Archive for the ‘Chris Weitz’ Category

‘A Better Life’ Trailer

Thursday, March 17th, 2011

Here’s the trailer for Chris Weitz’s new movie produced by Summit Entertainment.

Synopsis:

The film looks at the relationship between illegal immigrant Carlos Galindo (Mexican actor Demián Bichir) and his teenage son, Luis (José Julián). When Carlos’ truck is stolen, the father is powerless to turn to law enforcement, but the crisis brings him closer to his potentially wayward son. Weitz shot the film in about 70 Southern California locations, employing any number of Latino crew members for a movie that contains a significant amount of Spanish dialogue.“It’s a story about a Mexican immigrant,” Weitz says, “a very hard-working man, and the threats to his livelihood and his life.”

Via: LA Times.

Don’t forget to follow Chris on Twitter, he answers questions to fans! @chrisweitz

Chris Weitz Latest Tweet Round Up

Tuesday, March 15th, 2011

Here’s the latest collection of the best tweets from Chris Weitz official account. He tweets every day and answers questions to fans all the time, which is just fantastic and has brought this fandom a new dynamic we desperately needed. It’s a little hard to keep up with all the best tweets, since he tweets so often (something we appreciate so much, along with his never-edning pacience) so I’ll try to do my best (to follow Chris just click on his name in any of the following tweets):

Inside jokes in New Moon?

Virgin airways for Bella; golden compass on her bag(Gage)
@chrisweitz
Chris Weitz

Why was Dakota cast as Jane?

I cast her because she is the best actress in her age group and one of the best out there and I loved her prior work. Rad young woman.
@chrisweitz
Chris Weitz

Did Edward ever buy Playboy in his 108 years of life?

Not Playboy, but maybe "Vamp It Up," the nudie mag for the undead.
@chrisweitz
Chris Weitz

On press junkets.

Well of course in some ways they are very exciting. But then they put you in front of a camera and you do literally 80 interviews in a row
@chrisweitz
Chris Weitz

On Bella’s dream that was deleted from the movie.

Nah. Didn;t move forward the plot. It was pretty weird, hunh? BAsed on Gregory VCrewdson photos, and we built a room set half in the dirt
@chrisweitz
Chris Weitz

On Kellan Lutz.

I can say something nice about him. But I am too jealous.
@chrisweitz
Chris Weitz

Why did Rob ask to change hotels in Italy when filming New Moon?

Well, we were staying at a so-so hotel, then so,mebody invited us to dinner at the Relais San Bruno, and it was paradise, and we were like,
@chrisweitz
Chris Weitz

I asked him on my personal account the following:

@chrisweitz You should auction off a signed NM script to benefit Japan :) Or something only you own. Like a picture. Or a prop.
@ValeWolf
Vale Gonzalez

He answered:

That is a very good idea, except I wonder if anybody would pay.
@chrisweitz
Chris Weitz

Of course someone would! Wouldn’t you guys? Let’s make this happen! :)

Read more tweets after the jump.

(more…)

Chris Weitz Latest Tweet Round Up

Friday, March 11th, 2011

Another day, another long Q and A session with Chris Weitz on Twitter. The director of New Moon doesn’t disappoint. He answers to all the tweets he can (even in Spanish and French!) and he makes Twitter a lot more fun everyday. Really, a much needed breath of fresh air for this fandom.

Anyway, last night he answered new questions about the cast, the directors that took over Twilight after him and the making of New Moon. As always, we’ll be posting the best tweets only, but you can read his entire feed by cliking on his user name in the following tweets.

If he could change the vision of Bella as a vampire in New Moon, that was much criticized, what would he do?

Shot 1: Aloce's eyes in Aro's eyes. Shot 2: Bella's (golden) eyes in Alice's eyes. back to Aro's eyes. Done.
@chrisweitz
Chris Weitz

Taylor Lautner is five words:

Fab. Honest, decent, kind, unpretentious.
@chrisweitz
Chris Weitz

Why is Edward so sad in the beginning of New Moon?

He senses the end coming. Also, Rob's new contact lenses hurt.
@chrisweitz
Chris Weitz

Biggest diva on the set?

Me. I'm all like "I want my espresso from Starbuck's but he foam needs to be from CBTL!"
@chrisweitz
Chris Weitz

Is Kristen nicer than the press makes her out to be?

I don't agree with the press consensus that she makes out to be mean, but she's great
@chrisweitz
Chris Weitz

Why was Jacob so aggressive to Mike at the movies?

