“I even planned out where it would go for a couple more books," "Twilight" author Stephenie Meyer teased a couple of years ago about the further adventures of Edward, Bella and the rest. "So I know exactly what would happen, I mean there are a lot of characters I think would have a voice in those other stories. I don’t know, maybe I’ll write it out someday for myself.” While Twihards will have to wait for more full-length movies, Meyer is passing the baton to aspiring filmmakers to put their spin on the franchise.
Lionsgate announced “The Storytellers – New Creative Voices of The Twilight Saga,” a "multiphase contest" (read: complicated) that will eventually see five female filmmakers direct shorts based on characters from "Twilight." A star-studded panel, including Meyer, Kristen Stewart, Kate Winslet, Octavia Spencer, Jennifer Lee, Catherine Hardwicke, Julie Bowen and Cathy Schulman, will select and help mentor the budding directors, with the final shorts premiering on Facebook. The winning directors will also receive a cash prize and vaguely described "career opportunities." But this is a great way to encourage female filmmakers, so that’s a big positive to this endeavor.
No word yet if any of the "Twilight" actors themselves will pop by, but we’re sure Billy Burke has space in his schedule. Full press release below.
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VANCOUVER, BC, and SANTA MONICA, CA — September 30, 2014 — As part of its ongoing effort to enhance its diverse portfolio of premium content, Lionsgate (NYSE: LGF), a premier next generation global content leader, is teaming with Facebook, the prestigious Women In Film organization, the crowdsourcing platform Tongal and best-sellingTwilight Saga author Stephenie Meyer to create and manage a social media campaign to develop and produce a series of short films directed by aspiring female filmmakers. The campaign, called “The Storytellers – New Creative Voices of The Twilight Saga,” will include films based on a broad spectrum of characters from the Twilight universe, with guidance provided by Meyer’s encyclopedic The Twilight Saga: Official Illustrated Guide.
The campaign will center on a multiphase contest culminating in the selection of at least five aspiring female filmmakers to direct short films based on characters from the Twilight universe. The films will be produced and directed with the mentorship of a blue chip panel of advisors, which will ultimately select the winning shorts that will premiere exclusively on the Facebook platform next year. The star-studded group of female panelists will include Stephenie Meyer, actress Kristen Stewart, Academy Award winners Kate Winslet and Octavia Spencer, Jennifer Lee, the award-winning writer and one of the directors of Disney’s global blockbuster Frozen, Twilightdirector Catherine Hardwicke, Emmy Award-winning actress Julie Bowen, and Women In Film President Cathy Schulman.
Five winning shorts will be financed through production advances, and fans will help select a grand prize winning filmmaker who will receive a cash prize and career opportunities. The short film development and production process will involve extensive fan engagement on the Facebook and Tongal platforms.
“More people than ever before are creating, discovering and engaging with videos on Facebook,” said Facebook Vice President of Partnerships Dan Rose. “This collaboration with Stephenie Meyer, Lionsgate and Women In Film is a great opportunity to engage Twilight’s massive global audience on Facebook through an innovative premium video program.”
“We’re delighted to expand our longstanding relationship with Stephenie and confident that her participation in theTwilight short films campaign will add an exciting new dimension to the incredible world she has created as an author and producer,” said Lionsgate Chief Executive Officer Jon Feltheimer and Vice Chairman Michael Burns. “Our partnership with Facebook and Women In Film underscores the opportunities for growing our franchises in exciting new directions, and we’re pleased to introduce fresh creative talent to the Twilight universe as part of our commitment to female empowerment in front of and behind the camera.”
“Accessing Hollywood is a momentous challenge, especially for aspiring female filmmakers, so I‘m thrilled that Women In Film has been invited to join Stephenie Meyer, Lionsgate and Facebook to empower new storytellers with diverse voices,” said WIF President Cathy Schulman. “Women In Film is proud to help recruit and mentor female filmmakers as part of a project that illustrates the power of a beloved book and movie franchise to lessen the gender gap in our film community and provide a platform for women’s perspectives to be seen and heard.”
"The female voice is something that has become more and more important to me as I’ve worked in the film industry,” said Meyer. “I’m honored to be working with Women In Film, Lionsgate, and Facebook on a project dedicated to giving more women a chance to be heard creatively.”
Continued previous one only : hota h den u will all realize ki back bitch krna bahut aasan h lekin jo sehta h na use hi pta hota h and THEN EVERYONE DESERVES A SECOND CHANCE…. THINK ABOUT IT
Oye faltu baate na kre and best thing is twilight saga aage badh rhi h and plz stop back bitching about kstew and robpatz plz plz plz move on move on guys yaar and Kstew ke paas koi reason hoga and for ur kind information ki kstew has been nominated for mny awards and same wid robpatz kkk and voh dono abh bhi friends h and again stop back bitching plz plz jb tum log kuch banoge badhe hoke and tumhare saath kuch
Okay this is stupid just relaxs it are going okay but I love the twillight saga movie vampire wolves so tos favb
hi sorry I\’m a big fan of the twilight saga and would like to know if the new film will be the same actors as the first movie the whole family cullen and all the actors who recorded all the Twilight sagas. please wait your answers thanks and good day.
