“Twilight” director planning making-of book; Stephen King disses Stephenie Meyer
Catherine Hardwicke (Associated Press photo)
“Twilight” director Catherine Hardwicke will release a book detailing the making of her blockbuster film adaptation of “Twilight” to coincide with the movie’s DVD release.
Reuters is reporting that Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, the division of Hachette Book Group, will release “Twilight: Director’s Notebook” on March 17. The “Twilight” DVD comes out on March 21.
Little, Brown Books said that it will print 500,000 copies of “Twilight: Director’s Notebook” on first printing, according to Reuters.
In the book, Hardwicke will share details about casting, location scouting, wardrobe and her favorite scenes. It also will include behind-the-scenes photos and storyboard sketches, according to the report. The book is designed to replicate the personal notebook Hardwicke kept on set during filming.
Although “Twilight” notched the biggest opening weekend for any film by a women director, Hardwicke will not be back for the “Twilight” sequel “New Moon,” which is set for Nov. 20 release. Director Chris Weitz (”The Golden Compass”) is directing the sequel.
Since Hardwicke and “Twilight” saga author Stephenie Meyer had nothing but praise for each other last fall at the “Twilight” junket in Los Angeles, it’s a sure bet that Hardwicke will have much nicer things to say about the author than writer Stephen King did this week.
Lorrie Lynch of USA Weekend’s Who’s News blog quoted King earlier this week as comparing Meyer unfavorably to “Harry Potter” scribe J.K. Rowling.
The horror writer said, “Both Rowling and Meyer, they’re speaking directly to young people. … The real difference is that Jo Rowling is a terrific writer and Stephenie Meyer can’t write worth a darn. She’s not very good.”
Not surprisingly, these comments ruffled the feathers of legions of Meyer’s diehard fans.
King goes on to say, “In the case of Stephenie Meyer, it’s very clear that she’s writing to a whole generation of girls and opening up kind of a safe joining of love and sex in those books. It’s exciting and it’s thrilling and it’s not particularly threatening because they’re not overtly sexual. A lot of the physical side of it is conveyed in things like the vampire will touch her forearm or run a hand over skin, and she just flushes all hot and cold. And for girls, that’s a shorthand for all the feelings that they’re not ready to deal with yet.”
I’ve always contended that Meyer’s books are more addictive than finely crafted. She’s better as a storyteller than a writer, and since she’s only written five books – four of them in the “Twilight” saga – she’s obviously new to the process.
While I agree that Rowling is a better writer than Meyer, I wonder if King’s comments also reflect that Rowling’s style is simply much more appealing to him. Meyer does a great job of tapping into all of the emotions of a young woman experiencing the intensity of her first lasting love, and I’m not sure that King can fully appreciate that.
I did enjoy that King praised one of my favorite writers, Dean Koontz, saying he ”can write like hell.”
While King has always gotten more attention for his horror thrillers, I’ve always thought that Koontz is a much better and imaginative writer.
-BAM
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“Perhaps Mr. King has fallen *tooo hard* on his head in all his accidents. The *Twilight Saga isn*t just for teenagers, take another look at all the Adults buying the books? Jealousy is at his root”
Because, really, he honestly is jealous of a fad about a poorly-written book for horny women, when he’s making over $22 million a year.
Perhaps Mr. King has fallen *tooo hard* on his head in all his accidents. The *Twilight Saga isn*t just for teenagers, take another look at all the Adults buying the books? Jealousy is at his root.