“New Moon” Director Likes Gus Van Sant To Helm “Breaking Dawn”

Just because "New Moon" director Chris Weitz is now out of the running for the "Breaking Dawn" gig doesn't mean he doesn't have opinions about who should get the most-talked about director's job in Hollywood.

The name Gus Van Sant has been reported recently as a possibility for the post and the prospect made Weitz excited when he spoke to PopcornBiz while promoting the release of the "New Moon" DVD.

"I think that would be fascinating personally," Weitz says of the "Milk" and "My Own Private Idaho" director.

He's not alone. Last week EW.com reported that Van Sant and Summit Entertainment were in talks for the director's job. Other names in the report included Sofia Coppola and Bill Condon.

Weitz didn't stop just at Van Sant for the eerie conclusion to Stephenie Meyer's "Twilight" series which features a strange vampire birth and other scenes that would rate as bizarre even by "Twlight" standards. "Some of the things that happen in the movie make you think of David Lynch or David Cronenberg," says Weitz. "Or why not Kathryn Bigelow?"

Weitz says he had talked to Summit about the job, but they both sort of dropped the idea after a while. "It wasn't anything dramatic, it's just the reins should be in someone else's hands."

He lists the short-intense shooting period and the massive computer graphics needed to make the movies -- especially the final. "It's kind of a young person's game," says Weitz. "And I'm not getting any younger."

But if he did have advice for the eventual director it would be: "Listen to your actors. and stay true to the book. If you don't stay true to the book, the fans won't follow..and Stephenie Meyer sends a vampire over."

And when you do follow the book, fans not only hit the box office, but they follow up with midnight parties and celebrations for the DVD release. Such was the case on Friday night across the country for "New Moon."

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