Sometimes compression of time from book to film is necessary... Also wanted to show he was potentially dangerous (to Mike)
@chrisweitz
Chris Weitz

What happened to the extended New Moon scene with Alice?

I dunno... Depends if they want to make more money with like the "super platinum megafan edition III" or something. Actually I...
@chrisweitz
Chris Weitz
...wrote a line for Alice that went, "well, we could eat it, but we'd have to vomit it out later", which seemed to encourage bulimia. Bad.
@chrisweitz
Chris Weitz

Does he treat Rob’s eyebrows like they’re separate characters? (since we know he had to pluck them and style them for the movie?

The left one wants more pay than the right one.
@chrisweitz
Chris Weitz

What did Rob get him for Valentine’s day? He joked:

A diamond dreamcatcher in the design of the Cullen crest.
@chrisweitz
Chris Weitz

Where would he cut Breaking Dawn Part 1 and Part 2?

RIGHT in the middle of the BIRTH -- with a freeze frame! And then a booming voice like from the old Batman TV show saying "tbc"
@chrisweitz
Chris Weitz

There’s a New Moon deleted scene where a guy crashes his motorcylce, what was the deal with that scene?

It was about Laurent coming to town, but you thought it was bears or something... geez I forget
@chrisweitz
Chris Weitz

Any comments on Taylor?

Taylor is a very very good chap. I was wondering why he didn't karate chop Kanye at the music thingies though.
@chrisweitz
Chris Weitz

Any gossip about Rob?

Rob is secretly in love with me
@chrisweitz
Chris Weitz

Did Stephenie visit the set often?

Stephenie came to set quite a bit. She did not make me change a thing... except my clothes, once a day.
@chrisweitz
Chris Weitz

What would he rather be? A werewolf or a vamp?

I mean, I'm on the record as being team Jacob, but if I had to choose? I'd be a superhot sparkly dude with some crazy ass power.
@chrisweitz
Chris Weitz

On working with Rob, he joked:

Trying to make that mug look good is HARD.
@chrisweitz
Chris Weitz

On Rachelle Lafevre being fired:

Very sad for Rachelle, who is a doll. I dididn't know Bryce but met her later and she is very cool. It seemed to be a schedule thing.
@chrisweitz
Chris Weitz

What does he think of Jacob imprinting on Renesmee?

Natasha, I will be straight with you, it is odd. They asked me to come up with a bit of dialogue that would make it sound less weird...
@chrisweitz
Chris Weitz
when Tyler's character imprints, and I said, "There is no way to make it less weird".
@chrisweitz
Chris Weitz

Kristen’s improved line is his favorite in the movie.

"Yeah, action, adrenaline... that's my thing" -- KS improv
@chrisweitz
Chris Weitz

Best behind the scenes quote.

"Your son has huge eyeballs" -- Rob of my son Sebastian.
@chrisweitz
Chris Weitz

Has he met with other Twilight directors?

I hung out with David Slade when he took on the lead, sort of a "transition team". Also spoke to Bill Condon -- he's an old friend
@chrisweitz
Chris Weitz
Strangely, we did not fight about who was best. ..
@chrisweitz
Chris Weitz

Taylor Lautner and Kristen Stewart Evacuated in Tsunami Warning, Chris Weitz to Donate to $1,000 in One Fan’s Name

Friday, March 11th, 2011

People magazine reports:

With Hawaii and the North American West Coast placed on tsunami advisories early Friday after an 8.9-magnitude earthquake struck in Japan, the Vancouver Island beach area in British Columbia where Taylor Lautner and Kristen Stewart and the rest of the Wolf Pack are filming the Twilight series’ Breaking Dawn has been evacuated.

The actors are not believed to be in any danger, but for safety measures they apparently have been moved out of the region.

The town where production is taking place, Tofino, contains a long stretch of open coast on the furthest westerly point of the island and was seen in the earlier The Twilight Saga: New Moon.

Chris tweeted the following message:

No tweeds today but whoever sends me the best haiku will have $1000 donated in their name to relief efforts
@chrisweitz
Chris Weitz

Tweet your entries to Christ @chrisweitz.

Tinsel Korey tweeted:

They're evacuating us 4 a tsumnani warning. If this this is my last my tweet. I love you. The end. Hugz.
@tinselkorey
Tinsel Korey
If this is the moment. Then I've lived a good life. And I'm thankful 4 everything I've been given. 1 love. :)
@tinselkorey
Tinsel Korey

UPDATE from Summit:

Due to the tsunami advisory, filming of The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn has been delayed. All cast and crew were evacuated to the movie production’s base camp.
Everyone is safe and sound.

