Twilight News: Weitz to direct ‘New Moon’

According to Entertainment Weekly’s Hollywood Insider, Summit Entertainment is about to hire Chris Weitz (The Golden Compass) to direct the Twilight sequel, New Moon.  It was known that the studio was in hurry-up mode to get the director in Vancouver by December 15 if they wanted to keep to their schedule to start shooting in mid-March.  Well, looks like they’re on their way to start pre-production with this announcement.

For those who aren’t familiar with Chris Weitz, he’s best known for the raunchy teen-comedy American Pie and the acclaimed Hugh Grant film About a Boy.  He also tackled adapting Philip Pullman’s The Golden Compass, though while American Pie made the big bucks and About a Boy gave him an Oscar nomination, The Golden Compass didn’t go very well.  One way to look at Weitz’ accomplishment is that he’s very diverse and therefore experienced in almost any genre.  Unfortunately, The Golden Compass was his major dud and it was a big budget, fantasy film based on a best selling book series, His Dark Materials.

Can he bounce back and direct New Moon to glory?  Or is he just swimming in familiar water that’ll result in failure?  Only time will tell.  One thing’s for sure, he’ll be scrutinized by the Twilight faithful every step of the way.

Link: 28 Reasons the ‘Twilight’ movie is better than the book

 

I never read the book but enjoyed the movie to an extent.  I understand how all the hardcore Twilight fans are saying how the movie left out their favorite scenes and how the love between Bella and Edward seemed rushed… but hey, give them a break!  Here is an awesome article that explains why the movie is better than the book.

http://nymag.com/daily/entertainment/2008/11/slideshow_of_twilight.html

Hayley Williams and Rob Pattinson Interview

 

Check out this neat video of Paramore’s front-woman, Hayley Williams and Twilight star, Rob Pattinson, interviewing each other.

Weekend Box Office Results

 

Studio Estimates for Nov. 21-23:

1.  Twilight – $70.6 million
2.  Quantum of Solace – $27.4 million
3.  Bolt – $27 million
4.  Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa – 16 million
5.  Role Models – $7.2 million

So Twilight was able to make a huge impression its opening weekend, so much that Summit Entertainment immediately green-lit the sequel, New Moon.  Over $70 million is more than most people expected and there was really no competition as I anticipated.  Disney’s Bolt was a disappointment, unable to really give Twilight something to sweat about.  Only grossing $27 million, Bolt reached the #3 spot, behind the second weekend of Quantum of Solace.  Maybe Madagascar hurt Bolt’s box office result, but nontheless Twilight came out as the big winner.

Check out Friday for our new predictions.

Review: ‘Twilight’ has bite

Twilight (2008)
122 minutes
Rated PG-13
Directed by Catherine Hardwicke
Starring:  Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson

Grade:  C+

Although I find it irrelevant to have a disclaimer about how I am reviewing this movie as a non-fan of Stephenie Meyer’s insanely popular book, I guess it’s sort of necessary to people who might be reading this.  Oh, and I am a guy… just another aspect that makes me the least likely person to appreciate and enjoy the movie.

Twilight isn’t a bad movie, though it’s not great either.  The beginning is long and quite dull, yet it creates the tone for the rest of the film and really makes the subtle tension seem that much more exciting.  We have our heroine, Bella Swan (Kristen Stewart)… an awkward, clumsy, and quiet girl who combines her vulnerability with purity to make her quite a tasty dish (for humans too).  She seems like a nice, down-to-earth type of girl who is rebellious against popularity and craves privacy.

She sees the Cullen family and immediately strikes curiosity in them.  Her friend tells her the story the entire town of Forks, Washington knows… they’re outsiders, they keep to themselves, they’re weird.  The movie drags on when Bella meets Edward Cullen (the dreamy Robert Pattinson) with every awkward step.  But then finally, something happens… Edward saves Bella’s life.  Oh, and then he saves her life again… and again… and again.

