More CHardewick

Looks like Catherine Hardewick has impressed somebody. She's landed the movie version of 21 Jump Street and the live-action film Little Red Riding Hood.

Little Red Riding Hood is expected to offer a "Gothic update" on the Grimm Brothers tale, which as we all know is about a young girl who encounters the villainous wolf on her way to her grandmother's house. 21 Jump Street, which Jonah Hill is writing to also star in, will be an action-heavy retelling of the late 80's Fox television series. The show - which was one of the first hits for the then-fledgling network and launched the career of Johnny Depp - centered on a group of twenty-something policemen who looked young enough to go undercover in high schools and colleges.

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Chris Weitz Talks New Moon

In an interview with MetroNews, New Moon director Chris Weitz gives us an insight into his vision of the movie and how it will be different from Twilight.

Q. How does it feel to take over directorial duties of such a successful franchise?

A. On the one hand, it’s exciting to take over a successful franchise. On the other, it’s daunting. There are so many fans who have high expectations for this film, but it’s made easy by the fact that I inherited this amazing cast who are certainly very talented. So half of the time, I’m just overjoyed to be a part of this and the other half, I’m nervous that I’m going to be hunted down and killed by a pack of 14-year-old teenage girls in about a year’s time!

Q. What was your reaction when you were first offered the job?

A. I was surprised because it happened very suddenly, and I had a week and a half to decide whether I was gong to do it or not. Then I saw the first film, I saw the case and I thought, 'This is going to be great, actually. Kristen, Rob and Taylor were great' - that’s what convinced me to do it. And I read the book and I thought I saw my way of making a good version of the book. It’s really a question of whether I can do justice to the book and to please the readers. That’s my job. It’s not to run away with it and just do my version of things. It’s to be faithful to their experience of reading it.

Q. “Twilight”, the first installment of the series, received some criticism for not being 100 per cent true to the book. Are you addressing some of these issues?

A. It’s impossible to be completely faithful to every single page of a book because movies don’t have enough time. So you end up cutting things and combining things. But I would say that we’re definitely using the book as our bible. My take on this film is the film is the book and Stephanie Mayer is my main resource for everything in this. I’m constantly checking with her to see if it’s something a character would do or a detail is right. You can never absolutely please everybody but my main intention is to satisfy the fans of the book.

Q. You’re a very visual director. What’s your vision for New Moon?

A. We’ve got an amazing visual effects team. The whole idea is to use the full palette of colors, to have our shadows be very dark and to have our colours be very rich so that we can experience the full range of emotional texture. The idea is that this will look like a Victorian narrative painting in a way, with those medieval jewel-like colours as well as very glossy deep blacks, and for the composition of the frames to be classical. In some ways, this is going to be a rather old-fashioned film. There are elements that incorporate the latest technology and there are things that are very dynamic in the action scenes. But it’s more Dr. Zhivago than Iron Man.

Q. Dr. Zhivago was a romance, much like Twilight…

A. Well, these books are wonderful romances and appeal to people’s sense of their lives and loves. At the same time, they’re also very grand in scope.

Q. Is it a way of aiming at older audiences?

A. I think that would be nice, too. Actually, I think there’s an older audience for the books as well -- which is the hidden demographic that people don’t acknowledge, that people’s mom’s are reading this as well! I want to render a version that satisfies the fans of the book but also appeals to an older audience as well. Alexander Desplats is going to do the music, which is another great thing for me. He’s someone I worked with before. I think he’s immensely talented. So the idea is to make something beautiful.

Q. Is the music very important in this kind of film?

A. It is. The book itself is a very internalized narrative and music can be extraordinarily helpful in conveying those kinds of nuances of emotion which otherwise what you would rely on is voiceover or people flat out stating what they feel, which they never, ever do. So it helps you avoid exposition and it can make it intro a really gorgeous nuanced affair. Films enjoy more senses that almost any other art form, so music is going to play a tremendous role in this.

