Hardwicke began her career as an architect.[5] She spent most of the 1990s as a production designer, working on such films as Tombstone (1993), Tank Girl (1995), 2 Days in the Valley (1996), The Newton Boys (1998), and Three Kings (1999). The following year, she collaborated with director/screenwriter Cameron Crowe and actor/producer Tom Cruise on Vanilla Sky (2001). The latter two films are notable for their original use of color-manipulation techniques to complement the narrative.
Hardwicke's first foray into film direction was with the award-winning Thirteen (2003). Hardwicke and fourteen-year-old Nikki Reed collaborated in writing a movie that would reflect Reed's teenage experiences. They completed the script in six days. Evan Rachel Wood was contracted to star in the movie alongside Reed. Hardwicke went on to direct Lords of Dogtown (2005), a fictionalized account of skateboarding culture. The film is loosely based on the documentary Dogtown and Z-Boys by Stacy Peralta.
In 2006, Hardwicke directed the biblical film The Nativity Story for New Line Cinema. The film was released on December 1, 2006. In 2008, she directed the film adaptation of Stephenie Meyer's bestselling book, Twilight.[6] The film is the first in a planned series produced by Summit Entertainment based on Meyer's four-book series. Amid rumors of a rocky relationship with Hardwicke, Summit Entertainment announced that she will not direct the upcoming sequel, New Moon.[7] Subsequent reports of an agreement to direct the adaptation of Gayle Forman's If I Stay, which Summit optioned prior to its publication, suggest that the relationship may not have deteriorated as much as reports indicated.[8] Hardwicke will also be directing Maximum Ride, a film adaptation based on the book series by James Patterson,[9] and is teaming up with actor Emile Hirsch to create a modern-day, supernatural version of Hamlet.[10]
