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Catherine Hardwicke Not Directing New Moon, Summit Searching for New Director

Posted by Rosario T. Calabria on December 8, 2008 at 1:22 am

catherinehardwicke-120508Summit Entertainment has announced that Twilight director Catherine Hardwicke is leaving the franchise and will not be directing the sequel, New Moon (scheduled for release sometime between the end of 2009 and early 2010).

While the joint press release, read it in full after the jump, reveals that the decision was made due to timing issues with Hardwicke, Nikki Finke of DeadlineHollywoodDaily reports that Hardwicke was “difficult” and “irrational” during the making of the film, with one of her contacts saying:

“Summit didn’t like her. They’re saying the DP [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 [CAA] agent Beth Swofford was alternately ineffectual and hysterical.”

Well, that may have been all true, but I don’t see why they make the announcement now in the middle of the European press tour, a tour in which Hardwicke is–and will continue–participating in.

The full release follows after the jump.

SUMMIT BEGINS SEARCH FOR NEW MOON DIRECTOR

Los Angeles, CA, December 7, 2008 – Summit Entertainment and director Catherine Hardwicke jointly announced today that the filmmaker will not be directing the next installment in the newly minted TWILIGHT film franchise. Summit’s targeted end of 2009 or early 2010 release of the film, NEW MOON, does not work with Ms. Hardwicke’s required prep time to bring her vision of the film to the big screen. Thus as has been done before with many successful film franchises, the studio will employ a new director for NEW MOON.

“I am sorry that due to timing I will not have the opportunity to direct NEW MOON,” said Hardwicke. “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.”

“Catherine did an incredible job in helping us to launch the TWILIGHT franchise and we thank her for all of her efforts and we very much hope to work with her on future Summit projects,” said Erik Feig, Summit’s President of Production. “We as a studio have a mandate to bring the next installment in the franchise to the big screen in a timely fashion so that fans can get more of Edward, Bella and all of the characters that Stephenie Meyer has created. We are able to pursue an aggressive time frame as we have the luxury of only adapting the novels into screenplays as opposed to having to create a storyline from scratch.”

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Category: Casting, Movies, New Moon, News, Twilight

  • cam
    Catherine Hardwicke is a genius(Harry Potter!!!)and i just saw the extended trailer for new moon. big mistake getting rid of her. it looks much less dazzling than the first. def a rush job.
  • What made the movie great was chemistry. The characters IMHO were well cast from Eric to Jasper to Alice and beyond. The visual effects were very good. From 10-80 many can relate to the emotions this movie and book evokes. Still, there were awkward scenes that my teen and I laugh at. It's was a decent movie and depicted the novel well bringing the characters alive. The soundtrack was incredible really making the movie truly moving. I give a lot of credit to Billy Burke and some of the other lesser characters who shined. I am no kid and can say I am positively addicted to the books and the movie and this all happened within the past two weeks. Prior to that I had no desire to read or see the movie. Once my kid brought it home and I sat with her, I was in love with Edward and Bella. There are disturbing themes in some regards (boundary issues in relationships and what transpires with Bella choosing immortality over her own sense of self) but as a child counselor I say phooey..it's a novel and I love it.. In closing I applaud Rob P for choosing other interesting films such as Little Ashes. He is a diverse actor worthy of more attention. Oh, it's a little cheesy they are choosing Channing Tatum for Riley but will prove quite popular with the girls. I wonder if he and Taylor will compete for better abs..haaaaaaa