Update from ET Canada:

Long Beach Radio www.longbeachradio.ca confirms to ET Canada that the “Twilight” cast and crew have been evacuated from Tofino, B.C. to safer ground in Port Alberni.

Taylor Lautner and Kristen Stewart were among the cast members who were evacuated from the filming location.

Japan Relief Fund Links:

>> Convoy of Hope. You can text TSUNAMI to 50555.
>> GlobalGiving.org
>> International medical corps.
>> ShelterBox.org
>> RedCross.org: Text REDCROSS to 90999 to give $10 today
>> Red Cross Canada Online donations.
>> American Red Cross.
>> Red Cross News and Updates.

Chris Weitz Twitter Round Up – New Moon Discussion

Monday, March 7th, 2011

Chris Weitz has joined Twitter and it’s been a much needed breath of fresh air for the fandom. Not only does he answer to fans all the time, but he talks about the franchise, New Moon and the cast every single day, answering questions and doubts the fans have been having for a while. He’s also incredibly funny and tweets in Spanish too! (he’s wife is Mexican/cuban and his grandmother is Mexican as well, so his Spanish is not bad at all).

Chris tweets to much, he tends to be put in Twitter jail from time to time, so we’ve decided to collect his Tweets for you every single day, so you don’t miss the best of the best.

When asked if Taylor’s torso can speak (whatever that means!) he answered in Spanish:

No pero es un six-pack y puede tomarlo.
@chrisweitz
Chris Weitz

“No, but it’s a sicx pack and he can drink it”.

Another fan asks: Considering there were a lot of girls on set…where there any PMS problems? :) Any drama between hormonal women?

Nope. Wolf pack very catty though ;)
@chrisweitz
Chris Weitz

Another fan asks this great question: why is it that in the books Edward is almost too difficult to fight against because he’s able to anticipate every move from his opponents because he can read minds, while in the movies he basically gets his butt kicked? Did Chris changed it because it works better in the movies to have a more fair fight?

Yes. "action sequences" for the boys.
@chrisweitz
Chris Weitz

Not gonna lie, I wish they had kept Edward’s fighting skills in the movie. It is true that he gets his butt kicked more than he should and it completely gives  haters the excuse to say that Edward can’t handle himself in fights.
On why there was no commentary by Rob and Kristen in the New Moon DVD:

They were veeeeeeery tired, long press tour. I hadn't gone out as late the night before recording...
@chrisweitz
Chris Weitz

On the scene in which Kristen and Rob ad-libbed dialogue.

Bellla saying I love you to Edward. Then the studio got me to replace it, then R and K talked me back into it.
@chrisweitz
Chris Weitz

Did he touch his hair?

Did I ever NOT touch his hair? He told me to stop but I wouldn't. Why do you think I didn't direct Eclipse?
@chrisweitz
Chris Weitz

Is Rob really that cute in person?

He's actually physically repugnant. It's something about the camera. Weird.
@chrisweitz
Chris Weitz

Was it hard to film the scene where Edward and Bella look at each other underwater?

YES especially in 1 day. scuba gear, safety, green screen underwater, wtaer alteruing depth of field and lens quality, then cg fixes..
@chrisweitz
Chris Weitz

On working with Brad and Angelina, who became a couple quickly after that, and then Rob and Kristen he said:

I'm matchmaker to the stars?
@chrisweitz
Chris Weitz

Most challenging scene to film in New Moon:

Breakdown scene with Kristen. Cold, tough night.
@chrisweitz
Chris Weitz

Anything to say about Jackson Rathbone?

He can raise the dead with the power of his stare
@chrisweitz
Chris Weitz

His favorite thing about Rob?

His sense of humor, and the fact that he remembers my name
@chrisweitz
Chris Weitz

Catherine Hardwicke said she didn’t direct New Moon because the studio wanted to rush it, what’s his take on that?

Meh. It all depends. There was a definite release date, that's hard to hit. And CGI very hard to deliver on time.
@chrisweitz
Chris Weitz

What is Kristen like?

Kristen is very committed, serious, incredibly hard on herself, natural and has teh world's best BS detector.
@chrisweitz
Chris Weitz

But does she like to have fun?

Of course! But she does not invite me.
@chrisweitz
Chris Weitz

FYI – Discussing Rob and Kristen’s personal lives is off limits on his Twitter.

Lemme be very straight here, without trying to sound mean. Kristen is my friend. Rob is my friend. Their personal lives are their own.
@chrisweitz
Chris Weitz

His wife is a fan of Twilight.

