Hardwicke became a production designer, While working with such big-name directors, she was able to study their techniques: "I always told them I really want to make my own movies, and they were all very generous and gave me tips." Her career as a production designer was crucial and beneficial to the molding of her career as a director. Her time spent with these directors aided her and were able to give her a sense of direction: "As you’re riding around with the director location scouting, you hear a lot of conversations and you start piecing them together, so I think that helped me." She even worked with fellow female director Lisa Cholodenko on her film
Laurel Canyon (2002). Aside from her time spent working alongside directors, Hardwicke continued to work on her own projects such as scripts, short films, and teaching herself Final Cut Pro. Hardwicke even took it upon herself to take acting classes to become a better director.
Thirteen earned Hardwicke the
directing award at
Sundance in 2003. ;
Lords of Dogtown (2005) She went on to direct this fictionalized account of skateboarding culture. The film is based on the documentary
Dogtown and Z-Boys by
Stacy Peralta, whom Hardwicke had worked with. As she lived in
Venice Beach and knew most of the Z- Boys well from surfing, Hardwicke drew on personal experience in directing the film. "I surf at the same break they surf at, and I know that world, explains the filmmaker." Based on a true story
, Lords of Dogtown follows the young Peralta,
Tony Alva, and
Jay Adams as they revolutionize the world of skateboarding. As California encounters a drought the 70s, residents began to empty out their pools. This led to a group of surfers in the Dogtown Area of Santa Monica to create a new sport, skateboarding. Board designer Skip Englblom, soon decides to add a skate team known as the Z-boys to his already well-known surf team. Taking advantage of the drought, the boys began to practice this new sport in the empty swimming pools. After the team begins to reach success like winning major contests, fame follows and soon the Z-boys start to appear in many magazines. Through this fame, the Z-boys (Stacy, Jay, and Tony) start to get noticed by well-known skateboarding companies in hopes to take the boys away from Skip. As the boys accept major career offers, one by one they leave the team, Stacy being the last to leave. Stacy, Jay and Tony become celebrities and rivals as they compete against each other in various competitions. Ultimately they skateboard for profit, abandoning the passion which they began with. After the pier that the boys used to surf around burns down, it negatively affects all three. The film explores Hardwicke's theme of teenage angst. Not only do the Z-boys find their passions with a newly created sport, but also they use this experience to form an identity amidst their teenage years. The film details teenage rebellion."As the boys fight one another and carve out their own identities by types, they collapse under their own mythology...Afraid and confused they make kid mistakes, use each other's trusts and don't image long term consequences." Hardwicke has said that the drama film was not intended to compete with the documentary, but to express the perspective of people as they lived the events, rather than later recounting them. The technical work was acclaimed, from the skate tricks to the complex camera work.
Lance Mountain, legendary skater, cameraman and long-time friend of Peralta, shot the action while riding along behind the skateboarders. ;
The Nativity Story (2006) In 2006, Hardwicke directed this biblical film for
New Line Cinema. She was initially reluctant to take on the project as she was concerned about finding a fresh approach to the story, but changed her mind after conducting some research: "... I found out that Mary was 13 or 14 years old, by all accounts. And I thought, what about all the girls, the kids that I know? What if this happened to them? That's kind of mind-blowing, amazing. I thought it would be fun to go back and do something completely different." She also incorporated a psychological approach to
Joseph and the difficulties he faced. Hardwicke wanted to cast a young actress as
Mary, traditionally held to be about 14 or 15 at the time of Jesus' birth, given the marriage age of girls in that culture. She also wanted an actress who at least appeared to be Middle Eastern. She cast as her lead
Keisha Castle-Hughes, the Oscar-nominated New Zealand actress of
Māori descent, who starred in
Whale Rider (2002). ;
Twilight (2008) Her direction of
the film adaptation of
Stephenie Meyer's best-selling novel,
Twilight, was an international commercial success. The film is the first in the series produced by
Summit Entertainment based on Meyer's four books.
