We brought you part 1 yesterday you can read it here.
So, given this, of all these directors, who would you most like to collaborate on a future project with?
Certainly Bill, but I’d love to work with any one of them. They all have very different strengths. I actually asked Chris to work on a project with me but he turned me down. I’d work with David in a heartbeat. There are projects I have that I’d totally bring to David.
Would you ever tackle writing for such an iconic book series again?
Absolutely. If I only ever did series adaptations I’d be happy. To me you spend all this time building a world and rich characters and to just have that be over in one two hour film. It’s such a huge undertaking. If they are interesting enough, if the world is interesting enough, I want to see what happens next! For Twilight Stephenie handed me this incredible map. I mean what a gift. With those characters, that mythology, that journey just as a reader I kept think well what’s next?
I’m actually doing another adaptation for Paramount, Earthsea. I want those characters to be interesting enough and to build it. It’s a responsibility when you adapt.
If you could pick any Twilight character and write a sequel or spin-off for, who would you pick?
That’s a tough call. You’ve got Garrett and Kate, that could be quite fun.
But I think Leah. He’s probably the most unfinished character of the series. She’s very unhappy and she lends herself to wondering how does her life work out. At the end of Breaking Dawn she’s happier, but not totally happy.
Then again there’s also Jacob and Renesmee, that is just starting out as well. That could be good too.
I love the name of your production company, Tall Girl Prods. I’m 5’8” and I love that you’re proudly wearing 3 inch heels right now. And I know that you are being recognized as a female writer at the Bold Ink Awards next week. Can you tell me what’s next on the Horizon for you?
We just decided to house ourselves over at ABC. It’s been such a great time working on a midseason replacement series called Red Widow with them. It’s based on a Dutch series. It stars Radha Mitchell and Goran Visnjich and a very large ensemble cast. It’s about this woman who grew up in the Russian mob, and when her husband is assassinated she has to delve into the criminal world herself in order to protect her children. It’s another strong, flawed, complex female character Over the course of the series she comes to realize she’s actually better at business than most of the men.
These are the stories that compel me. Women and girls who are flawed, complex, finding their place in the world and what their lives could be that’s what intersts me. It’s the story of Bella, of Earthsea…it’s the story of anything. I’m getting a little redundant I guess, but that’s what interests me.
Do you feel like doors are opening now for there to be more female driven franchises with these kinds of complex characters?
You hope so. Every time there is a successful there is a successful female driven film, people start saying “Oh this is going to be a whole new thing” and it never is. So we have to be diligent and keep pushing. I think The Hunger Games, which granted was a successful book, but I don’t think it exists on screen without Twilight, or in fairness it would have had a much harder road to get studios to accept that kind of heroine. They always think “will people show up to watch a female lead”? I’m like yeah! Studios are finally having an awareness that girls are box office! Up until this point it’s all been about teenage boys and what they’ll watch and what 13-year-old boys want. Well 13-year-old boys are home playing video games, and they’re not coming to the movies they way they used to. Studio are finally realizing maybe they aren’t your core audience. Look at Twilight. Women will see a film several times in a row that speaks to them and they’ll bring their friends. They’ll buy the DVD, the tee shirt, …everything the studios thought were just for boys. And let’s face it, we’re a pretty frickin passionate audience!
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