Though it's not yet official, this week's news that Dreamgirls director Bill Condon has pulled into the lead to direct the remaining two films in the Twilight franchise has given us plenty of food for thought. What makes the Oscar-winning razzle-dazzle specialist a shoe-in to direct Breaking Dawn over other rumored contenders Sofia Coppola and Gus Van Sant?
Oscar Cred
Catherine Hardwicke had indie film respect (Twilight), Chris Weitz had slick CG epic filmmaking under his belt (New Moon), and David Slade seemed like a perfect genre director to bring the franchise into horror-thriller territory (Eclipse). But while each of the previous Twilight Saga directors has been well-suited to their respective adaptations in different ways, Condon brings with him a very important element that could help the franchise go out with a bang: his shiny Academy Award statuette, won in 1999 for writing the horror-related flick Gods and Monsters.
Condon notched another Oscar nomination for scripting 2002's Chicago, the film musical that effectively relaunched the musical genre in modern-day Hollywood. And even when he didn't directly receive Oscar nods or wins, his films have (Dreamgirls earned eight nominations and won two Academy Awards; Kinsey earned one nomination; and Gods and Monsters earned actors Ian McKellen and Lynn Redgrave their own respective nods). He also co-produced the 2009 Academy Awards telecast -- which, if we all recall, wasn't that well-received, but hey -- it's the Oscars!
Condon is a man who has an Oscar sheen about him, and that could elevate the two-part Breaking Dawn films beyond the realm of teenybopper fare. Summit wants Twilight to appeal to more than just the tween set, which Weitz's CG wolves didn't do and Slade's horror cred may not do come June -- and that means bringing in a touch of prestige.
Genre Experience
While Condon is best known for his more recent Oscar-caliber work (see above), a look back in his filmography reveals a surprising knack for genre fare that one might not otherwise expect from the man behind Chicago and Dreamgirls. After a career stint as a journalist, Condon entered showbiz as the screenwriter of 1981's low-budget horror spoof Strange Behavior (AKA Dead Kids), an Illinois-set Ozsploitation flick followed by a sci-fi sequel, Strange Invaders. He made his directorial debut a few years later with the 1987 Gothic thriller Sister, Sister and in 1995 helmed Candyman 2: Farewell to the Flesh (the one that reveals the Candyman's tragic origin story, involving a lynch mob, honey, and a swarm of bees).
A few years later, Condon left behind the horror fare to begin his better known period, starting with the critically-acclaimed Gods and Monsters -- a biopic of horror director James Whale (Frankenstein, Bride of Frankenstein). That film demonstrated Condon's knowledge of the horror genre and his ability to infuse it with humanistic storytelling, which will be key in adapting Breaking Dawn, a story that balances Bella Swan's involvement in the vampire and werewolf worlds with themes of marriage, family, and romance.
Sparkle of a Different Kind
Another of Condon's proven skills is the ability to wrangle large, ambitious productions and deliver polished products with mass appeal. Some may joke, but nobody REALLY expects Bill Condon's Breaking Dawn to include musical numbers or jazz hands. That said, the expertise proven with Dreamgirls -- a film with multiple sets, characters, and intimate dramatic arcs with large ramifications -- should give fans some measure of confidence. After all, Breaking Dawn's story is so over the top and its stakes so elevated that many of us have wondered how it could ever be filmed at all.
One can imagine that Condon could give the Twilight Saga the maturity it needs to bring the first films' teen angst sensibilities into the more adult realm that Bella Swan will quickly find herself in -- facing marriage, babies, and other new discoveries and enemies as the series draws to a close. If Condon can create a product that doesn't look like it's been made merely for the MTV crowd, but also for, well, their parents, the franchise might pull a much wider demographic than it has previously and, also important, earn critical respect.
What Remains to Be Seen
Though Breaking Dawn features relatively little action, it will require some level of CG and/or special effects, which is an area in which Condon is unproven. Though he can grandfather in the werewolf, wolf phasing, and vampire sparkling effects from New Moon and Eclipse (forget those horrid effects in the first film), Condon will also have to tackle characters and effects and new creatures that previous Twilight films and directors have not had to portray. And though I'll keep the specifics vague for those unfamiliar, these new effects will be very difficult to convincingly bring to the screen -- one in particular is invisible, and another biggie will simply be difficult to faithfully portray without risking a ratings battle.
That said, screenwriter Melissa Rosenberg has stated that said effects and events could be adapted within a PG-13 rating, and she's guided the entire franchise with fan-satisfying faithfulness thus far.
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