Taylor Lautner Reprising His Role in Twilight Sequel, New Moon January 8, 2009 10:15 am
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in Casting, Movies, New Moon, News, Twilight.add a comment
The rumors that Taylor Lautner (Jacob Black) would be replaced for New Moon, the sequel to Summit Entertainment’s Twilight, have turned out to be false. The studio and new director Chris Weitz announced today that Lautner would be reprising his role as the character:
Weitz noted there has been speculation about whether Lautner could portray the character who goes through many changes physically, including growing taller and bulkier and aging 10 years. The 16-year-old Lautner has been spending time in the gym, trying to add 19 pounds of muscle. Weitz added that Lautner is “emotionally right” for the part.
New Moon hits theaters on November 20, 2009.
Chris Weitz to Direct New Moon December 16, 2008 1:49 pm
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in Movies, New Moon, News, Twilight.1 comment so far
Summit Entertainment has confirmed that Chris Weitz has been hired to direct New Moon, the sequel to the studio’s highly successful film Twilight. Chris Weitz replaces Catherine Hardwicke, who Summit announced last week would not be continuing with the franchise. The announcement was made by Erik Feig, Summit’s President of Production.
“We love Stephenie Meyer’s fantastic ‘Twilight’ series. Thinking long and hard about how to turn ‘New Moon’ into the amazing movie we know it will be, and working with Stephenie Meyer to find the right candidate, we are thrilled to announce Chris Weitz as director of the film. Chris very much understands the world of ‘New Moon’ and has the skill set required to bring the book to glorious life as a movie. We think he will be an excellent steward of Stephenie Meyer’s vision.”
“I am honored to have been entrusted with shepherding ‘New Moon’ from the page to the screen,” said Weitz. “The extraordinary world that Stephenie has created has millions of fans, and it will be my duty to protect on their behalf the characters, themes and story they love. This is not a task to be taken lightly, and I will put every effort into realizing a beautiful film to stand alongside a beautiful book.”
Twilight has grossed an impressive $150 million domestically since its release, and has added another $35.3 million from overseas markets for a worldwide cume of $185.3 million. The film’s production budget was just $37 million.
Source: Summit Entertainment (via ComingSoon.net)
Catherine Hardwicke Not Directing New Moon, Summit Searching for New Director December 8, 2008 1:22 am
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in Casting, Movies, New Moon, News, Twilight.13 comments
Summit Entertainment has announced that Twilight director Catherine Hardwicke is leaving the franchise and will not be directing the sequel, New Moon (scheduled for release sometime between the end of 2009 and early 2010).
While the joint press release, read it in full after the jump, reveals that the decision was made due to timing issues with Hardwicke, Nikki Finke of DeadlineHollywoodDaily reports that Hardwicke was “difficult” and “irrational” during the making of the film, with one of her contacts saying:
“Summit didn’t like her. They’re saying the DP [director of photography] Elliot Davis is the one responsible for the film’s sumptuous visual look, that the editor Nancy Richardson had to save the film in post-production, and Summit thought Hardwicke’s [CAA] agent Beth Swofford was alternately ineffectual and hysterical.”
Well, that may have been all true, but I don’t see why they make the announcement now in the middle of the European press tour, a tour in which Hardwicke is–and will continue–participating in.
The full release follows after the jump.
Catherine Hardwick Talks Twilight Sequel, New Moon December 5, 2008 8:12 pm
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in Movies, New Moon, News, Twilight.2 comments
Twilight director Catherine Hardwick chatted with ShockTillYouDrop.com about the followup to the successful film, New Moon. Here’s a little bit of what she had to say:
Shock: Is there an element of the second book you’re especially intrigued or excited by, as far as bringing it to life on screen?
Hardwicke: New Moon’s really taking a whole other leap with this new story and there’s really a lot of new characters in it. There’s the werewolves which is pretty crazy. All the wolves. Then there’s also going to Italy in the second book and there’s motorcycle riding and cliff-jumping and diving. I love jumping off of cliffs. So it’s kind of up my alley – into water, yeah.
Twilight’s box office now stands at $125.4 million domestically and $21.3 million overseas for a worldwide cume of $146.7 million, an impressive tally for a film that cost just $37 million to make.
You can read the entire interview here.
