Chris Weitz: One scene he regrets making

New Moon was panned by critics despite its box-office success. There were scenes in the film that was laughed at despite the film’s beautiful cinematography. However, according to director Chris Weitz, there is one scene that he regrets filming.

“I wouldn’t have shot Bella running through the forest with Edward, because I’ve never been at a screening of the film in which people didn’t laugh at it,” Weitz told me. “My heart sinks every time I hear that.”

“The moment anything is shown anywhere in public you can see it on the Internet in about a second,” Weitz said. “Something being shown at the Rome Film Festival for 400 people is given away instantly, [such is] that extreme portability of media.”

So how will he do it again, given a chance?

“I think I would’ve shot it in a much simpler way, and have it be an extreme close-up on Kristen and her eyes. She’s got a great face, and that would’ve been very satisfying. But I’m a sap,” Weitz said.

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Interviews: Chris Weitz on New Moon DVD and Breaking Dawn (updated)

He was the man in-charge for the second Twilight film and now with only a few days before the film will be released on DVD and Blu-Ray, New Moon director Chris Weitz chats up about the process of filming one of th the most anticipated movies of last year, sorting through the materials that are going to be included and not, and working with his young cast. Here are the excerpts of his interviews:

Movie Web:

What has the transition been like from New Moon to Eclipse? Is David Slade bringing his own style to the project? Or did you guys discuss how to get the look and feel of what both you and Catherine Hardwicke have created into what he wanted to do? Was there a lot of back and forth between you three directors for continuity?

Chris Weitz: I think the continuity is supplied by the actor and the series of books. I can guarantee that David is bringing a new look and feel to it. Just as New Moon looked different from Twilight, I’m sure EclipseNew Moon. That is good. I don’t want to make anybody follow any type of particular aesthetic. The reason he was brought on was to make every movie different. I think Eclipse is much more action-intensive. For instance, I am pretty terrible at shooting action. He is much better in that regard.

Were you disappointed that you wouldn’t be continuing on in this world? Or was once enough?

Chris Weitz: That was always planned. David needed to go into prep while I was cutting my movie. Because these films are staggered in terms of their release. There was no disappointment. I miss the cast. I do. I liked them very much. By the time I was done with New Moon, I was completely exhausted. I don’t think I could have done it anyway. If that was ever the plan.

I paid attention to the promotional tour for this film, and it looked exhausting. What did that entail for you exactly?

Chris Weitz: It was very strange. It involved a lot of traveling. For a couple of weeks every day, you would show up in a new country, go do a press conference, and then be displayed to what could only be considered a stadium full of Twilight fans. Who were screaming so loud, your ears would short out like a speaker that has its volume turned too loud. It was unlike anything I have ever encountered in my whole life. There is something really wonderful about that. There’s also something wonderful about knowing that isn’t going to happen every time I step out in public. As for the kids, it’s a bit different. They have to deal with the ramifications of this franchise for the foreseeable future.

Did you almost feel like an interchangeable cog? Or do you feel like you were able to bring something out of the franchise that another director may not have found in the material?

Chris Weitz: Let me see. I don’t know if that is for me to say. You would have to ask the actors. What I really care about is working with the actors. Giving them free reign to do what comes naturally to them. I would say that our relationship is very, very close. That is what makes it work. That’s what the fans care about. Okay? I’ve done lots of CGI before. That stuff is very familiar to me. And I was able to work with the people who’d get it right. But what mattered most was working closely with the actors. will look different from

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Going for the Gold In “Twilight,” RPattz and the rest of his vegetarian vampire cohorts have gold-colored eyes as a result of abstaining from consuming human blood. For “New Moon,” the vamps’ eyes were clearly more golden. Why’d Weitz have his actors switch to brighter contact lenses?

“It’s a more noticeable gold,” Weitz said. “I thought that in the first film they hadn’t popped quite enough and I wanted to have that sense of otherworldliness carry through more.”

The Silent Vampire Actress Rachelle Lefevre was notoriously replaced in her role as the vampire Victoria following “New Moon,” with Bryce Dallas Howard taking over the part for “Eclipse.” In “New Moon,” Lefevre is seen but does not speak. Is there a connection between her lack of lines and what happened with the casting decision?

