'New Moon' Director Chris Weitz Has 'Maybe One More Film' Left

"New Moon" hits theaters on Friday, to the delight of Twilighters everywhere. The director, Chris Weitz, is a favorite of fans and cast members to helm the (technically still unconfirmed) fourth installment in the series, "Breaking Dawn."

Unfortunately, the enthusiasm may not matter much anymore. Weitz, who is previously known for his work on another fantasy adaptation, "The Golden Compass," as well as the Oscar-nominated "About a Boy," is thinking about folding up his director's chair and putting away his pen. Whether or not "New Moon" is a critical success, offers will surely follow in the wake of its release. From the sound of things however, Weitz already has his next project mapped out. After that... the show might be over.

"Every time I make a movie I’m pretty much convinced it’s the last time I’m going to be able to do it and that really it’s a rather silly occupation to undertake," he said in the interview (via Film School Rejects). "But I think I have maybe one more film in me."

From the sound of things, that film will be what Weitz describes as "an homage to 'The Bicycle Thief,'" off of a script written by Eric Essen. "I’m always looking for my last film, where I can put the brush down," Weitz explained. "This is the one… It’s a beautiful story… I feel that I have now spent a decade of my life in training to know how to make films—how to accomplish every aspect of it—and I feel that if I were to do this one film, I’d feel okay just sitting back and reading. I’d really like to read some books."

Weitz has more in mind than simply reading, of course. He'd like to "be a better surfer... learn to speak Spanish fluently... to travel around, live in Italy... learn kung fu." Buried at the root of Weitz's ambivalence is lingering frustration over how "The Golden Compass" panned out.

"I really wanted that to be my masterpiece... the piece that you do that says to your peers that you’re ready to stop being a journeyman and start being an actual craftsman," he said. "Unfortunately, the edit was taken from me and whatever chance I had at that was also taken from me, which is kind of sad."

As someone who used to make a living in another line of work, only to abandon it over frustrations with the industry as a whole, I can totally respect where Weitz is coming from here. That said, he does say that "I feel like I'm still learning" and that the process has become "exhausting." My hope is that he soldiers forward and at least reaches a point where he feels competent in his work. It's a shame to see talent wasted, and if Weitz backs away before reaching what he considers his full potential that's exactly what will happen.

Then again, everybody needs a vacation once in awhile. Maybe, after what was surely a very hectic shoot for "New Moon," he just needs some time to deflate and get his head together.

Have you see Weitz's previous work? What's your take on what he's saying here?

Tags chris weitz, New Moon, Twilight