logo
‘It was an earth-shattering reality right away': director Catherine Hardwicke on life after Twilight

‘It was an earth-shattering reality right away': director Catherine Hardwicke on life after Twilight

The Guardian5 hours ago
Film-makers have long used their movies as Trojan horses to express their political beliefs and values and Catherine Hardwicke is no different. In her 2003 debut feature, Thirteen, and her 2008 teen vampire hit Twilight, the writer-director bolstered the stories with environmentally and socially conscious messaging to inspire people to 'save the planet'. And with her latest film, Street Smart, which she describes as 'a kind of homeless The Breakfast Club', she is still 'sneaking in' her 'good values'.
Street Smart, now in post-production, is a low-budget ensemble drama, executive-produced by Gerard Butler and partnered with charities Covenant House and Safe Place for Youth, that centres on a group of unhoused teens bonding through music, trauma and humour while fending for themselves on the margins of LA society. It stars Yara Shahidi (Grown-ish), Isabelle Fuhrman (Orphan) and Michael Cimino (Never Have I Ever), as well as a group of unknown actors whom Hardwicke describes as having 'big hearts and compassion for others; otherwise, they would be trying to work on a superhero film'.
Homelessness is a major issue affecting the Californian city. Just last week, US district judge David O Carter ruled that Los Angeles officials had 'flouted' their responsibility to create new shelters for unhoused people by June 2027. The humanitarian crisis in Los Angeles, exacerbated by the Pacific Palisades and Altadena wildfires in January, is an issue that longtime Venice Beach resident Hardwicke was keen to explore. 'We shot on my street, so it's very close to my heart,' she says. 'It's a love letter to Venice, because we have so many eccentric, strange characters of all economic levels.
'Everybody's going through so much, and [there's] such high rent in LA,' she adds. 'Even if you have a job, you still might be homeless, crashing here [and] there, because a job doesn't pay that much. The kids in our movie have jobs – how do you make ends meet?'
Hardwicke, who is in Malta as a jury member at the Mediterrane film festival, says her film addresses a bigger target: Trump's rollback ofprovisions such as reproductive healthcare access, welfare budgets, and diversity, equality and inclusion (DEI) initiatives. 'Even though we wrote it before he got elected, Street Smart is directly addressing some of [these] issues,' she says. 'It's telling a compelling story that shows people who do not look like Donald Trump, or think like him.'
Hardwicke is no stranger to film-making hardship. Despite her early successes, which included sparking the YA movie boom with the hugely successful adaptation of Stephenie Meyer's novel Twilight, Hardwicke discovered a harsh truth: 'No, people aren't going to hire more women directors. They're not going to give you the next job and let you do something great. It was an earth-shattering reality right away.'
She recalls the offices of Twilight producers Summit Entertainment soon after the film's initial box-office success in 2008. She knew that successful male directors might be gifted 'a car, or a three-picture deal, or [getting] to do basically whatever you want' – but none of that happened. 'I walked into a room with all these gifts, and everybody was congratulating the studio, and they gave me a box,' Hardwicke says. 'I opened it up, and it was a mini cupcake.'
Hardwicke was replaced by Chris Weitz for the first Twilight sequel, New Moon, and male directors were hired to helm the remaining three films in the franchise. Hardwicke went on to direct 2011's Red Riding Hood, produced by Leonardo DiCaprio and starring Amanda Seyfried, but 'it was much more challenging', she says. 'It had a lower budget than we had on Twilight, and it was all fantasy, so we couldn't shoot any real locations and had to build all the sets. They didn't give me much freedom.'
Still, Hardwicke has been able to exert her will when it comes to casting, and in the process has launched the careers of some of Hollywood's biggest actors, from Evan Rachel Wood and Robert Pattinson – she was at his birthday party 18 months ago – to Oscar Isaac in The Nativity Story and her 'buddy' Jeremy Renner in Lords of Dogtown, which this year marks its 20th anniversary. 'I gave him an early shot,' Hardwicke says of the Hawkeye and Avengers star. 'I thought Jeremy and Shea Whigham would be funny brothers who sell [cocaine]. I love all of my kids.'
Sign up to Film Weekly
Take a front seat at the cinema with our weekly email filled with all the latest news and all the movie action that matters
after newsletter promotion
Hardwicke also has a cheerful memory of working with Tom Cruise. Before switching to directing, she was a production designer with credits on Richard Linklater's The Newton Boys, David O Russell's Three Kings and Cameron Crowe's Vanilla Sky, the last of which Cruise starred in and produced. Hardwicke had been a last-minute addition, replacing the previous production designer two weeks into the shoot. She remembers late nights with the actor-producer: 'He was inspiring because he does not settle for anything less than excellence.'
Hardwicke says Cruise offered to stay late to work out a conference-room set up. 'He and I are acting out the scene, we're rearranging the furniture until one in the morning,' she says. 'I'm like, 'Dude, aren't you even tired?' He had to be back at [7 am], but he wanted to get it right. Every chance he had. He never stopped.'
Nowadays, Cruise's intense commitment is mostly seen in the Mission: Impossible franchise, but despite her fondness for Cruise's work ethic, when asked if she'd ever helm one of his spy films, Hardwicke chuckles: 'Not necessarily.'
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

