Chris Weitz - Weitz Brushes Off New Moon Critics

THE TWILIGHT SAGA: NEW MOON director CHRIS WEITZ has chosen to ignore what film critics say about his latest movie - because he's more concerned with the opinions of the series' notoriously hard-to-please fans.

Weitz was brought in to replace Catherine Hardwicke for the Twilight sequel after she was sidelined by studio executives, but his take on author Stephenie Meyer's fantasy franchise was still met with mixed reviews.

But, now that he's managed to thrill Meyer's devotees, Weitz is happy - and he insists he doesn't need the opinions of film critics.

He tells Entertainment Weekly magazine, "Nothing surprises me in terms of reviews... If one could imagine their biggest fears, it would be complete rejection of the movie by the fans.

"What I've realised over the last week is I won't necessarily get good reviews for this movie. Having swallowed that, this was made for the fans, and if you don't get it, then you don't get it."

The Twilight sequel made a staggering $140.7 million (£87.9 million) in its opening weekend (20-22Nov09) in America alone to become the third biggest debut in American box office history.