Why 'Twilight's' director got the boot

There's no way to put a pretty frame around this picture. After Catherine Hardwicke delivered an immensely lucrative franchise starter with "Twilight," a film that will put Summit Entertainment on the map, wiping away all the company's other losses and missteps, she was rewarded by being pushed aside, with Summit making it clear over the weekend that it's beginning work on a "Twilight" sequel without her. There is an enormously complicated back story to the events, but what really happened here was another example of the age-old collision between art and commerce.

Director of such indie-style films as "Thirteen" and "Lords of Dogtown," Hardwicke is an incredibly gifted filmmaker who gave "Twilight" an emotional intensity that helped the movie capture the heart-racing intoxication of Stephenie Meyer's novel, making the film a must-see for teenagers everywhere. (It's now grossed nearly $140 million in 18 days of release.) But Hardwicke is also a notoriously difficult, high-maintenance filmmaker who wears her emotions on her sleeve. This emotional intensity cuts both ways--it brought something special to the movie, but it made life a vertiginous roller-coaster for many people working on the film, from crew to executives. 

On an indie film, prickly auteurs are a dime a dozen--they come with the territory. But in a shockingly short time, "Twilight" went from a quirky cult project, aimed at a teen subculture, to a massive, mainstream franchise. The indie movie suddenly became a mass-production product. The day after the movie opened, Summit announced that it wanted a sequel by late 2009. As Anne Thompson reports in today's Variety, Melissa Rosenberg, who wrote "Twilight," delivered her first draft of the sequel the weekend "Twilight" opened. Summit chief executive Rob Friedman, who deserves a lot of credit for supporting a project that had been put in turnaround by Paramount, the studio where he was a top executive for years, seems to have made a classic studio-style risk vs. reward decision: The sensitive artist who was the perfect filmmaker to launch the franchise was the wrong person to run the show once the project became a blockbuster franchise.

Hardwicke supporters say she had long ago soured on the prospect of being involved with the kind of franchise where a release window takes precedence over a finished script, saying she didn't want to be involved with a sequel, believing it would be more an assembly-line product than an artistic challenge. But after "Twilight" became a box-office phenomenon, her reps at CAA gently tried to persuade her to stay on board, especially if Summit would grant her creative control on the sequel. Like any filmmaker, Hardwicke felt a lot of love when "Twilight" swept across the pop-culture landscape, not to mention a pride of authorship in its success. But when she registered a lack of enthusiasm in the new script, it quickly became obvious that Summit would seek a more pragmatic filmmaker to helm the follow-up film.

What does this tell us about Hollywood? And was there a guy-girl conflict behind Hardwicke's departure? Keep reading:

Rob Friedman insists that the "Twilight" sequel, "New Moon," was not being rushed into production. "We love the draft she turned in," he says. "Melissa has worked very hard on the material and was an integral part of what made the original film such a success. This is not a rush job. The movie only gets released when its finished. I'd like it to be next year, but we're not going to put out a bad movie to hit a release date."

On the other hand, Summit can't dawdle. Unlike with "Harry Potter," whose characters aged with each book, the characters in the "Twilight" series remain young forever, so if the studio is going to rely on its newly minted stars, Kristen Stewart and Rob Pattinson, to carry the entire series, it has to move full speed ahead. Summit has options on its lead actors, but since they are now in demand for other films, if Summit doesn't press ahead quickly, it could lose them for months on end to other productions.

