SUMMIT OFFICIALLY CONFIRMS CHRIS WEITZ AS NEW MOON DIRECTOR
In an e-mail sent out to registered users, Summit Entertainment and Chris Weitz have confirmed that he will indeed be the director for New Moon. Chris also goes on to try to ease fans’ worries, praise Catherine Hardwicke, and express his excitement over New Moon. We’ve also included official statements at the bottom from Summit themselves, and Stephenie Meyer:
Below is Chris Weitz’s letter to fans:
Dear fans of Twilight, New Moon, Bella, Edward and Jacob,In the past few days I have been involved in a whirlwind romance with Stephenie Meyers’ extraordinary books.
And I am very grateful to have received her permission to protect New Moon in its translation from the page to the screen.
For fans of the books and of the film of Twilight, this may come as an unexpected twist. So I want to write briefly to try to put you at ease, and to give you reason to hope for and expect the best.
For the last decade of my career as a director, I have chosen to make adaptations of complex and involved works of literature. This has always begun with the love of a book and its characters, story, and theme; and it has always involved a respect of and responsiveness to the feelings of other people who loved those books.
When I saw the film of Twilight, I was alternately entranced and left hungry for more. I was also struck by the extraordinary passion for the characters, story and theme that was evident in the people sitting in the seats around me. My job is to live up to that devotion.
Like many of you, I am a fan of Catherine Hardwicke’s work. I can’t really say much about why she is not doing New Moon because I wasn’t involved in those decisions. But I can say that I will devote myself to making the very best and most faithful version of New Moon that can be brought to the screen. To those who doubt that as a male director I can capture Bella’s experience, I can only say that emotion is universal and that my work has often involved working with some of the most talented actresses in the world.
For the rest, the proof will have to be in the pudding. But I promise to remain responsive to your hopes and fears.
I thank you for this opportunity and for your faith.
Very best,
Chris Weitz
(Thanks Marie)
And Summit has also posted a press release regarding the news:
Summit Entertainment announced today that filmmaker Chris Weitz has been hired to direct the second film in the studio’s TWILIGHT film franchise. The film, NEW MOON, is based on the second book in author Stephenie Meyer’s blockbuster book series. The announcement was made by Erik Feig, Summit’s President of Production.Weitz, an Acadamy Award®-nominated writer, director and producer, has a proven track record working with a broad range of material dealing with youth-oriented characters, fantasy and action. As such, he has the potential to bring alive in NEW MOON the dimensions and depth that fans will demand in the next installment.
Feig stated, “We love Stephenie Meyer’s fantastic TWILIGHT series. Thinking long and hard about how to turn NEW MOON into the amazing movie we know it will be, and working with Stephenie Meyer to find the right candidate, we are thrilled to announce Chris Weitz as director of the film. Chris very much understands the world of NEW MOON and has the skill set required to bring the book to glorious life as a movie. We think he will be an excellent steward of Stephenie Meyer’s vision.”
“I am honored to have been entrusted with shepherding NEW MOON from the page to the screen,” said Weitz. “The extraordinary world that Stephenie has created has millions of fans, and it will be my duty to protect on their behalf the characters, themes and story they love. This is not a task to be taken lightly, and I will put every effort into realizing a beautiful film to stand alongside a beautiful book.”
Weitz previously penned ABOUT A BOY, which led to an Academy Award Nomination for Best Adapted Screenplay in 2002, and adapted and directed THE GOLDEN COMPASS (2007), which was nominated for two Academy Awards and won the Academy Award for Best Visual Effects. Additionally, Weitz co-wrote the 1998 animated film ANTZ and went on to produce the major box office success AMERICAN PIE and executive produced the film’s two theatrical sequels. Weitz also produced IN GOOD COMPANY starring Dennis Quaid and Topher Grace and executive produced AMERICAN DREAMZ starring Hugh Grant, Dennis Quaid and Mandy Moore.
And last but not least, the lovely Stephenie Meyer herself has addressed the issue:
Hey guys,There’s been a lot of worry and speculation on the boards lately, and I want to let you know what’s going on.
First of all, like you, I’m sad that Catherine is not continuing on with us for New Moon. I’m going to miss her, not just as a brilliant director, but also as a friend. She has such a distinct, authentic voice that did amazing things for Twilight. I’m looking forward to every movie she does in the future.