Twilight One of Many Summit Entertainment Films Headed to Showtime December 4, 2008 11:37 pm
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in Cable, Movies, News, Showtime, Twilight.1 comment so far
Summit Entertainment and Showtime have inked a new deal that will see up to 42 of Summit’s theatrical titles, from 2008 to 2012, air on the premium cable network, including the recent hit Twilight.
“We’re excited that ‘Twilight’ is obviously going to be a huge franchise, and that there will probably be several more of those films coming as part of the deal,” said Showtime chairman and CEO Matthew Blank.
Since its release on November 21st, Twilight has grossed more than $120 million domestically.
The deal also includes 2009’s Knowing, directed by Alex Proyas and starring Nicolas Cage and Rose Byrne, as well as Push, starring Chris Evans, Dakota Fanning and Djimon Hounsou.
Source: Variety
Twilight Stars Get Big Pay Raise November 26, 2008 2:42 pm
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in Movies, News, Twilight.add a comment
Twilight stars Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart are in store for a huge pay raise of the recently greenlit sequel New Moon. The two stars, who were each paid $2 million for the first film, will be paid $12 million each for the sequel. Looks like the budget is going to be substantially increased for the sequel. Twilight was made for just $37 million.
Source: Chicago Sun-Times
Twilight Grosses $69.6 million; Summit Announces New Moon Sequel November 25, 2008 10:36 am
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in Movies, New Moon, News, Twilight.1 comment so far
After an impressive opening weekend for Twilight–$69.4 million–that beat industry expectations, Summit Entertainment has officially announced that they are moving forward with its sequel, New Moon. The studio may also decide to film New Moon and its sequel Eclipse back-to-back to save on costs.
Author Stephenie Meyer: “I don’t think any other author has had a more positive experience with the makers of her movie adaptation than I have had with Summit Entertainment. I’m thrilled to have the chance to work with them again on ‘New Moon.'”
Twilight is also broke the record for biggest opening gross in history for a female director (Catherine Hardwicke).
Stars Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart left this thank you note for fans:
Source: Summit Entertainment (via Deadline Hollywood Daily)
Twilight Rakes in $7 million from Thursday Midnight Shows November 21, 2008 5:05 pm
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in Movies, News, Twilight.add a comment
It appears Summit Entertainment is in store for a very big opening weekend for Twilight, the vampire-themed film based on the best-selling book series by author Stephenie Miller. Current forecasts have pegged the film at making between $60 million to $65 million, a range that could be easily exceeded if the midnight gross is any indication.
Twilight is currently No. 3 on Fandango.com’s list of top advance ticket sales. Only Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith and The Dark Knight sold more.
Source: Variety
Twilight Soundtrack Debuts at #1 on Billboard 200 November 13, 2008 5:43 pm
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in Billboard 200, Music, News, Soundtracks, Twilight.add a comment
The soundtrack to Twilight debuted at #1 on the Billboard 200 this week, becoming the third No. 1 film soundtrack this year after Juno and Mamma Mia! According to Nielsen SoundScan, the soundtrack moved 165,000 copies in the US. 29% (48,000) of its sales were digital downloads which is the second-biggest digital week for a soundtrack since Nielsen SoundScan began tracking album download sales in 2004 (High School Musical bowed with 62,000 downloads in August 2007).
Last week’s No. 1, AC/DC’s “Black Ice” from Columbia dropped 41% to No. 2 with 160,000 copies and the soundtrack to Disney’s High School Musical 3 stayed in third place for a second straight week with a 32% drop to 110,000 copies sold.
Twilight hits theaters next week, November 21st.
Source: Nielsen SoundScan (via THR)
New Twilight International Trailer and Promos October 27, 2008 2:19 pm
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in Movies, Trailers, Twilight.1 comment so far
A couple new TV spots and an International trailer for Twilight have surfaced online. Check them out below. Twilight hits theaters on November 21, 2008.
International Trailer
TV Spot 1
TV Spot 2
via ComingSoon.net
Watchmen, Friday the 13th and Twilight Footage from SCREAM 2008 October 27, 2008 12:24 am
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in Friday the 13th, Movies, News, Twilight, Videos, Watchmen.add a comment
The following footage was shown during last week’s SCREAM 2008 Awards on Spike TV. Watchmen was definitley the highlight. Man, I can’t wait for that film!
