Twilight Producer Speculates On Fall Shoot And CGI Baby For Breaking Dawn, Says Chris Weitz Unlikely To Direct
I've got to say, perhaps the best thing about Summit's relentless commitment to making Twilight films is that the whole process is going to rush us towards an adaptation of the utterly crazy finale Breaking Dawn in record time. That means two things. One, we'll get to see the utterly crazy Breaking Dawn on screen, and that'll hopefully be good for some fun. And two, the whole thing will be over quick; no drawing it out like Warner Bros. did with Harry Potter.
Summit is currently looking at a fall shoot for Breaking Dawn, and while producer Wyck Godfrey doesn't know if the book will spawn one film or two, he does have some other notes about what we can expect.
The LA Times has an interview with Godfrey, in which he discusses some of the hurdles facing Summit with respect to Breaking Dawn. He notes that all three principal actors (Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson and Taylor Lautner) are signed for the film, and that Melissa Rosenberg is currently working on the script. Whether it will end up as one film or two is a point on which he's coy, but rest assured that if they can finagle two films out of it (star schedules and paydays included) it will be done.
The most interesting mention in the article concerns Chris Weitz, director of New Moon. "I think everyone would be happy and excited if he came back," Godfrey says, "but I don't think it's going to happen."
Given that Breaking Dawn is going to be the most effects-heavy film in the series, I think immediately of the tepid reception to Weitz's biggest CGI-laden film, The Golden Compass. Have to wonder if Summit realizes that to have Breaking Dawn's vampire baby Renesmee, which will be a CGI baby at one point, be anything but laughable they're going to need a hell of an effects department. But that being the case, why not just hire a hell of an effects department and let Weitz have his way with shirtless werewolves? Or is the process just more than he wants to deal with?
Meanwhile, a CGI baby? Seriously? "I keep having visions of '[The Curious Case of] Benjamin Button' in my head," says Godfrey, before adding that Renesmee will almost certainly be an actor blended or affected with CGI. "I wouldn't be surprised if it ends up being a full CG creation, but it also may be a human shot on a soundstage that then is used to shrink down." This movie is going to be so much (unintentional) fun.