And she didn’t leave us empty handed. We still get the benefits of her amazing casting and the beautiful visual world she created. This foundation puts us in a good place for New Moon.
Summit Films is moving forward with a new director for New Moon. They’ve asked Chris Weitz, director of American Pie, About a Boy, and The Golden Compass, to join us, and I am very pleased to announce that he’s agreed to be a part of our Twilight world. I’ve had the chance to talk to Chris, and I can tell you that he is excited by the story and eager to keep the movie as close to the book as possible. He is also very aware of you, the fans, and wants to keep you all extremely happy. (Torches and pitchforks are not going to be necessary.)
I’m excited to work with Chris and I think he brings a lot to the table, not the least of which for me is that he wrote the screenplay for and directed one of my favorite movies of all time, About a Boy. I’m really looking forward to seeing his vision for New Moon.
So, we knew this was going to happen, but now that it is officially confirmed - how do you feel? Do you like that he took the time to address some of the issues and worries over his ability to do New Moon justice? And what about his credentials - do you think, based on his prior films, that is a good choice? Stephenie seems to have given her blessing - does that make you feel any more confident about it?
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I was not surprised that he was going to get the job of directing. I feel somewhat okay about it and just really hope that New Moon will be true to the book and have killer effects! since i just realized he won an oscar for the visual effects on the Golden Compass so that helps a lot! I feel more confident that he is directing now cuz i want to see the wolfs come to life! I will be surely anticpating this movies release now. Hope Summit gives more money to to make the movie the best it can be!
Well, I’m glad he took time to address the fans. And that I got to hear from the queen herself. I’m a little bit more at ease. I just want to make sure that the original twilight cast stays on board: I.E. Taylor Lautner. If he comes back and the appropriate budget is given, then I’ll remain forever glass half- full
Welcome Chris! Im glad to see that you are an intelligent man with a similar vision as Stephanie. Im also very ammused that Stephanie reffered to our pitchforks and torches! LOL! I’ve read a ton of negativity latley and that is not only disheartning to the new director but it’s disheartning for the cast. Welcome Chris, and please keep reading the boards, were great directors too!
I’m happy to hear that he’s eager to please us fans and is aware of how important it is to all of us that the movie is faithful to the book. His experience with visual effects also gives me hope that the movie is going to look a lot better than Twilight. I love Catherine but she really left something to be desired with the effects and that was the only real concern I had. I’m happy! I think he’s a good choice. Everyone needs to have a little more faith. Remember how nobody thought Rob would do a good job as Edward? And he’s proved to be amazing!
Oh, and I love Stephenie’s comment about torches and pitchforks! Haha I laughed for about a minute :]
I’m mildy happy… I actually liked The Golden Compass. In fact it’s one of my favorite movies. I really hope he doesn’t mess it all up. Maybe he could stick more tto the storyline than Catherine. idk we’ll see how it goes.
after reading his letter and Stephenie giving him the okay, i’m hoping that everything will be fine, i felt that his letter was sincere and he wants what’s best for the fans, i think if he’s willing to listen to the fans everything will be great - what i’m dying to know is if they’re keeping taylor lautner as jacob or not - i think replacing him would be a very bad decision, he so embodied jacob in twilight and i think he would be great it new moon, i know he needs to grow but i would rather him be cast in the role and deal with the fact that he’s shorter than have a taller actor - plus he’s sixteen, he’s still got a couple of years to grow into his height
I am very excited to see how Chris directs New Moon. He has make some great movies some better than others. But I have so much faith that this movie will be great. I think Summit made a great decision in hiring him. I also have such faith that the movie will not jump around like in Twilight. Let’s give him a chance and see what great wonders this movie will become.
Im really hoping his letter to adressing some of the fans concerns was sincere. He has alot on his plate with New Moon and therefore he better do an amazing job!
Since SM approves, I can be at ease. I will not judge till the movie comes out. I just saw The Golden Compass last night and the effects are amazing, so I trust that he will make New Moon right plus I loved About A Boy. I am happy at the fact that he took the time to address the fans and has the intention of keeping the fans in mind and keeping the movie close to the book as he possibly can.
