LOS ANGELES — By now it's the stuff of legend, as much a part of "Twilight" history as Stephenie Meyer's dream, Catherine Hardwicke's bed or Taylor Lautner's workout bench. Incoming director Chris Weitz asserted himself on the "New Moon" set by greeting each of the returning actors with a 20-page "orientation guide," explaining what would be different from Catherine Hardwicke's "Twilight" experience. Robert Pattinson read it; so did Kristen Stewart and Taylor Lautner — and soon, so can you.
When MTV News spoke with Weitz this week, he revealed some details about the mysterious document he distributed to his cast and crew when they arrived on the "New Moon" set. He also broke some news on his plans to get it into the hands of Twilighters.
"You needed a secret encoded key to unlock it," he laughed, joking about the secrecy that surrounded his pamphlet. "Basically, it was just a guide about me, because I was the new kid on the block. I wanted to let them know what kind of movie I wanted to make, what I wanted it to look like, what I wanted it to feel like. [I even gave them] floor maps of the sets, so that the first time they walked on they didn't feel completely lost.
"An actor comes into things not quite knowing what's going on," he explained. "[So the book was] to give them as much of a leap as possible on what they were going to do."
As fans remember, Hardwicke put an exclamation point on her "Twilight" experience by releasing a popular "Director's Notebook" that reproduced her notes and sketches for the first film's set. And now that "New Moon" is finished, Weitz is thinking about doing something similar.
"I've been thinking about that, and I've decided not to do it," he said of publishing the book. "Instead, I think I will eventually give the orientation book to the fans — if it's OK with Summit — for free."
The decision, Weitz explained, is fueled by a combination of bad timing, exhaustion and wanting to thank the fans for their support. "I don't think I want to publish the notebook, because I would have to do it within the next month," he explained, revealing that the details had been discussed. "And by then I'll be so tired of talking about this movie that I will have to shoot myself if I have to write another word about it."
Weitz is currently hard at work assembling the "New Moon" DVD for a first-quarter 2010 release — and although he's considered releasing the guide with that disc, he's instead looking into other ways (handouts? the Internet?) to get it into the hands of fans.
"I don't think I'll include it in the DVD," he said. "I would like people to be able to get it for free."
Check out everything we've got on "The Twilight Saga: New Moon."
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