Q. Could you tell us about New Moon and how it’s different from Twilight?

A. I think we get an opportunity to sort of expand our scope -- from the confines of the forest to Italy. Your sense of mythology of this world is deepened so that the story that underlies what was going on in the first movie becomes more and more clear. And there are a lot of secrets that were set up in the first book and the first movie that come to light in the second movie. So there are a lot of surprises in store.

Q. How do you keep the continuity of the story?

A. Well, we try to maintain a coherence so that nothing seems unrealistic or bizarre. One of the strengths of Stephenie Meyer’s books is that they manage to convey the normalness of people’s lives and the normalness of the main character, and yet feeds on all those supernatural and extraordinary elements. When we go to Italy [to shoot], we are dealing with this 2,000-year-old order of vampires. The key is to cast it and to design it in such a way that it doesn’t fall completely from the story, but it’s a beautiful and intricate part of the whole thing, while at the same time, giving you the sense that you’re opening up to this much bigger world. That part of the story is a reversal of the usual rules. Bella goes to save Edward. It’s not the guy saving the girl; it’s the other way around.

Q. Can you comment on some of your casting choices, like Dakota Fanning?

A. Dakota Fanning is playing Jane, who’s the most dangerous and evil of all of them. And it’s a part where she plays against type because you don’t think of Dakota Fanning as either evil or dangerous. But she’s an extraordinary actress and we’re lucky to have her. Michael Sheen plays the head of the Volturi, who are the law and order of the vampire world. I think he’s an extraordinarily accomplished actor and I just feel, again, fairly fortunate to have someone of his calibre.

Q. What is it about this story that resonates so much with its audience?

A. It deals with emotional occurrences that everyone has gone through. You’ve got all this supernatural stuff, but really what it’s about is falling in love for the first time, losing that love, wondering if you’ll ever be happy again, the restorative power of friendship, having to choose between the guy who seems the right guy or whether you’re going to hold out for the wrong person. This is true of girls, boys, men, women. We’ve all had the experience of falling in love or having unrequited love or being left and feeling miserable and hoping you can get someone back. All these things are universal.

Q. Stephen King wrote in a column that there is no substance, nor emotion in these books, unlike Harry Potter that he loves. What are the qualities of the books in your opinion?

A. The books address the feelings of love and loss that Stephen King isn’t particularly concerned with. (Laughs) I’m not terribly surprised that he says that. I would say, “physician, heal thyself.” Actually, the reason that they’re so successful is that people identify with the main character, with her sense of insecurity, with her sense of being singled out by someone extraordinarily special, with the sense of being broken up with, which is something everyone has experienced unless they are terribly, terribly lucky, and with the deep value of friendship as a way to heal. So I must respectfully disagree with Stephen King. (Laughs)

Q. How would you describe the books to someone who hasn’t read them?

A. I’d say it’s a story about heartbreak and reunion. It’s also a story about humans, vampires and werewolves at the same time. It has these elements which are all about human feelings and then it has elements which are magic, wonder, surprise and suspense.

[source]

Kellan Lutz @ the Young Hollywood Awards

New Moon hottie Kellan Lutz was a presenter at the 11th Annual Young Hollywood Award show on June 7th, along with his Twilight director Catherine Hardwicke.

Source: Kellan Lutz Online& TwiCrack Addict!

Rob Pattinson Monkeyed Around with Twilight Script

"You better hold on tight, spider money."

Love it or hate it, that line is perhaps one of the more memorable in the Twilight movie. Many fans were shocked to hear Catherine Hardwicke's revelation during the DVD commentary that Robert Pattinson himself had actually chosen that line.

In a recent interview with MTV.com, the Twilight director explained how that line came about.

"I woke up in the middle of the night. I thought, 'They're going to be climbing that tree, and they're not going to have anything to say. It's just going to be another scene of them looking into each other's eyes,' " Hardwicke recalls.

