Breaking Dawn Confirmed! Bill Condon IS Director!

Yay, finally some concrete news on Breaking Dawn from Summit Ent. themselves! This is the first actual press release that confirms some of the cast and crew on board for the final installment, or installments, in The Twilight Saga. Bill Condon will officially direct Breaking Dawn, and even more exciting, Stephenie Meyer is listed as one of the producers. I assume that Stephenie put alot of herself in the final book, so therefore the final film or films will benefit from a more creative input from the author.

This is all very exciting stuff, and hopefully means a stop to the constant rumours and conjecture over whether the film will be made. Now we just need shooting dates, and whether Breaking Dawn will be one or two movies! Keep checking back for more news here on Twilight Treasury, as it develops!

Here is the full press release for your consideration!

Los Angeles, CA April 28, 2010 – Summit Entertainment has confirmed that Academy Award® winner Bill Condon will direct THE TWILIGHT SAGA: BREAKING DAWN, based on the fourth novel in author Stephenie Meyer’s Twilight series. THE TWILIGHT SAGA: BREAKING DAWN, is currently being written by Melissa Rosenberg, and will star Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson and Taylor Lautner. Wyck Godfrey, Karen Rosenfelt, and Stephenie Meyer will produce the project.

“Bringing Stephenie Meyer’s BREAKING DAWN to the screen requires a graceful and intelligent hand and we believe Bill Condon is exactly the right steward, having shown equal and abundant talents of immense creativity and subtle sensitivity,” said Erik Feig, President of Production and Acquisitions, for Summit Entertainment.

Added author Stephenie Meyer, “I’m so thrilled that Bill wants to work with us. I think he’s going to be a great fit, and I’m excited to see what he does with the material.”

“I’m very excited to get the chance to bring the climax of this saga to life on-screen. As fans of the series know, this is a one-of-a-kind book – and we’re hoping to create an equally unique cinematic experience,” said Bill Condon.

THE TWILIGHT SAGA: BREAKING DAWN illuminates the secrets and mysteries of this spellbinding romantic epic that has entranced millions.

Condon is well known for writing and directing DREAMGIRLS, KINSEY, and GODS AND MONSTERS, for which he won the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay in 1999. He was nominated for a second Oscar for his screenplay for the movie musical CHICAGO in 2003. Most recently the multi-hyphenate directed the pilot episode for the Showtime series “The Big C” and produced the 81st Annual Academy Awards telecast, hosted by Hugh Jackman.

The third film in the franchise, THE TWILIGHT SAGA: ECLIPSE is due in theaters on June 30, 2010.

P.S - as you can see, the final sentence of the press release states that Eclipse will be released on June 30th.... perhaps this will stem all those unsubstantiated rumours that there could be a delay...Just saying :)

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Breaking Dawn News! - It WILL Be Two Films? Director Decided?

Nikki Finke's website Deadline has been right almost 100% of the time in the past, so lets hope that is the case with this latest story! -

"Bill Condon has emerged as the number one choice to direct the final two installments of The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn, I’m told. Summit Entertainment hasn’t signed him, but I’m told that after several strong meetings, they are negotiating. Condon was among a list of A-list directors approved by Summit and Twilight author Stephenie Meyer. That list included Gus Van Sant, Sofia Coppola and Fernando Meirelles. Shooting will begin in the fall, and I heard the plan is to shoot two films back to back. That was just what my colleague Nikki Finke reported. She also wrote that Summit was looking for a big director and Dreamgirls and Gods and Monsters director Condon certainly fits that bill. Presumably, Condon would do this as his next project, and push back the picture he had planned to direct.

Twilight Saga: New Moon director Chris Weitz decided not to reprise, despite directing a film that grossed $707 million worldwide., almost doubling the Catherine Hardwicke-directed original's $385 million worldwide gross. New Moon also broke Twilight's opening weekend DVD sale record when it moved 4 million units to the 3.8 million of the original Twilight, which went on to become 2009's top DVD title with 9.2 million sales. David Slade helmed the upcoming installment, The Twilight Saga: Eclipse, which Summit releases June 30. Condon is also going to direct the Richard Pryor biopic that will star Marlon Wayans and will be made by Columbia Pictures through a put deal held by Adam Sandler’s Happy Madison, which is a producer on the project. Like Salmon Fishing in the Yemen, that is going to have to wait for Condon to finish the double feature. Hollywood hasn't given Summit its due on the Twilight pictures. Like them or not, these pictures have been better than they had to be, given the ferocious fan base. They are exciting movies with a fresh contemporary feel. That Summit keeps pushing the envelope, where director quality is concerned, says a lot in how to keep franchises engaging for fans--something that studios now readying prequels, four-quels and reboots, would be smart to emulate."

What do you think of these latest rumours? Are you happy with Breaking Dawn being two films, and who would you like to direct?

Personally, I don't mind on the director, everyone has something different to bring to the table. On the two films front, I'd much rather that than cram everything into one!

But, as ever, there is no official word from Summit..... Yet!

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