Also in a way it’s about two best friends, and I guess I was thinking about Chris and I and how that’s downloaded into me, this idea of this very important relationship being the center of one’s life.”įor “New Moon,” Chris Weitz also drew from experience, although nothing having to do with family. “That was part of the reason I wanted to make the film, was to do something that was gothic but completely packed with color. “The German Expressionist painters that I like, like Otto Dix or Max Beckmann, their vision was dark and somewhat humorous but also incredibly colorful,” Paul said. 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. In fact, for two guys who have logged a lot of hours worrying about the exploits of immortal blood drinkers, they’re downright sunny. 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. Still, the brothers insist it was pure happenstance that they found themselves working on films that prominently feature the undead. Vampire blood, you might say, runs in the family. 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.
To pile on the coincidence, “The Vampire’s Assistant” opens on Chris’ 40th birthday, while “New Moon” launches the day after Paul turns 44. 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. 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 out this weekend, while Chris’ “The Twilight Saga: New Moon” is set for release Nov.
Director brothers Paul and Chris Weitz didn’t plan it this way.
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