I love how KStew fans have such an over-inflated view of her relevance. She hasn\’t gotten any award nominations and she isn\’t going to get any. She isn\’t even in the top 12 actresses mentioned by the trade papers. She has a full time PR rep who generates these "Oscar buzz" stories but the hype is fake. Her part is too insignificant to garner anything. They\’re just desperate to try and rehab her tarnished image. It\’s pathetic. She will never be likable enough for the Academy Awards. She couldn\’t even draw a crowd for her Camp XRay premiere last nght. Ten fans showed up, and they had to give tickets away to fill the theater, no one wanted to buy them. She\’s a loser in every way.
Twilight\’s shortcomings aside, this is a really great endeavor aimed at helping women directors find a platform.
Keep crying, Copy/Paste Troll. The only laughable thing is you, since you are consumed by and obsessed with Kristen Stewart.
The only thing Kristen Stewart owns is a bad reputation. And of course her work in Anesthesia is a 3 day cameo, that\’s the whole time she spent in NY for the film. And no, not numerous sites, just a couple and they\’re laughable, since they include a film that isn\’t even getting a qualifying run. No one can take that seriously. No one has forgotten her cheating scandal, and the Academy sure hasn\’t. Just because a few critics and writers are mentioning her mans nothing. They aren\’t involved in the nominating process. And no one in the industry leapt to support her when she was out of work for 18 months. She was left high and dry, the same way she will be after the nominations cone out. She was snubbed for her flop On The Road and she will be snubbed again. Did you learn nothing from that failure?
*doesn\’t mean people HAVEN\’T thrown her name in the discussion — they have, as you know.
Honey, the only one having a meltdown is you. You have posted your comment up top on numerous articles. You are seeking out Kristen Stewart\’s articles to post about her, so keep crying. I am not talking about Anesthesia, but of course you know that. None of her other films have been "3 day cameos." Numerous trade sites have put her on predictions lists for Still Alice and/or Clouds of Sils Maria, which likely won\’t qualify. Whether or not it won\’t qualify doesn\’t mean people have thrown her name in the discussion and said she would be deserving. You\’re nuts about what "Moore\’s fans" think. She is winning and Sony Pictures Classics campaigning for additional awards doesn\’t take anything away from it. No one cares about her scandal over 2 years later except for you and some rags, Copy/Paste Troll. But stay pressed, as I said. She owns your sorry life.
Your meltdown is amusing. Since when is quantity preferable to quality? A 3 day cameo in a little film no one will see is nothing to brag about. Let me know when a director like Speilberg is willing to work with her. And the Oscar buzz is just hype as you well know CoSM isn\’t even getting a qualifying run, so you can stop with the "two movies" BS. Her part is too small in SA to get anything, and Moore\’s fans don\’t appreciate the way you try to piggyback onto Moore\’s true Oscar buzz. KStew is not getting any nominations. Best Supporting Actress frontrunners: Patricia Arquette "Boyhood," Jessica Chastain "A Most Violent Year," Emma Stone "Birdman," Emily Blunt "Into the Woods," Carmen Ejogo in "Selma." Then lookout for Keira Knightly, Anna Kendrick, Laura Dern, Naomi Watts, Jessica Lange, Vanessa Redgrave & Jane Fonda. Stewart doesn\’t stand a chance against that kind of competition. None of those women have a cheating scandal with a Hollywood director attached to their name.
OMG, you are so pressed. Beyond pathetic. Her career is currently garnering her Oscar buzz for two movies. She has wrapped six movies in the last year and everyone has taken notice of her wonderful work. I also wonder what you think of the careers of Academy Award winners Kate Winslet and Octavia Spencer, who are also on this panel.
Despite Pattinson\’s consistent trashing and mocking of the series that made him rich, famous, and gave him an ability to find work, he will always be associated with it as one of the stars. Deal with it.
Ugh, not this trip again. Please use a photo that more accurately reflects what\’s this is about, meaning, a Kristen only photo. She\’s the one who\’s career has sunk so low that she has to go back to mining the Twilight fanbase in order to find work. She\’s unemployed again, and going back to the well. Pattinson has moved on and will have nothing to do with this project, so please be more appropriate in your photo choices. I know Pattinson was the engine that drove the Twilight franchise, but please use a pic of Stewart and some other cast members, maybe some female ones like Nikki Reed or Ashlely Greene, since that\’s the focus of the story.