Unfortunately, due to the writers' strike at the time, Twilight screenwriter Melissa Rosenberg wasn't available to craft any lines. So Hardwicke hastily assembled a list of possible dialogue.

"I gave it to Rob, the whole list," Hardwicke recalls. "And I said, 'Rob, which one do you want to say?' And he goes, 'I want to say the spider-monkey one.' "

It seems like such a silly, cheesy line for the brooding Edward Cullen Rob Pattinson portrayed, but before we judge let's take a look at the the other options Catherine gave him to choose from.

Option 1:
Edward: You're not scared of heights, are you?
Bella: Not that I know of ...

Option 2:
Edward: Hold on tight ...
Bella: Don't worry ...

Option 3:
Edward: Wrap your legs around me like a spider monkey.
Bella: Done.

Option 4:
Edward: Got a good grip? Don't let go.
Bella: No chance of that, buddy.

Option 5
Edward: Prepare for liftoff ...

In my opinion, none of these seem particularly fitting - and I wonder why they, again, refused to use the original dialogue from the books.

Do you think he chose correctly? If not, which would you rather he had used?

[source]

Christian Serratos: Not Just Another Pretty Face

Christian Serratos did a terrific job bringing Angela Weber to life for fans of Twilight in the film adaptation of the acclaimed books. She's been performing in one capacity or another most of her life through competitive figure skating, dancing, singing and modeling. It wasn't until she did theatrical modeling for Ford that she realized that she enjoyed it and might actually like to pursue acting.

IESB.net has a great exclusive interview with the 18 year old actress with these being a few of the Twilight/New Moon highlights:

IESB: How did you became a part of Twilight? Did you just go through the regular auditioning process for it?

Christian: Yeah. I just got a call from my agent about this film, and I thought I should probably do my homework and figure out what it was all about. And, that’s when I saw the slight obsession with it. I was like, “Oh, don’t screw this up,” and I did. I flew all the way from Minden, Nevada, ‘cause I was living out there, at the time. I completely messed up the audition, but I guess (director) Catherine Hardwicke knew what she wanted, and she had faith in me and brought me back in. I just flat-out blew the audition. Because I did do my homework, I realized how big it was and I think it psyched me out.

IESB: Was Angela the character that you had always auditioned for, or did you read for anyone else? Christian: I was originally called in for Jessica (played by Anna Kendrick). There was a lot of mixes and matches, and chemistry reads. They kept calling me in for Jessica, but at the last minute, they were like, “Can you read for Angela?,” and I was like, “Oh, yeah, totally!” I was really excited because I really liked that character. I wear glasses. The glasses I wear in the film, I’ve worn. I’ve been wearing glasses since I was little. So, I put my glasses on and I put my hair up in a ponytail for the audition. And then, I went up to film and we were talking about looks for the different characters, and Catherine told me that she liked my glasses and ponytail, so she said, “We’re gonna keep it.”

IESB: How much of Angela will audiences get to see in New Moon?

Christian: They’re going to be pleasantly surprised, through the whole movie. I think they’re going to get enough of everyone. I don’t think anyone is going to wish they had more. I think they’re going to be really happy.

IESB: How is Chris Weitz, as a director?

Christian: He’s handling it. He’s extremely organized. You would expect someone who was that organized to be really uptight, but he’s the most relaxed and laid-back person you’ll ever meet. I don’t think I saw him stressed out on set once. He knows what he’s doing. He’s doing a great job, and the script is awesome. He’s a really fun, cool guy.

IESB: Does it help you feel more anonymous that you get to play more of a character in the film?

Christian: At first, I thought it would be more difficult because I was going to look in the film like I do in real life, since I’m wearing my own glasses. But, I don’t wear my glasses as much as I should. It’s been cool to have that disguise that I could put on and off. It’s been pretty easy. When I booked Twilight and people started calling me Christian instead of a character name, I was like, “Oh, damn!” That was so weird to me. After doing Nickelodeon, everyone called me by my character’s name and I was like, “That’s cool. They recognized me.” But, when they start calling you by your real name, that’s when you know it’s big. I remember I went to the bank and the teller girls at the window started freaking out and had me sign Breaking Dawn books. I was like, “This is weird!”