She read all the books before I did!
@chrisweitz
Chris Weitz

Those were the best Twilight related tweets. We’ll make a separate post with his best tweets on filmmaking and his advice to all aspiring filmmakers.

Chris Weitz Says Breaking Dawn is Big Enough for Two Films

Friday, June 4th, 2010

Chris Weitz gives Breaking Dawn’s two installments his total approval. But before you get excited, he also gives two thumbs up to the birth scene – in 3D!

“Kristen Stewart giving live birth through the stomach in 3-D! I’m there. I’m paying.”

Should the movie be split in two?

“The book is big enough that it would warrant it,” he said.

Watch the full video above.

Robert Pattinson for The 2010 TIME 100

Thursday, April 29th, 2010

t100art_robert_pattinson

New Moon director Chris Weitz wrote a little piece on Rob for The 2010 Time 100, a list of the most influential people in the world.

I have to be careful about what I write here because it will be tweeted the moment TIME hits the stands. And if I say something bad about Rob Pattinson, I’m dead meat. That’s the devotion the Twilight films inspire. It’s certainly not how he planned it. And though I am continually impressed by the aplomb with which he handles the hysteria, I occasionally think he would take it all back if given the chance. Because essentially, Rob, 23, is a reserved, bookish sort of specimen, a guy who’d rather spend the night at the corner table in the pub with friends — a bit of a weirdo, frankly, in the best sense.

So how to write about someone who seems to answer Freud’s rhetorical question, What do women want? Perhaps it’s just worth pointing out that it’d be fun to have a beer with him even if he weren’t Edward Cullen. That we haven’t seen a tenth of what he can do onscreen. And that important things, beyond the veil of Hollywood, occupy his time too — music, conversation, ideas, a sense of the absurd. Which, maybe, explains why he never gets to my e-mails. I love you, Rob! Call me!

Videos: Rob and Chris Weitz in Japanese New Moon Press Conference

Wednesday, April 7th, 2010

These videos via TwiFans.com come from the Japanese New Moon DVD. We never saw the complete interviews of Rob and director Chris Weitz (though we’ve seen clips here and there) when they promoted the movie in Japan last year, so here they are.

Chris Weitz Talks About Kristen Stewart’s Dirty Mouth

Monday, March 22nd, 2010

57174_KristenStewartarrivingtoABCStudios_04_122_93lo

Chris Weitz talked to PopEater about the New Moon DVD’s extra features. When asked if there would ever be a bloopers reel and who would swear the most after messing up takes, Chris said it would definitely be Kristen:

“It’s Kristen by several lengths actually,” says Weitz of his champion swearer. When asked what the swear of choice was for Stewart, he laughed. “I couldn’t say over a domestic phone line.”

He said there is in fact a collection of bloopers from the movie, but sadly, we will never get to see them.

“I think that blooper reel would take us into NC-17 territory,” he says. “I don’t think that’s what Summit Entertainment has in mind in terms of extras.”

According to Chris everybody cursed on the set, except Taylor Lautner, who is “very well spoken”.

Collider.com Interviews Chris Weitz

Saturday, March 6th, 2010

newmoondvd

Collider has an exclusive interview with Chris Weitz. They talk about the New Moon DVD, the deleted scenes and why the cast did not provide commentary this time.

The first thing though is a lot of people wanted to know…you might not remember me at the junket for New Moon. I’m the one who followed you up in the elevator and sort of…I sort of talked to you about what to expect on the DVD.
Chris: I remember we spoke, yes.
And you told me at that point that there was going to be about 10 minutes of deleted scenes and there was going to be a commentary with Kristin, Rob and Taylor.
Chris: I know and they blew me off. (laughter) By the time it came to record the commentary, I think that they were so exhausted because they had done even more press than I had. And I recall….we did it in New York and they were either on their way there or, you know, getting ready for some fancy function that evening and it just wasn’t going to happen. And so even though I think it’s probably terribly disappointing it’s just me and editor talking about things, but actually I think we’re rather funny.
So basically you’re telling me that the reason why the actors are not on it is due to time or just…
Chris: Just due to time. It’s funny, you know, you sort of have to plot out amongst all the bejillion other things that they’re doing including getting ready to shoot Eclipse. Whether there is two hours for them to get to the studio to watch the film and then talk through it or not. And it just didn’t work out that way.

