Bayona Not Directing Twilight Eclipse After All?

Apparently not, if this LA Times article is correct. And why shouldn’t it be? Unlike previous articles, the writer of the LATimes article actually went to Summit and asked them to confirm or deny. As it turns out, they’ve denied that they’ve offered anyone the directorial gig for the third “Twilight” film, “Eclipse”, much less Spanish director Juan Antonio Bayona as previously reported yesterday.

Says the LA Times:

By sheer coincidence, I had lunch today with Erik Feig, who’s president of production at Summit and the man most involved with managing the hit series of films. (”New Moon,” the second film in the series, begins production later this month with Chris Weitz at the helm.)

Feig was shocked to see the media reports saying Summit had hired Bayona, since — ahem — they’re not true. “The ‘Eclipse’ directing job hasn’t been offered to Juan Antonio or anyone else,” he told me. “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.”

According to Summit, Bayona doesn’t have the job yet. They could just be waiting for the right time to make the announcement. Mind you, not that it’ll be all that important who is directing “Eclipse”. You’ll either see it or you won’t; there seems to be no middle ground when it comes to teenage angst-ridden vampires in love.

Update: Or maybe yes. Nikki Finke at Deadline Hollywood says she stands by her story that Summit has tapped Bayona for the gig, and quotes Erik Feig of Summit as saying the LA Times article misquoted him. Or some such.

Eh, maybe he’s directing, and maybe he’s not. Like I said, not that it’ll matter. People aren’t going to go see it, or NOT go see it because Bayona is or isn’t directing. You’re either a Twilighter or you aren’t. Case closed.