If you’re a fan of the Twilight franchise, you’re probably aware that the first movie was directed by Catherine Hardwicke, who then decided not to continue on with the other films. Though the flick came out back in 2008, Hardwicke still has some things to say about it — and not all of them positive. In a recent interview with Vulture, Hardwicke raised some eyebrows by saying the first script “sucked” (and no pun intended!).  It’s not the first time she’s made headlines with her Twilight talk. We’ve gathered some of her more interesting quotes about the wildly popular books and movies.

In the Vulture interview:
On being handed a bunch of scripts, including Twilight: “Every one of those scripts sucked. Oh, Lord, did they suck … I thought the script was horrible, but then I looked it up on the Internet and I thought, ‘Okay, it’s based on a book and people tend to like it. There’s gotta be something there.’”

On Kristen Stewart ditching her ex, Michael Angarano, for Robert Pattinson: “I felt pretty bad because I love him and they were such a great couple.”

From a 2009 Vanity Fair article:
Pattinson was “always drunk,” says Hardwicke, and would play the guitar for Stewart and the cast.

On Stewart and Pattinson’s off-screen relationship, which both actors were denying at the time: “What Rob and Kristen had is a multitude of feelings for each other. Complex feelings for each other. It was what we needed. Complex, intense fascination.”

From a 2011 Newsweek interview:
On trying to keep Pattinson away from Stewart: “You’ve got to realize that Kristen is 17 years old. She’s underage. You’ve got to focus, dude, or you’re going to be arrested. I made him swear on a stack of Bibles.”

On casting Pattinson: “I looked at a couple pictures and was like, ‘I’m not sure,’? He had been fired from his last job, he was unemployed, he was in debt.”

A 2009 Entertainment Weekly story
On being offered a lot of money but a small budget to direct the second Twilight movie: “I was devastated. I really did feel a strong connection to the people around the world that liked the movie — and to Stephenie and the actors. But I just didn't think I could make a good movie under those circumstances … I know the budget they were talking about with me — they've already gone way beyond that.”

From a 2009 Time interview
On people questioning her decision to cast Pattinson: “I told him he has to start immediately with the trainer and work out. And get back some muscle tone. He's a Brit and they hit the pubs all the time. They don't look too kindly to gyms.”

On Pattinson and Stewart’s kissing audition: “So Rob and Kristen and the other three candidates all had to do the kissing scene on my bed. When Rob and Kristen met, all of us could tell there was a very strong chemistry there. You know just electricity. It was radical. And then we did the kissing scene about three times. It was very intense”

On which is bigger, Twilight or the Bible: “Probably Twilight. I know it seems strange, but at the time it didn't seem that big at all. We knew there was a passionate group of people that loved it.”

Sources: Vulture, Vanity Fair, Newsweek, Entertainment Weekly, Time

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