EXCLUSIVE The inside story of why Taylor Swift spectacularly snubbed Kamala Harris on the campaign trail
EXCLUSIVE The inside story of why Taylor Swift spectacularly snubbed Kamala Harris on the campaign trail

Daily Mail​

time21 minutes ago

  • Daily Mail​

EXCLUSIVE The inside story of why Taylor Swift spectacularly snubbed Kamala Harris on the campaign trail

Despite whispers and building anticipation that she could join Beyonce or Lady Gaga for the biggest political and pop culture spectacle in history, she never showed up on the campaign trail in support of Kamala Harris. Despite a debate night endorsement of Harris in September that sent Donald Trump spiraling, Taylor Swift decided to sit out the remainder of the 2024 cycle. The forthcoming book, 2024: How Trump Retook the White House and the Democrats Lost America, reveals new details about who's at fault for there never being a Harris-Swift moment on the campaign trail that could've captivated and motivated the pop star's legion of fans. 'Swift proved to be a special challenge. Staffers who worked on celebrity appearances were instructed not to make any outreach to her universe; Doug Emhoff was handling it,' wrote journalists Josh Dawsey, Tyler Pager and Isaac Arnsdorf. Emhoff, the authors explained, had an in with Swift's team. 'Before Harris became vice president, Emhoff had had a lucrative career as an entertainment lawyer in Los Angeles,' they wrote. 'He and Swift's lawyer, Doug Baldridge, were both partners at the firm Venable.' Emhoff, the authors wrote, had reached out to Baldridge to 'convey that the campaign would appreciate any efforts the pop star could make to help Harris.' 'Baldridge said Swift would do what Swift thought was best,' they said. Taylor Swift surprised the Harris campaign by endorsing the Democratic nominee directly following her September 10 debate against President Donald Trump. Second gentleman Doug Emhoff was the only person allowed to do outreach to Swift's team On September 10, Harris stepped onstage in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania for a first and only debate against the GOP nominee, former President Donald Trump. 'Minutes after the debate ended, Taylor Swift surprised the campaign with a full- throated endorsement posted on her Instagram,' the authors noted. 'She shared a photo of her with her cat, Benjamin Button, and signed it "Childless Cat Lady," a dig at J.D. Vance.' With no audience in the actual debate hall, the Harris campaign had set up shop at the Cherry Street Pier, an old warehouse on the Delaware River converted into art galleries and a performance space. 'Harris asked if she should mention the endorsement when she spoke to supporters at a watch party,' the authors said. 'They said that would sound too thirsty, but agreed to change her walk-off song to Swift's "The Man."' The mood in the room was electric - and it only seemed a matter of time before Swift, herself, would make some sort of appearance along Harris' side. Swift famously didn't step into politics until the 2018 campaign cycle - endorsing Tennessee Senate candidate Phil Bredesen and Democratic Rep. Jim Cooper - and expressing remorse in the documentary Taylor Swift: Miss Americana for not doing more to help Democrat Hillary Clinton beat Trump in 2016. She endorsed Joe Biden via social media in 2020 - though the COVID-19 pandemic and Biden's COVID-conscious campaign strategy meant that celebrity engagement was limited. But the Harris campaign 'dedicated huge resources in the final month to massive rallies with celebrity guests,' the authors noted. 'Harris and Walz said they were bringing joy back to politics, and massive celebrity-filled rallies - Meghan Thee Stallion performed in Atlanta, Maggie Rogers in Ann Arbor, Gracie Abrams and Mumford & Sons in Madison, Wisconsin - were key to that strategy.' Beyonce - who had been rumored to appear alongside Harris at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago in August - finally hit the campaign trail at a special abortion rights rally in the songstress' hometown of Houston, Texas in late October. 'But privately, some campaign staff raised concerns that the major rallies may not be worth the millions of dollars they cost to stage or the staff investment,' the authors said. 'There was scant evidence that the rallies were persuading voters or necessarily boosting turnout.' Federal Election Commission filings later showed the Harris paid Beyonce's production company, Parkwood Production Media LLC, $165,000 for that event. There were also concerns about some of the celebrity assignments - such as sending Bruce Springsteen, whose fans are predominantly white, to Clarkston, Georgia, where the city's population is 70 percent black and 50 percent foreign-born. 'The predominantly white press corps seemed more interested in Springsteen's performance than the 23,000 mostly black attendees,' the authors wrote. Still, the celeb-filled Harris-Walz campaign carried on. And still no Taylor. In the final hours before Election Day, there was some evidence that a Swift appearance may finally be happening. On Monday, November 4, Harris was heading to Pennsylvania and would door-knock with volunteers in Reading, the closest city to Swift's birthplace. 'Rumors flew that the town's most famous daughter, Taylor Swift, would join Harris there or perform at a last rally in Philadelphia,' the authors said. 'Low-level Harris aides did nothing to tamp down the speculation.' Instead the final night featured performances by 2 Chainz in Raleigh, Christina Aguilera in Las Vegas and Jon Bon Jovi in Detroit, which the authors called 'another head-scratcher for many black voters.' Reprising the role she played in 2016 and 2020, Lady Gaga was the main act for the final event, performing songs in front of the Rocky steps at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Emhoff had been told that Swift would do what Swift thought best. 'Nothing more than the endorsement ever materialized,' the authors said. A spokesperson for Swift did not respond to the Daily Mail's request for comment.

