Catherine Hardwicke: The Fairy-Tale Fixer

Reed says that Hardwicke is “a great teacher,” and one of the reasons she draws young actors into her world is her sleepy, cool-chick demeanor.

Despite Twilight’s $400 million global success, Hardwicke left the franchise when it came to the sequel. She said it was her decision, despite a blog report that she was fired. “I couldn’t even be fired, that’s what’s so funny,” she says. “In my contract, I had the first right of refusal.” She turned down the second film, she says, because the studio wanted to rush it out. “I do not regret it at all, thank the Lord,” she says. “The truth is I liked the first book the best.”

There is something of the vampire in Hardwicke herself. Just as Edward will never grew old, Hardwicke refuses to abandon the mischievous joys of youth. There’s nothing formal about the way she does business. She frequently invites her protégés over to audition or rehearse. Her home is “right on the beach,” says Shiloh Fernandez, who plays the hunky Peter in Red Riding Hood. “It’s like a loft for a young surfer guy.” It’s not Grandma’s house. 

Check out the entire article from Newsweek here.