Coming Soon to Facebook: New Twilight Short Films

It's a revival! Twilight will be having another moment in the pop culture spotlight (as if it ever left!), thanks to a new announcement by Lions Gate (current owner of Summit).

The New York Times reports:

Lions Gate and Stephenie Meyer, the creator of the vampires-and-werewolves “Twilight” saga, on Tuesday announced plans to select five aspiring female directors to make short films based on “Twilight” characters. The mini-movies, financed by Lions Gate and its production partners, will be shown exclusively on Facebook next year.

The short film series, called “The Storytellers — New Creative Voices of ‘The Twilight Saga,’ ” has the backing of Women in Film, an organization devoted in part to ending a shortage of female directors. While not overtly championed by Sheryl Sandberg, Facebook’s chief operating officer, the initiative could be viewed in the context of her “Lean In” efforts to empower women in the workplace.

A group of female panelists, including the “Twilight” actress Kristen Stewart and Ms. Meyer, will select the winning shorts and mentor participants, Lions Gate said. Other panelists include the actresses Kate Winslet, Octavia Spencer and Julie Bowen; Catherine Hardwicke, who directed the first “Twilight” movie; the film producer Cathy Schulman; and Jennifer Lee, who co-directed “Frozen.”

 A spokeswoman for Lions Gate declined to say how much the studio would spend, but added that it would be a “significant” amount, at least by short-film standards. The cast members of the “Twilight” movies are not expected to appear in the short films.

In a statement, Ms. Meyer said nothing specific about returning to “Twilight” but instead focused on Hollywood’s gender gap. “The female voice is something that has become more and more important to me as I’ve worked in the film industry,” she said.

via NYTimes.