“It wasn’t so much that,” Weitz said. “There was a dialogue scene with her, and eventually that will show up whenever they release deleted scenes. It was one of those scenes that, when you look back at it, it’s kind of a surplus to the whole storytelling requirement of the movie. So there was no ill intent there. I wrote Rachelle and explained why that scene didn’t end up in the film, and in terms of filmmaking I can’t regret it, although I do regret it very much if it hurt Rachelle’s feelings.”

“Of course I’m interested,” he said, but went on to add that he thinks another director could sink his teeth into a future project and guide the franchise to even greater heights.

“But I think I’m on record saying I have a 2-and-a-half-year-old son,” noting the grueling nature of making these films. “Because it’d be such a long shoot for ‘Breaking Dawn’, it kind of brings me to the edge of my physical and mental endurance,” he explained. “And I just don’t believe I have it in me, and I think that it’s appropriate that someone else go ahead and do it.”

IESB:

IESB: In doing the commentary for the New Moon DVD, was there anything that you realized you regretted having to cut, or did the final cut of the film meet all of your expectations?

Chris: I was very satisfied with the final cut of the film, personally. It was what I had set out to do.

IESB: Were there any specific parts of the film that you were most looking forward to talking about for the commentary?

Chris: I was very happy to talk about some of the more complicated shots that we did, like the roundy-round shot. That was a bit in which we took what was a series of chapter headings in the book and turned it into a motion-control shot in which the seasons passed as Kristen Stewart’s character, Bella, remained in the same place. What I like to do with CG is to use it as expressively as possible, and not to make things blow up good, but to sometimes render something ineffable that would be very difficult to do in camera. That involved a lot of work, in which a motion-control camera captured the movement of our steady-cam operator. So, it was a pleasure to talk about that, and about what goes into something like that.

IESB: Having had to deal with stunts, green screen, CGI, weather, bugs and everything you had going on, what was the biggest challenge in bringing this film to the screen, so as to please as many of the fans as possible?

Chris: I think the greatest challenge was the logistical load of it. When you’re talking about taking a film from beginning to end in one year, it’s difficult to do that with a normal film where people are just sitting on their butts, talking to one another. But, when you add in underwater work, heavy CGI work and wire work, it becomes extraordinarily complicated. And then, you add in getting the London Symphony Orchestra to record a soundtrack, and getting 10 or so indie bands to compose songs especially for the film, there are a lot of timelines that are ticking along, at the same time, and you hope that you are able to combine it all at the right point. And, you always end up, just at the last minute, on the last day, your final CGI shot comes in. There are about 400 and something CGI shots, which actually isn’t that many compared to what I’ve done before, but it’s quite a lot. It can complicate things when you’re in the editing room.

IESB: Did you have any preconceived notions, coming into this film, about what it would be like to work with Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson and Taylor Lautner, prior to filming with them? And, was there anything you learned about working with them that really surprised you?

Chris: I think what surprised me most was how level-headed they were, given the kind of pressures that they were under from the attention of the fans and the number of things that could have taken their head out of the game, and how much they really cared about getting their characters right. In the second film, in a franchise in which you know that people are going to go see it anyway, it’s very impressive to see young actors who really care about getting things just right. It’s the first time I’ve actually been twice the age of the actors, except on About a Boy, but that was really working with a child actor. These guys are actually rather grown up. I was surprised at how old I actually felt, in comparison to them. At the same time, I was really impressed by their professionalism.

To read the interview in its entirety, click on the link above.

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Update: Here is also an exclusive interview with Chris Weitz from E!’s Marc Malkin.

What do you think of Breaking Dawn being broken into two parts?
The book is very dense, so it’s appropriate that it’s broken into two parts. And I think that even though Twilight fans kind of want to have as much as they can at any one given time, I think they would be sad if it ended too abruptly.

What do you think of the idea of the violence and sex from the book being played out on screen?
A lot of it takes place offstage, offscreen, so I’m not sure if the sexuality presents a tremendous problem. The violence and the gore…I don’t think those are a particular problem either, because the MPA that sets the rating for it doesn’t have a huge problem with the violence for some odd reason.

Who do you think should direct the films?
I love Martin Scorsese, I love Wes Anderson, I love Michael Winterbottom. I’m not sure any of them would feel like this is their next best step, to direct a film in the Twilight series.

Is the obsession over Rob and Kristen’s possible romance ever going to end?
They’re both so appealing and attractive, and it’s very fun to think about them being together. But myself, I’ve always tried to maintain plausible deniability by knowing as little as humanly possibly as I could about what is happening, and I will continue to do so.

