so completely butcher one of the best stories I have ever read. How does that happen? Wrong cast, wrong screen writer, wrong director, and low budget. At least we are getting a new director. There is no danger in a new director because I dont think Twilight could have been any worse. At least now I have an ounce of hope…but is it to late to change the cast?

By: GregM

GregM — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 01:30:26 +0000

@Brad Brevet: Fair enough. I doubt any of the boy's club would see the Twilight franchise as a paradigm shift but I see where you're coming from. And my thanks to JoMarie for your comment.

By: Jen

Jen — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 21:55:45 +0000

Since they're getting rid of Catherine, can they cut the lead actress too?? I'd appreciate not having to stare at her two big front teeth when she consistently leaves her mouth ever so slightly open in an attempt to appear…sexy?, repetitive blinking eyes (does she need solution or something for the contacts), constant twitching, and oh yes, lack of any emotion whatsover for another two hours! Please Summit!

By: erin

erin — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 21:08:35 +0000

@Josh: ok i agree with youbut i mean i hope they don't change directors every movie. i hope they find a good one and just keep that person. yea harry potter was somewhat ok but still they messd up alot.

By: Stephanie

Stephanie — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 21:04:11 +0000

Well I liked the way Catharine Hardwicke directed Twilight. I mean, I thought it was great. I was actually hoping she'd direct New Moon too. But I guess it doesn't really matter… As long as New Moon comes out soon. Cause I'm too anxious lol. And if New Moon is nothing like the book, I'm blaming it on summit (since they're getting a new director) I mean for all we know, this director may not even follow the book. What if it ruins it or something? If Catharine Hardwicke were still the director, we'd know it'd be just like the book. But that's just my opinion.

By: erin

erin — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 20:38:55 +0000

yea ok i agree a new director well be good but i mean i hope they don't change dirctors every movie. i hope they find a good one who wont mess it up as bad like harry potter and who will stuck to the whole twilight series until its done and finshed.
i guess we have to hope for the best.

By: Josh

Josh — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 19:36:37 +0000

Harry Potter has utilized different directors and when they opted for a new director over Chris Columbus for film 3 (Prisoner of Azkaban), it took the Potter world in a complete new and fresh direction. This could end up being a fantastic move. I'm assuming each book has a slightly different feel to it, so a new director could actually help the series. Give a new director a chance, sheesh.

By: Shaun

Shaun — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 17:57:12 +0000

I think Catherine Hardwicke had a lot of heart and cared about the Twilight series. I don't know that a new director will be that way. I hope so, but it could also be just a director looking for a payday. I don't care that it be a man or woman director, as long as they care about the project. I hope New Moon gets someone great, but I will settle for someone decent at this point.

By: erin

erin — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 16:42:05 +0000

thats not good because if they get a new director then it might end up like harry potter. not saying harry potter was bad but they switch new director every movie and they messed it up soo bad by doing that and if they do that with the twilight series i am going to be PISSED. switching directors is a very BAD idea. i didn't like the directors but still.

By: Wendilynn

Wendilynn — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 14:45:54 +0000

I'm more worried that summit is not going to give New Moon a real budget then who the director is. I know Catherine was fighting for more money through all this. I have a horrible sinking feelings we're in for another cheesy movie. I love the books and I was forgiving of Twilights short comings, but they make New Moon as cheaply, they'll shoot themselves in the foot.

By: JoMarie

JoMarie — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 12:54:10 +0000

@GregM: I agree with you. I don't think it has to be a female director, just someone who knows what they're doing. Many men have directed romances, and it might be better to have a male point of view in there along with the women.

By: nohophoenix

nohophoenix — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 07:34:28 +0000

