While we’re on the subject of Twilight, let’s remember one thing: it wasn’t always meant to be. Back in the beginning, the director Chris Weitz had big plans for the story of a vampire rising, and he wasn’t the only one. The script started out as just that: a script. In the beginning, there were no vampires. No sparkly vampires. No Edward (or Jacob) Whitesides. It was more like Romeo and Juliet, but set in the modern world, and with a few twists that had never been done on film before – including a gay character.
When Weitz showed the script to his friend, legendary producer Bill Block, he had to convince him that it was something special. Block loved the story and decided to back it financially, which allowed Weitz to hire some of the best screenwriters the industry had to offer: Peter Morgan, Frank Pugliese, and eventually, Scott Silver. Together, they crafted a masterpiece that would go on to become one of the biggest grossing franchises of all time.
While it’s been almost 10 years since these four friends first collaborated on Twilight, the success of the film still feels like it was just yesterday. And as if to prove the point, here’s where we find ourselves: back in Cannes, with the premiere of the long-awaited sequel, New Moon. Weitz is back behind the camera this time, while the dynamic quartet of screenwriters are joined by a whole new gang of talented scribes. It’s clear that while the story of Twilight continues to hold up, the writing team behind it all has grown and changed with the times.
How Did You Get Involved With The Writing Process?
Like most of us, you probably woke up one day and decided you were going to become a writer. But instead of just writing for yourself, you saw a problem in the world and decided to tackle it. In your case, the problem was poverty. You wanted to help those less fortunate than yourself, and in an attempt to do so, you wrote a heartbreaking, yet inspiring short story about a young man who seeks to end his poverty through his writing. As an independent writer, you submitted your story to various publications, but were rejected many times. Undeterred, you kept writing, and eventually found yourself invited to a prestigious writing camp, where you could finally meet some like-minded individuals and continue your work. Once there, you pitched your story to the very people who had previously rejected you – the editors at Rolling Stone.
From this point forward, the rest is history: you were offered the opportunity to write the script, and took it. Your short story became the blueprint for one of the greatest coming-of-age films of all time. In fact, it still holds the record for the most wins in the Screenwriting Awards, with a total of 13 wins out of 19 nominations. You also won the award for Best Adapted Screenplay, which is what made you famous (or infamous, rather).
What Changed Between The First And Second Versions Of The Script?
When Bill Block first read your script, he loved it. Like most of us, he probably thought that it was the story of a young man trying to end his poverty by becoming a writer. However, something about your story compelled Block to take a closer look, and after he did, he realized that you were not writing about a young man trying to end his poverty. You were writing about a vampire.
In the first version of the script, the main character was named Luke – an obvious nod to the Luke in Stoker, and in fact, the character’s name was almost exactly the same. He was a struggling artist who took a job at a gas station in order to save enough money to move out of his parents’ house and into an apartment. While there, he meets a girl – named Robyn – who works at the gas station as well, and the two of them form a close bond while working together.
Here’s the problematic part: due to a printing error, the first edition of the script featured a scene where the two main characters – Robyn and Luke – have sex. That was not going to happen in a PG-13 movie. Sex scenes are generally avoided in films aimed at a family audience, unless the characters are being forced to do it, and neither of those things are going to happen in your story. That is, unless you want to make a R-rated movie. You can see how this could become problematic. Fortunately, Bill Block realized the error before the movie was released, and a new print run with the corrected sex scene was produced. But that wasn’t the end of it: after the movie’s premiere, numerous complaints flooded in about the graphic sex scene. The MPAA gave it a rating of NC-17, which means it was banned in certain locations. The studios had to scramble to figure out a way to keep the sex scene in the movie, and in the end, they decided to replace it with an even more graphic sex scene.
How Do You Feel About The Sex Scene In New Moon? Is It More Graphic Than In The Original?
The sex scene in New Moon is more graphic than the one in the premier version of the script. However, that doesn’t mean it’s gratuitous. In the case of New Moon, Scott and the editors at Summit decided to go all-out on it, and for the most part, it works. But even then, there are some things to be worked on. For example, when we see the character Bella for the first time, we’re presented with an extreme close-up on her face. And while, in theory, that could be an intimate moment between the two characters, it feels more like pornography – albeit an extreme form of it.
If anything, the problem lies in the fact that director Chris Weitz and his editors took the easy way out: instead of hiring an experienced sex educator to teach Bella and Victoria how to have safe, pleasurable sex, they decided to wing it, and the results are pretty disastrous. Weitz has previously spoken about the scene, saying it was “the most challenging scene I’ve ever had to shoot.” That’s because it wasn’t supposed to be easy: it was supposed to be humiliating and degrading for the girls, who are essentially being objectified for the sexual pleasure of the male characters. Not only that, but some of the lines were improvised by the actors, which made it even more difficult to shoot. In the end, it’s safe to assume that no one involved in the making of New Moon had any real experience with sexual intimacy, and this is exactly why they hired an expert instead of trying to figure it out on their own.
What Is The Ultimate Goal Of The Script?
Ultimately, we’re never really told what the goal of the script is. When we meet Victoria, she’s already attained her goal – she’s a successful author who’s hit the #1 spot on the bestseller list. But as for Scott and his fellow vampires, they still seek to attain something. It’s never made clear what, exactly, that is.
What Made You Write This Story In The First Place?
Like most of us, you probably woke up one day and decided you were going to become a writer. But instead of just writing for yourself, you saw a problem in the world and decided to tackle it. In your case, the problem was poverty. You wanted to help those less fortunate than yourself, and in an attempt to do so, you wrote a heartbreaking, yet inspiring short story about a young man who seeks to end his poverty through his writing. As an independent writer, you submitted your story to various publications, but were rejected many times. Undeterred, you kept writing, and eventually found yourself invited to a prestigious writing camp, where you could finally meet some like-minded individuals and continue your work. Once there, you pitched your story to the very people who had previously rejected you – the editors at Rolling Stone.
From this point forward, the rest is history: you were offered the opportunity to write the script, and took it. Your short story became the blueprint for one of the greatest coming-of-age films of all time. In fact, it still holds the record for the most wins in the Screenwriting Awards, with a total of 13 wins out of 19 nominations. You also won the award for Best Adapted Screenplay, which is what made you famous (or infamous, rather).
In conclusion, while Twilight continues to hold up as one of the greatest film franchises of all time, it was never meant to be. The story started out as a simple coming-of-age tale: a young man seeking to end his poverty through his writing. But somewhere along the line, the story took a dark turn, and what was supposed to be an inspiring tale of triumph turned into a cautionary tale about confronting your demons.