Chris Weitz

Sequestered inside a Hollywood studio in late September, director Bill Condon, putting the finishing touches on the latest film in the blockbuster "Twilight" franchise "Breaking Dawn — Part 1," asked a technician to reduce the heavy beats thundering across the soundtrack. On a screen, terror dawns on the face of a Brazilian housekeeper as she realizes that the young woman standing in front of her, newly married 19-year-old Bella Swan (Kristen Stewart), is carrying the child of her vampire husband Edward Cullen (Robert Pattinson)

The decision by Gary Ross and Lionsgate to part ways on "Catching Fire" has fans worrying how the new "Hunger Games" film will fare without the original director. But this is just the latest example in a long tradition of studios switching horses on a sequel. How have previous franchises turned out? Here are six comparisons. "Twilight" is perhaps the most famous of all recent cases, and the one to which "Catching Fire" is now most often being compared. In late 2008, after studio Summit and "Twilight" director Catherine Hardwicke haggled over issues large and small, Summit hit the reset button and hired Chris Weitz to handle the second film.

"The Golden Compass," the first book in British author Philip Pullman's award-winning young adult trilogy, sets in motion a story that so smartly merges theology with quantum physics and Nietzschean pondering with fairy tale characters that it has inspired scores of scholarly essays, serious academic study, blockbuster book sales, a National Theatre play, a radio show and an international society of die-hard fans. Now -- Dec.

This year's lead actor and actress nominees all turned in stellar performances, but each also had one key moment in which their character crystallized and made Oscar voters sit up and take notice. ACTOR Demian Bichir ("A Better Life") Gardener Carlos Galindo is doing the best he can to make a life for himself and his son, but hardship surrounds him at every turn, from his son's interest in joining a gang to looming immigration officials. Key scene: "I used to joke with Demian, saying, 'We have the Oscar scene coming up on Day 38,'" says director-producer Chris Weitz.

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...

Robert Pattinson is having an Obi-Wan Kenobi moment. Inside a soundstage where "The Twilight Saga: New Moon" is shooting, the lanky English heartthrob stands in front of a tall, wide green screen murmuring a tender admonition, "You promised me nothing reckless." Motion capture cameras hurtle toward him across a length of track affixed to the stage floor, while a team of technicians studies his stance and the tilt of his head.

"This is the last time you'll ever see me," Edward Cullen says to Bella Swan. As if. Spoken early on in "New Moon," that promise is one of the least likely to be kept in movie history. With most of that film still to unfold, and two more adaptations of Stephenie Meyer's "Twilight" series in the works, the next due out as soon as next summer, the world is going to see as much of Kristen Stewart's melancholy Bella and Robert Pattinson's undead Edward as it can take. Maybe more. In the short term, however, Edward is as good as his word and "New Moon" suffers as a result.

Apparently one cannot wander out onto the sidewalk with one's martini. Liquor laws or something. I had stepped outside to ask the nice geisha girl with the list if she knew where I could find Cheryl, the woman who had invited me to the opening night party at Tokio, a new karaoke bar/lounge/restaurant/hopeful hipster hangout in Hollywood. I was eager to be introduced to someone in particular.

'In Good Company," Paul Weitz's first solo outing as writer and director, is a gentle, tenderhearted look at ageism and globalized corporate culture. And a romantic comedy. And an ad-hoc father-son picture. "I like it when themes overlap," says Weitz, who was nominated for an Academy Award for the screenplay of "About a Boy," co-written with his brother, Chris. "So to me the overall theme of the movie is, how do you maintain your dignity in the face of things you can't control?"

The decision by Gary Ross and Lionsgate to part ways on "Catching Fire" has fans worrying how the new "Hunger Games" film will fare without the original director. But this is just the latest example in a long tradition of studios switching horses on a sequel. How have previous franchises turned out? Here are six comparisons. "Twilight" is perhaps the most famous of all recent cases, and the one to which "Catching Fire" is now most often being compared. In late 2008, after studio Summit and "Twilight" director Catherine Hardwicke haggled over issues large and small, Summit hit the reset button and hired Chris Weitz to handle the second film.