Hardwicke's abrupt departure has also fueled rumors that she clashed with the all-male hierarchy at Summit. It's a charge often leveled at Hollywood's largely all-male executive ranks, which has a woeful track record of hiring female filmmakers on mainstream studio projects. Friedman insists there were no gender issues. "It's an insult to me personally as well as to our company. I'm the father of four daughters. When I was at Paramount, we did Kathryn Bigelow's 'K-19: The Widowmaker.' I was the person who marketed Mimi Leder's 'Deep Impact' [often cited as one of the most commercially successful films directed by a woman]. Here at Summit, one of the first films we've bought was 'The Hurt Locker,' which is also directed by Kathryn Bigelow. We would definitely make another film with Catherine Hardwicke, just not the sequel to 'Twilight.' "

Still, given the choice, most studios prefer to keep the director who started the franchise rolling, whether its Sam Raimi with "Spider-Man," Steven Soderbergh on "Ocean's Eleven," Brett Ratner with "Rush Hour" or Jay Roach on "Austin Powers." On "The Dark Knight," Warner Bros. has made it clear that the franchise will only proceed when Christopher Nolan, who brought the Batman franchise back to life, says it's ready to go. Summit's handling of Hardwicke's departure is more reminiscent of what Universal did with its "Bourne" series, which was also in the hands of a prickly indie filmmaker. Doug Liman launched the franchise with his dazzling "The Bourne Identity," but he went way over schedule and drove the studio crazy with his improvisational perfectionism. Even though the movie was a big hit and seemed to carry Liman's personal stamp, the studio ditched him, bringing in Paul Greengrass, a filmmaker with equally indie-minded credentials who could better deal with the deadlines and demands of a studio environment.

Summit's challenge will be to find a filmmaker to take over the "Twilight" series who has artistic credibility but who can handle the challenge of a ramped-up filming schedule (Summit's goal is to film both the second and third books in the series next year.) The most closely watched part of the decision will be the gender component. If Summit picks a guy, it will be open to criticism from the female filmmaking community, which is already furious over how few studio jobs go to women. But the female filmmaking gene pool is small. Most successful female directors are indie filmmakers, not studio pros, which would put Summit back in the same awkward situation of hiring a personal filmmaker who can't--or won't--embrace the by-the-book filmmaking model of most franchises.

Maybe I'm blinded by my fondness for Hardwicke's style of filmmaking, but I'm betting she won't have any trouble finding new projects to helm. If nothing else, the success of "Twilight" proves that a fiercely independent filmmaker can make a hugely successful commercial film. That's not just good news for Hardwicke, who now has some box-office clout to go with her art-house cred (even if she's probably getting deluged with bad vampire scripts as we speak). But it might even open a few doors for some other indie filmmakers eager to prove they can make good movies that make money too. 

Photo of Catherine Hardwicke by Stefano Paltera / For The Times

Comments

[Elizabeth Boston]

I have to say that my self I am glad that Katherine Hardwicke is out on the sequal. I have nothing against her as a director, but I feel this movie could have been so much better than it was. Although the target audience was teenage girls. I feel that if they had of had a different director then the movie could have reached a wider range. Having read all the books prior to going to the movie, I myself was very disappointed and only hope that the second in the series will be better.

[katie aka twilight mom]

UNLIKE MANY, I AM DISAPPOINTED...AS I KNOW HARDWICK COULD ONLY GET BETTER W/ TIME & MORE FUNDS.

[Kim Fenton]

Two words: Alfonso Cuaron

[Kim Fenton]

Alfonso Cuaron or Guillermo del Toro

[Angelica]

I'm happy about their choice to give her the boot. The actors in the movie were awesome. They provided a great image for the book's character's. But the movie itself was not all that impressive. People need to remember, fans went to see this movie because of Stephenie Meyer not Catherine Hardwicke. She made the movie, but fans would have seen it no matter who made it. Twilight fans love the books, they'll go see New Moon, even if it is a male director. Catherine Hardwicke wasn't the biggest part in the sales. It was the actual novel that made the sales.

[Veronica Black]

Creativity itself is not lost becuase "main stream" has grasped something so wonderful as the Twilight series. I'm always taken aback when the "creative" think this so. Twilight the books fabulous, Twilight the movie a bit choppy and Edward while good,the weekest link. Mr. Pattinson is an actor being directed......perhaps Ms. Hardwicke wasn't the "perfect" fit.

