M: Chris Weitz moving on to new project

[Bellerophon]

Good luck to him. I thought The Golden Compass was alright, but think it may be best if Hollywood forgets about HDM for awhile. I'd like to see a quality remake some years down the road -- one that puts more emphasis on the plot and less on packaging.

I don't think it's fair to criticize Weitz for taking the Twilight job. It's just that -- a job. The guy doesn't get a paycheck when he's not making a movie. Big-budget directors are not artists, they're paid professionals. The only time you have artistic freedom with that type of material is when you produce the film yourself.

As for the Twilight books, I'm sure they're exactly as-described. My little sister loved the movie and I think it's because it feeds her delusional hope that the perfect man is out there who will treat her like a sickly child. How a young woman who grew up with HDM can now be dying to read this check-out-aisle trash lit is beyond me. Have some self-respect woman!

[sfsraffie]

Yeah, I'm now pleased about it to. Anything that could possibly give hope for a TGC DC...

[green ink]

Aw, he does it again.
Chris Weitz wrote a letter to fans of the Twilight books, explaining how he means to do right by the book and that he cares about fans.
you can find it here: http://www.newmoonmovie.org/2008/12/letters-from-chris-weitz-and-stephenie-meyer-to-fans

I have to say that's really nice. I'm sure you can make some cynical jokes about how he did that for The Golden Compass fans as well and look how that turned out, but I do think it shows a genuin concern on behalf on the devoted readers of the books he adapts. Also, I think it was pretty clear that with The Golden Compass Weitz in the end wasn't really to blame for the failure of the film. I'm sure an eventual director's cut would restore the film to a more recognisable version of the story. (and to those who doubt that there'll ever be one. Darren Aranofsky recently completed a new cut of The Fountain, a film that I think, came out before The Golden Compass and which fared worse.)

About his fan-friendliness, if he screws this one up he'll have far more to cope from than from us Sraffies. Those Twilighters can cue up for miles carrying petitions:)

[TheRealNeo]

It's disappointing that he this year never said something to us hdm-fans...

And for the director's cut thing. Aronofsky plans to do a new cut and his movie gain on dvd and bluray much fans.

I think meanwhile New Line and Chris Weitz hope that they never even made The Golden Compass. If he now gains success with twilight it's over with his personal wishes of a director's cut and that is disappointing of him. All over the year we tried to support him and to defend him, but now he just goes on with no word of excuse or something to us.

[daemon_light]

~*iguana*~ THIS LOAD OF PISS!!

Ahem. Sorry... now that that's out of my system. This really ticks me off. This means that plans for Subtle Knife (with Chris Weitz) are NOT happening. Well, at least the Twilight Saga has some hope as a film series now... but I just hate knowing how much more money it'll make compared to any of the possible His Dark Materials films, (which are definently better material). Oh well... if Chris Weitz isn't involved, I vote for Alfonso Cuaron.

[tyche]

Everything I know about twilight comes from people on the internet taking the piss out of them but they sound terrible. I think something like twilight that’s almost guaranteed to make heaps of money is exactly what Weitz needs after TGC though so I hope it goes well for him.

[daemon_light]

Everything I know about twilight comes from people on the internet taking the piss out of them but they sound terrible. I think something like twilight that’s almost guaranteed to make heaps of money is exactly what Weitz needs after TGC though so I hope it goes well for him.

Yes, that's true. Good way to look at it! Who knows? With a load of money, he may be able to pay for a Golden Compass director's cut for us!

[TheRealNeo]

Then he need A LOT.

The Troy director's cut cost 3 millions with new special effects and that weren't much.

I don't think that Weitz gets that much for the twilight movie(s) that he can spend millions for the compass director's cut and I don't know if he now still cares that much about it.

[daemon_light]

Then he need A LOT.

The Troy director's cut cost 3 millions with new special effects and that weren't much.

I don't think that Weitz gets that much for the twilight movie(s) that he can spend millions for the compass director's cut and I don't know if he now still cares that much about it.

Well hopefully he'll get a lot... Honestly, I would be okay with the effects they have for the ending already. They didn't look terrible in the theatrical trailer, and we saw quite a few shots of the ending in very early previews. I don't care if the effects are OUTSTANDING, I just want to see what they have...

[TheRealNeo]

Yes, but maybe they just finished the effects for the scenes in the trailer, becuase there the effects didn't look like they were unfinished.

And by the way it wouldn't concern just the ending, because in the end he wants nearly add an hour of new footage including the ending.

But just time will tell what we get to see and what not.

[Stelmaria7]

They proable won't do TSK because TGC had such bad rewiews and didn't make that much money. mabe in a few years when they finish HP and Twilight i can't wait for The Bartimaeus Trilogy though. But they always mess things up.

[Nieko]

Im auditions for New Moon!!! (the film that CW is directing)

But dosent look like TSK will ever be made at all... rumours about decisions being made by the end of this year? Dosent look likely at all,

1) they made little profit on TGC
2) The sold foreign rights
3) lots of protests against the books and films
4) No real money making oppurtunity for warner bros in making the others, Dakota has got older, people are losing interest, the only people that want it to be made are fans and will parry hopefuls, not enough to make warner bros lots of profit ..

Lets hope for a remake in 25 years, where we can all audition for Asriel!

And for those that are giving the Twilight saga a bad time... read them first!!!... They may not have the visual and special affect possibilites that his dark materials does... but there is so much emoition, my favorite books of all time.. and im a guy!! lol.. The books just go soo deep into the feelings of the characters its overwhelming, i absolutly love the TWilight saga and am currently in auditions for a role in it!!

[Grumman]

Via New York's magazine Culture Vulture blog (the one that also ran the script reviews) I found out that Weitz is being rumoured to direct the sequels to a popular teen fantasy film based on a series of popular books.
Unfortunately it's not the books we were waiting for. But apparently he's in talks for directing the sequel to Twilight.
Since its director: Catherine Hardwicke, has been let go because she was supposedly impossible to work with.

Now far be it from me to comment on Weitz' taste in literature. The Twilight books seem absolute dreck, but Weitz does seem like a good choice for this.

So the chances for the sequels we want may have gone up. If he does commit to this, there's a good chance it could bring him a lot of succes>money>standing in Hollywood. Enough maybe to get The Subtle Knife off the ground.

Yes, he's had tremendous success working with tweens and teens (About A Boy as director and writer, American Pie as producer and uncredited director). But Chris Weitz also did The Golden Compass (as writer and director), and my source says Summit Entertainment liked the look of that even if it didn't heat up the domestic box office

Full article here: http://www.deadlinehollywooddaily.com/source-twilight-sequel-offer-out-to-director-chris-weitz/

That actually sounds fine to me:
1. It's about time Weitz (and other people) get over it regarding HDM sequels,
2. He's more suited to direct adaptations of such novels as the Twilight series. He might even get an award for it!

[TheRealNeo]

So now that it is official, that he won't direct Part 3 of the Twilight, we can have little hope in 2010 again that something happens concerning a director's cut.

[Michael555]

I hope something happens concerning a director's cut. They aren't making the sequels, so they absolutely SHOULD release a DVD for the director's cut. It'd be disgusting for them not to.