Sequestered inside a Hollywood studio in late September, director Bill Condon, putting the finishing touches on the latest film in the blockbuster "Twilight" franchise "Breaking Dawn — Part 1," asked a technician to reduce the heavy beats thundering across the soundtrack. On a screen, terror dawns on the face of a Brazilian housekeeper as she realizes that the young woman standing in front of her, newly married 19-year-old Bella Swan (Kristen Stewart), is carrying the child of her vampire husband Edward Cullen (Robert Pattinson)

Director Chris Weitz's new drama, "A Better Life," should be a much better movie than it is, but emotions get in the way. It's a quintessential L.A. story of a hard-pressed illegal immigrant family — in this case a father and son — living with the constant fear of deportation. Rather than being compelling, though, the film is weighted down by clichés. A pity, since the issues could hardly be more timely. Weitz, working from a screenplay by Eric Eason ("Manito"), wears his heart on his sleeve in every scene.

Premier Fiesta Mexicana is the kind of working-class bar that most Southern Californians drive past without even seeing. The Bell Gardens restaurant and nightclub offers a dinner show with mariachi music and is packed most weekends, but on a summer night nearly a year ago, Carlos Galindo wasn't there looking for a good time. He was looking for a truck — and a way out of a desperate situation. Carlos, the lead character in director Chris Weitz's "A Better Life" — a new movie about the personal struggles of a Mexican gardener in the United States illegally — had scraped together every last dollar to buy a used pickup.

"This is the last time you'll ever see me," Edward Cullen says to Bella Swan. As if. Spoken early on in "New Moon," that promise is one of the least likely to be kept in movie history. With most of that film still to unfold, and two more adaptations of Stephenie Meyer's "Twilight" series in the works, the next due out as soon as next summer, the world is going to see as much of Kristen Stewart's melancholy Bella and Robert Pattinson's undead Edward as it can take. Maybe more. In the short term, however, Edward is as good as his word and "New Moon" suffers as a result.

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...

Robert Pattinson is having an Obi-Wan Kenobi moment. Inside a soundstage where "The Twilight Saga: New Moon" is shooting, the lanky English heartthrob stands in front of a tall, wide green screen murmuring a tender admonition, "You promised me nothing reckless." Motion capture cameras hurtle toward him across a length of track affixed to the stage floor, while a team of technicians studies his stance and the tilt of his head.

There's no denying that Hollywood worships sequels. New Line Cinema has taken the love affair one step further: It's cloning not a movie, but a movie launch. For the second time in six years, the studio has come to the Cannes Film Festival with a few minutes of an unfinished film in tow. It's to prove, yet again, that New Line not only hasn't trampled a beloved piece of fantasy literature, but also has turned out an impressive epic.

This year's lead actor and actress nominees all turned in stellar performances, but each also had one key moment in which their character crystallized and made Oscar voters sit up and take notice. ACTOR Demian Bichir ("A Better Life") Gardener Carlos Galindo is doing the best he can to make a life for himself and his son, but hardship surrounds him at every turn, from his son's interest in joining a gang to looming immigration officials. Key scene: "I used to joke with Demian, saying, 'We have the Oscar scene coming up on Day 38,'" says director-producer Chris Weitz.

"The Golden Compass," the first book in British author Philip Pullman's award-winning young adult trilogy, sets in motion a story that so smartly merges theology with quantum physics and Nietzschean pondering with fairy tale characters that it has inspired scores of scholarly essays, serious academic study, blockbuster book sales, a National Theatre play, a radio show and an international society of die-hard fans. Now -- Dec.

There's no denying that Hollywood worships sequels. New Line Cinema has taken the love affair one step further: It's cloning not a movie, but a movie launch. For the second time in six years, the studio has come to the Cannes Film Festival with a few minutes of an unfinished film in tow. It's to prove, yet again, that New Line not only hasn't trampled a beloved piece of fantasy literature, but also has turned out an impressive epic.