Monday, October 4, 2010
Well Played, Summit, Well Played
This is the first time in the history of me being a Twilight movie fan where I can say that I am proud and optimistic. Could it be that Summit is actually putting out a high caliber quality film for Twilight that may be on par with Harry Potter? Will this movie bring possible Academy Award nominations in the scientific fields, editing, design, and cinematography categories?! Will this be the BEST movie of the saga? Early indications seem to say yes, and I am getting all giggly and excited about it. November 2011 can’t come fast enough!
When Summit first hired Academy Award winner Bill Condon as the director, I had no doubt that he was the right choice and would steer this movie in the right direction. And boy, was I right! He is bringing class, brains, and quality to a well deserving franchise. We, as hard core and dedicated fans, deserve a great film. Yeah, I know we will see it anyway, but as a major film buff, I’ve always left the Twilight movies slightly disappointed because of the quality (see Bella’s wig in Eclipse).
When news first broke Friday night about who Mr. Condon chose to be rounding out the crew for Breaking Dawn, I verbally gasped and said “YES” while in bed with my husband. He looked at me, rolled his eyes, and said, “Let me guess, Rob and Kristen finally came out as a couple?” I said, “No- I wish, but BETTER.” Yes, this is better news, and I’m a die-hard Robsten-er. I told my husband that Guillermo Navarro is going to be the cinematographer for Breaking Dawn. You see, he was the cinematographer on one of our favorite movies, Pan’s Labyrinth, and my husband knew why I gasped. ”That’s cool”, he said, “now maybe those movies won’t look like crap”. If you have not seen Pan’s Labyrinth, do yourself a favor and see it. It’s gorgeous and haunting and magical all at the same time. Perfect for Breaking Dawn. He even won an Oscar for his work. Previous work also includes being the director of photography on such films as Hellboy, Hellboy II: The Golden Army, Jackie Brown, and Zathura. Navarro is also no stranger to broader Hollywood fare, having shot the original Night at the Museum, Spy Kids, Spawn, and From Dusk ‘Till Dawn. He’s currently working on DreamWorks Studio’s highly anticipated I Am Number Four with director D.J. Caruso, which is also another book adaptation. Impressive stuff, gang!
The new costume designer is Michael Wilkinson. Is this the end of ill fitting gap jean jackets, plaid hoodies, and jorts? God, I hope so!! In Breaking Dawn, Bella acquires a new wardrobe for her new life as a vamp, so I hope the costume team adequately depicts that. I’m thrilled at the choice. Mr. Wilkinson has brought great vision to The Watchman and the upcoming Tron: Legacy.
Mr Condon has also chosen Jean Black as the new makeup designer, who has previous work on The Curious Case of Benjamin Buttons. How perfect is that for ‘Renesmee’?! Wow. I said that they should use whoever was responsible for the reverse-aging Brad Pitt in ‘Benjamin Buttons,’ but never thought that Summit would actually shell out the dough for it! I was wrong. This is no doubt due to the high esteem that Mr. Condon is held in within the film industry. I am so pleased!
Richard Sherman made Gods and Monsters, and Kinsey with Mr. Condon, and is now the production designer for Breaking Dawn. Those movies are fantastic, and again, see them if you have not. You will really get a sense of Condon’s work and his film style. They are two signature films for Condon and Sherman, and hey, as Condon said, Sherman “happens to be a lifelong vampire aficionado.” Can’t be bad, right?!
And lastly, rounding out the already stellar team, is John Bruno, who is an Oscar winning visual effects supervisor for Avatar and Poltergeist. He has a large task at hand with the complexity of Breaking Dawn. I definitely see that the book is in great hands.
The only weak link I see at this point is the script. This is the one remaining factor which makes me VERY, VERY NERVOUS!!! I have never doubted the talent of Melissa Rosenberg. I just feel that her scripts have never captured the magic and intensity of Stephenie’s books. The only saving grace is that Bill Condon is a screenwriter- an Oscar winning screenwriter at that! He has to be supervising the script. I am sure he is getting final say. Someone of his stature must have negotiated this issue into his contract with Summit. This is my only hope!
