Hmmm...

This is not inspiring confidence.  Personally, I'm reserving judgement on the whole director switch - I like Catherine Hardwicke, but I also understand how it makes business sense to Summit.  Changing it up increases the likelihood that those fans who were unhappy with Twilight will be willing to give New Moon a chance.  I'm planning to Netflix Chris Weitz's oeuvre if he gets picked officially - About a Boy seems promising, The Golden Compass seemed to have a lot going on that was out of Weitz's hands.  New Moon comes in with significantly less controversy than The Golden Compass, and it would be nice to think that he's learned from the difficulties with that film.  I'm not a person who thinks that it has to be directed by a woman, I'm willing to wait and see.

Mainly, what's troubling is the tone being used to discuss the movie, and the seemingly speedy timeline.  This time last year, Kristen and Rob had been cast and the movie was heading forward to start filming in February with a December release date.  Now there's no director, Volturi and Quileutes (vital to any potential future films) yet to be cast, and apparently they're going to start shooting in March and plan to get all the post-production work, including the giant wolves, done in time to hit theaters on the same November weekend next year.  The statement about a "guaranteed $100 mil. gross" shows a lack of understanding of the fan base - there seems to be an idea that the success of Twilight is tantamount to a carte blanche from the fans for future work, which anyone who's spent any time on a fansite for the series knows is grossly inaccurate.  Summit only got to their $70 mil. opening weekend with a healthy respect/fear of the fans.  Assuming blockbuster status is counting chickens before they've hatched.  As one of the crazy bitches who love and obsess over this series: we're fickle and easy to anger - failure to respect us could blow up in their faces hardcore.