    it's all good..enjoy
  • Arielle V
    I thought the movie was fabulous obviously the books are wayyy better because of all the details they give you ifn the book that you can not completely assume with the movie if you have not read the book. But i thought the books and the movie was a complete success but i still do not completely understand why Catherine Hardwicke is not directing the sequel "New Moon" but i guess i haven't seen what the director of New Moon is going to do with it yet so i guess i shouldn't say anything until i see his work
  • ishrat ruqia
    ok catherine did a fantasic job of twilight but she sould have made it better , i think the book is way much better but still they dont need to rush new moon
  • Anonymous
    ASHAN DAVID IS NOT A FAN SHE SUKS!!!!!!
  • Anonymous
    I LOVEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE TWILGHTTTTTTTTTTTT
  • Meghan G.
    I was SSSOOO dissapointed with the movie Twilight. It is a common oppinion that any book is better than the movie based on that book, but the movie was a complete failer. If I had not read the book I would have had to assume a lot in the movie. They never explained that when he was playing the piano that was the song for her.. also when they were recording the scene were Edward and Bella are in the woods and she tells him that she knows he is a vampire...damn! i have never seen so many damn angels recorded before.. if you notice they like covered a hundred different angels on their position in the woods.. and most of them started from the top of a damn tree lowering to were they were (close up).
  • Briana
    I loved twilight SO much it is the best movie EVER
  • Briana
    EWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW!!!!!!!!!!!!
  • Rachel
    No offense, but I watched the interviews with Stephenie and Catherine and well, Catherine always did strike me as the "pushy, rushing" type. I understand wanting to get the movie out asap to the Twilighters, but I agree. It shouldn't be rushed to a point where it's nothing like the book. I also agree with a bigger budget, this 2nd movie could be amazing. Honestly, I LOVED Twilight, but I could even tell that not enough money was spent on this film to make it its best. Maybe this new Chris guy can make it work even better than Catherine. I'm kind of excited about the new director. Catherine and her attitude could really leave town on the horse they rode in on for all I care.
  • Katie
    I read the book Twilight and I thought it was amazing. I saw he movie and I thought it could of been A LOT better! I thank Catherine for being so in to the movie and book, but I am so happy they are bringing a new face the the movie. Please do not rush this movie. It was really painful to sit through Twilight and I want New Moon to be really good. Please make it worth it.
  • Chantal
    I loved the movie, although it was not what I imagined when I finished the book, I was OK with it, could it have been better, sure.. so could a lot more movies. I don't know CH as a director, but I'm gonna thank her for bringing the movie to life.. NOW - for whoever picking up the mantle, lets not rush this, stay true to the story, don't over-sappy it.. we want to laugh, cry, cuss at the characters, the same we do in the book!

    Hey, Harry Potter got his cake and ate it.. why can't Twilight?
  • Kelly
    I dont believe that New Moon should be rushed either, but I have heard the screenplay has already been finished. That is a rush job if you ask me. I did not think that Catherine Hardwicke did a good job directing Twilight. I am glad they are going to have someone else directing New Moon. I just wish they would have gotten someone else to write the screenplay as well, because the screenplay for Twilight was a disaster. Stephenie Meyer didnt intend for Twilight to be a comedy, but Hardwicke's version had people laughing alot, whether at the awkwardness of some of the scenes, or because the actors were just so bad in parts I'm not sure, but people should not be laughing during this movie. It was a deeply passionate yet innocent romance in the books and that just did not come across on screen. Hopefully the new director will do a better job with New Moon and it won't be as painful to watch as Twilight was.
  • andi
    Summit! make this worth it! wtf!
  • Bell
    Well...i like the movie soon but i also want it to have the best quality. They have to make the sequel a lot-and i mean a lot much better than twilight. Coz in twilight, people forgave them due to "budget issues" but this time they can't put any excuse to it anymore. Make our enthusiasm and excitement and our time waiting for this a lot more worth it!
  • Ashley C.
    I agree with NICOLE (below me). Sure it's tempting to have the sequels out really fast, but then I guess rushing the making of a movie is not such a good idea. Yep, we Twilighters want quality.
  • Nicole
    I Believe that the sequels SHOULD NOT be rushed. True Twilighters want QUAILITY . We all want people to see what we see when reading our beloved Twilight Saga. I loved the movie and I believe Katherine can make a great NEW MOON. With a bigger and better budget this can be accomplished. Remember the old sayin. "You can't rush perfection." Twilighters can very critical, so be careful Summit you could of just cut your own throat. Thanx Katherine for believing in the story and having the guts to stay true to the story when no else wanted to, without you we would have no Twilight movie in the first place!!!!!!!!!!
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