Lionsgate and Summit keep the franchise alive with short film competition, with the participation of Stephenie Meyer

Oct 1, 2014 06:38 GMT  ·  By
“Twilight” is coming back with Facebook short film competition encouraging female directors
   “Twilight” is coming back with Facebook short film competition encouraging female directors

Amazing news for fans of the “Twilight” books and the film franchise that ended in 2012, “The Twilight Saga”! “Twilight” is coming back and no, this isn’t just a rumor making the rounds: this is official, coming straight from Lionsgate and author Stephenie Meyer.  

Lionsgate Vice President Michael Burns confirms the amazing news for the New York Times, saying Facebook will soon host a contest on short films based on “Twilight” characters, with the panel of judges including Meyer herself and leading actress Kristen Stewart, who played human-turned-vegetarian vampire Bella Cullen, nee Swan.

“Twilight” is coming back but not in the same form, it’s being reinvented

So, while “Twilight” is coming back, it’s not realistic to expect to see the same actors in it. In fact, this would be quite a silly thing to do, because Mr. Burns tells the publication none of them will be involved in the short films.

These films will be directed by aspiring / new directors who, by entering the competition, will get the chance to establish connections and maybe even find the funds they need to advance in their career and hopefully even break through on the scene.

You might as well call this a “Twilight” spinoff of sorts, but at least fans will have the chance to revisit their favorite characters, catch up with them, and see what potential futures had in store for them.

“We think Facebook is a great way for us to introduce the world of ‘Twilight’ to a whole new audience while re-energizing existing fans,” Mr. Burns says. “This is the just the beginning – a template, if you will. You can probably guess what might be coming next.”

Joining Meyer and Stewart on the panel are Oscar-winning actress Kate Winslet, Julie Bowen, Octavia Spencer, Catherine Hardwicke (who directed the first “Twilight” film), producer Cathy Schulman, and Jennifer Lee, co-director of Disney’s most recent hit, “Frozen.”

As you probably guessed, this contest aims to encourage more female directors to affirm themselves through their work, in an industry that isn’t exactly known for supporting them.

“Twilight,” the underdog who took over the world

When the first film came out in 2008, the books were already a huge thing. Even so, no one, not even the three actors leading the cast (Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson, and Taylor Lautner) expected the film franchise to take a life of its own, and in the process, over the world.

To call the “Twilight” franchise the underdog who suckerpunched critics and took over the world is an understatement. By its fifth and final installment, it was one of the biggest film franchises of all times – this, despite the fact that it was also one of most derided in certain circles.

Make no mistake about it, “Twilight” brought in a lot of dough, grossing an estimated $3.4 billion (€2.69 billion) in total, with an overall budget of “just” $385 million (€305 million), but it was never a critics’ favorite. It was anything but that, as they delighted in pointing out its many flaws whilst decrying the fate (and future) of cinema.

With “Twilight” expanding to Facebook 2 years after it was supposedly “over,” albeit in a different form, we now have proof that the “Twilight” phenomenon is far from over. So, if you hated it, brace yourselves because more is coming.