Not so fast, Twekkies. Turns out all the hubbub yesterday about Orphanage director Juan Antonio Bayona directing the third Twilight film, Eclipse, was just plain wrong. Even though Nikki Finke reported it and Variety seemed to confirm it, LA Times blogger Patrick Goldstein heard it from Summit themselves that Bayona hasn't won the job just yet.
Goldstein indulges in his typical finger-wagging at web-based writers, criticizing us for reprinting news from two valid sources. But he, the conquering truth hero of the Internet, had lunch with Summit President Erik Feig, who said the hunt for an Eclipse director is not over. "The Eclipse directing job hasn’t been offered to Juan Antonio or anyone else. We’ve met with three or four talented filmmakers and we’ll be meeting with three or four more other candidates before we make any decision. No one has been offered the job."
It's obvious that Bayona is definitely still in the running, and I'd bet that he emerges as the director after all. Even though Goldstein reports that Bayona has his doubts about stepping into a franchise-- "he's concerned about how much creative involvement he would have coming in to direct the third installment in a series"--it's hard to imagine him stepping down from such a huge opportunity. Something tells me Finke will turn out to be right in the end-- she sure thinks so. But for now, hold off on all those Bayona-related celebrations.
