Paul and Chris Weitz find a blood bond

Director brothers Paul and Chris Weitz didn't plan it this way. Yes, they're both releasing new films within weeks of each other and, yes, each of those new movies is an adaptation of a popular young-adult vampire novel: Paul's "Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant," is due out Friday, while Chris' "The Twilight Saga: New Moon" is set for release Nov. 20. Both use fantastic casts of characters to deal with serious real-world themes -- the nature of friendship, the inevitability of heartbreak, the unintended consequences of thoughtless actions.

To pile on the coincidence, "The Vampire's Assistant" opens on Chris' 40th birthday, while "New Moon" launches the day after Paul turns 44. And then, of course, there's the fact that on a recent early fall afternoon, they're seated together at a table on the Universal lot, the same place where their grandmother, Mexican actress Lupita Tovar, shot her starring role in the studio's 1931 Spanish-language version of "Dracula," produced by their grandfather, Paul Kohner.

Vampire blood, you might say, runs in the family.

Still, the brothers insist it was pure happenstance that they found themselves working on films that prominently feature the undead. They don't have any particular insight into why vampire-mania is thriving in pop culture at the moment -- "I usually just mumble something about metaphor," Chris Weitz said, of being asked about the ghouls' popularity -- and neither one is exactly the brooding, loner type with a widow's peak and a wardrobe full of black satin capes.

In fact, for two guys who have logged a lot of hours worrying about the exploits of immortal blood drinkers, they're downright sunny.

Paul Weitz said it was the opportunity to explore the rich, vibrant world presented in the "Cirque du Freak" novels, penned by Irish author Darren O'Shaughnessy under the pseudonym Darren Shan, that made directing "The Vampire's Assistant" such an appealing prospect.

The film, which combines elements from the first three books in the series, tells the story of a 16-year-old named Darren Shan (Chris Massoglia) and his best friend, Steve (Josh Hutcherson), who after sneaking out to watch an underground freak show performance, find themselves on opposite sides of a long-prophesied vampire war.

In Darren's case, he also discovers a place that's far more visually captivating and ethnically diverse than his pastel-saturated suburban home.