Throughout the weekend, Twilighters from all over are gathering in Parsippany, New Jersey, where the first of what is sure to be many Summit/Creation Entertainment co-sponsored fan conventions is happening. Among the gathered celeb attendees is "Twilight" director Catherine Hardwicke, who is currently juggling a quartet of follow-up projects: "Hamlet," starring Emile Hirsch, "The Girl With the Red Riding Hood," for Leonardo DiCaprio's Appian Way shingle, "If I Stay," and "Maximum Ride."
Hardwicke's shifted focus away from Stephenie Meyer's teen vampires didn't stop her from sharing some behind-the-scenes facts yesterday during a Q&A. Fans probably weren't surprised that the director had to get creative in stretching "Twilight"'s budget to do what she wanted. The big shock of the day was the original vision of Robert Pattinson's Edward Cullen, which included a head of long, flowing locks. Read more...
While talking to Emile Hirsch this week about his new movie “Taking Woodstock,” Collider.com got some new details on the actor’s upcoming reunion with “Twilight” director Catherine Hardwicke. The two previously worked together on “Lords of Dogtown,” and now they’re closely collaborating on a modernized version of Shakespeare’s “Hamlet.”
Hirsch, who helped conceive of the idea of this college-set take on the tragic play, mentioned a film he’s looking to for inspiration. “It’s almost like mixing ‘Hamlet’ with ‘The Shining’ a little bit,” he told Collider.com, “and making this kind of scary-cool vision of the play.” Read more...
UPDATE: Just to be thorough, I now know that the Variety info came from a post on The Hollywood Reporter's Risky Biz Blog. The news is made quite a bit clearer in Steven Zeitchik's post there, stating that Hardwicke is "in early talks with Sony to take on its feature version of '21 Jump Street.'"
If you followed the source link in Chris Campbell's earlier post, on Catherine Hardwicke taking the reins for "The Girl With the Red Riding Hood," you may have noticed that the Variety article also pins the "Twilight" director to "21 Jump Street." That project, adapted from the '80s TV series about undercover cops operating as high school students, already has a script from Jonah Hill. No other announcements have been made however, so it is surprising to see such seemingly big news revealed in such an offhand way.
As it turns out, there was no reveal. Hardwicke's publicist told MTV that "it's too early" to say anything, and that Hardwicke "isn't attached" to the adaptation. While that certainly leaves the possibility open that she could sign on for the project, it might be tough with her plate being so full. Read more...
What do you do when you’re denied the directorial gig of “New Moon”? If you’re “Twilight” helmer Catherine Hardwicke, you apparently find a similar-seeming substitute. According to Variety, Hardwicke is signing on to direct a version of the “Little Red Riding Hood” story -- now titled “The Girl With the Red Riding Hood” -- which will involve its share of werewolves and teenage romance.
When we first reported on this project, it was simply being labeled a “Gothic reimagining.” But MTV Movies Blog speculated that “with all of the 'Twilight' popularity raging across the globe… a werewolf is our likely candidate for the antagonist in Appian's take on the tale.” I guess Hollywood is that predictable these days? The initial report had no foresight into the additional tidbit, that the movie will focus primarily on a teenage love triangle. Read more...
Modernizing Shakespeare is so hot for ’09. A few weeks ago we learned that “Twilight” director Catherine Hardwicke is tackling an update of the Bard’s “Hamlet” starring Emile Hirsch. Now The Hollywood Reporter brings news of a “modern-day makeover” of “Macbeth” titled “Come Like Shadows.” Little has been revealed about the plot or contemporary alterations of this second adaptation, though like the “Hamlet” update it is being labeled a thriller.
Pete Travis, who has just been hired to direct “Shadows,” further describes it as being “a bold, sexy addition to my slate of films. It’s a powerful, tragic morality tale about personal and political corruption. An awesome, epic story for our troubled times, its irresistible tension holds the audience in a vice like grip, its raw emotion will break their hearts.” Read more...
FROM MTV.COM: Under the watchful eye and creative mind of director Catherine Hardwicke, "Twilight" stars Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart have gone from virtual unknowns to superstar celebrities. And if Hardwicke has her way, the trio not only have a past and present together, but a future as well.
"There's a few projects in the future that I hope we get to work together on," Hardwicke revealed to us on the red carpet of Hollywood Life's Young Hollywood Awards. "We'll see."
Continue reading Catherine Hardwicke Hopes To Reunite With 'Twilight' Stars
It was a pleasant surprise last week to learn that director Catherine Hardwicke had 8 other takes on the classic “Twilight” line: “You’d better hold on tight, spider monkey.” It was even more pleasant when she gave those alternate lines to MTV, and we revealed them in a little quiz on the MTV Movies Blog.
But the most pleasant surprise of all? My little joke about Robert Pattinson’s hair tricked 21% of you guys into thinking it was real. Hee hee!
Yep, that’s right: Out of the 4 options that we ran on Friday, these are the 3 real lines that Catherine gave to Robert Pattinson on that memorable day of filming: Read more...
If there’s any doubt remaining that Catherine Hardwicke is one of the coolest people on the planet, let me now put it to rest. Last week, the “Twilight” director had us over to her house to see the infamous bed where she auditioned Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart, the stairs that Taylor Lautner sat on while auditioning for the role of Jacob Black, the living room where KStew and RPattz first practiced the classroom scene and other notable items in her beautiful Venice, CA home/office.
When we were in her kitchen, Catherine also showed us her personal shooting script, housed in a glass shrine to “Twilight.” While flipping through the pages, we found the now-famous “You’d better hold on tight, spider monkey” line scribbled in a margin. Read more...
By now you've surely read the news that "Twilight" director Catherine Hardwicke will be taking on a contemporized version of William Shakespeare's "Hamlet," and the Emile Hirsch has been tapped for the starring role. Hardwicke credits Hirsch for the story idea, which brings Hamlet's story "to a small East Coast liberal arts college where Hamlet's father is the president." The story will open with Hirsch's character returning home to attend dear old dad's funeral.
That's really all we know so far. Hardwicke will direct, once she's finished writing the script with Ron Nyswaner. Hirsch will star, though the contemporized setting could mean a shift away from the name 'Hamlet.' The character is universally known however, as is the rest of "Hamlet"'s colorful cast. And seeing as how Hardwicke is tapped in to all of these hot, young stars after her work on "Twilight," we can't help but wonder who among them she might tap for the other major roles. Read more...
Catherine Hardwicke and her "Lords of Dogtown" star Emile Hirsch are reuniting for a trip to the rotten state of Denmark. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Hirsch is set to play Hamlet in Hardwicke's big screen adaptation of the Shakespeare play.
Of course, they won't really be going to Denmark. Hirsch helped develop a modern retelling that will deal with the same themes -- a young man who must decide whether or not to avenge his father's murder by killing his uncle -- but will take place in contemporary America. Don't expect a lot of "To be or not to be" soliloquies, as this "Hamlet" will sport a new script penned by Ron Nyswaner ("Philadelphia"). Joining Hirsch and Hardwicke are "Milk" producers Dan Jinks and Bruce Cohen, who say their goal is "to present the story as a suspense thriller. We want to make it exciting and accessible for an audience today." Read more...
