After Catherine Hardwicke helped bring in the biggest box-office numbers ever for a female director, her dismissal brings to mind the question of gender for the replacement director. Can a man really get the feel for the Twilight universe as well as a woman?

Some argue that a female sensibility is vital to capturing the lovesick heroine of Stephenie Meyer’s vampire romance. While I agree that no one understands angsty teenage girls quite like someone who once was an angsty teenage girl, that in no way negates a man’s ability to bring this story to life. Remember that while the novel is told from Bella’s perspective, the big screen incarnation doesn’t live solely in its heroine’s mind. Each character (both male and female) must become a fully-formed entity in and of themselves — something any good director (male or female) should be able to do. Many of our greatest romances have been largely male produced. One of my personal faves (don’t judge) is The Notebook — a novel written by a guy (Nicholas Sparks), adapted for the screen by a guy (Jan Sardi), and directed by a guy (Nick Cassavetes). This man-made movie left me sobbing buckets, something Twilight certainly didn’t do.  

‘Twilight’ sequel’s new director: Should a man direct ‘New Moon’?

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The casting info site for New Moon has released this juicy tidbit–

Summit Entertainment has started preparing the sequel New Moon, based on Stephenie Meyer’s second book in the series, and to contain costs, the studio is filming the third book, Eclipse, back to back using the same new director. Filming begins on New Moon in March, 2009, and will continue right through completion of Eclipse

Further, for those looking at an spot in the movie, there is a handy headshot/resume info page as well.

Will this be your chance to get up close and personal with Edward?  

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There is an indication that New Moon & Ecliipse may be filmed at the same time–or one after the other–just like the Lord of the Rings films.

“It’s been discussed,” producer Greg Mooradian revealed to MTV News. “I can’t tell you we’re at that place yet, but it’s definitely been discussed.”

The advantages to such a plan are obvious: Rather than building sets and tearing them down only to be re-built a few years later, they can film multiple scenes; instead of selling vehicles and re-buying them (such as Carlisle Cullen’s Mercedes, which can be seen here), they can hold on to them; rather than having thirty-year-old actors pretending to still be in high school, they can stay the same age in each film.

If true, this means a shorter wait after New Moon for Eclipse–and who can complain about that?

Exclusive: ‘Twilight’ Filmmakers Hope To Shoot Sequels Simultaneously

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New Moon hasn’t begun filming yet, but the plot of Twilight may already present some challenges for it. The Twilight movie differs from the book enough that a faithful version of New Moon will be difficult. Among the reasons–the “secret meadow” scene in Twilight gets moved to a spot just a few steps from school. This scene really set up Bella’s trust in Edward. Now it just looks likes puppy love.

10 Critical Ways the Twilight Movie Differs from the Book

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The LA Times has an entertaining look at why Breaking Dawn should not be a movie. Huge spoilers abound, but if you have read the book, look ahead for some hilarious points–

By Page 118 (in a 754-page book) Bella is with child. At this point, the film would already be worse than a Lifetime movie of the week.

What follows are chapters and chapters of the half-vampire, half-human baby making life violently uncomfortable for Bella, which required Meyer to let Jacob narrate the e ntire middle chunk of the book. So in the final movie, we’d shift our focus from Bella to Jacob?

Also, questions of whether the movie could meet a PG-13 movie is succinctly put–

When she gives birth, Edward rips open Bella’s stomach with his teeth to get the baby out.

It’s a bloody and gruesome birth. And what does the little bugger do once she’s out? Sinks her half-vampire teeth into mom’s chest, that’s what. What follows is an equally bloody and gruesome transformation of our teenage heroine into a vampire. How any of the birth scene gets magically transformed into a PG-13 moment is anyone’s guess.

‘Twilight’: 10 reasons ‘Breaking Dawn’ should not be made into a movie

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Twilight director Catherine Hardwicke thinks New Moon could be completed by 2009, giving credence to a 2009 release date, although it’s still not clear if she’ll definitely be directing–

“I would say that the film could be finished by the end of 2009, if not the beginning of 2010; cameras could be rolling in about five months,” Hardwicke said of her March/April timetable, should she return to helm the pic. “We spent about a year and three months getting ['Twilight'] ready, between writing the script and casting. We could probably do things a little bit faster this time, but who knows? It depends. And sometimes you can do things really fast. You can get two editors on, and you can just zip through.”

As for the Jacob question–will Taylor Lautner be able to stand up to the formidable frame of the giantly transformed Jacob?–Hardwicke is confident:

She also reiterated her confidence in Lautner’s ability not only to accurately portray Jacob — described in the books as growing to a muscular 6-foot-7 during “New Moon” — but also to carry a romantic storyline with Kristen Stewart’s Bella for much of the next film. “We are putting him on a medieval torture thing and stretching him,” Hardwicke laughed. “No, he’s only 16, so he is still growing. His dad is tall, and he’s working out, so you never know. … [Creating the love triangle] will definitely be the challenge. That would be a thing to work on too. How do you deepen that chemistry and make it go to the next level?

There is even some chatter about the casting for new roles in the movie–such as the regal Italian Volturi vampires–

As for the actors who’ll play the pivotal roles, she cryptically revealed: “Stephenie [Meyer] actually has a few people in her head right now that she’s mentioned could be cool. But before I say who, we have to see their schedule and if they’re interested in doing it. … [One is] a very cool, unknown person.”

