The director of New Moon has signed with Stephenie Meyer’s publishing house, Little,Brown, to publish a post-apocalyptic YA trilogy in 2014.  According to MTVs Hollywood Crush:

According to the announcement from publisher Little, Brown, the literary trilogy-to-be will kick off with “The Young World”: a story about the teenage sole survivors who inherit a destroyed and desolate earth, after a cataclysmic event kills off every person on earth not between the ages of 12 and 21. Ill-equipped to restore society to working order, the surviving residents of New York City must try to rebuild their world from the ground up—a tough charge for any decimated population, but especially difficult if you’re trying to save your species from annihilation while simultaneously going through puberty. Drama will abound!

Let us know in the comments if you think the book sounds good and what your opinion is on Weitz taking a stab at YA.

Chris Weitz talks about his experience on the New Moon set and what team he is one.

Chris Weitz talked to Variety about working with younger and less experienced actors. This certainly came into play on his most recent film A Better Life and on New Moon.

Casting a young actor amounts to more than just selecting one person to fill one role, according to director Chris Weitz.

“It’s important to me that I meet the family before we hit the set, so that they know enough about me to trust me,” he says. “What they’re really doing is giving over a chunk of their kid’s life.”

With credits that include “About a Boy” in 2002, Weitz has found success casting newcomers. The most recent addition was Julian as the teenage son of a Mexican gardener in the U.S. illegally in “A Better Life.”

While he considers casting a first-timer as “taking a leap into the unknown,” the risk, he says, is worth it.

“You know you’re going to get a certain fresh and unstudied quality rather than someone who has been influenced by the world of TV, which is really where a lot of kid actors get their first break,” Weitz says.

See more on Variety

Taylor Lautner supported Chris Weitz at his opening for A Better Life, now if looks like Chris has returned the favor.

The Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute (CHCI) will honor CHCI alumnus Orson Aguilar, executive director at the Greenlining Institute, and Hollywood writer/director Chris Weitz at its Closing Luncheon on education during the 2011 CHCI Public Policy Conference on September 13 at the Washington Convention Center.

Aguilar will be presented with the 2011 Distinguished Alumnus Medallion of Excellence Award, and Weitz will be honored with CHCI’s 2011 Excellence in Service Award.

Orson Aguilar is part of the new wave of civil rights and community leaders focused on ensuring that the American dream remains accessible to all Americans. In his role as executive director of The Greenlining Institute, Aguilar advocates for communities of color on issues such as the environment, community reinvestment, philanthropy and leadership development. Aguilar works to make positive social change and continues to be a role model for future CHCI Alumni.

In honor of his excellence in filmmaking, his work to give voice to the Latino American dream and his efforts to create positive change through the arts, writer/director Chris Weitz will receive CHCI’s Excellence in Service Award. Chris Weitz most recently directed “A Better Life,” a multi-generational immigrant story about a father’s love and everything a parent will sacrifice to build a better life for his child, which Summit Entertainment released on June 24, 2011.

“We look forward to honoring two extremely deserving individuals in Orson Aguilar and Chris Weitz on September 13,” said Esther Aguilera, CHCI President & CEO. “Orson represents the next generation of American leadership and we are proud of what he has accomplished since his CHCI Fellowship in 1996-1997. Chris Weitz’s distinguished career in Hollywood is bested only by his commitment to shedding light on the immigrant story and creating awareness of the American dream story so many in our community live every day.”

After the closing luncheon, attendees are invited to take part in a special screening of “A Better Life” and take part in a question and answer discussion with Chris Weitz.

After the awards presentations, Reps. Raul Grijalva and Nydia M. Velazquez will host a high-level discussion on education. This session will engage experts in a dialogue on how to increase Latino education attainment, which is imperative to reach the national goal of 60 percent higher education attainment by 2025. The session will also feature Allan Golston, president of U.S. Programs at The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

To read the honorees’ full bios or to register for the Public Policy Conference, please visit www.chci.org.