[Cathryn de Prume]

Bad move!!! I'm a huge Twilight fan. Read all the books. Saw the movie twice the first week. Will see it again. I'd rather wait for Catherine Hardwicke's New Moon than a churned out studio sequel. Do they really think the the beautiful stars will age that much over a few years?? Jesus, give the audience some credit. You know how many thirty year old actors play twenty? To me, a big factor why the film was such a huge hit was that it was REFRESHING. It was completely different than anything we've seen. And so much of that I'm sure was because of Catherine Hardwicke's heartfelt direction. Summit was looking like such a cool new studio but it looks like money is becoming most important. I'm very disappointed.

[Valerie R]

I am very sorry to see her go. I really like the style of the movie, it seemed to be very real, not movie like.

[Twilight Mom]

Congratulations Summit Entertainment
Fact it is a Phenomenon, due to Stephanie Meyer.
Hardwick is an incredibly gifted filmmaker yet missed the emotional intensity of “Twilight”. If you haven’t read the book how could you understand the passion and longing they have for each other. How they feel one could not live without each other and the physical pain each of them feels when apart? The movie downplays the book. Defiantly not a love story. The movie a great disappointment. I can only hope the studio steps up with
“New Moon”. This is defiantly the book to make all the corrections in.
Good luck Melissa Rosenburgh.

[Twilight Mom]

Congratulations Summit Entertainment
Fact it is a Phenomenon, due to Stephanie Meyer.
Hardwick is an incredibly gifted filmmaker yet missed the emotional intensity of “Twilight”. If you haven’t read the book how could you understand the passion and longing they have for each other. How they feel one could not live without each other and the physical pain each of them feels when apart? The movie downplays the book. Defiantly not a love story. The movie a great disappointment. I can only hope the studio steps up with
“New Moon”. This is defiantly the book to make all the corrections in.
Good luck Melissa Rosenburgh.

[Cara]

I have yet to watch a movie and believe it was better then the book. Mostly because the use a screenplay model - WHY?
If we wanted the model we would not enjoy the books so much. They have been bought and passed around, and bought again. So I think It's wonderful that she will not be allowed to contribute to the dilution of the sequels - every change from the book to the screenplay was a negitive move as director she should of fought for the book. Everyone connected to this movie should have respect for the books, and work to create them verbatim -
Without the whole story the movie was weak and disjointed.
Maybe a new director will give a the sequels a stronger tie to the books.

[jenniferg loves zach e]

this really sucks she did such a good job and they can not change the charaters it just won't be the same cause it will lose a lot of viewers

[Renee]

People have to remember that the director is the person "making" the film, not writing it. She didn't want to make the movie like an assembly line and she is the one that wanted the New Moon to be more like the book while adding great effects. I think that it's a shame that Summit is just concerned about making money then the final product. They are going to rush the movies, downplay the books and in the end, people will be disappointed in the movie and the only reason that anybody will go see it will because of Rob and Kristen, and the co. knows it, they are no even sure they are going to use the rest of the cast in the next movies, why mess with that? I hate it when you have a movie, and when you decide to make the sequel, you change the actors or the script...it should be interesting, but at least we can always go back to reading the books and know why we fell in love with Edward and Bella in the first place...

[ally]

i agree with the Twilight Mom I don't think that Hardwick did not bring the real love story between Edward and Bella. I did enjoy the movie but i was dissapointed that the love that the 2 main characters show each other in the book was not captured on film, I am hoping that the new director that takes on New Moon can do a better job.

[anna]

CATHERINE COME BAAAACK!

She did a wonderful job with Twilight, and she loves it just like we do. She cares about making it good, and pleasing the fans, not about how much money it will make. I will not begrudge the new director, I will however begrudge the idiots that got rid of her.

[Sindy]

She sucks and I'm glad that she's gone! Now I'll actually want to see the the next movies in the theaters and not on DVD.

