Robert Pattinson, Kristen Stewart, Taylor Lautner: Edward, Bella and Jacob in Chris Weitz’s The Twilight Saga: New Moon
The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn, the last installment in the Twilight series, has been given a Nov. 18, 2011, release date, as mentioned in a previous post. Directed by Oscar winner Bill Condon from a screenplay by Melissa Rosenberg (based on Stephenie Meyer’s bestselling novel), Breaking Dawn will once again follow the romantic travails of Edward Cullen (Robert Pattinson), Bella Swan (Kristen Stewart), and Jacob Black (Taylor Lautner).
Both Catherine Hardwicke’s Twilight (2008) and Chris Weitz’s The Twilight Saga: New Moon (2009) were mid-November releases as well. Both movies went on to earn a fortune around the world. New Moon, in fact, had a record-breaking debut weekend.
Now, the late fall release date could be only a matter of logistics and timing. After all, Breaking Dawn should start filming in fall 2010; delays almost invariably happen while quality post-production takes time. Also, Breaking Dawn is darker than the previous installments in the series; in other words, it wouldn’t be exactly like your typical summer fare.
But there’s something else as well. Summit made a point of looking for an Oscar-caliber filmmaker for the project. Stephen Daldry, Sofia Coppola, and Gus Van Sant were mentioned before Bill Condon finally signed on to the project. So, could Summit also have hopes of getting (at least) a few Oscar nominations for their late-year release?
In the last 12 years, Bill Condon has directed three narrative features. Total number of Oscar nominations: 12 (three for Gods and Monsters; one for Kinsey; eight for Dreamgirls).
Don’t laugh. If the Harry Potter movies can get Oscar nominations, why can’t the same happen for a Twilight movie — even if only in the technical categories (though Condon is a remarkable actors’ director)?
Neither Twilight nor New Moon earned any Oscar nominations. In fact, they were all but ignored during awards season. We’ll see what happens with Eclipse.
The Twilight Saga: Eclipse, directed by David Slade, will open in the US on June 30. In addition to Robert Pattinson, Kristen Stewart, and Taylor Lautner, Eclipse also features Bryce Dallas Howard, Dakota Fanning, Peter Facinelli, and Xavier Samuel.
Photo: The Twilight Saga: New Moon (Kimberley French / Summit Entertainment)
hahahahha.you are so funny? no i dont think so..honestly guys if you read breaking dawn ,you know its a full crap..the book is so badly written..although i might say it will still earn money at the box office..but oscars i dont think so..maybe the final harry potter..it has potential and it was praised by critics…but we all know oscars does not favor fantasy movies…
Thank you.
I’ve amended Joan’s piece.
A friendly heads up. You might want to correct the following sentence:
“Eclipse, in fact, had a record-breaking debut weekend.”
Surely, you must mean New Moon as Eclipse hasn’t opened yet, though I’m sure all involved hope you are prescient.