While I'm not surprised that Catherine was not re-hired for the sequel to Twilight, I agree that the timing was very unprofessional. It leads me to think that Summit is fast tracking this project (for obvious $$ reasons.) Which the fans will not buy into. First week huge box office, sure. that goes without saying for most sequels to blockbusters, but it's the weeks afterwards that matter. And if the movie sucks, most fans would rather lick their wounds and re-read the books again to mentally scrub out a horrible sequel. I've seen the movie "a few" times now, and I have to admit that the directing was a little awkward in certain moments. Some of the special effects were hokey, the wire work was forced – but nothing that could have been fixed in editing to be quite honest. Honestly what worries me the most is the script. I hope that the new director reads the book and gets it. I think Catherine did but I truly believe they slipped something in her coffee when she read the script. Same goes for the author. I can't fathom the belief she actually liked how Melissa diluted her book and the core relationship between Bella and Edward. I agree that they will have to back track and pull from the book Twilight for New Moon in order to recapture that lost feeling of intense, all-consuming love and desperate passion. Otherwise, what happens in New Moon will not have any impact what so ever. My fingers are crossed that who ever the director is really reads the book then the script with his or hers fresh red marker in hand. If the script for Twilight had half of the feeling the book did, the movie would be doing even better than it is now. I hope that the good people at Summit realize that going into New Moon.

By: Claudia

Claudia — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 07:04:45 +0000

I am not sad at all they are replacing her but I think it is more of Summit trying to save face. On the one hand the movie had a very low budget and believe had it been passed on to a bigger enterprise in the first place it could have been much better. Even on a low budget a good director can still have the power to give depth to the characters something in which I feel was failed here and was disappointed because the possibilites with characters were endless. The books carry many facets of young tormented forbidden first love and I don't feel like the director quite captured that. I think she was so busy trying to hash out the sotry to younger viewers and underestimating their ability to appreciate the depth of the love between the two characters. I'm not sure how I feel about a male director but I think it would be interesting as I feel it might very well give more insight into Edward's plight which always encapsulated me far more than Bella anyway after reading Midnight Sun.

By: Chels

Chels — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 03:15:38 +0000

I'm not exactly sure how I feel about this decision. On the one hand, I think Catherine had a real connection with the books. I know she is a huge fan of them, and I think that's why the movie stayed so faithful to the book. I know a lot of fans would disagree with me, but personally, this was one of the best book to movie adaptations I've ever seen. Unfortunately, I think that is the only thing Catherine had going for her. The filming techniques, stunts, and special fx were boring, and lacked pizazz, and the score was ok, but would have been better minus the '80s electric guitar solos. A lot of these problems weren't directly Catherine's fault, and many had to do with a lack of budget, I'm sure. But either way, production-wise, this was not a very good movie. In the article it said that the movie was saved by the editor, which I thought the editing was pretty terrible, and that the visual look was due to the director of photography, which i didn't care for the "look" much either. That being said, I loved this movie and have seen it five times, but I think that's because of the actors, and the fact that I love the story, and the movie did a good job of staying faithful to it, with the exception of the underdevelopment of Bella and Edwards relationship, as well as the underdevelopment of many of the Cullens' characters.

I think a new director could make New Moon an AMAZING movie, provided they are given a bigger budget. My only concern is that the director needs to have read this series, and have a love for it, an understanding for it, and a desire to stay faithful to the book. Whether the director is male or female, makes no difference to me, just so long as they have more experience, and a love for the story, as well as a willingness to work with Stephenie. Speaking of which, I know she said she loved the movie, but I wonder if that's entirely true, I bet she was excited to see it on the big screen, just as I was, but I can't believe she didn't say anything about the lack of Bella/Edward moments. I read someone's review saying that their relationship in the movie seemed like a mixture between infatuation and lust, like a normal high school relationship, when in the book, it's so much more than that. It just didn't seem like they really loved each other. This was not Rob or Kristen's fault. They did an amazing job, and had amazing chemistry. I think it was because of a lack of focus on the little things of their realtionship, and because of editing. *Spoiler Alert* That needs to be fixed before Edward leaves in New Moon, otherwise the audience won't care. They need to feel the love between Edward and Bella at the beginning of the movie, so that they can feel the absolute depression that Bella feels when he leaves, and the elation she feels when she finds him again. It sounds like I hated Twilight, but I really didn't, I loved it, which is why I'm not sure if I want a new director or not. New Moon could be so much better, or so much… worse.

By: kathyy

kathyy — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 02:53:28 +0000

I'm not extremely happy about these news, only cuz wat if they get a bad director, it'll ruin the 2nd book, and I already wasn't satisfied completely with twilight, yes it was awesome either way but I expected more, when I 1st watched the movie I wanted to cry, it wasn't what I wanted it too be like and they left out a lot of good stuff from the book, but catherine didn't do a terrible job, I agree it wasn't like the book, but wat movie ever is?
and if yu stop to think she did keep the concept of the book,
so lets just hope that we don't regret being happy about them removing her, lets hope that the new director does an awesome job with new moon

By: Silver

Silver — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 02:38:36 +0000

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.