Be sure to read the rest of the interview where Christian discusses her music career and the launching of her new clothing line that may, or may not, be called "Kish" which is her nickname.

Catherin Hardwicke talks about casting Twilight

Catherine Hardwicke talks to MTV about the hesitation she felt on casting Robert Pattinson as Edward Cullen and the die hard fans who didn't think he fit the bill.

Movie Trailers - Movies Blog

Thank You NewMoonMovie.org!

Stephanie Meyers message to the Fans!

Stephanie Meyers took a little time to give a special thanks to Fans:

June 1, 2009

Thank you, everybody who voted at the MTV Movie Awards! It was awesome to see Twilight get so much love. Congratulations to Catherine and Rob and Kristen and all of the cast and everyone at Summit and everybody on the crew! You all did an amazing job and you deserve your popcorn!

Twilight fans are the best!

XOXO
Steph

P.S. You got to see a little taste of New Moon tonight, but I promise you this: when it comes to New Moon, you haven't seen anything yet! Can November please come faster?

Source:Stephanie Meyers

An Open Letter to David Slade

Mr. David Slade,

I want to make sure I get this right...when Twilight first came out last year you didn't want to see it (and that's your god given right!) and you even said you wouldn't see it at gun point (again you right) but when Summit decides they need a new director because of the close release dates you're all over Eclipse like white on rice....hmmm me thinks MONEY talked and your bullshit walked right into the nearest BofA with a fat deposit.

But Slade I'm going to take a different approach to your comments, maybe it was Catherine Hardwick's direction you didn't like and couldnt understand why she was suddenly considered this great director. Honestly I can relate to that, yeah she did a fine job and maybe someone could have done better but I can't cry about spilled milk. Maybe, you simply don't like romantic vampires movies unless they were biting each other till they hit their happy bliss (you know what I mean!).
Well what ever your reasoning for the dumb ass remarks we Twilight Saga fans are stuck with you. I just hope you can use your over inflated ego for something good like a great movie. But don't get it twisted Slade the Twi fans are watching you and in case you didnt know it we're extremely vocal....ask Kristen (i.e. twilight fans are psycho comment).

Sincerly,

Tammy

******************************************************

Okay since I'm not savvy enough to bring the audio over please check out the audio on SlashFilm.com.

Going to my HAPPY PLACE (its where all the cute pictures of Rob and Kellan are located!)

Twilight takes the lead in DVD Sales!

Twilight has sold 5.6 millions DVD's even thought it was released on an a Saturday.

The release sold 3 million units its first day in stores, Summit says,
enough to send it to the top of the weekly Nielsen VideoScan First Alert sales
chart even though it was only on sale a single day.As of the end of the day
Friday, Summit Home Entertainment president Steve Nickerson reports, the film
had sold 5.4 million copies, with the total shooting to 5.6 million over the
weekend.

CONGRATS TO SUMMIT AND THE TWILIGHT CAST!

Source:http: THR

Rachelle LeFevre discusses the sexual dark side & draw of Vampirism

"I remember when we were shooting the big vampire baseball game, and I had this impulse to run my fingers down Nikki Reed's leg — like a creepy bug. I didn't do it on the first take because I thought about it too much and censored myself," says Lefevre, who actually wrote Twilight director Catherine Hardwicke a letter explaining her long-standing vampire fixation and her deep desire for the role.

The Vancouver Sun has the Full Story.

Catherine Hardwicke has a new gig!

I hear Twilight's director Catherine Hardwicke will direct the Maximum Ride which is based on novelist James Patterson. I'm so excited I can barely type!! I love the Maximum Ride series. For those of you not familiar with the story here's a little break down.