Read the complete interview at COLLIDER.COM

Director Chris Weitz Reveals Five Secrets About The Film

Friday, March 5th, 2010

Chris Weitz had previously shared some New Moon secrets for the release of the movie. Now for the release of the DVD he released 5 new secrets to
MTV.com:

Going for the Gold: In “Twilight,” RPattz and the rest of his vegetarian vampire cohorts have gold-colored eyes as a result of abstaining from consuming human blood. For “New Moon,” the vamps’ eyes were clearly more golden. Why’d Weitz have his actors switch to brighter contact lenses?

“It’s a more noticeable gold,” Weitz said. “I thought that in the first film they hadn’t popped quite enough and I wanted to have that sense of otherworldliness carry through more.”

The Silent Vampire: Actress Rachelle Lefevre was notoriously replaced in her role as the vampire Victoria following “New Moon,” with Bryce Dallas Howard taking over the part for “Eclipse.” In “New Moon,” Lefevre is seen but does not speak. Is there a connection between her lack of lines and what happened with the casting decision?

“It wasn’t so much that,” Weitz said. “There was a dialogue scene with her, and eventually that will show up whenever they release deleted scenes. It was one of those scenes that, when you look back at it, it’s kind of a surplus to the whole storytelling requirement of the movie. So there was no ill intent there. I wrote Rachelle and explained why that scene didn’t end up in the film, and in terms of filmmaking I can’t regret it, although I do regret it very much if it hurt Rachelle’s feelings.”

Why So Torn Up, Edward?: At one point in the film, Pattinson’s Edward Cullen appears in a ripped T-shirt, but we never learn why. So … what the heck happened?

“What it’s supposed to be is that he’s essentially been wearing the same clothes for several months, and that eventually they’ve just worn out because, as you I’m sure know, his body is like stone. So he must’ve rubbed up against something and it ripped,” Weitz said.

Our Lord?: In its Italian-set portions, “New Moon” features a significant amount of religious iconography, and Edward certainly suffers a great deal. Is he supposed to be a Christ figure?

“I think that he is in a sense he’s doomed to suffer eternally,” Weitz said. “He actually thinks of himself as a damned figure, but he’s wrong about that. So in some senses, yeah, he is a martyr figure.”

Black Eyes: In Stephenie Meyer’s book, Edward’s eyes go black in Italy. Why don’t his eyes turn in the film?

“It’s because I screwed up!” Weitz admitted.

Really? He just forgot?

“Well, yeah, I kinda did,” he said. “Well, there are two reasons. One is that I messed up. The other reason is that I actually thought that onscreen it would be quite bizarre to see his eyes go completely black, and that it would be more satisfying and less jarring to have that moment of reunion be a reunion with revivified Edward. But probably, the long and the short of it, there are many details that I did not drop the ball on, and there are some that I did.”

Never really thought of the clothes being ripped by his stone body. It’s one of those obvious things that you never think of, isn’t it?

Chris Weitz Talks About Rob, Kristen and Taylor Not Doing Commentary for the New Moon DVD

Friday, March 5th, 2010

Kristen Stewart,  Robert Pattinson, Chris Weitz

Iesb.net has a great interview with Chris Weitz on the New Moon DVD. Here’s a portion of it in which he talks about working with Rob, Kristen and Taylor, and explains why they didn’t do commentary for the dvd,like they did with the Twilight DVD.

IESB: Did you have any preconceived notions, coming into this film, about what it would be like to work with Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson and Taylor Lautner, prior to filming with them? And, was there anything you learned about working with them that really surprised you?

Chris: I think what surprised me most was how level-headed they were, given the kind of pressures that they were under from the attention of the fans and the number of things that could have taken their head out of the game, and how much they really cared about getting their characters right. In the second film, in a franchise in which you know that people are going to go see it anyway, it’s very impressive to see young actors who really care about getting things just right. It’s the first time I’ve actually been twice the age of the actors, except on About a Boy, but that was really working with a child actor. These guys are actually rather grown up. I was surprised at how old I actually felt, in comparison to them. At the same time, I was really impressed by their professionalism.

IESB: Is there a specific reason why you didn’t include any commentary from Kristen, Rob and Taylor on the DVD? Were they just not available?

Chris: I just didn’t want them to say anything bad about me. No. It was actually happenstance. These things are scheduled during the whole press bonanza that you’re doing and, on that particular day, everyone was in motion between one screening and the next, and I happened to be the only piece of the puzzle, as well as Peter Lambert, who was in London, that was available. Now, I’m sure there will be something on the Internet about some kind of scandal where we don’t like each other, or something. That will be interesting. I’ll have to check Twitter for that. But, it was really a much more boring reason than that.

Such a shame they couldn’t arrange that. It was THE fan favorite extra feature on the Twilight DVD.

Make sure you read the complete interview HERE at iesb.net