The interaction between Bella and Edward were strange at first.  It’s obvious these two aren’t your “normal” couple.  But as the film goes on, their relationship hits a stride with every cheesy, teen-romance cliché in the book.  I’m not sure if the whole romantic seesaw was supposed to be so funny, but I chuckled at every forced line and in-your-face stare-down.  But overall, their chemistry could’ve been worse.

Everyone is likeable.  I was wondering how long it would take Bella to find out Edward was a vampire.  That probably could’ve been done a bit quicker, freeing up more time for the good stuff.  Anyway, once she finds out and confronts him about it, this sets Edward free.  She trusts him and tells him that she’s not afraid.  He explains how he wants her, but fears he’ll cause harm to her.  She doesn’t care.  It’s all mushy stuff until the baseball scene.

This is when Twilight takes off.  During a friendly game of vampire baseball in the thunderstorm, three stray vampires intrude on the Cullens and Bella.  James senses her and desires her human blood at any cost.  He’s a tracker, meaning once he got her scent he can trace it for miles.  Edward and his family know Bella’s in danger now and act fast to protect her.

It’s quite amazing how many genres are packed into this movie.  The beginning is your typical high school teen-dramedy.  Then the middle feels like a teen-romance.  And the end plays out like an action-thriller with a sci-fi spin.  In a way, I guess you can say that Twilight has something for everyone.

Working with a $37 million budget, Twilight impresses with its great action sequences.  Unfortunately there is hardly enough action because of the large bulk of painful dialogue and establishing the Twilight universe.  Nonetheless, aside of its many flaws there are plenty of good things that makes this film quite entertaining through its stunning climax and sappy conclusion.

One thing I thought Twilight did well was its casting.  I bet the Twilight readers would disagree, but for the characters portrayed in the film, the actors did a good job.  I’m not convinced that Kristen Stewart is a good actress, but I am sure that casting her as Bella was a great choice.  As for Robert Pattinson, his mysterious aura sparkles throughout the film even when he’s not in direct sunlight.  The two young actors have the entire franchise to look forward to, though they better get a move on it… you know, with Edward unable to age.  By the time Breaking Dawn is made Pattinson will probably be 27.

Another aspect about Twilight that I found enjoyable was the placement of humor throughout.  I especially enjoyed Bella’s father who provided a number of funny lines, complimenting Bella’s nonchalant personality.  And all of Bella’s human friends in high school made the film fun.  As hard as the book might try to make the story a noir-science fiction romance, high school is inevitably a time for kids to be kids and that was displayed well.

Twilight fans will probably be disappointed, but that’s the old tale of nit-picking and cursing the movie-makers for leaving out their favorite parts of the book.  Let’s be realistic here.  To translate a 500 page book into 120 pages of screenplay is no easy task.  And to cram your 10-hour experience of reading into two hours of visual storytelling… of course it’s not going to be the same.  But in a movie perspective, Twilight was decent.  If readers are lenient and allow themselves to enjoy the movie, they’ll be satisfied.  Hopefully, like the Harry Potter franchise, the Twilight Saga films will improve with its sequels.  But as a guy who has never touched the book (yet with low expectations I must add), there are a lot of things worse than Twilight.

Box Office Predictions (Nov. 21-23)

 

    

After a boring box office last weekend, the movie Gods have presented us with a very intriguing match-up for this weekend.  Months ago, it was almost certain that Disney’s Bolt would top the box office.  But now with the crazed inside fan-base of Twilight, the tides have seemed to turn.  Let’s talk about the two movies debuting this weekend.

Twilight.  What haven’t you heard about it?  I posted my analysis and opinion on the pop-culture phenomenon and frankly, I’m glad it’s finally coming out.  The wait is over.  All the twelve-year-old girls can now attend their screening and scream their lungs out when Edward Cullen talks.  But how will it do in the box office?

It’s a very tricky situation for this film.  Months ago, a gross of $20 million would’ve sufficed, but now the bar has been raised.  With reports of hundreds of showings sold out due to advanced ticket offers… wait scratch that, I just read that over 1,100 shows have been sold out… it certainly looks like Twilight is about to profit greatly from its low, $37 million budget.  But looks can be deceiving. 

