Ok, I didn’t want to, but I’m going to write about it: There was a bit of a blogger feud over Deadline Hollywood Daily’s early announcement that Juan Antonio Bayona of The Orphanage was in talks with Summit Entertainment to film the third Twilight movie, Eclipse as part of the company’s interesting and probably not misguided release schedule of 3 Twilight movies in 2 years.
That blew up in DHD’s face which resulted in much mocking and much reservation when people like me want to get online and talk about who might be directing the vampire franchise that stands to get millions and millions of tween romance dollars while I watch the old Blade movies (yes, “old” as in: these are not the vampires we’re used to) and patently wait for True Blood to start airing - ‘cuz if I’m gonna watch a vampire romance, I’d like it to be where I can see boobs. Possible Evan Rachel Wood’s (CLICK HERE for more on that).
That said, we now have an official press release that has named the director of Eclipse. And it’s the same guy who did Hard Candy, the Ellen Page torture film and 30 Days Of Night, another vampire flick…
The Press Release:
Los Angeles, CA April 22, 2009 – Summit Entertainment announced today that David Slade has been hired to direct THE TWILIGHT SAGA: ECLIPSE from a screenplay written by Melissa Rosenberg. THE TWILIGHT SAGA: ECLIPSE, the third film in the studio’s TWILIGHT film franchise based on the Stephenie Meyer’s blockbuster book series, will be released theatrically in North America on Wednesday, June 30, 2010. The announcement was made by Erik Feig, Summit’s President of Production.
Meyer stated, “I am thrilled that David Slade will be directing ECLIPSE. He’s a visionary filmmaker who has so much to offer this franchise. From the beginning, we’ve been blessed with wonderful directorial talent for the Twilight Saga, and I’m so happy that ECLIPSE will be carrying on with that tradition.”
Feig said, “Stephenie Meyer’s ECLIPSE is a muscular, rich, vivid book and we at Summit looked long and hard for a director who could do it justice. We believe we have found that talent in David Slade, a director who has been able to create complex, visually arresting worlds. We cannot wait to see the ECLIPSE he brings to life and brings to the fans eagerly awaiting its arrival in summer of 2010.”
Filmmaker Slade came to prominence as a director for his work on 2006’s engrossing film HARD CANDY starring Academy Award® Nominated actress Ellen Page as well as directing 2007’s genre hit 30 DAYS OF NIGHT which opened to number one at the box office its first weekend of release.
In ECLIPSE, Bella once again finds herself surrounded by danger as Seattle is ravaged by a string of mysterious killings and a malicious vampire continues her quest for revenge. In the midst of it all, she is forced to choose between her love for Edward and her friendship with Jacob — knowing that her decision has the potential to ignite the ageless struggle between vampire and werewolf. With her graduation quickly approaching, Bella is confronted with the most important decision of her life.
Slade is represented by William Morris Agency.
I gave you guys the press release on this one because the quote from Steph Meyer is oh-so-much-bullshit. I’ve read a bit about the closeted Mormon-pusher over the past few months and I can tell you with a fair amount of certainty that Meyer didn’t seek out Hard Candy or 30 Days Of Night on her own, if she’s seen them at all.
The interesting thing is that they are bringing someone like Slade on. There are echoes her of Alfonso Cuarón giving us the most artistically impressive Harry Potter film with Prisoner of Azkaban because of Eclipse’s vampire-on-werewolf battles.
Not that I’m planning on seeing the Twilight Saga since I managed to miss the first, but news is news and seeing someone with hard R movies joining the romantic tween vampire train is certainly interesting.
