Chris Weitz admits 'New Moon' is the 'Empire Strikes Back' of the 'Twilight' saga

Chris Weitz has had quite the eclectic Hollywood career.

The 40-year old first came to the public's attention when he collaborated with his brother to create the "American Pie" franchise, but he's also written screenplays for movies such as "Antz" and "Nutty Professor II: The Klumps"; directed Chris Rock's comedy "Down to Earth" and the fantasy epic ""The Golden Compass" (which was a massive international hit); and also produced flicks such as "Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist" and the upcoming Tom Ford drama "A Single Man."  So, it's really not that surprising that the amiable Weitz would step in to helm the extremely challenging to adapt second installment of "The Twilight Saga," the highly-anticipated "New Moon."

Speaking to Weitz last week after a frenzied schedule of shooting and editing the filmmaker joked he's read for a month of sleep, but was also happy to discuss the "Twilight" follow up.  We talked about the parallels with "The Empire Strikes Back" in how the film fits into Stephenie Meyer's series, how the diamond effect for the vampires was actually more difficult to nail down than the CG wolves and how he plans to dive into his Mexican heritage with a small-scale English-Spanish drama as his follow up.

You can watch the entire interview embedded on this page, but to see a larger version, click here.

"The Twilight Saga: New Moon" looks to dominate the box office when it opens this Friday. To access tickets ans showtimes, click here.

What did you think of Chris Weitz's comments on "New Moon"?  Are you happy with what he's done following in Catherine Hardwicke's footsteps?  Share your thoughts below.