So yay, Twilighters, hold your head high! Filming begins in less than a month, and I think the cast and Breaking Dawn are in excellent hands. Condon has directed Oscar nominated performances out of his casts in each one of his films. I believe he will get everyone to bring their very best to the film. He has assembled the best possible production team. So I say kudos to you, Summit. For once I am not disappointed by your decisions or announcement. Well played, Summit, well played.
Having you put the crew Mr. Condon rounded-up in that perspective, I’m getting excited for the 2 BDs as well!
Mr. Condon probably didn’t put any stops in hiring the best of the best seeing as it’s 2 BIG movies being shot back to back (it is being shot back to back right?). I also concur regarding the script and I really REALLY hope the romanticism from the book won’t get lost in translation (*ehem* Isle Esme *ehem*).
Yup! the 11th month of 2011 couldn’t get here fast enough!!!
I agree. These are some extremely talented people Bill´s surrounding himself with. When I saw Pan´s Labyrinth the first time I walked out of the movie theatre in a daze and promptly bought a ticket to see it the next day!
I won´t lie, BD was definitely not my favourite book, far from it. But I´ve always been interested in how it would translate on the big screen. Still a bit nervous over the script though, I do, afterall, want to see the things that I did actually like on screen. But I´m trusting that Bill knows what he´s doing and that the cast (Kristen and Rob in particular) maybe have a say??
Okay, so I have been nervous as all hell about how these last two movies were going to be done, Breaking Dawn was my favourite book. Im finally excited!!!! Thank goodness its not in 3D and even more so that Summit are spending the $ on the talent!.
Yes, I am most relieved that Bill will know how to fix Melissa’s script and that he will draw the best performances out of Rob and Kristen to date. Can’t wait.
Great Post, and I totally agree! with this crew we may finally be looking at the best of the series! Mr.Condon will make sure of that!..
When I read that letter and saw that list I was squeeeeing like a little girl on Christmas morning. I am SO SO SO freaking excited. And I agree Pan´s Labyrinth is breathtakingly gorgeous! I have faith BD will be the best one yet. I can’t hardly wait!
Awesome post RL!!! I couldn’t agree with you more. When I heard the announcement, i was sooo excited. I am really looking forward to this movie. I loved BD, but there were aspects of the book that i was worried about it’s translation to film. But after seeing the production team lineup, i am floored! I think Guillermo Navarro is a perfect choice, and we are very lucky to have him. When I saw that Jean Black worked on The Curious Case of Benjamin Button..i did a little happy dance. I have been a little worried about Renesmee, but I think this is perfect. I had been saying all along, they need to do what they did in TCCoBB (never once thinking we would actually get the makeup designer that did just that!)And everyone else is just icing on the cake. squeee…so excited. Never been so happy it’s October..lol Great Job RL!! <3
and not forget that this is a love story. i want the same intensity of love like in twilight or new moon. i want bill, kristen and rob to show us the fire. Love scene in eclipse was ok, but did not make me cry.
The first time I read The Best Beloved Bill Condon msg. to the fans, I was very impress with the crew(well done!). Breaking Dawn is the book dear to my heart(the honeymoon, Renesmee and Vamp Bella), I am so happy that Bill Condon is taking this book seriously. And I never praise Summit but I will take an exception with to this one, thank you Summit for spending more money and backing up Oscar award winning director Bill Condon(He is the one with the stick, to conduct or wave it as a magic wand *smile*). I can’t wait for the November 2011 to come, just imagine what this crew can bring!! please, please and please we beg you to bring this Saga to a well deserve EPIC ending.
Well put RL! Melissa Rosenberg’s scripts [especially the missing "great quotes" from the books] have often disappointed me. Hopefully Stephenie’s and Bill Condon’s involvement this time around will avoid that. I’d like to see Bill Condon bring out Rob’s acting skills more in BD, he was great in Remember Me [still haunted by that ending...],that’s a movie that deserved better promotion when it was released. There’s millions of us waiting for November 2011…the pressure’s on you Summit.