[Emmett's Wifey]

Twilight the movie could have been so much better and that may have been due to the lack of funds or/ and Hardwick. I have seen her other movies and have loved them but she did not do Twilight justice. I'm looking forward to seeing what the next director does with 'New Moon'. (Hopefully she/he gives Edward a better wardrobe because any Twilight fan knows that Alice wouldn't let him walk out the door looking like he did in this movie).

[Emmett's Wifey]

Twilight the movie could have been so much better and that may have been due to the lack of funds or/ and Hardwick. I have seen her other movies and have loved them but she did not do Twilight justice. I'm looking forward to seeing what the next director does with 'New Moon'. (Hopefully she/he gives Edward a better wardrobe because any Twilight fan knows that Alice wouldn't let him walk out the door looking like he did in this movie).

[Rachel B]

"If nothing else, the success of "Twilight" proves that a fiercely independent filmmaker can make a hugely successful commercial film."

I disagree with that.

While Catherine did a great job directing Twilight, the reason the film is so huge commercially is because of the fans that Stephenie Meyer has for her books. Without the books, Twilight wouldn't have had a huge fan base and all the hype, and likely would have flopped. Or not flopped, but it would've had a hard time turning a profit. Catherine did a good job bringing the book to life, but the movie itself, and Catherine's directing, aren't very large in the "success" formula. It's the books, the fans of the books, who would've gone to see Twilight almost regardless of who directed it, that made it a success.

[shannon]

I'm really sad to hear this news. Makes me think poorly of Summit. This is just ridiculous. I loved Catherine's artsy, indie feel. Also, she really supported & illustrated a magical connection between the two leads.

This is a woman's movie. Female lead, female author, female screenwriter, and female audience. Summit's male execs better honor that with a female director.

[yvetty]

I think its good that katherine got the boot, she became a bit too attached with her image of twilight and she didn't notice that everyone had their own views. She didn't do a horrible job but I'm sure it could have been better. I don't hate her. . . Honestly, I just think someone else might do new moon justice.
Only time will tell.

They better not ruin new moon though, like they have to catch robs and kristens chemistry!!
Its the heart of there romance.
:]

[Patty]

I cant believe Catherine will not be directing the sequels...very dissapointing!!

Now, I'm VERY AFRAID of who is going to take over.... I loved Twilight and I'm afraid the next person just wont do a good job...

[Amanda W]

The big thing for me is that the next director needs to realize how important the fans of the series are. If that person doesn't than things won't go down well.

[OKokOK]

I think Catherine should still be the director. BUG HALL SHOULD BE IN NEW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
BUG HALL!!!!!!!!!!!!
BUG HALL!!!!!!!!!!!!!
BUG HALL!!!!!!!!!!!!!
BUG HALL!!!!!!!!!!!!
BUG HALL!!!!!!!!!!!!!
BUG HALL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
BUG HALL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
BUG HALL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
BUG HALL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
BUG HALL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
BUG HALL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
BUG HALL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Le Prof]

I don't know who was responsible for junking about 85% of the novel's angsting, adding in a touch of humor, and a tiny bit of plot, but whoever did it has my undying thanks. Too bad they didn't keep her. The baseball scene was a lot of fun.

As for "two words: Alfonso Cuaron," or the suggestions I've read elsewhere, Sofia Coppola or even *Peter Jackson*: are you serious? Summit wants to produce the next movie with a small budget (40 million) in a year. Whoever it is would have to start yesterday. There is no way any of them would touch a movie that involves that much paranormal stuff and special effects on such a tiny budget and ridiculous shooting schedule. Add to that touchy fangirls, an author who insists on a soundtrack by Muse, sparkly vampires, and a source that blows glittery chunx: no.

Almost any name-brand directors or second string people have already got projects right now. I guess they're thinking of running down Santa Monica Boulevard and screaming "we're desperate!"