Director Catherine Hardwicke is sticking with troubled youth for her next film, following Thirteen,** Lords of Dogtown** and, er, The Nativity Story. She's attached to direct a film adaptation of Stephenie Meyer's Twilight, the first in a vampire epic.
The story focuses on Bella, a 17 year-old who moves to live with her father in a small town and falls for a pale and interesting boy that she meets. But wait! Aren't his teeth a little pointier than normal? Yup, you guessed it - he's not just unclean in the manner of teenage boys, he's properly nosferatu.
The book's been something of a publishing sensation among young adults, as we're now calling teens, and has lots of franchise potential, what with its two sequels to date - New Moon and Eclipse - and at least two more planned. From what we've read, it's sort of Anne Rice for teens, with some werewolves thrown in for good measure.
Melissa Rosenberg, of Step Up, er, fame, is writing the script, but there's no word yet on whether this will be Hardwicke's next film, or if she'll go ahead with environmental-activist drama The Monkey Wrench Gang instead. With the strike looming next summer, expect to read the fourth book long before you see the first film. But has anyone in this country read the series? Are you excited at the prospect?