Harwicke won't direct 'Twilight' sequel (DHD, VAR, THR)

By Nancy Tartaglione-Vialatte

Summit Entertainment will not enlist “Twilight” director Catherine Hardwicke for the planned sequel, "New Moon,” it was reported Sunday by DeadlineHollywoodDaily.com. The move comes despite the fact that “Twilight” has already generated nearly $140 million at the box office after just three weeks. In a statement, Summit and Hardwicke cited the shingle’s desire to rush the movie into production as one reason for their split.

Summit is looking to release the film by the end of 2009 or the start of 2010, but Hardwicke wanted more prep time.

"Twilight" screenwriter Melissa Rosenberg handed in a draft of "New Moon" the weekend that "Twilight" opened. Negotiations between Summit and Hardwicke lasted two weeks before Hardwicke formally passed on the film Saturday.

Summit Entertainment Co-Chairman/CEO Rob Friedman told DHD, "Catherine and Summit have agreed to part ways on the sequel because our visions are different."

"I am sorry that due to timing I will not have the opportunity to direct 'New Moon,'" said Hardwicke. "Directing 'Twilight' has been one of the great experiences of my life, and I am grateful to the fans for their passionate support of the film. I wish everyone at Summit the best with the sequel - it is a great story."

"Catherine did an incredible job in helping us to launch the 'Twilight' franchise, and we thank her for all of her efforts and we very much hope to work with her on future Summit projects," said Summit production president Erik Feig. "We as a studio have a mandate to bring the next installment in the franchise to the big screen in a timely fashion so that fans can get more of Edward, Bella and all of the characters that Stephenie Meyer has created. We are able to pursue an aggressive time frame as we have the luxury of only adapting the novels into screenplays as opposed to having to create a storyline from scratch."

The word from inside Summit, wrote DHD on Sunday, is that Hardwicke, "was 'difficult' and 'irrational' during the making of Twilight…That doesn't mean anything when you're talking about a filmmaker because they all are, but still..."

No director is currently attached to the sequel.