The quickest way to quash rumors that you’re retiring is to sign on to another project, and fresh off the mind-boggling box office success of “New Moon,” Chris Weitz is teaming up with Summit again for a much smaller film.
Last week, Weitz’s comments to MovieMaker magazine, in which he spoke about the energy drain directing a movie is, and that he may only have on more film left in him, were quickly spun in stories (yes, including one from us) that wondered aloud if the director was finished. Weitz quickly responded saying the comments were overstated, and came at the tail end of an exhausting “New Moon” shot. While he didn’t back away from his comments about his terrible treatment on the set of “The Golden Compass” (which he wanted to be his masterpiece), Weitz has dusted himself off, and set up his next project.
“The Gardener” — which features no vampires, werewolves, polar bears or CGI sequences — is a story about “a hard-working immigrant who lives in Los Angeles and his efforts to protect his son.” Sounds simple, small and exactly the kind of project that reignite the creative juices of a director drained by two high profile, high expectation projects.
We’re glad Weitz is getting back on the horse, and very soon too, with production set to begin in March or April. While he hasn’t yet made his masterpiece, he showed a lot of promise with “About A Boy” and “The Gardener” is exactly the kind of low profile film that will allow Weitz to flex creative muscles that for the past couple of projects that been shackled by studios worried about the bottom line. Smart move, guy.
