Catherine Hardwicke Makes Amends With Twilight Studios

Twilight director Catherine Hardwicke has patched up her rocky relationship with the movie's studio Summit Entertainment - she has signed on to helm its new fantasy film IF I Stay.

The moviemaker stunned fans when she decided not to take charge of the vampire franchise's sequel New Moon - despite scoring the biggest ever debut for a female director with a box office opening of $69.6 million (£49 million) in late November (08).

She was quickly replaced by American Pie director Chris Weitz amid rumours she was sacked, but later revealed she quit the project due to Summit's demands for an early 2010 release - leaving Hardwicke with just a few weeks to prepare for the job.

But the auteur has proved that there is no bad blood between her and the studio - she has agreed to direct Summit's new children book adaptation, which sees a teen musician forced to choose between life and death after a tragic car accident.

And Summit boss Erik Feig insists there was only one choice for the job: "When we were thinking of the perfect director to capture the emotion, grace and passion of this beautiful book, one filmmaker became the clear and only choice: Catherine Hardwicke."