Catherine Hardwicke Turned Down For Job Because of Gender

Catherine Hardwicke has the upcoming Red Riding Hood hitting screens next month, but apparently she couldn’t even make a pitch for another movie because she is a woman. Moviefone has not only Catherine’s quote, but an analysis of the situation.

“…it’s Catherine Hardwicke, who’s revealed that she was blocked from pitching to direct ‘The Fighter’ because she’s a woman.

Hardwicke told The Wrap last week: “I couldn’t get an interview even though my last movie made $400 million. I was told it had to be directed by a man — am I crazy? It’s about action, it’s about boxing, so a man has to direct it … But they’ll let a man direct ‘Sex in the City’ or any girly movie you’ve ever heard of.”

It would be quite easy to immediately jump on that particular $400 million movie. ‘Twilight’ isn’t the sort of fare that will give anyone a lot of clout at the bargaining tables outside of teen romance. The rabid fandom that led to the series’ success, and the subject matter and treatment at hand are quite narrow in focus. It might seem like a stretch for the woman known for only tackling youth-based subjects to get a drama about an adult male boxer and his brother.

But to do so ignores two key points.

One: Hollywood has always allowed fro surprising choices.

Two: Hardwicke didn’t say she was refused because of her past work.”

See the rest on Moviefone’s Cinematical

Little Red and Twilight Too Similar?

There’s a lot of buzz on the Internet that Little Red Riding Hood, directed by Catherine Hardwicke, looks an awful lot like Twilight, also directed by Catherine Hardwicke. Among the movie’s cast are Billy Burke and Shiloh Fernandez. Catherine disclosed at the Seattle Twilight convention least year that Shiloh was one of 4 actors on her Edward Cullen short list (the others being Ben Barnes, Jackson Rathbone, and Robert Pattinson). Check out the videos below and tell us what you think.

Catherine Hardwicke to Mentor Young Filmmaker

catherinehardwickeCatherine Hardwicke, the director of Twilight who is currently busy directing an updated Red Riding Hood tale that co-stars Billy Burke, is going to be mentoring a young filmmaker named Renuka Jeyapalan. Renuka is the winner of the 2010 Kodak New Vision Mentorship, and a mentorship with Catherine is part of her prize.

According to the Women in Film and Television in Toronto (WIFT-T):

“As part of the program, …Renuka will also receive an all-access industry pass to the TIFF festival and a post-TIFF creative mentorship with director Catherine Hardwicke (Twilight, Thirteen).

“The Kodak New Vision Mentorship allows WIFT-T to continue to develop Canadian female directors and to play a role in their ongoing success,” says Sadia Zaman, Executive Director of WIFT-T. “We look forward to Renuka’s first feature and want to thank Kodak, Catherine Hardwicke and Laurie May for their invaluable contribution to the industry.”

See the full article on WIFT-T

Twilight Lexicon Interview: Catherine Hardwicke

We had the opportunity to interview Catherine Hardwicke at Creation Entertainment’s Official Twilight Tour in Vancouver. We can honestly say that this is an interview that we are never going to forget.

Catherine Hardwicke Honored at Female Eye Film Festival

catherinehardwickeCatherine Hardwicke was honored at the Female Eye Film festival for making her mark in the film industry and notably kicking off the Twilight chain.

““One thing that we’ve noticed over the years is that female directors often make a transition from other parts of the industry. (Catherine) has a background in production design and art direction, and she evolved her skillet to the next level. She’s had a huge hit (with Twilight) but she’s also made an impact in the political arena — she didn’t direct the sequel. She’s a woman who has made her bones in a difficult industry.””

Catherine is the first non-Canadian to be honored by the festival. Read the rest on MetroNews.

Catherine Hardwicke Gives Advice to Film Students

Catherine was among the guest speakers at the Campus Movie Fest International. She uses both Thirteen and Twilight as reference examples.

And speaking of Catherine Hardwicke, she puts to rest rumors that her multiple upcoming projects are going to be in conflict with each other.

Shaunna Cross to Pen Catherine Hardwicke Project

Shaunna Cross who recently wrote the screenplay Whip It based on her own novel Derby Girl. Collider was able to do a brief Q&A with Shaunna about the project.:

“According to Cross, she’s not exactly sure where the project falls into Hardwicke’s schedule as the director is developing both “Hamlet” and the “Red Riding Hood” project at Warner Bros. But with Cross telling us they’re going to go out for casting soon, that probably means whichever film gets the financing together first, that’s the one Hardwicke will do.

If you’ve ever wondered why a director attaches themselves multiple projects, this is the reason. You can have a great script with a great cast, but if the money isn’t there, it’s not getting made. So what directors do is develop many films at once and whichever one gets the money gets made.”

See more on the project on Collider.

Catherine Hardwicke In Guinness Book of World Records

According to Reuters:

“When it comes to some of the biggest movies of the decade, Guinness World Records has it covered. JJ Abram’s re-imagination of Star Trek made it into this year’s book as the “Most Downloaded Movie Trailer (24 Hours)” with 1.8 million downloads on Apple.com in the first day and more than five million in its first five days of release. Twilight, directed by Catherine Hardwicke, has captured the hearts and wallets of millions while claiming the record for “Highest-Grossing Movie By A Female Director”.

Emile Hirsch: His Current Projects and Future Work With Catherine Hardwicke

Check it out on Collider

Catherine Hardwicke: So Little Time, So Many Projects!

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Catherine Hardwicke may be the busiest director in Hollywood. Never mind “female director”, director—period!

THR states:

“The director is in negotiations to helm “The Girl with the Red Riding Hood,” the Warners reboot of classic fairy-tale “Little Red Riding Hood” that the studio is developing with Leonard DiCaprio’s Appian Way.

She’s also in early talks with Sony to take on its feature version of “21 Jump Street,” the undercover cop tale that, like “Twilight,” centers on high-schoolers with unusual abilities, though other directors are in the running on that project as well.

It’s unclear if Hardwicke could helm both pics — while both projects are at the development stage, they’re considered priorities for their respective studios, which could create a scheduling issue if both go next year. On top of that, Hardwicke is also on tap to helm the  modern-day adaptation of “Hamlet,” the Emile Hirsch vehicle at Overture that could bump up against the other pics.

Still, hers is a high-class problem — an abundance of projects at a time when studios are cutting back and gigs are harder to come by.”

Check out the full scoop on THR’s Risky Business Blog.