I think he replied to all the fans in such a sweet and good way.
But I really did not like the golden compass that much.
:/
I hope he does New Moon a lot better.
This is a good thing. I have liked Chris and Paul Weitz for awhile now. New Moon is in good hands. Really.
No pressure Chris! New Moon’d better kick butt!
Keep communicating with the fans, and let us know what the rest of the plan is since there are other issues we are concerned about! Such as:
1) The cast? Are they all in? Keep in mind that they had just lost their “mamma” so they will have to feel comfortable with you so you can get the best performance out of them.
2) Budget. Do you think the rumored 50 mil is enough?
3) The script… rumors that they want to include more Edward where he shouldn’t be!
4) With you on board Chris, we know the special effects will be fantastic but keep in mind the essence of New Moon is about deep feelings, depression and heartbreak more than just cool werewolves transformations.
I am sure there are plenty more issues out there and if you keep reading you will get to find out.
Good luck and all the best!
OMJ!!!!
I’ve been waing forever to hear this!!!!
I so can’t wait to see how this director does!!!
I get to go to the midnight premier for it and when i heard there might not be a New Moon I screamed.
I am okay with this. When I heard that CH wasn’t coming back I decided I would just wait to see how NM turns before I made a decision. But after reading his letter & seeing that he understands how important it is to stay true to the book & please us fans I’m even more at ease. I haven’t seen any of his movies so I’m not sure what to expect. But reading that SM seems to approve that also really helps. I just hope that the werewolves don’t look crappy. (For example in HP 3 I really did not like the werewolf in that movie.) And they had better NOT replace Taylor! I thought he played a good Jacob. I just hope the movie turns out really well. I am also curious to hear what Kristen & Rob & the rest of the cast think of this change.
This sounds heartfelt. Someone is listening. And I agree with his assessment of the first movie without being overtly critical.
im just glad they finally picked someone..im still not sure how i feel about having a new director, but i guess i dont really care either way just as long as they keep the whole cast and they doing everything right from the book.
I’m looking at Chris’ addition as a positive event. I’m sorry to see Catherine leave, but the show must go on. Since he was nominated for an Oscar for his special effects on one of his movies, I have some faith that he will do well for New Moon. He has an amazing cast to work with which will bring New Moon to life on screen.
I am pleasantly surprised at how soon Mr. Weitz met with the concerned Twilight masses. I’m sure that by now he knows that we are a force to be reckoned with, Hale hath no fury like a Twilighter Scorned!!!!
His letter seems sincere and makes me hopeful. But I’d heard that Melissa had already completed the screenplay and that the script was done. So does that mean that he could change it all? I really loved how he stated that he wants “to protect New Moon in it’s translation from the page to the screen” - Sounds promising huh?
I believe Chris’s letter lets us know that he respects the fans and cares what we think, so it’s great that it’s the first thing we’ve heard from him. Stephenie’s letter is important as well. If in fact Chris is friends with Feig from Summit, it should only help our case as there could be more motivation to give Chris what he feels he needs to do well. I just hope New Moon will have more the heart and sensibilities of About a Boy and the great effects of Golden Compass, and not the other way around.
Registered where? I’m a registered user of TA and didn’t see an email, and don’t see any place to register at SummitEnt.com. Am I missing something? Thanks all!
I am exceptionally pleased that Stephenie Meyer seems to approve of Weitz.
That is all that matters to me because she is the one in charge to be hovering around him to check that the movie stays true to the book.
P.S. (Torches and pitchforks are not going to be necessary) made my crack up very loudly!
:)
I, for one, am fine with the change to Chris Weitz. I am a fan of his previous work (especially About a Boy and In Good Company) and am looking forward to his take on the saga I’ve fallen in love with. I realize that Summit is being selfish in their dismissal of Catherine Hardwick, but I honestly feel that the Twilight movie was severely lacking in actual acting (as well as the screenplay could have been slightly less trite.) So…I’m optimistic about Chris.
I don’t think any movie could truly touch the depth of the books considering we get to see the thoughts of the characters in the books in such depth and barring a massive amount of voiceover work (which is kind of annoying anyway), we are left with a slight interpretation of the works we love so much.
Anyway…hope everyone out there is as excited as I am about the continuation of the movies and just want to send out some twilight love to all!
