Two weeks ago, I got to talk with Melissa Rosenberg, the screenwriter beyond Twilight and New Moon who had a lot of positive things to say about Summit and the way they do business. Apparently they make movies instead of talk about making them, give their talent a lot of room to grow, and offer freedoms that most other studios don’t. Which probably explains why they are growing (even if most of that growth comes on the backs of a brooding vampire and his anti-feminist love interest).
But Neil Miller will be glad to know that Chris Weitz, director of New Moon, has decided not to quit filmmaking and instead, according to Variety, will be making more movies after his next with Summit.
In that next project, he’ll be tackling the story of an immigrant worker trying to raise a son with Gardner.
The money quote here:
There are no werewolves or vampires, just a Mexican gardener in Los Angeles,” Weitz said.
We reported last week that Weitz would be doing the project, but apparently he’s claiming he won’t be leaving the directing chair even after finishing this next flick. That should be great news for anyone who thought he was smug for wanting to quit.
Of course, Weitz’s frustrations with the industry stemmed completely from the studio overhauling his vision for The Golden Compass, but it looks like a solid relationship with Summit has done the trick in convincing the director to keep working. Or it was the $140 million weekend that New Moon had. Either way – more movies from Chris Weitz!
So he’s signing on with them again and making something that sounds like the Latino version of The Pursuit of Happyness (of which, the main character’s last name was Gardner).
Yes, I love judging film concepts by rough loglines. It’s a gift.
On an un-sarcastic note, I think this is really cool. I’ve enjoyed several of Weitz’s films, and I love hearing any story that involves the amount of freedom and respect a studio gives to a filmmaker. It looks and sounds like Summit is doing something right over there.
What do you think?
