The change of director had certainly created a few headaches for the filming and production of "Eclipse," but for soone like Matthew, even unfavorable news had to be spun into a public relations victory.
True to form, Ilana from TMZ was the first to break the story: Sofia Coppola was departing the "Twilight" franchise due to "personal issues" and would no longer direct "Twilight: Eclipse."
The news was instantly seized upon by other dia outlets, quickly becoming the biggest story in the entertainnt world.
According to the plan devised by Matthew and Helen, Sofia Coppola laid low for a short ti. If she did venture out, she was to completely ignore any journalists she encountered. anwhile, Matthew had Bella Anderson organize a group of professional fans to join forces with genuine "Twilight" enthusiasts. Their mission was to stage a protest in front of the office building housing Studio 13, demanding that the producers reinstate Sofia Coppola as director.
On the day of the protest, a massive crowd of fans sward the front of the studio building, completely blocking all access.
Naturally, the event created a dia frenzy, and the rumor mill went into overdrive.
One paper reported that Sofia Coppola had left over creative differences with Matthew.
TMZ, of course, dredged up old photos of Matthew and Sofia Coppola from the ti of their rumored affair, claiming the two had gone from lovers to enemies, which ultimately led to the collapse of their professional collaboration.
The gossip rags also claid that Sofia Coppola could not tolerate Matthew's behavior with the other actresses on the "Twilight" set, prompting her indignant resignation.
For a ti, all sorts of stories about "Twilight" dominated the headlines, capturing the attention of both the dia and the public.
But of course, Matthew was not satisfied with just this. The dia storm had to be sustained right up until the film's official release.
Sean Daniel's communication with David Slade went smoothly. Matthew spoke with Slade several tis himself and was, for the most part, satisfied with the director. Even the original author, Stephenie yer, after eting with David Slade, decided that the bald-headed director was a very suitable choice for "Twilight: Eclipse."
The cast and crew had largely reached an agreent with David Slade, but they were not about to announce it to the public. After all, where was the opportunity for more hype in a straightforward announcent?
Just as Matthew was in negotiations with David Slade, Sofia Coppola called a press conference to officially announce that after directing "Twilight: New Moon," she would not be returning for the sequel.
Among other things, she made a point of stating that while she and Matthew had dated briefly, the mories were nothing but happy and sweet, and that there were absolutely no issues between them.
This answer only fueled the dia's interest, and reporters continued to follow the story, while the public watched on with great fascination.
The buzz showed no signs of dying down.
At Matthew's direction, producer Sean Daniel publicly announced they were casting for a new director and new actors for "Twilight: Eclipse." In addition to several new roles, he revealed that Rachelle Lefevre, who played the villainous vampire Victoria, had also dropped out of "Eclipse" due to scheduling conflicts, forcing the crew to find a replacent.
The announcent imdiately sent shockwaves through the industry and beyond. The success of "Twilight" had made it clear to everyone that the franchise was a golden ticket to stardom.
Within a single week, the production was flooded with applications from actors and directors, including so very well-known nas.
The actor casting was not urgent and was not the focus of this particular dia blitz. The team wanted to keep the spotlight on the search for a director; bringing actors into the mix now would only dilute the ssage.
Therefore, the news released by the production team was almost exclusively about the search for a new director.
Thus, during an interview, Matthew deliberately announced the nas of the three people the team considered the top contenders for the director's chair on "Eclipse": David Slade, Chris Weitz, and Drew Barrymore.
To everyone's surprise, Drew Barrymore confird she was in the running for the director's chair.
This only intensified the frenzy surrounding the director's position.
Soon, Drew Barrymore's na was inextricably linked with "Twilight: Eclipse" in the dia.
"Twilight: Eclipse Seeks New Director—Drew Barrymore Expected to Take the Helm!"
dia outlets owned by Disney reported that the actress-turned-director Drew Barrymore had all but been confird to direct "Eclipse."
Although neither Drew Barrymore nor her agency officially responded to the news, Barrymore herself let it slip in private interviews that she was indeed one of the candidates to direct "Twilight: Eclipse."
But less than two days after that story broke, the narrative suddenly shifted. ABC Television claid to have received reliable information that the director of "Eclipse" would be Chris Weitz, known for directing "Arican Pie" and "The Golden Compass."