Can this film with a large majority of teenage girls really take this movie to the top?  The commercials and trailers try to focus in on the action to entice guys that it’s a action-packed vampire film… but unless you’ve been living under a rock or have no interaction with a female for the past four months, you know this is an all-out romance story.  So the time has come… will Twilight be as successful as its die-hard fans display?  Or was Twilight simply too hyped up?

And in the opposite corner, Disney’s Bolt.  This children-friendly film tells the story of a white German Shepherd who stars as a superhero dog on a TV show.  When he is accidentally shipped from Hollywood to New York City, he learns he really doesn’t have any powers and takes off on a journey with a cat and a hamster to be reunited with his owner. 

I don’t know why, but this movie looks like a lot of fun.  Since the box office has relatively been owned by children flicks (Madagascar, High School Musical, Beverly Hills Chihuahua), Bolt was predicted to follow the trend.  Now it has lost a lot of steam due to the fact that Twilight has erupted onto the pop-culture world.  I do add that debuting in more theaters than Twilight, and the added aspect of 3-D technology, Bolt is destined to gross a large sum of cash.

Here are our predictions:

 

My Predictions:

1.  Twilight – $60 million
2.  Bolt – $50 million
3.  Quantum of Solace – $30 million
4.  Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa – $18 million
5.  Role Models – $6 million

 

Dan’s Predictions:

1.  Twilight – $62 million
2.  Bolt – $45 million
3.  Quantum of Solace – $28 million
4.  Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa – $20 million
5.  Role Models – $5 million

 

Phil’s Predictions:

1.  Bolt – $50 million
2.  Twilight – $35 million
3.  Quantum of Solace – $20 million
4.  Madagascar Escape 2 Africa – $15 million
5.  Role Models – $4 million

 

The key is whether or not Twilight can exceed beyond their target audience.  If it’s only going to be tween-teen girls and some crazed mothers and grandmoms, then $40-$60 million is expected.  But if somehow Twilight is able to reach out and pull some guys away from Bond, the total can be a lot more.  I played it safe with $60 million, but Twilight has tremendous potential of breaking over $70 million.

Phil seems like he’s not buying into the Twilight hype and predicts Bolt to take the crown for this weekend’s box office.  Other than that, our predictions stay the same course from Quantum of Solace to Madagascar to the big drop-off of Role Models.

Let’s see how our predictions hold up.

Twilight Frenzy

 

 

Let me start out by saying I don’t know a darn thing about Twilight.  I have not read one page of any Stephenie Meyer book.  I don’t know anything about the world of Bella Swan and Edward Cullen, what the vampires can or cannot do, or simply how anything works in the Twilight universe.  Nonetheless, as I always keep an eye on pop culture, current trends, and movie news… it’s impossible to not mention how insane this Twilight phenomenon is. 

But seriously… where the hell did this explosion of craziness come from?  Here’s a brief list of the effect Twilight has had recently:

• Twilight was released in 2005, reached #5 on the New York Times Best Seller list for young adult chapter books and has been translated into 20 languages worldwide.
• New Moon (2006), Eclipse (2007) and Breaking Dawn (2008) all followed Twilight by landing spots on the NYT Best Seller list for a combined 143 weeks.
• The series as a whole has sold over 17 million copies worldwide and 8.5 million in the United States.
• Summit Entertainment optioned Twilight in April 2007 to film.
• The Twilight Soundtrack hit #1 on the Billboard charts before the film has been released.
• Across the country mall-tours of Kristen Stewart (Bella) and Rob Pattinson (Edward Cullen) have been exceeding expectations.  Events have been selling under a few hours and have also sparked a few riots and many unhappy fans.

And yes, advanced ticket sales are shooting off the charts.  As of Monday night, Fandango reported that over 500 midnight showings of Twilight have been sold out.  So what does this all mean?  What’s the cause to this passionate uprising of the Twilight fan base?

 

How similar is this to the Twilight movie poster? 