By: caitlyn

caitlyn — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 02:23:31 +0000

i am very happy that they are detting a new director! i think new director will make new moon amazing! it would be cool to have a male director…i think the special effects would be amazing! the romance is already there now there needs to be some awsome special effects!

i do feel kinda sorry for katherine because she is still promoting twilight and started to talk about new moon then she got the boot. bummer for her!

By: chrissy

chrissy — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 02:07:40 +0000

All of the actors have such a connection with Hardwicke, I wonder if this will affect the rest of the casting…

By: lia

lia — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 01:58:11 +0000

omg im sooo glad they took her off..she ruined twilight for me. =/ i hope they get another great director to direct new moon…and hoopefully it will be better than twilight.

By: SG

SG — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 01:50:40 +0000

Stupid move. I'm an older viewer and have never been as excited about a possible movie franchise as I have been about this one. I've seen Twilight over 20 times and will buy the DVD, but I'm not idiotic enough to support New Moon with someone else at the helm. They'll probably put a man in there and totally ruin what has nailed my demographic. Too bad.

By: stephanie

stephanie — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 01:09:50 +0000

First off, I think it is important to mention that I am a mid 20's female who hates chick-flicks and loves me a good action or comedy movie. I recently started the Twilight book series, and love it, and also enjoyed the movie.

However, I would LOVE to have a male director for these films. The books' aspect of romance will take care of itself. But when it comes to action sequences and special effects I have found that males can be better…just a personal observation.

I also personally believe that it was Hardwicke's directing that gave Twilight its WAY OVEREMPHASIZED teeny bopper classification. I have come to find out that Twilight's fan base has a wide variety of age and appeals to both genders. My brothers and their friends (male and female alike) love the Twilight saga as well. And I also have a few male professors who enjoy the books.

Overall, I am pleased that Hardwicke is gone and would be over-joyed if a male director were to take her place.

By: Tracy

Tracy — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 01:06:03 +0000

I think this is bad news. I know that people who know more about the film-making process have given logical reasons for not liking Hardwicke's directing on this film but she worked within the constraints put on her. It amazes me that this film only cost 37 million to make. I don't think this bodes well for the continuity of the film series. (Granted Melissa Rosenberg has a LOT to do with that. I love her adaptation of the book.) Hardwicke brings a lot out of her actors and that is what made this movie so haunting. The emotions played out on the screen created a visceral response in many of the viewers. Even those scenes that many people find cringeworthy. With an ensemble cast of young actors like the ones in Twilight the trust factor is crucial.

Of course she already nailed the most crucial casting choices so the next director has a huge head start.

Also, tacky is the most kind word I can give to Summit for releasing this news while Hardwicke is still hard at work for them promoting Twilight around the world. This industry is brutal.

As for the suggested replacements, please not Coppola. She is brilliant, but not for these films.

By: Tyler

Tyler — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 01:04:27 +0000

I will be so happy when another director takes over the Twilight series. Nothing against you Catherine (and more power to female directors), I just don't think you did a good job with Twilight. It's doing so well not because of the movie but because of Stephenie Meyer and Robert Pattinson. This fans goodwill will only last so long so it's imperative that New Moon not just be a good, faithful adaptation but be a great movie as well. The Twilight series needs to move to be big leagues now.

By: ellen

ellen — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 00:57:19 +0000

Yeah, the film could have been better and I'm not surprised to hear of this change. Either Amy Heckerling or Gillian Armstrong would be solid replacements. Or go with a big name who has experience as a producer and has dabbled in directing like Drew Barrymore or Sandra Bullock. New Moon needs to be a better movie than Twilight to do the book justice.

By: Brad Brevet

Brad Brevet — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 00:46:59 +0000

@GregM: I thought I explained my reasoning in the article. I don't think it necessarily HAS to be a female director, but it is a great opportunity to showcase a female director as they continuously attempt to get a stronger foothold in Hollywood, an obvious boys club when it comes to directors.

By: mm

mm — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 00:45:34 +0000

Please do not recommend Sofia Coppola!!!! I think she's worse than Catherine Hardwicke! I hope Summit does a more thorough search for a director that can direct!