The dia outlets on both sides reported with such authority it was as if they were making the decision themselves, each championing their chosen candidate as the definitive final choice for director.
Then, a new story broke on TMZ: the final choice was David Slade. The report revealed that Sofia Coppola herself had personally recomnded Slade to Matthew, and that his familiarity with vampire films gave him a distinct advantage over the other contenders.
The buzz generated by these competing stories continued until just a few days before the film's premiere, when things finally began to quiet down.
But just as the news cycle about the director search was about to fade, Matthew and the "Twilight" cast held a joint press conference to officially announce the director for "Eclipse."
"The director for 'Eclipse,' the third installnt in the 'Twilight' film series, was chosen so ti ago."
At the press conference, producer Sean Daniel announced to the assembled dia, "It is now confird that David Slade has been chosen as the director."
Following the announcent, David Slade was brought out to join them.
A reporter then directed a question to Matthew. "'Eclipse' has chosen David Slade, who has a very limited filmography. The choice is quite surprising. Why didn't you go with the more experienced Chris Weitz, or the actress-turned-director Drew Barrymore?"
In response, Matthew glanced at David Slade before saying, "While David may not have a long list of credits, his style is a perfect fit for the 'Twilight' series. Take his well-known film, 'Hard Candy.' It's also filled with a youthful atmosphere, but it uses an alternative, dark style to create a thriller that gives audiences, especially the n, a real chilling effect."
He paused for a mont, cleared his throat, and added, "And with '30 Days of Night,' he delivered a visceral, slash-and-burn style of vampire horror. So, putting a film like 'Twilight: Eclipse,' which combines youth and vampire thes, in his hands is the most logical choice."
In situations like this, Matthew knew he had to fully endorse the new director.
David Slade confidently fielded questions from the reporters. "It's very exciting to be directing a film based on a bestselling novel," he stated. "'Eclipse' will be darker, with more action scenes than the first two films. We'll be focusing more on so of the established characters, like Jacob, and exploring Bella's choice between him and Edward."
The press conference brought the frenzy over the director's chair to a close. The relentless stream of news had captured the attention of countless potential ticket buyers for "Twilight: New Moon," helping to boost the film's eventual box office.
Of course, this whole dia blitz was a tactic that went beyond the standard promotional plan, but it was naturally supplented by traditional marketing and publicity campaigns.
Furthermore, many dia outlets were already touting the film as the must-see movie of the Thanksgiving holiday.
A successful promotional campaign is essential for a film's box office success, and in that respect, "Twilight" was performing exceptionally well.
With David Slade at the helm, pre-production on "Eclipse" was now in full swing, moving forward on a tight schedule.
Most importantly, the production schedule would not need significant changes. David Slade knew the vampire genre well enough to get up to speed quickly, and with so temporary assistance from Sofia Coppola, his transition into the "Twilight" series, while perhaps not seamless, would be swift.
After speaking with David Slade, Matthew quickly reached an agreent with Disney to keep "Twilight: Eclipse" on its original schedule for a Thanksgiving release the following year.
David Slade presented a preliminary plan to Matthew and Sean Daniel. Pre-production for "Eclipse" would begin right after the release of "New Moon." Filming would officially start after the New Year, with all production work slated to be finished by the end of August. After that, they could begin planning the next installnt.
Stephenie yer had already written the fourth book in the "Twilight" series, titled "Breaking Dawn."
It was a definite candidate for a film adaptation, and since "Breaking Dawn" was even more eventful than the previous three books, Sean Daniel proposed to Matthew that they split it into two films to maximize profits.
Though the proposal had not been finalized, Matthew thought it was an excellent idea.
Just as "New Moon" was about to hit theaters, news reached Matthew from across the Pacific.
After months of preparation and over a month of promotions, the casting for the fifth "Fast and the Furious" film had successfully concluded its initial stages on the other side of the Pacific. The first three rounds of auditions were complete, selecting a total of thirty finalists from across the country for the final showcase.
Among the hopefuls, a young woman nad Ni Ni had not only passed the first two rounds but had also triumphed in the third, securing her place as a finalist.
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