From James
Patterson.com: Max, Fang, Iggy, Nudge, the Gasman, and Angel. Six kids who
are pretty normal in most ways - except that they're 98 percent human, 2 percent
bird (13 ft wingspan, normal faces). They grew up in a lab, living like rats in
cages, but now they're free. Aside, of course, from the fact that they're prime
prey for Erasers - wicked wolflike creatures with a taste for flying humans.

I didn't expect to enjoy Patterson's YA series but I LOVE IT!!! I've re-read the books several times. MTV is reporting Don Payne (Fantasic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer) is working on the screen play and James Patterson is one of the producers.

Also check out James Patterson's website: http://www.jamespatterson.com/

source

Robert Pattinson Interviewed in Costco Connection

Look what I found in my March issue of the Costco Connection! They interviewed Robert Pattinson to correspond with the release of their Special DVD and Exclusive Ultimate Fan Gift Set. Thanks, Costco!

INTERVIEW WITH THE VAMPIRE:
By J. Rentilly

WHILE DOOMED beauty may be the cinematic
stock in trade of handsome, dashing,
22-year-old actor Robert Pattinson, the
English actor who played Cedric Diggory in
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, he lives a
perfectly charmed life. “Lucky,” he calls it with
a modest laugh, preparing for the March 21
DVD release of Twilight, yet another blockbuster
adaptation of a beloved literary property,
in this case the vampire novels of
Stephenie Meyer. In the film, Pattinson plays—
what else?—another doomed beauty, the
angst-ridden blood-sucker Edward Cullen.

The Costco Connection: Tell me about
the differences between being a young, hand-
some movie star and being a young, handsome
vampire.
Robert Pattinson: I guess it all depends
on how much you like going around killing
people. [Laughs] I’m not sure that being goodlooking
has anything to do with it, except vampires
have always been attractive, haven’t they?

CC: Your Twilight character, Edward, is different
from standard cinematic vampires. I’m
wondering if you looked over the blood-sucking
canon for inspiration.
RP: You’re right, there’s very little about
Twilight that’s really vampire-ish. It’s about
vampires, I guess, but they’re not the same
vampires you’re used to seeing in other
movies. I found myself looking to real iconic
figures and characters, those timeless, attractive
figures, for inspiration: James Dean,
Jack Nicholson, that old French film
Breathless. Edward’s an outsider, mysterious,
a bad boy, all the things girls find attractive.
I wanted to find the qualities that made
those actors and those performances so
appealing, so charismatic. I can’t say I modeled
the performance on anything or anyone,
but I was looking for charisma and
chemistry and trying to figure out what’s
worked before in the movies.


CC: You’re an accomplished musician. You actually
have a couple of your songs in Twilight.
RP: It’s very bizarre. The director, Catherine
Hardwicke, was listening to one of my CDs, I
guess, and when she showed me an early cut
of the film I realized she had used one of my
songs in the movie. Not in the end credits,
but in a key moment in the movie. It all
matched perfectly—the music, the lyrics,
the scene. I had no idea.

CC:Hardwicke, incidentally, says you have these
“long, beautiful vampire fingers.”
RP: I think what she meant is: I have very
weird hands. There’s a scene in the film where
my character plays the piano, and I actually
had to learn it myself because they couldn’t
find a hand double that was convincing
enough to match my weird fingers.

CC: Are you a lucky guy?
RP: I think I am. I remember when I was
younger I used to write in my diary: I want
my luck to be spread. Never give me anything
too lucky all at once. I’ll take a little luck now
and then, but spread it for 70 years. Now that
all of this is happening, I’m sure the rest of
my life will be ruined. [Laughs] C
J. Rentilly is a Los Angeles–based journalist
who writes about film, music and literature.

Beginning March 21, Costco is offering
the Twilight 2-disc Special Edition DVD
as well as the Exclusive Ultimate Fan Gift
Set.