 

I personally don’t know, but can sort of understand the craze that has taken over America.  Vampires have always been a hot topic ever since the classics Nosferatu and Dracula.  And when I grew up, I had the huge pop culture hit, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, to introduce me to the vampire species.  Buffy had a teenage cult following.  Remember the show?  She was a vampire slayer in high school and with a small group of friends, fought off vampires, demons, werewolves, and whatever other strange creatures threatened her hometown of Sunnydale.  Oh yeah, and there was a romance between Buffy and vampires Angel and Spike. 

I find it funny how on Wikipedia, I read how Stephenie with no “A” said the idea of Twilight came to her in a dream about a human girl and a vampire’s romance.  Hmm… or did she just remember how awesome Buffy was?  Or how maybe she heard about this HBO vampire series called True Blood, which is based on a book series by Charlaine Harris that was first published in 2001?  Though I don’t know whether or not Stephenie Meyer is aware of the similarities of previous vampire stories, director of the movie Catherine Hardwicke claims she has never watched a single second of Buffy the Vampire Slayer.  Is this supposed to make it seem like because she hasn’t watched Buffy, that Twilight is original?  Or she just doesn’t want to admit that the two resemble a lot of the same themes and style? 

 

How about them apples? 

 

All right.  So Twilight isn’t original, but that really intrigues me even more.  How come HER books are getting all the attention?  Unfortunately, I’ll never know because I hardly doubt I will read the Twilight series.  For one, the huge masses of tween girls, teenage girls, and middle-age girls that make up the overwhelming majority of Twilight’s fan base are quite daunting.  Where are all the guys?!  Something is screaming for me to put down the ten-pound book and pick up something more masculine.  ESPN magazine… that’ll do.  But seriously, I’m not one to avoid romantic comedies and chick flicks just because every girl on the planet loves it, which is why I’ll compromise by seeing the movie (probably).  I enjoy movies a lot more than books anyway.

Okay, I went off on a tangent there and I apologize.  But back to Twilight, starring two relatively unknown actors: Kristen Stewart and Rob Pattinson.  Yes, the little girl in Panic Room and that guy from Harry Potter.  I can’t believe I’ve written so much without mentioning these two leads.  It’s a fact that Rob Pattinson is currently one of the biggest heartthrobs on the movie scene.  You don’t think he’s hot?  Ask the 12-year-old with scoliosis from carrying all four books of the Twilight Saga in her backpack… or the college girl who dreams that her boyfriend was as perfect as Edward.  Now what I really wonder is why people are falling for Rob Pattinson.  Is it because he’s really that stunning or because he’s playing the most romantic guy-vampire ever?  Or both?  It’s evident he has stolen the Twilight spotlight from the rest of the cast, but can he do Edward justice in the movie?  I can only assume that fans are going to be scrutinizing his every step, as the bar for Edward is enormously high.

Wait a second.  Where have I seen this before?  Hmm…

• A really successful book that targets a younger audience (but still appropriate for mature audiences)
• Middle-aged female authors.
• An unknown young cast receiving relentless attention
• Crazy hardcore fans of the franchise

I know I shouldn’t, but it’s seriously impossible to write a post on Twilight without a comparison between Harry Potter.

 

Twilight vs. Harry Potter

 

   

 

As popular Twilight may seem on the outside, I hardly felt that it would make a similar splash as Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone did.  But the more I read up about Twilight, the more I’m buying into the hype.  At the release of Twilight the movie (3 years ago), the book has sold approximately 8.5 million copies domestically.  At the release of the film Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone (4 years), the book had sold approximately 12 million copies domestically.  That’s not too far away, but I’m still skeptical whether or not Twilight can have the same impact on the movie world that Harry Potter did.

Defamer.com made a good point when they said that Harry Potter’s first film was a great success partly due to the fact that the franchise wasn’t finished yet.  Maybe readers wanted to relive the first book by seeing it on screen… or non-readers wanted to “see” if they would like the idea of a child wizard before picking up the books.  The mystery of how the whole story will end was still on everyone’s minds.  On the contrary, the entire Twilight series has ended this summer, before the first movie has been released.  Should this possibly turn some readers away from the film adaptation?  There were a number of mixed reactions from readers about their satisfaction of the series’ conclusion.  If you know how it ends and don’t like it… why would you watch the movie?

