It’s no secret Twilight remains a weird, sparkly cult classic that not everyone may understand or enjoy, but to those who do, they can quote it like the back of their hand. Catherine Hardwicke’s 2008 film was the beginning of a phenomenon started in the YA book world with Stephenie Meyer’s best-selling series. But before Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson became the Bella and Edward of our dreams, Hollywood had a much different idea of how to adapt Twilight.
On The Big Hit Show podcast, journalist Alex Pappademas took a deep dive into the making of Twilight and before it became the beloved and loathed hit, Mark Lord took a pass at the screenplay. His description of his Twilight is wild. In Lord’s words:
If you’re aware of the Twilight saga, you know that Hollywood was straight up missing the point of Stephenie Meyer’s vampire series. As Hollywood does (especially in the early 00s), it was catering to a male audience – because at the time apparently that was the only gender going to the movies. In the vein of that, Lord was tasked with adding more action to the story with just a sprinkle of Romeo and Juliet. Lord continued:
Can you imagine this version of Twilight? It sounds like Bella: Vampire Hunter more than an adaptation of the teen romance novel that was flying off the bookshelves at the time. Of course they were missing the point. Twilight is relatable for many young girls because she’s not this strong, impenetrable character. What teen girl is? She’s flawed and weak, but she’s also incredibly clever and in love with a very attractive vampire, who wants to be with her forever. It was the ultimate teen girl fantasy and making it a shoot ‘em up action movie would have seriously undermined its audience.
Thankfully, director Catherine Hardwicke got the hold of the Twilight script. As Hardwicke explained on the podcast, she was approached by a couple of people starting a studio called Summit Entertainment. They passed along five scripts, including Mark Lord’s Twilight and she recalled hating them all. However, she did see some potential in Twilight.
Hardwicke then went to a bookstore, nabbed a copy of Twilight and loved it. She went back to the Summit executives and shared what happened next:
Thankfully, Summit listened to Hardwicke and the rest is history! While Twilight may not be your typical blockbuster or a universally loved film, it remains to be a cultural moment between the first and all five movies. That being said, I’m not opposed to Bella: Vampire Hunter getting off the ground someday… but, you know, to like it ironically.
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