The terrifying dark truth about Viagra, the shocking side effect that can leave you impotent - and whether the little blue pill will really 'turbocharge' your sexual performance: PAT HAGAN
The terrifying dark truth about Viagra, the shocking side effect that can leave you impotent - and whether the little blue pill will really 'turbocharge' your sexual performance: PAT HAGAN

Daily Mail​

time29 minutes ago

  • Daily Mail​

The terrifying dark truth about Viagra, the shocking side effect that can leave you impotent - and whether the little blue pill will really 'turbocharge' your sexual performance: PAT HAGAN

There was a time when erectile dysfunction was a dark secret that stayed very much in the bedroom. Not any more. From that first TV ad with a bearded man in his blue, shorty PJs doing a post-Viagra dance seven years ago, now there's a glut of social media content, on platforms such as TikTok – often with 'funny' takes on impotence and how to treat it.

Lizzo does Baywatch in red Yitty swimsuit as she kicks back by the pool
Lizzo does Baywatch in red Yitty swimsuit as she kicks back by the pool

Daily Mail​

time41 minutes ago

  • Daily Mail​

Lizzo does Baywatch in red Yitty swimsuit as she kicks back by the pool

Lizzo channeled the Baywatch star Pamela Anderson in a red, one-piece swimsuit over the weekend. On Saturday she shared a video of herself modeling swimwear from her brand Yitty as she lounged poolside. With a blank space left for her fans to share their imagination, she wrote in her caption: 'Put some @yitty on yo ______!' The 37-year-old singer recently revealed the 'truth' about her weight loss journey - and as her fans turned on the thinner-than-ever star as she finally admitted to using Ozempic after her denial. In the past two years, there has been a flurry of fan speculation about Lizzo using Ozempic as she documented her weight loss journey on social media. She made an appearance on Trisha Paytas' podcast Just Trish in late June and decided to come clean. 'I tried everything,' she said while explaining how she tried using GLP-1 drugs for several months in the beginning of her weight loss journey. 'Ozempic works because you eat less food, yeah? So if you eat right, it makes you feel full. But if you can just do that on your own and get mind over matter, it's the same thing.' She also said that she started getting results when she stopped being vegan after many years of not eating meat. 'What did it for me is, it was not being vegan,' she explained. 'Because when I was vegan, I was consuming a lot of fake meats. I was eating a lot of bread. I was eating a lot of rice and I had to eat a lot of it to stay full.'

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store