In a desperate bid to get New Moon, the sequel to Twilight, into theaters while tweens are still laying down money to see the $140-million-grossing original, Summit Entertainment has announced a very-fast-track release date of November 20 next year. Complicating matters is the fact that the director of the first movie, Catherine Hardwicke--who reportedly wasn't as enthusiastic about rushing the sequel--is out, and has been replaced by Chris Weitz. Even leaving aside the question of Weitz's less-than-stellar record of translating popular fantasy franchises to the big screen, it's hard to imagine why Summit didn't opt for these guys, who've already proven adept with the material and have an incontestable record of delivering under budget on a tight schedule:
--Christopher Orr