Fearnet: Why Bill Condon Could Be Good for ‘Breaking Dawn’

Oscar Cred


Catherine Hardwicke had indie film respect (Twilight), Chris Weitz had slick CG epic filmmaking under his belt (New Moon), and David Slade seemed like a perfect genre director to bring the franchise into horror-thriller territory (Eclipse). But while each of the previous Twilight Saga directors has been well-suited to their respective adaptations in different ways, Condon brings with him a very important element that could help the franchise go out with a bang: his shiny Academy Award statuette, won in 1999 for writing the horror-related flick Gods and Monsters.

Genre Experience


While Condon is best known for his more recent Oscar-caliber work (see above), a look back in his filmography reveals a surprising knack for genre fare that one might not otherwise expect from the man behind Chicago and Dreamgirls. After a career stint as a journalist, Condon entered showbiz as the screenwriter of 1981’s low-budget horror spoof Strange Behavior (AKA Dead Kids), an Illinois-set Ozsploitation flick followed by a sci-fi sequel, Strange Invaders. He made his directorial debut a few years later with the 1987 Gothic thriller Sister, Sister and in 1995 helmed Candyman 2: Farewell to the Flesh (the one that reveals the Candyman’s tragic origin story, involving a lynch mob, honey, and a swarm of bees).

A few years later, Condon left behind the horror fare to begin his better known period, starting with the critically-acclaimed Gods and Monsters — a biopic of horror director James Whale (Frankenstein, Bride of Frankenstein). That film demonstrated Condon’s knowledge of the horror genre and his ability to infuse it with humanistic storytelling, which will be key in adapting Breaking Dawn, a story that balances Bella Swan’s involvement in the vampire and werewolf worlds with themes of marriage, family, and romance.

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