CHRIS WEITZS’ ROLLING STONE INTERVIEW
www.rollingstone.com: With just days to go before the release of The Twilight Saga: New Moon, Rolling Stone chatted with the film’s director, Chris Weitz, about the anticipated movie’s wildest stunts, the loyalty of Team Edward and the scenes you won’t find in Stephenie Meyer’s original book.
You said everyone’s been asking you about the pressures of taking on such a successful franchise, and they also want to know why vampires are so popular.
Honestly, there weren’t really any pressures for me because there was a guaranteed audience which meant that even if I made a terrible movie people would still watch it. So once you got that reassurance [laughs], you just set out to make the best movie possible, which is what we aimed to do. And I’ve felt nothing but support from the fans since day one — actually day one there was a little doubt because I have a Y chromosome, but ever since then I’ve felt a lot of love from the fans.
More here.
TAKE A TWILIGHT TRAVEL TOUR
www.mlive.com: The Twilight book/film series, and the New Moon film hitting theaters on Friday, probably won’t do for coastal Washington State what Lord of the Rings did for New Zealand. After all, author Stephenie Meyer picked Forks, Washington, as her setting because it “boasts” the nation’s highest rainfall.
But the coastal setting is stunning – and tours are featuring outings into the mystical rain forests in which the film’s vampires roam and the magnificent cliffs within the Quileute reservation (home to Jacob Black and the actual werewolf legends upon which his character was based).
Stay where the werewolf legend was born
Those intrigued (as I am) by the tribal legends of the ancient Quileute may want to book their stay right on the reservation (640 acres, directly on the ocean). According to tribal lore, a shape shifter encountered a wolf and turned him into a human, creating the first Quileute. Book directly at the tribe’s Oceanside Resort, or opt for the tour the tribe runs with Dazzled by Twilight and includes locations around both LaPush (surrounded by Olympic National Park) and the tiny town of Forks. Either way, the tribe welcomes (respectful) visitors to events like its Wednesday night drum circle and potluck. Before you go, read the “Tribal country etiquette link.”
The cliff-side Kalaloch Lodge looks enticing, movie lover or not, as do the packages: $149 for one night, or $199 for two in a log cabin, including a special dessert, Twilight water bottle and other goodies and a map of filming locations or suggestions for beachcombing for sea glass or exploring tidal pools (promo code: Twilight). You can find the filming sites in Forks highlighted here
More here.
AMAZING TWILIGHT TATTOOS
www.scifiwire.com: We thought we’d seen every extreme Twilighters would go to in showing off their love for the novels, but some Twihards are so hardcore they make the rest look like wannabes. Here are a few Stephenie Meyer’s fans so rabid in their love that just reading the books isn’t enough—they want to be able to read them on their own flesh!
More here.
READ STEPHENIE’S FAN Q&A
www.stepheniemeyer.com: We received nearly 2000 of your questions for Stephenie at TheTwilightSaga.com. Stephenie has graciously answered a lot of your most asked questions below. Enjoy!
Hi Stephenie! Texas LOVES you!!! In staying true to the novel, I’d like to know if there were any scenes missing from the original screenplay that you insisted be in the movie?? Thank you SOOO much!!!! -Trinity in Fort Worth
Sort of. In the original screenplay, Jacob’s visit to Bella’s room that one night didn’t exist. The necessary information was still there, it was just scattered through a few other scenes. I really missed that scene, but change (and cutting!) is a part of the adaptation process—especially when you write really long books—so I was prepared to suck it up. And then Chris Weitz felt like we needed that scene, too, and he wrote up a beautiful version I love. And we all lived happily ever after.
Hi Stephenie – What is your favourite scene in New Moon the movie? – Laure
I can’t really choose just one. I love so many things. Bella’s and Edward’s first conversation in the parking lot…the painting…Jessica’s monologue…the scenes in Jacob’s garage…the first time you see the werewolves!!…Jacob in Bella’s room (thanks, Chris!)…the underwater moment…what you see while Thom Yorke’s amazing song is playing…everything in Italy…and I could go on. It’s all so good.
I am curious, when you think of Edward and Bella, or read or talk about them, do you still picture the people from your dream? Or has your images of these characters changed over time, especially now after seeing your books adapted to film? Thanks! Danyeal J.
When I read the books or think about the characters in a writing scenario, I still see them they way I first did. I can still see exactly what they looked like in that first dream. When I’m reading the script, however, it’s all Kristen and Rob and Taylor.
More here.
PATTINSON TO LETTERMAN: “BITE ME”
www.blog.zap2it.com: “The Late Show with David Letterman” welcomed “Twilight: New Moon’s” Robert Pattinson. What did he have to say? “Bite me.”
Pattinson has his own tales of crazy fans, matching Taylor Lautner’s from “The Jay Leno Show” Monday night. Except Robert’s tales aren’t from middle-aged women — they’re from guys.
More here.
USA TODAY’S NEW MOON REVIEW
www.usatoday.com: The werewolves have it all over the blood-suckers in The Twilight Saga: New Moon. When these oversize, hirsute creatures burst onto the screen, they inject life into a rather inert story.
What bogs down this tale of teenage Bella (Kristen Stewart), her vampire beau Edward (Robert Pattinson) and werewolf buddy Jacob (Taylor Lautner) is the morose nature of Bella and Edward’s romance. Though an improvement over the first Twilight film, this sequel (both based on Stephenie Meyer’s best-selling books) drags and sputters, even in scenes meant to be infused with passion.
More here.
ASHLEY AND KELLAN ON THE RADIO
www.kgoam810.com: Movie theaters are getting ready for record crowds tonight as Twilight fans rush to see the premiere of “New Moon,” the latest installment in the saga. In this KGO exclusive interview, our Bret Burkhart talks with movie stars Ashley Greene and Kellan Lutz who play Alice and Emmett, members of the Cullen clan of vampires. We have the interview for you here, and a picture of Bret with the two young actors in the KGO studio!
AN INTERVIEW WITH DAKOTA FANNING
www.news.popstar.com: Dakota Fanning makes quite an impression in The Twilight Saga: New Moon. Actually, Fanning makes a strong impression in every movie she does. At just 15 years old, she’s already one of the best and most accomplished actresses out there, with credits spanning from I Am Sam, The Cat in the Hat (2003), and War of the Worlds to Dreamer (2005), Hounddog and the upcoming film The Runaways (2010), which reteams her with New Moon co-star Kristen Stewart.
Will there be a Jane action figure?
I don’t know. I know there’s been some talk about it. There are action figures for some of the characters, but I don’t know about me. That’d be fun. That’d be fun. They’ve already sent me a life-size cutout of myself as Jane. That was pretty surreal. I actually had a Dreamer doll.
What are you doing next?
I don’t have anything lined up right now. I have to do press for New Moon now and then I’ll be doing press for The Runaways. It’s good. I’m never far from it all, which I like. As I get older there is so much more that I can do, and I look forward to growing as an actress. I think The Runaways will be the first (major example) of that.
More here.
HAVE FUN TONIGHT AND ENJOY THE MOVIE!
MAKE SURE TO DROP IN AND TELL US WHAT YOU THOUGHT! <3
