Twilight: Director's Notebook: The Story of How We Made the Movie Based on the Novel by Stephenie Meyer

I'm still giving this 5 stars, but there were a few things that I found a tiny bit disappointing...

1. The book is 163 pages, but there is not much text and the pages are small. It took me less than and hour to read it from cover to cover.

2. The book is written in Catherine's handwriting which can be hard to read sometimes.

3. I thought the book could have covered the topics more in depth. I thought the chapters about how they shot various scenes were interesting, but they made me wish I could ask her questions (and get the answers!). There were so many more things I wanted to know about how and why she made different decisions in shooting the movie.

Despite those 3 things, I still thought the book was really interesting and fun to read. I saw the movie twice in the theaters and this book made me excited for the DVD release (especially the bonus material). I realized after reading the Director's Notebook there were lots of little details from the movie I had missed. Here's one example: After the nomad vampires kill the security guard they wear his clothes, James wears his jacket and Victoria wears his "Kiss me, I'm Irish" t-shirt. I never noticed that before.

This book also made me realize how difficult it is to a translate a book into a film and how budget constraints can really limit a director's vision. I feel sad that it didn't work out for Catherine to do New Moon because you can tell how much she loves Twilight and put everything she had into this movie.

I didn't even buy the book, and I am glad that I didn't. I went to the store with the intention of buying, however once I opened it and discovered that there is really no story to it at all I decided to skip on it. If you are looking for details about things like casting, editing, setting the tone, etc. this is not the book for you. It is more like a scrapbook of photos and messy notes that are hard to read. A scrapbook is fine, just don't make it so darn small and don't try to sell it as "the story".

"Twilight: Director's Notebook" has some insights, and photographs as well as movie trivia, but despite this, I found it lacking. This is because the book is purported to be the Director's Notebook, and I really expected a work of more substance, instead of something flimsy [it's postcard sized] and seemed like a book published to ride the series' popularity.

I'd rather recommend "Twilight: The Complete Illustrated Movie Companion" which I felt to be worth my money, and provided deeper insights into the production of the movie.

I was really disappointed in this book. It was mostly her drawings and how she set scenes up. I expected her to talk about how the actors got their parts which was not covered much at all. I enjoyed the book Twilight the complete illustrated movie companion much more. Like I said I was really disappointed in this book. Not what I expected AT ALL.

To let you know where I'm coming from, I'm an obsessive fan of the Twilight series and a moderate fan of the movie. I like the movie more and more each time I watch, it, though, and looked forward to the Director's Notebook being released.

In all, I was mildly disappointed. The trivia and commentary were for the most part identical to Catherine's commentary in the DVD extras. There were indeed a lot of photos, so that was cool. And a host of very technical, movie-making info which unfortunately didn't much appeal to me.

However, it was a little fun to relive the scenes and see the photos. For only $10.79, it wasn't a waste of money. I wouldn't pay more than that, though.

I am a huge Twilight fan and was very disappointed in the book. I was hoping to get an insight on why things were changed from the book. Unfortunately it just left me with more questions. The theme was "budget reasons." Well I understand this but why did you choose what you did! I was disappointed. boo.

A pocket-sized (5.25 x 8.25 inch) hardback book, in full color, with hundreds of photographs and illustrations (including storyboards), this book delivers exactly what it promises: a "Director's Notebook" that tells "the story of how we made the movie." Hardwicke's journey on this film, as she has made clear in numerous interviews, was an adventure: shooting on location under weather conditions that included driving rain, sleet, numbing cold, or various combinations thereof, hardy Hardwicke persevered to deliver a film that far exceeded box office and studio expectations.

This book is a behind-the-scenes look at how Hardwicke envisioned the movie from start to finish: a rare glimpse at a film maker's diary, complete with Hardwicke's own sketches (she was an architect before she became a film director), handwritten notes, candid photos from the movie, conceptual artwork, storyboards (black-and-white drawings that frame a shot for the camera), and film stills.

The result is an intimate book, one in which Hardwicke's infectious enthusiasm makes you appreciate just how difficult it is to produce a movie--much less one shot on location under such challenging (an understatement) conditions.

Fans who want a nuts-and-bolts "Making of" will certainly want to buy the authorized film book, TWILIGHT: THE COMPLETE ILLUSTRATED MOVIE COMPANION. (It's excellent, thorough, and at 8.5 x 11 inches, shows off the full color photos very well.) But this little gem belongs right next to it on the bookshelf.

At $17.99 (list price), it's a recommended buy; at $9.89 (its current price), it's the Twilight bargain of the year.

PS: It should be noted that Hardwicke chose not to helm NEW MOON because she felt the budget was inadequate and there wasn't sufficient time allowed to shoot what is obviously a more demanding (film-wise) movie than TWILIGHT. More's the pity. Chris Weitz is certainly up to the challenge, but I really felt Hardwicke's sensibilities made her the ideal choice to for all four Twilight films.

We don't have Hardwicke on NEW MOON, but we do have this little gem of a book, which is really her extended love letter to the TWILIGHT movie, to Stephenie Meyer, and the small army of people that were mobilized to bring it to the screen.

This is such a great little book to add to any Twilight collection. Inside you find never before seen notes, pictures, and sketches from the making of the movie.

The book arrived in great condition and shipped quickly. Thank you, seller!!

This book is amazing! I bought it awhile ago and I love it! It takes you right into the making of Twilight, in ways special features on another dvd could. I have pulled this book out a ton of times over the years and read it cover to cover. I definitely recommend! The pictures in the book are absolutely gorgeous! If you are a Twilight movie or book lover this book is for you!

A great collector's item for the Twilight fan. I love it! :) So glad I found it after so many years since it's release. Which is hard to find.