Breaking Dawn: a potential director shortlist?

Twilight has had a quiet moment after the release of the trailer for Eclipse, the third in the saga. Summit Entertainment has roused the ever-watching news moles and Twi-hards by contacting possible directors for the double-bill finale, Breaking Dawn.

Summit is riding on a high at the moment with the money Twilight is already raking in and the huge success of The Hurt Locker. The studio has been trying to gauge the level of potential interest from directors for the two-part ending. They are shooting for the stars, moving away from jobbing action/fantasy directors in the direction of indie auteurs. One name on the list was Gus Van Sant (who Robert Pattinson suggested “would be great to do it” during an interview with MTV), as well as Sofia Coppola and Bill Condon. But who will follow in Catherine Hardwicke, Chris Weitz and David Slade’s footsteps and finish the franchise in a controversial maelstrom?

Van Sant’s representatives confirmed he was approached – but what was his reaction? With the likes of Milk and Paranoid Park under his belt, is the ultra-commercial Breaking Dawn something he would want to add to his filmography? It’s possible but seems unlikely. Van Sant has made some odd choices as a filmmaker but his most commercial film to date was probably Good Will Hunting which was way back in 1997. Still, he could finance something pretty way out there with this gig. Coppola and Condon’s reps weren’t available to confirm whether they were contacted, and of the three these two seem less likely to be interested (Coppola’s directing credits include Marie Antoinette and Lost in Translation, and Condon’s include Dreamgirls, Gods and Monsters and Kinsey) as they both tend to write their own material and don’t often hire themselves out.

Filming for Breaking Dawn is slated to begin in autumn, which may not fit in with any of these three anyway. Van Sant is in post-production on Restless, Coppola is tied up with Somewhere and has a baby due in May, and Condon is due to start production on his Richard Pryor biopic. While all three seem to be busy, no decisions are likely to be made until screenwriter Melissa Rosenberg gives a detailed outline to the directors. It’s possible that this is not a serious attempt to attach these directors but by contacting them, producers are hinting at the direction they want the final instalments to take. Besides, with so much young talent in the cast – Kristen Stewart, Anna Kendrick, Dakota Fanning – perhaps producers feel they can chance their collective arm on some big directing talent.

Already we feel that directors may be put off by (SPOILER!) Bella’s horrific birthing scene and trying to deal with werewolf imprints (particularly the uncomfortable moment when the series’ love triangle resolves itself by Jacob imprinting on the infant Renesme – the vampire human hybrid that just clawed its way out of Bella’s stomach. Hmm and bleargh). (SPOILER ENDS)