Do you have any advice for them?
The pressure they’re under and the amount of scrutiny they’re under is nothing that I’ve ever had to face. If I ever have that many people that interested in what I’m doing, I’ll call Rob and Kristen and ask them what I should do.

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Catherine Hardwicke attends “Have a Heart for Haiti” Fund-raiser

Twilight director Catherine Hardwicke was seen recently attending the “Have a Heart for Haiti” fund-raising event. The event was hosted by Emile Hirsch, Zoe Saldana and Michelle Rodriguez. Several celebrities attended the event including Gary Oldman, James Marsden, Lily Collins, Marley Shelton and Topher Grace.

Party goers had the chance to bid on some pretty hot items like tickets to the premiere of Twilight: Eclipse, floor seats to a Lakers game, or 3 nights in a secluded Maui resort.

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Catherine Harwicke inspires future film makers

Catherine Hardwicke is one of the speakers for the Campus Movie Fest where she imparts her knowledge in making films, making references to Thirteen and Twilight. She also spoke with Entertainment Weekly, where she cleared up rumors regarding the conflicts of her three upcoming movie projects.

“I love all three of these projects. I’ve done drawings, location scouts, trailers, budgets, etc. for each of them. I wish it was my choice!“Before Twilight was greenlit, I had four projects at four studios. I worked super-hard on all of them, but Twilight was greenlit first.”

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New Moon Secrets revealed

Now that all of us has seen New Moon, is there something that you have noticed? Such as hidden things or appropriately placed symbols and things?

New Moon director Chris Weitz revealed 10 Secrets of New Moon to Entertainment Weekly such as hidden wolf symbols and many more. Here are a few:

1. Hidden wolves
”Look for an upside-down engraving of a wolf in the shot of the bowl in which Carlisle burns his first-aid equipment; on Jacob’s T-shirt when he meets Bella in the school parking lot for the first time; and a wolf trinket on the dream-catcher that he gives her.”

2. Vampire elevator music
”When Edward, Bella, and Alice get into the elevator on their way to see the Volturi, the music playing in the elevator is from Strauss’ Die Fledermaus (a.k.a. The Bat).”

3. Emotional baggage?
”When Bella is looking for the meadow where she and Edward are seen lying down together, she carries a golden compass clipped to her backpack — part of my baggage!”

To view the rest of the list, click on the link above.

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David Slade tweets Eclipse progress

Eclipse director, David Slade tweets the progress that he has made with the third Twilight film Eclipse. According to him, the wolves are looking better and that Eclipse needs to use a more realistic approach. He also mentioned that they still have two hundred days more to go.

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Chris Weitz: His New Moon fears and triumphs

Entertainment Weekly has a new interview with New Moon director Chris Weitz were he discuss his New Moon fears, triumphs and what he will remember from the cast. Here is an excerpt:

ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: What was your biggest fear going into [opening] weekend?
CHRIS WEITZ: I didn’t have any particular fears. The tracking numbers were enough to indicate that I wouldn’t be letting the studio down. But if one could imagine their biggest fears, it would be complete rejection of the movie, by the fans. What I’ve realized over the last week is I won’t necessarily get good reviews for this movie. Having swallowed that, this was made for the fans, and if you don’t get it, then you don’t get it.

Did the negative reviews surprise you?
Nothing surprises me in terms of reviews. Having been a reviewer myself, there are only two ways to spin this story. You can either be the one guy who says this is a great movie, or more likely, take a more jaundiced view of the whole thing. And given the media blitz that has accompanied New Moon, it’s rather unsurprising. I do wish there was more appreciation for cinematographer Javier Aguirresarobe. I think he’s a genius and I think he made something beautiful.

A lot of fans say they like the movie more than the book, that New Moon was their least favorite book in the series.
New Moon takes a lot of time to read and you have a lot of time without Edward in the picture. And here in the compressed scenario of the movie, there is less time without RPatz. And the fact that Taylor [Lautner] does such a great job, to the reading audience who’s been very skeptical of him, here he is in the flesh, and it’s quite something.

Were there moments that you felt constrained by the book? Anything you wanted to take out but couldn’t?
The studio, my editor, and I were all working off the same piece of music. The only way I can make that interesting is to compare it to my previous experience of The Golden Compass. I don’ think the studio had read the book. Maybe they had heard the audio book while sipping Zinfandel. Eventually, they were appalled and frightened by it. At a certain point they considered cutting loose the author. They considered and executed the complete regearing and destruction of what I thought was going to be a pretty good movie. It was a shame and pursued me through what should have been my sleep for a good year.

