While quite a few names have been bandied about as possible directors for Twilight: Breaking Dawn, which Summit Entertainment is splitting in two movies so it can make a bit more cash, the one name who seemed a particularly unlikely candidate, Bill Condon, seems to be one most likely to get the job.
Summit approached an admittedly unexpected group of people for Breaking Dawn, with earlier reports suggesting they were talking to the likes of Sofia Copolla, Gus Van Sant, Stephen Daldry and Fernando Meirelles. Although those guys are arty directors who may not have wanted to join a franchise film, they do all have experience working on films about the dramas of teenage life. Condon meanwhile is best known as the director of Dreamgirls, Kinsey and Gods and Monsters, none of which would seem to be good preparation for Twilight.
Despite this, Variety reports that Condon is in negotiations to direct the movie, with Deadline adding that the two parts of Breaking Dawn will shoot back-to-back this autumn. If he does sign on, its likely to delay two other movies he’s been readying, a Richard Pryor biopic and an adaptation of Paul Torday’s novel, Salmon Fishing In Yemen.
While Bill Condon may be an odd choice, so was 30 Days Of Night director David Slade for part three of Twilight, Eclipse. Summit certainly needs to be given props for making bold and interesting choices with the directors for the movies. Most studios just hire any old hack by the time it comes to parts three or four ina film series, assuming the fans will turn up anyway, but with Twilight they’re following the Harry Potter model and finding directors who have a track record of making interesting films.