DEADLINE HOLLYWOOD DAILY: CATHERINE HARDWICKE FIRED FROM TWILIGHT FRANCHISE
Nikki Finke from Deadline Hollywood Daily is reporting that she has gotten confirmation that Catherine Hardwicke has been fired from the Twilight franchise.
Here’s what she is reporting:
So the rumors are true. I’ve confirmed that Summit Entertainment is taking Twilight director Catherine Hardwicke off the sequel in this big new franchise. No doubt my posting this will speed up the studio’s announcement, and Summit will surely try to spin this as all going down amicably. But that’s only true between Summit and Hardwicke’s CAA agent, not with the director herself. Worse, this terrible news for Hardwicke comes just as she and the Twilight cast are on their European press tour. No doubt, tomorrow’s interviews in France will now focus entirely on what, if anything, Catherine did to deserve this treatment. This also could blow up into a scandal for Summit if it chooses a male director over Hardwicke, whose Twilight easily beat Mimi Leder’s 1998 Deep Impact box office gross as the biggest opener for a female director. That was a record embraced by Hollywood feminists as a sign of growing gal power. Now Hardwicke’s career will surely be damaged by this very public firing. Summit already has started preparing the Twilight sequel New Moon, based on Meyer’s second book in the series, and, to contain costs, the studio is considering making Meyer’s third book Eclipse back to back).The word from inside Summit is that Hardwicke, the acclaimed Thirteen director, “was ‘difficult’ and ‘irrational’ during the making of Twilight,” one insider explains to me. “That doesn’t mean anything when you’re talking about a filmmaker because they all are, but still…” (Indeed, Joe Roth and Sony kept saying those things about Julie Taymor on Across The Universe. Yet she made a cult classic and is now directing Marvel/Sony’s Spider-Man for Broadway.) Says another of my sources, “Summit didn’t like her. They’re saying the [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.” In fact, I’m told that the studio has even had quiet talks with other CAA directors for the last week. “And Swofford never told Hardwicke about that and that she was about to get kicked to the gutter,” an insider tells me. “To add insult to injury, Hardwicke can now look forward to being grilled by the press for days on end, in front of the cast, about why she’s getting canned.”
(Thanks Jackie)
UPDATE: Nikki has updated her post and added that Summit has just phoned in to her and confirmed the news. In addition to this, EW.com has confirmed Summit’s press release that they are not moving forward with Catherine. Here’s what they had to say:
Twilight fans, start your protest campaign now. Summit Entertainment has announced that it will not move forward with director Catherine Hardwicke for the Twilight sequel New Moon. According to Summit’s press release, the studio and Hardwicke could not come to terms on a schedule; Summit’s plan to release the film at the end of 2009 or beginning of 2010 did not work with the amount of prep time Hardwicke wanted to dedicate to New Moon. Similar to the Harry Potter franchise before it, Summit will now look to hire a new director to helm New Moon. According to a statement released by Hardwicke, “I am sorry that due to timing I will not have the opportunity to direct New Moon. Directing Twilight has been one 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.”
UPDATE #2: Summit has released their official statement regarding the matter. To read it, click here. (You have to scroll down until you reach the text in the orange box)
Wow. I don’t even know what to say. This really makes me sad to hear and I am very anxious to hear who will be replacing her.
What do you think of these reports? Are you happy or sad that Catherine is supposedly axed from future movies?