Twilight is the story of a teenage girl named Bella Swan dealing with her parents' separation, and living with her father after years of having little to do with him. They live in a small town in
Washington where she tries to adjust to a new school. Her typical teenage trials change character when she develops a crush on an attractive young vampire. The film and its leads attracted fans all over the world. In Korea specifically, the success of the Twilight film produced many fan sites, art, marketing products, and even themed cafes. These cafes allowed fans to share their love for the film franchise as well as the novels. Hardwicke shot the film in 44 days on a budget of $37 million, which was reduced because of rights issues to do with the book. As her main actress,
Kristen Stewart, was a minor, she could work only five and a half hours per day. This significantly slowed down shooting for the project. Hardwicke was willing to deal with that difficulty, as she believed that Stewart was perfect for the role as Bella. Casting for the character of Edward Cullen was more difficult. The character had to look like a high school student but portray a cultured persona and the learning of a long life. Hardwicke found
Robert Pattinson unique, with his own wide range of interests in art, literature and music; she thought him deep enough for the part. Its $400 million global success made her the most commercially successful woman film director. Amid rumors of a rocky relationship with Hardwicke, in 2008
Summit Entertainment announced that she would not direct the
Twilight sequel,
New Moon. Hardwicke said it was her decision, although a blog reported she had been fired by Summit. She said, "I couldn't even be fired, that's what's so funny. In my contract, I had the first right of refusal." She turned down the second film, she says, because the studio wanted to rush it out. "I do not regret it at all, thank the Lord. The truth is I liked the first book the best." Hardwicke went on to direct
Red Riding Hood for Summit. ;
Red Riding Hood (2011) Her following film was not a commercial or critical success. An adaptation of the classic fairy tale "
Little Red Riding Hood", Hardwicke reimagined it as a
coming of age story, exploring the theme of adolescence growing into adulthood and sexual awakening."When you're 10, you start latching on to it for another reason- why did she get in bed with the wolf? Hardwicke even compares the beast to a love interest. "It represents a dark animal nature which is close to sexuality." The film presents itself as an exploration and awareness of a young girls sexuality, "some say that it's a tale of a young girl's journey into puberty (hence the red cloak) and her subsequent sexual awakening; girls should steer clear of male predators, represented by the wolf." As in Neil Jordan's 1984 film
The Company of Wolves, the wolf is a werewolf who lives as a human among the townspeople. The village begins to turn on itself as everyone is suspect.
Gary Oldman arrives to help solve the mystery. Red Riding Hood is played by actress
Amanda Seyfried, with supporting roles from
Max Irons and
Shiloh Fernandez as her love interests. ;
Plush (2013) Hardwicke's next feature was in 2013 when she directed the erotic thriller
Plush. Following a young female rock musician and her band Plush, the film starred
Emily Browning,
Cam Gigandet,
Xavier Samuel and
Frances Fisher. Reception was mainly negative, with Rotten Tomatoes giving it a 33% approval rating. ;
Reckless (2013) Also in 2013, Hardwicke directed and executive produced the pilot for the
CBS hour-long legal drama
Reckless starring Cam Gigandet,
Shawn Hatosy,
Kim Wayans and
Adam Rodriguez. It was ordered to series for the 2013-2014 season on May 12, 2013. ;
Miss You Already (2015) Hardwicke directed the British-American comedy-drama
Miss You Already in 2015. The film starred
Drew Barrymore and
Toni Collette as best friends who hit a snag in their friendship when one of them is diagnosed with cancer as the other becomes pregnant for the first time. The film premiered in the Gala Presentations section of the
2015 Toronto International Film Festival. ;
Miss Bala (2019) Hardwicke directed the American-Mexican action-drama-thriller
Miss Bala, a remake of
2011 film of the same name by Gerardo Naranjo. It stars
Gina Rodriguez,
Ismael Cruz Córdova,
Anthony Mackie,
Aislinn Derbez,
Matt Lauria and Cristina Rodlo. It was released on February 1, 2019, by
Columbia Pictures, and was a critical and commercial failure. ;''Prisoner's Daughter'' (2022) Hardwicke directed ''
Prisoner's Daughter'', a drama written by Mark Bacci. It stars Kate Beckinsale, Brian Cox, Ernie Hudson, Christopher Convery, and Tyson Ritter. It premiered at the
Toronto International Film Festival on September 14, 2022 and had a mixed critical reception. ==Themes==