OMHP and Chris Weitz on Making Fan Favorite Franchises and the Future of Film

Welcome to the latest episode of One Moore Hollywood Podcast! In this episode, our hosts, Chris Moore, Katie Marpe, and Dennis De Nobile, invite Chris Weitz to talk about his illustrious and award-winning career writing and directing some of the biggest pop culture hits of our time. Weitz touches on what it's been like to work on major franchises and what he thinks the future of the film industry holds. 

A Little Old Movie Called American Pie 

Weitz got his start in the industry with a big bang of a movie called American Pie, which he directed with his brother, Paul Weitz. Other movies in his repertoire include About A Boy (director and screenwriter), The Twilight Saga: New Moon (director), Down to Earth (director), and Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (screenwriter). 

Working on The Twilight Saga prepared Weitz well for Rogue One. Both franchises are infinitely popular and have a dedicated fanbase worldwide. "Twilight was extraordinary regarding the fans' emotional investment," Weitz says. According to Weitz, the key was to take those fans seriously and try to deliver what they wanted. Regarding Rogue One, Weitz says, "I remember the day I saw Star Wars at age 7 in a movie theater, and it changed my life…it was a dream of mine to work on Star Wars."

The Next Big Cultural Phenomenon

With all the changes occurring within the entertainment world, does Weitz think the industry will emerge from this for the better? Right now, Weitz isn't sure. "I don't know! As long as people are still keen on telling stories, there's a chance that whatever shape things take, they will get better," he says.

OMHP suggests you keep a close eye on Weitz, who has a lot of projects up his sleeves. One of those projects is a Blumhouse-Sony film he wrote and directed, and the other is an AppleTV series starring Alexander Skarsgård. 

As the audience, all we can do is wait and watch for what the future holds.

Listen to the entire episode here: Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, or iHeartRadio.