To read the rest of his interview, click on the link above.

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Chris Weitz directs The Gardener

Variety has announced that director Chris Weitz is set to direct “The Gardener” for Summit Entertainment. The film is about a hard-working immigrant who lives in Los Angeles and his efforts to protect his son. Eric Eason wrote the screenplay. Weitz has mentioned that production will begin in March or April.

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Time Magazine: an interview with Catherine Hardwicke

Time Magazine has posted a new interview with Twilight director Catherine Hardwicke. Here is a excerpt:

TIME: You directed Nativity Story and Twilight, based on very popular books. So which is a bigger — Twilight or the Bible?

Hardwicke: (laughing) Probably Twilight. I know it seems strange, but at the time it didn’t seem that big at all. We knew there was a passionate group of people that loved it. When I took it on it was much, much smaller. At the time [Summit execs] were saying, There might just be 400 girls in Salt Lake City blogging about this — we don’t know how big this audience actually is.

A big ingredient of the success are the lead actors. Talk about casting Robert Pattinson.

The Edward character, I had no idea who that was going to be. For him, the bar is so high. He had to be drop-dead gorgeous and a great actor. I met all of these guys I felt were quite good. [But] they didn’t seem to have that special other quality that they were alive for 105 years and they had gone through all the things that Edward had gone through.

When I talked to [Pattinson] on the phone in London, at the time he was — as he likes to say — unemployable. He was in between gigs and broke. He took the risk to fly over on his own dime and stay on his agent’s couch. She called and said, Be honest, do you really not have your Edward? I don’t want to bring him over here for nothing. I said, To be honest I don’t have it. And I cannot cast Rob without meeting the person and seeing how he works with Kristen [Stewart]. This is all about chemistry.

To read the rest of her interview, click on the link above.

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The man of the moment: Chris Weitz on New Moon

The man of the moment is director Chris Weitz, who’s adaptation of New Moon will be coming under fan scrutiny when it hit theaters this Friday. Mr. Weitz sat down with Rolling Stones where he talked about the movie’s wildest stunts, loyalty to which team and the scenes you wont find in the book. Here is an excerpt of his interview:

You said everyone’s been asking you about the pressures of taking on such a successful franchise, and they also want to know why vampires are so popular.
Honestly, there weren’t really any pressures for me because there was a guaranteed audience which meant that even if I made a terrible movie people would still watch it. So once you got that reassurance [laughs], you just set out to make the best movie possible, which is what we aimed to do. And I’ve felt nothing but support from the fans since day one — actually day one there was a little doubt because I have a Y chromosome, but ever since then I’ve felt a lot of love from the fans.

And why vampires?
I’ve actually realized that Stephenie Meyer’s vampires aren’t really vampires — you really don’t see many crosses, there’s not much garlic, they don’t sleep in coffins, they can go out in the day time — they just look more beautiful. It’s just more like Greek gods. So, in some ways it’s about this girl who falls in love with this demi-god. I think that symbolizes your first love — the person you’ve fallen for who you think will never never possibly return your affections.

How much did you research vampires before starting the movie?
Absolutely zero. My research is reading Stephenie’s books and talking to Stephenie and seeing the first film and knowing about the actors — getting familiar with the work that they’d done, but not much vampire-ology.

I read that you had this idea about the movie looking like a Victorian narrative painting in terms of the colors — how did you come to approach this film from that angle?
In terms of a model for cinematography I think it’s a good one, which is to say the Victorian paintings, especially the pre-Raphaelites, told stories in a somewhat sentimentalized and very beautiful fashion. These books are not afraid to be sentimental or romantic and I wanted every aspect of the production to be unafraid to go to a very romantic place.

Whereas the first movie had a lot of tortured rock & roll kind of love to it, I wanted this one to be a sweeping epic. In many ways it’s a much bigger film — in terms of the ground it covers, the emotions and the places it goes to — so I really wanted to make a classic-looking movie that was classically composed and classically shot. It had a classical score in a sense and [composer] Alexandre Desplat is very much from a school of composers who can work very much in a classical vein and in a contemporary vein. There is a sort of groovy component to it, which is the soundtrack, which we were able to get all of these amazing bands to compose for us, which is incredibly gratifying.

To read the rest of his interview, click on the link above.

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