UPDATE: Summit Entertainment has confirmed that David Slade will be helming the third film in the Twilight Series, Eclipse. Here is the story that broke early this morning.
Well, he's at least in the running.
Nikki Finke is reporting that Summit Entertainment, the studio bringing us this bastion of tween angst (I've seen Twilight now, so I can bash it a little bit), is in talks with David Slade to take over the series' third film.
Most of you may be like, "WTF?". Well, David Slade is the director of two really great films. He made his feature debut with the Ellen Page/Patrick Wilson indie thriller, Hard Candy. Featuring two brilliant performances, really the only two performances of the film, this was a compelling take on the thriller. Then, he did the film adaptation of the graphic novel series, 30 Days Of Night. This is easily one of the best modern vampire films, and is a really solid film in general. Visually stunning, this flick proves that Slade does have a ton of talent besides crafting a really solid thriller.
That said, the Twilight series is a weird thing. Not the most well written book series (this is coming from people who have actually read them, I have not), and really only appealing to females within the age range of 12-21 and those kids mothers, yet the series is getting talented actors and directors to bring these things to screen.
Yesturday, I had a really interesting discussion with a few friends of mine. We discussed the difference between people like Zac Efron and Robert Pattinson. The reason I think Pattinson will hopefully be a solid actor is not what he did in Twilight, but what he is striving to do outside of the tween system, with films like Little Ashes, the Dali biopic. He was great in the Harry Potter series, and for a book series that thrives on the relationships between the two, I think the first film got that, as awkward and schlocky as it was.
However, I think that had more to do with the director, Catherine Hardwicke, than the cast. While I do love Kristen Stewart, she wasn't good, yet Hardwicke is able to get that awkwardness of a first love and moving to a new town. It's something she showed in her previous films, like 13, and now while the directors mentioned to take over the series, none have films that show that dichotomy. Until Slade.
Twilight and it's subsequent sequels feature two main things. A strong yet vulnerable lead, and Vampires. Both of these themes have been main parts of Slade's two previous films. With Hard Candy, the performance of Ellen Page (along with Patrick Wilson) really held that film together, keeping a two person story extremely interesting for the full length of the film (NOTE: If you haven't seen Hard Candy, stop reading, and watch it. It's phenominal), and obviously, he can craft a visually stunning vampire film, as he did with 30 Days of Night. So I think this is a far better fit than the previous people mentioned to take the helm, Drew Barrymore, Juan Antonio Bayona and Chris Weitz.
That's a lot of rambling, but I know a lot of you like the series, so it's all for you.
What do YOU think?
Go see something good!
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Wow. David Slade may be the only reason I see any of the 'Twilight' series. His work is brilliant. 'Hard Candy' is an edge of your seat, hide your eyes thriller, and '30 Days of Night' was excellently finished. I think he'll bring a lot to the movies for sure.
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