‘Twilight’ Director Catherine Hardwicke Threw the Script in the Trash When She First Received It
Though Catherine Hardwicke has directed a number of movies throughout her career, she is still best known for directing Twilight. Over the years, Hardwicke has been very open about how enamored she was by the love story between unlikely duo, Edward Cullen and Bella Swan. But Hardwicke almost passed on directing the project altogether. In fact, the first time she was presented with the script for Twilight, she threw it in the garbage.
Prior to directing Twilight, Hardwicke was making a name for herself as a filmmaker who had a knack for bringing darker stories about young adults to life. Her film Thirteen, in particular, was one that caught the eye of others in the industry. Hardwicke’s unique style eventually caught the attention of Summit Entertainment (the company that distributed the Twilight movies) and they presented her with five scripts with the hopes that she would consider directing them. One of the scripts was Twilight.
Catherine Hardwicke threw the ‘Twilight’ script in the trash
But Hardwicke wasn’t at all impressed by the scripts that she received. In a 2018 interview with Vanity Fair, the director revealed that she canned all five of the scripts. “I did not respond to any of them,” Hardwicke revealed. “I just threw ’em all in the trash.” The director continued on to share that she wasn’t at all interested in directing Twilight until she had the opportunity to read the eponymous book. Upon reading Stephenie Meyer’s book she was taken with the romance that the story showcased and felt that the author truly managed to encapsulate the feelings of first love.
“When I read the book, I thought Meyer had really captured the moments of first love,” the Twilight director shared in another interview with The Hollywood Reporter. “And I thought how fun it was that she did it and drew millions of people to the book. It seemed like a big, cool challenge for me to create those feelings on film.” Ultimately, Hardwicke agreed to direct the first film in what would become a massive franchise. But how does she view the film now that more than a decade has gone by?
The director reflects on the legacy of the wildly-popular movie
“It feels great that people still know and love Twilight,” Hardwicke admitted. “As a director, there are tons of little details that go into every movie, including the decorations on set and costumes. These details add to the texture of the movie, but no one usually picks up on them specifically. That is not the case with Twilight fans. They have seen the movie so many times that they know all these details and pick up on them. That’s something fun and rewarding about this film as the director.”
We’re sure Hardwicke and Twilight fans are pleased that she took a chance on the film. Though the first film in the franchise is drastically different in tone than its sequels, it certainly sticks out as being the most memorable in the franchise.
