Review: Twilight: Director's Notebook, by Catherine Hardwicke

Twilight: Director's Notebook, is a behind-the-scenes scrapbook which tells the story of how Director Catherine Hardwicke and her crew turned the Stephenie Meyer bestseller Twilight into a major motion picture.

I enjoyed reading Twilight: Director's Notebook, but it's not a book I would recommend for all Twilight fans. To enjoy this book you should realize that most of the details in this book are about the actual film-making process, not the movie stars. There is very little inside information included in the book about the personal lives of Kristen Stewart (Bella) or Robert Pattinson (Edward).

You should also realize this book isn't your regular-sized book. It only measures 8.5 x 5.5 inches. The book includes hundreds of photos and sketches but very little text.

The text in the book is in Catherine Hardwicke's handwriting which at times can be difficult to read. Just like a scrapbook you will find yourself turning the book sideways to read certain notes scribbled next to the photos.

With only 163 pages, and very little text, it took me less than an hour to read through the entire book. I was disappointed that it was such a quick read. I was hoping Twilight: Director's Notebook would give me that Twilight fix I had been looking for since finishing all of the other books in the Twilight series.

But it is a cute little book with a lot of interesting trivia about the making of the movie Twilight through Catherine's eyes. She includes chapters on her inspirations, character development, filming major scenes, selecting the music, creating visual effects, stunt work, creating each character's wardrobes, dealing with unexpected weather and working around a tight budget.

The book does a good job at showing how making a movie is not always glamorous. There is a whole chapter called "Misery" which talks about the challenges of doing location shoots. While filming Twilight the crew often had to worry about rain damaging their expensive equipment. They also had to make sure the cast's hair and makeup stayed out of the rain. Many times the crew had to delay shoots because of snow, sleet, hail and sometimes even too much sunshine. The candid photos in the book often show the cast and crew wearing heavy jackets, boots, and blankets while looking downright miserable.

One interesting tidbit about Kristen Stewart is that she was only seventeen years old when they started filming Twilight. State laws limit the amount of time a minor can work, so there were many scenes that had to be shot without Kristen. Most of the night scenes were put on hold until she turned eighteen. Once Kristen turned eighteen, the crew presented her with a birthday cake which said, "Welcome to NITES!"

I think the best way to enjoy this book is to see the movie Twilight first. Then read the book Twilight: Director's Notebook to find out all sorts of fun trivia about the movie-making process. Then go back and watch the DVD of Twilight - which is being released March 21, 2009. That way you'll be able to stop and rewind the movie to catch the little things that you would have normally missed if you hadn't read the book.

Since Catherine Hardwicke has turned down the job of directing New Moon, it is possible that Twilight: Director's Notebook may be our only chance to get an insider's look into the filming of the Twilight series.

So if you like cute little things and want to add another book to your Twilight collection, then I recommend buying this notebook. But if you are looking for something with a little more substance, then you may want to consider the more in-depth book titled Twilight: The Complete Illustrated Movie Companion.