REUTERS: CATHERINE HARDWICKE TALKS LIFE AFTER ‘TWILIGHT’
Reuters gets to spend just a minute with Catherine Hardwicke, and they get her take on life post-Twilight and what she is currently working on.
LOS ANGELES (Reuters Life!) – With last year’s surprise box office smash hit “Twilight,” Catherine Hardwicke had the biggest U.S. opening weekend ever, $69.6 million, for a female director of a Hollywood movie.Among her follow-up projects, she has been picked to reteam with her “Lords of Dogtown” star Emile Hirsch on what has been called a supernatural version of “Hamlet” at a liberal arts college. It is being developed by Overture Films.
Hardwicke, whose other films includes teen coming of age tale “Thirteen” and biblical drama “The Nativity Story” spoke to Reuters about connecting with teenagers and life after “Twilight.”
Q: “Twilight” cost $37 million and made nearly $382 million worldwide. Do you feel pressure to top yourself?
A: “I don’t think that’s possible, and I don’t think that’s a healthy way to think. “Twilight” was a phenomenon — the stars just aligned on that film. Thank God (director) Ridley Scott didn’t stop after “Blade Runner.” He made “Thelma and Louise” and “Gladiator” and a million other interesting movies. I still want to make other good films that won’t lose money.”
Q: Do you have a process you go by when it comes to developing projects?
A: “I’ll literally pay three Hollywood readers who don’t know me to read my scripts under the radar and give cold comments. And at the early screenings of my movies, I’ll hand out questionnaires that can be filled out anonymously so people can be brutally honest because to your face they won’t be. I’ll take the papers home, read them by myself, cry and go ‘My God, that was the coolest scene and everybody hates it!’ But that’s fine because my goal is to always make it better.”
Q: How have things changed for you since “Twilight”?
A: “Right now I can say in a meeting: ‘Well on ‘Twilight’ this is how we did it and this is how we made it work.’ And people go, ‘Oh wow, that movie made money.’ They listen to me a little bit more than before.”
Read the entire interview, here.
I hold a lot of Shakespeare, including Hamlet very close to my heart, so I’m interested yet feeling cautious about a “supernatural version” of Hamlet. I’m glad that since Twilight, more people in the industry are listening to Catherine a little bit more.
What do you think of Catherine’s interview? What do you think of her ideas for Hamlet? Are you glad Catherine now seems to get more respect?
