April
30th
A note to YOU from ‘Breaking Dawn’ Director Bill Condon!
I just want to say hello to all of you and let you know that I’m stoked to be getting underway on the adventure of making BREAKING DAWN. As you’ve probably heard, I’ve been given a very warm welcome by Stephenie and Team Summit – who are super-focused, as you know, on getting these movies right.
I’m pretty busy bringing myself up to speed on what you already know by heart: I’ve read BREAKING DAWN twice, rewatched Catherine’s and Chris’s movies 2-3 times each, have all four CDs playing in my car, and have Catherine’s notebook, Mark Cotta Vaz’s companion books, and even Volume 1 of the graphic novel here on my desk – a corner of my office is starting to look like Hot Topic. I realize that this barely qualifies me for “newborn” status in the universe you’ve been living inside for a few years now, but a guy’s gotta start somewhere.
Like many of you, I’ve always been slightly obsessed with vampires, dating back to the prime-time series DARK SHADOWS, which I followed avidly as a kid. But that alone hadn’t been enough to get me interested in making a vampire movie, even though my early screenwriting and directing efforts grew out of a great love for horror movies and thrillers. Since making GODS AND MONSTERS thirteen years ago, however, I’ve been yearning for a return to a story with Gothic overtones.
The wonderful world that Stephenie has created has obviously struck a chord with you, and I don’t think it’s difficult to see why. For me, her characters are simultaneously timeless, yet very modern. Rooted in a beautiful, real landscape with a great sense of place, Bella, Edward, Jacob, and the rest of the Forks/La Push menagerie, experience emotions that are primal, and universal: desire, despair, jealousy – and it all comes to fruition in BREAKING DAWN. This is a final chapter in the best sense; not just wide in scope and scale, but emotionally charged and intense throughout.
I’m a huge admirer of the already-iconic Kristen, Robert, and Taylor, and wanted to be the one to work with them as they face the challenges of bringing your beloved characters to the end of their journeys. Really, what could be more fun than that?
Please feel free to ask questions in the comments section below, and I’ll do my best to answer them. I hope that this will be the first of many occasions I’ll get to check in with you as we set to work bringing BREAKING DAWN to the screen. I am excited and grateful to have all of you alongside me for my TWILIGHT journey.
All best,
Bill Condon
P.S. Answer #1: No, there won’t be any musical numbers
From us Twerds to you, Welcome Bill!
April
30th
April
30th
More BRAND NEW pics of Robert Pattinson in Vancouver!
Robert Pattinson stopped to sign some autographs while leaving lunch in Vancouver today with a friend.
[via PopSugar!]
April
30th
New pic of Robert Pattinson in Vancouver today!
Here is a new pic of Robert Pattinson smiling today in Vancouver as he left lunch! Bleach incident on the ol’ jacket there, Rob?
[RobPattzNews & PopSugar]
April
30th
Nikki Reed was spotted at the premiere of “Ondine” last night (April 28).
Nikki Reed (who plays Rosalie Hale) was spotted at the premiere of “Ondine” last night (April 28). As always, Nikki looked dazzling. Her hair is beyond beautiful, too 
[Photos: source]
April
30th
New pics of Jackson Rathbone by Phoenix Taylor!
New pis of Eclipses Jackson Rathbone from the No Sleep Photobook by Phoenix Taylor! These are really stunning!
The pic below blows me away… his eyes! B.E.A.UT.I.F.U.L!
[ifelthope via lunanuevameyer]
April
29th
What Director Bill Condon Might Do With “Breaking Dawn” (PopSugar Video)
This is funny. PopSugar talks about the possibilities for Breaking Dawn now that we know Bill Condon will be directing it…
April
29th
ClevverTV talks Bill Condon as ‘Breaking Dawn’ Movie director!
clevverTV talks Bill Condon as the Breaking Dawn director. What do all of you Twi-Hards think of this selection? Feel free to tell me via our official Twitter HERE!
April
29th
LA Times: What kind of ‘Breaking Dawn’ will Bill Condon make?
Hollywood has been churning for weeks, “Dreamgirls” director Bill Condon will come on to direct the fourth installment in the “Twilight” franchise, no doubt prompting an unlikely spike in “Gods & Monsters” DVD sales among teenage girls. (Condon’s name was first reported as a “Breaking Dawn” candidate back in March by Entertainment Weekly.)
Condon has generally been thought of as the more logical choice, at least compared to some of the other directors under consideration, like Sofia Coppola and Stephen Daldry.
In making the choice, Summit, which has gone for a different type of director for each film in the franchise, clearly wanted someone with more Oscar chops (Condon’s won one and been nominated for a second). That’s both because the “Breaking Dawn” material is a little more complicated than the previous books and because with the franchise already an unstoppable juggernaut, they can afford to take a risk, at least a small one.
So what kind of teen-vampire fable will the man responsible for “Dreamgirls,” “Gods & Monsters” and “Kinsey” make? None of his previous directing credits are obvious analogues to this movie (though the initial frenzy over him as a candidate was a little baffling; good filmmakers reinvent themselves all the time. And it’s nothing compared to Rob Marshall, another man known for musicals, taking on “Pirates of the Caribbean 4″).
Each of Condon’s directorial films (he also wrote “Chicago,” but we’ll leave that one out) contains a strand that can be put front and center in “Breaking Dawn” if the director chose (some spoilers ahead if you’re not familiar with the novel).
“Dreamgirls,” for all its pomp, centers on the larger world persecuting an anointed one, a neat parallel to the ordeal faced by Bella’s child. It also tells a sprawling story from several perspectives, as the “Breaking Dawn” novel does.
“Monsters,” which tells of the personal and creative trouble of “Bride of Frankenstein” director James Whale, could come in handy if Condon wanted to explore the demons that come from within, a plight particularly faced by Bella throughout the series.
And a “Kinsey” influence would mean the foregrounding of a misunderstood but right-minded outsider, which kind of describes all three main protagonists in the series but especially, in this book, describes Jacob, who breaks away from his family over their murderous intentions for Bella’s child.
As a rule, Condon has been preoccupied with the underdog in his movies, though one who ultimately triumphs and finds vindication, which fits nicely with the themes of “Twilight.”
Still, plenty of other questions will arise as production moves forward — namely, whether the film will shoot in 3-D, how the likely second film that will come from the “Breaking Dawn” novel will be developed, and how the timing of this one will unfold, with Summit eager to keep the momentum going but Condon, like most Oscar winners, accustomed to working at a slower pace.
In “Gods & Monsters,” Condon depicted a filmmaker beset by troubles as he tried to make an expectation-laden tale of the supernatural. Here’s hoping life doesn’t imitate art.
[LA Times via Gossip-Dance]
April
28th
Bill Condon hopes to make Breaking Dawn “Unique”
Bill Condon spoke with Access Hollywood, and responded to the announcement that he will be directing the Breaking Dawn movie. Here is what he & Stephenie had to say:
“I’m very excited to get the chance to bring the climax of this saga to life on-screen,” Bill said in a statement to Access. “As fans of the series know, this is a one-of-a-kind book – and we’re hoping to create an equally unique cinematic experience.”
“Twilight Saga” author Stephenie Meyer also approved of the decision.
“I’m so thrilled that Bill wants to work with us,” she said in a statement. “I think he’s going to be a great fit, and I’m excited to see what he does with the material.”
The long-awaited announcement did not indicate a release date for the film, nor an answer to the rumors that the plot-heavy fourth book would be adapted into two films, a la “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.”
When reached by Access on Wednesday, Summit could not confirm the possibility of two films.
Read more here.
[Via Team-Twilight]