It’s smart of the Twilight filmmakers to try and avoid comparisons with Harry Potter, who has now sold more than 400 million copies of the book and has grossed over $4.5 billion in the box office.  In Entertainment Weekly, they quote director of Twilight Catherine Hardwicke saying, “We’re not even five percent of Potter sales.  Ours is a character film, a little more sophisticated teenage Romeo and Juliet.”  Very good Hardwicke.  Make this a Romeo and Juliet story, not a supernatural teenage story like Harry Potter.  At all costs avoid the comparison to Harry Potter.  She was prepped well.

 

 

 

EW wrote an article about Twilight a few weeks back mentioning how a $20 million opening weekend is the number the studio needs to please in-house accountants to green-light the sequels.  More recently I’ve been reading that the magic number to go through with the sequels is $150 million.  Are they for real?  Hasn’t the screenwriter already began reading the next two books in preparation to pen the next two screenplays… and hasn’t most of the cast already signed on to the sequels?  I’m sorry, but throw around whatever numbers you want… the sequels WILL be made.  Opening this weekend in approximately 3,500 theaters, does anyone expect this film to fall short of $20 million?  Anyone?  Didn’t think so.

It’s not a good sign that the studio is being so cautious before announcing that the sequels are under way.  The reason for this is because I really don’t think anyone knew that Twilight was going to be such a mega hit.  Summit Entertainment is the film studio that was able to snag Twilight, and the film has a reported budget of only $37 million.  Are you serious?  A film that’s attracting this type of attention has a budget of $37 million? 
 
Here are some low budget films that Summit Entertainment has put out in the past few years:  Penelope, In the Valley of Elah, Michael Clayton, P.S. I Love You, Babel, and Once. 
 
Believe me, if everyone knew the type of attention Twilight would receive, there would’ve been a bigger bidding war and definitely a larger budget.  Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone had a $125 million budget.  Everyone knew about Harry Potter and how big of a success it was going to be.  The whole franchise was green-lit from the beginning.  Same goes for Lord of the Rings.  There is no doubt in my mind all four books of the Twilight Saga will be adapted to film. 

 

 

So all I want to know is whether or not the hype real?  Or is this one of the most blown-out-of-proportions pop craze in the past decade?  But all signs are pointing that Twilight is destined for grand things.  Tonight on Comedy Central’s South Park season finale, their episode is a parody on Twilight.

We’ll certainly find out by this weekend if Twilight is the real deal, but I’m not willing to find out first hand.  On midnight Thursday, I will certainly stay clear of vampire infested movie theaters.  I do want to see this movie, but I think I’ll wait for all the excitement to die down a bit.  I really hope that the movie can live up to the anticipation though.  The new Bond flick, Quantum of Solace, just grossed over $70 million its opening weekend.  Can Twilight dig its teeth deep into the box office as well?  Since the release dates were announced, Disney’s Bolt was the clear favorite to take this weekend’s box office down… but now we have a dead heat.  Will it be a photo finish?  Who will end up on top?

‘Twilight’ mob in San Francisco

 

Not buying into the ‘Twilight’ craze yet?  Rob Pattinson, playing Edward in the movie, was forced to cancel a signing at a Hot Topic in San Francisco on Monday when a mob broke out because of poor preparation by the organizers.  The staff only expected around 500 people to attend the event, but a crowd of about 3,000, most of whom lined up at the doors waiting for the mall to open the night before, turned into a riot.

Come on now!  You have to give Twilight some credit, right?  The star of the entire franchise is appearing in a small San Francisco Hot Topic, and they only thought 500 people would show up?  This is Twilight people!  Even though Rob Pattinson was a no-name before, he is a bonafide STAR now, even though the movie hasn’t even been released yet.  It’s just a shame all those fans had to be turned down because of horrible organization.