Director Brothers Paul and Chris Weitz didn't plan it this way. 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 due out Friday, while Chris' “The Twilight Saga: New Moon” is set for release Nov. 20. 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.
To pile on the coincidence, "The Vampire's Assistant" opens on Chris' 40th birthday, while "New Moon" launches the day after Paul turns 44. 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.
Still, the brothers insist it was pure happenstance that they found themselves working on films that prominently feature the undead. 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.
In fact, for two guys who have logged a lot of hours worrying about the exploits of immortal blood drinkers, they're downright sunny.
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.
The film, which combines elements from the first three books in the series, tells the story of a 16-year-old named Darren Shan (Chris Massoglia) and his best friend, Steve (Josh Hutcherson), who after sneaking out to watch an underground freak show performance, find themselves on opposite sides of a long-prophesied vampire war.
In Darren's case, he also discovers a place that's far more visually captivating and ethnically diverse than his pastel-saturated suburban home.
For "New Moon," Chris Weitz also drew from experience, though nothing having to do with family. When he was approached to helm the sequel to last year's hit teen romance "Twilight" -- which sees high school student Bella Swan (Kristen Stewart) struggling to cope with a broken heart after her vampire boyfriend Edward Cullen (Robert Pattinson) leaves her -- the filmmaker said he connected with that sense of loss.
He'd been profoundly saddened by his experience making his last film, a special-effects-laden adaptation of Philip Pullman's acclaimed novel "The Golden Compass." He said that his inability to persuade New Line Cinema to allow him to move forward with the bleaker ending he'd originally planned for the $180-million fantasy left him feeling that he'd failed to do justice to Pullman's work.
That Chris considers himself "a slave to the text" of the projects he adapts could work in his favor only when it comes to "New Moon." The books in author Stephenie Meyer's "Twilight" series have a wildly devoted following that helped push Catherine Hardwicke's 2008 movie to record-breaking box office grosses (it brought in $365 million worldwide). Those fans already are clamoring for the next installment; with screenings for the movie selling out earlier than for any other film to date, and Chris said he understands what they're expecting him to deliver.
That Paul and Chris found their way to creative careers was perhaps inevitable given their upbringing. Their father, men's fashion designer John Weitz, wrote several books before he died in 2002, and growing up in New York, the brothers were constantly surrounded by luminaries of all stripes, friends of John and his third wife, actress Susan Kohner.
When asked what they've learned from each other, there's no hesitation from either: "I learned how to work with actors from watching Paul." "Although Chris often expresses ambivalence about all the things that directing requires, I think he's got a huge degree of courage, which I find inspiring."
Their sense of timing is sharp even though their schedules have prevented them from spending as much time with each other as they would like. Even when they are in L.A., Chris lives in Malibu with his wife and their son, while Paul resides in Hollywood with his wife and two children -- not exactly an easy commute.
Although the brothers have spent the last few years working separately, their professional rapport remains strong; they're still one of the industry's go-to fraternal teams, a small group that includes Joel and Ethan Coen and emerging indie talents Jay and Mark Duplass. Paul believes that their time apart has had its upside, namely enabling them to follow the artistic pursuits that most strongly interested them.
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