I think that his letter was sincere, and that he will do a great job with New Moon.
I haven’t seen The Golden Compass yet, so perhaps I will check it out over the holidays. But I’m not going to base my decision of him based on this movie alone. Just because a movie isn’t in your own personal taste, doesn’t mean that the director is immediately at fault.
Let’s take SM’s approval and excitement as positive energy, and hope that the end product is what we all imagine it will be.
SUMMIT OFFICIALLY CONFIRMS CHRIS WEITZ AS NEW MOON……
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After reading CW and SM letters, I have to say I am a bit more at ease. I like the fact that Chris did write to the fans and knows we are a major player in the Twilight phenomenon.
I love how SM referred to our pitchforks and torches….it was funny. I do have some concerns aboout Jacob still and the rumored budget for the film. But overall, I feel it is in good hands. Lets get excited abiout NM!
Welcome Chris! As long as you stick strictly to the book, you’ll be awesome. Many of us are so sad that Catherine isn’t continuing, but we’d be sad if YOU were leaving too, if you had been the original director and done as well as Catherine did with Twilight.
Be nice to Robert Pattinson.
He has brilliant ideas.
Well, he “says” all the right things. Just hope he knows what he’s doing and stays true to the book. Just don’t rush it. If NM can’t be ready by Nov. that’s OK-we’ll wait. We’d rather have a great movie and if we have to wait a few more months to get it, that’s fine.
KEEP TAYLOR and the whole cast intact!
Loved the Torches and Pitchforks line - that made me LOL! I hope SM is right and we won’t need them! Ha ha!
I think it’s humorous that SM mentions torches and pitchforks in her letter.
Anywho.
I think it’s rather exciting that New Moon is going to get a different director…although The Golden Compass was beyond terrible (actually I think it was right on par with Hardwicke’s Twilight) so I think it’s a toss up as the how it’s really going to go. Honestly though, the movie could be shot on a HANDY CAM and it would be better…AS LONG AS THEY REPLACE THE SCREEN WRITER WHO WROTE TWILIGHT. She’s the only one who should be chased with pitchforks. New Moon needs to be angsty and SAD-unfortunately, thanks to the screen writer of Twilight, we’re left not sure if Edward and Bella are in love (their relationship apparently developed in two days filled with longing stares into each other’s eyes).
I think Chris is a good choice and has a lot to bring to the table. He has experience in both writing and directing and has incredible vision when it comes to carrying out a story and keeping true to the characters. We will not be disappointed.
welcome chris! when i read the announcement, i was very pleased (relieved actually)… to be honest, i thought catherine did a terrible job in twilight, which was supposed to be the BEST book of the series… what a waste! and i definitely agree with adrienne, the script was SHALLOW and did not emphasize the bella-edward’love story… new moon should show bella’s sadness and emptiness after losing edward, and hope (a new found love perhaps?), through jacob’s friendship… despite the rumors about taylor being miscast, i hope you keep him and compensate with special effects on the height issue… i know you’ll do good… best of luck
I am excited about what Chris Weitz has to offer and so I eagerly say to Chris, “Bring it!!” My only concern is that it was not entirely Catherine’s fault that the special effects in Twilight were subpar. She had a much larger vision and plan set in place to bring Twilight alive, but was ultimately hamstrung by a very limited budget. She would have given us better if she could have and that to me is Summit’s fault, not her’s. So…again with a very limited budget set of 50 million (which I believe includes the pay raises the actors will be receiving, giving not much more $ than Twilight had to work with), will Chris be able to do a whole lot better with that? I really hope so. To Catherine, Thank You!! I think you got the shaft and have become the scapegoat for a lot of the negative criticisms surrounding Twilight. I wish you all the best. ^_^ To Chris, thanks for committing. I have hope that you can do this well, because I can’t imagine anyone signing on if they knew they wouldn’t be able to put out a stellar product in the end, one that their name would be branded on forever.
Stephenie Meyer’s blessing *does* make me feel better. However, I also realize that, even if they had hired someone she wasn’t in favor of, she still would have had to act positive. You can’t be publicly negative about something you’re involved in like that. Still, what’s done is done, and she says he wants to keep us happy, so hopefully everything will work out. (I still miss Hardwicke, though)