‘Twilight’ Director Catherine Hardwicke Aims To Finish ‘New Moon’ By End Of 2009 — If She Gets The Gig

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Twilight Screenwriter Mellisa Rosenberg, who has already completed the script for New Moon, says that the scripts so far have taken notes from Brokeback Mountain and Romeo and Juliet:

MTV: I would think the greatest challenge for you was to portray a romance that “Twilight” fans consider to be so powerful and epic. Where did you go for inspiration?

Rosenberg: Well, “Romeo and Juliet” is an obvious comparison. I discovered [after reading "Twilight" that Meyer] uses “Romeo and Juliet” quite heavily in “New Moon.” And this is going to sound a little crazy, but “Brokeback Mountain” was a great model of forbidden love.

MTV: So when it came time to portray the Edward/Bella romance, you thought about Heath and Jake?

Rosenberg: Well, “Brokeback Mountain” for two reasons: One, the short story [that was the basis] for “Brokeback Mountain” is beautiful, pure, very small — 20 or 40 pages — and the writers of “Brokeback Mountain” [the movie] would take one sentence, one four-word sentence, and it would become a story line. It would become a character. It was such a beautiful adaptation. I learned a great deal from reading that book and then watching the movie. It taught me a lot about adapting. But I had the opposite challenge with “Twilight” than they had with “Brokeback” — with “Brokeback,” they had to let it grow and breathe. I had to condense a great deal. For instance, with the James character and the evil vampires — taking what is really only the last 25 percent of the [novel] and bringing it forward. There were a couple moments like that where you go, “OK, wait a minute, [Meyer] is just suggesting this. But let’s let it play.”

MTV: But as far as the Edward/Bella romance is concerned, you see similarities to the “Brokeback” relationship?

Rosenberg: Yeah, it was just so poignant, and the forbidden-love element, that you have this deep yearning and passion and yet you have to keep it secret — to want to be with each other and to have to stay away on some level. So “Brokeback,” for me, was a great model for how to structure the romance in the story.

Screenwriter Melissa Rosenberg Was Inspired By ‘Brokeback Mountain’

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Amy Wilkinson at EW’s Popwatch notes that with its locales and morphing werewolves, the budget for New Moon will have to be bigger:

As a fan of the Stephenie Meyer-penned series, I’m cautiously optimistic about the sequel, but it’s hard not to think about several obstacles to overcome in moving the story from the page to the big screen. First is the quantity — and quality — of the special effects it requires. With its morphing werewolves and new locations, the budget for New Moon will figure to have to be substantially larger than Twilight’s paltry $37 million price tag to make it credible. (I can’t be the only one disappointed with the running and sun-induced “dazzle” effects in the first flick.) Second is the prospect of a largely Robert Pattinson-free script. Not to give too much away to newcomers, but Pattinson’s heartthrob vamp Edward Cullen is largely absent from Meyer’s second novel. Clearly, Pattinson and his perfectly coiffed hair have been a big draw for smitten Twilight fans. The filmmakers will either need to figure out a way to bring Edward into the plot or risk the possibility Team Edwarders might feel disappointed. And finally, in the realm of special effects, how the heck is Taylor Lautner going to grow a foot within the next year to portray the gargantuan Jacob?

‘Twilight’ opening weekend ensures ‘New Moon’ will rise

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CNN reports that some stars of Twilight, such as Taylor Lautner, will be not be making a return performance in New Moon:

Fans are particularly invested in whether Taylor Lautner, who is markedly shorter and more boyish-looking than Meyer’s description of his character, Jacob, will return to vie for Bella’s heart. ”We are definitely talking and thinking about it right now,” says Erik Feig, Summit’s president of production. ”Taylor’s fantastic as Jacob in “Twilight.” I think when we get closer to shooting, the director is going to look at everyone as if they are brand-new to the role.”

And just who that director will be remains to be seen. As of press time, Hardwicke — who now holds the record for best opening-weekend box office for a female director — hadn’t signed on. But she spent much of the weekend sequestered in meetings with lawyers, agents and studio executives. She felt hamstrung by her modest budget through much of the “Twilight” shoot. ”I had more elaborate stunt sequences designed and very crazy, cool stuff that I wanted to do,” she says. ”We had locations taken away. We had five days cut before we started to shoot. But, you know, I kind of got past that, I just had to let it go.”

After the grueling production, Hardwicke now wants to make sure the studio shows her the money to properly tackle “New Moon’”s tricky plotline — which includes location shooting in Rome and several characters who must realistically morph from teenage boys into werewolves.

The Special Effects also came under fire–particularly the sparkly effects that turned out to look like salt:

Summit’s Feig has nothing but praise for Hardwicke, but he maintains that the sequel doesn’t necessarily demand a bigger budget. ”I don’t think there was anything excessively lavish about “Twilight,” and yet the world was fully realized,” he says. ”We’ll do exactly the same thing with New Moon.” Still, the studio might want to throw more money at the universally trashed special effect that was supposed to make Pattinson sparkle magically in the sunlight but left him looking merely sweaty. ”People make realistic CGI dragons, so you wouldn’t think making people sparkle would be that hard,” says Meyer.

But for now, only Pattinson and Stewart are confirmed:

For now, only Pattinson and Stewart are sure to live on in Meyer’s fantasy world. The two young stars, neither of whom banked on this sudden explosion of fame when they signed on for the movie, are currently limping through the last lap of their American promotional tour. (After a brief Thanksgiving rest, they’ll gear up again to spread “Twilight” fever across Europe.)

Who would replace Taylor Lautner as Jacob Black? Should he be replaced?

‘Twilight’: Where does the fandemonium lead now?

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