Watchmen (3/6/2009)
Friday the 13th (2/13/2009)
Twilight (11/21/2008)
‘Harry Potter 6’ Pushed Back to Summer 2009 and New Photos + “Bolt” and “Twilight” Take Advantage of Delay August 19, 2008 5:56 pm
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in Bolt, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Movies, News, Photos, Twilight.add a comment
Citing after effects of the writers strike as one of the reasons, Alan Horn, President and Chief Operating Officer, Warner Bros. has announced that the studio has pushed back the release date of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince from November 21, 2008 to July 17, 2009.
“Our reasons for shifting ‘Half-Blood Prince’ to summer are twofold: we know the summer season is an ideal window for a family tent pole release, as proven by the success of our last ‘Harry Potter’ film, which is the second-highest grossing film in the franchise, behind only the first installment. Additionally, like every other studio, we are still feeling the repercussions of the writers’ strike, which impacted the readiness of scripts for other films—changing the competitive landscape for 2009 and offering new windows of opportunity that we wanted to take advantage of. We agreed the best strategy was to move ‘Half-Blood Prince’ to July, where it perfectly fills the gap for a major tent pole release for mid-summer.”
Walt Disney Pictures’ Bolt was the first film to take advantage of the delay, moving the animated film up five days from November 26th to November 21st. Summit Pictures was quick to follow, deciding to move its heavily hyped vampire drama Twlight from December 12th to November 21st.
You’ll find the press releases from Warner Bros. and Summit Entertainment, respectively after the jump, as well as some new photos from Harry Potter 6 after the jump.
Comic-Con 2008: “Twilight” Audio Interviews July 24, 2008 10:13 pm
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in Comic-Con, Comic-Con 2008, Interviews, Movies, Twilight.add a comment
UPDATED 7/26/2008 AT 8:00am: I forgot to add in /Film’s report on the panel (click here to check it out) and the site also has another update on the film at Comic-Con at this link.
Several members of the press were invited to a sit down with the cast and crew of Twilight. The interviews were recorded and are available to download and listen to via ShockTillYouDrop. The download links are provided below. There was also a new batch of photos from the film that were released that I posted on the site yesterday. Be sure to check those out at this link.
Catharine Hardwicke & Stephenie Meyer
Robert Pattinson & Rachelle Lefevre
Synopsis
Adapted from the best-selling novel by author Stephenie Meyer, Thirteen and Lords of Dogtown director Catherine Hardwicke’s supernatural teen drama Twilight tells the tale of Bella (Kristen Stewart), a 17-year-old girl who moves to a small town to live with her father and becomes enamored with a mysterious classmate (Robert Pattinson), who turns out to be a vampire.
Twilight hits theaters on December 12, 2008.
“Twilight” Photos July 23, 2008 8:39 pm
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in Movies, News, Photos, Twilight.add a comment
Several new photos from this December’s vampire drama Twilight have been released online. Check them out after the jump.
Synopsis
Adapted from the best-selling novel by author Stephenie Meyer, Thirteen and Lords of Dogtown director Catherine Hardwicke’s supernatural teen drama Twilight tells the tale of Bella (Kristen Stewart), a 17-year-old girl who moves to a small town to live with her father and becomes enamored with a mysterious classmate (Robert Pattinson), who turns out to be a vampire.
Twilight hits theaters on December 12, 2008.
“Twilight” Movie Trailer July 18, 2008 4:15 pm
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in Movie Trailers, Movies, Twilight.add a comment
The second teaser trailer for Twilight has been released. Check it out after the jump.
Synopsis
Adapted from the best-selling novel by author Stephenie Meyer, Thirteen and Lords of Dogtown director Catherine Hardwicke’s supernatural teen drama Twilight tells the tale of Bella (Kristen Stewart), a 17-year-old girl who moves to a small town to live with her father and becomes enamored with a mysterious classmate (Robert Pattinson), who turns out to be a vampire.
Twlight hits theaters on December 12, 2008.
Twilight Sequels May be shot back-to-back May 14, 2008 3:09 pm
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in Eclipse, Movies, New Moon, News, Photos, Twilight.add a comment
One of the most buzzed about films scheduled to release this year is Twilight, the first book in a series of novels about vampires from Stephanie Meyer. The film has just recently entered post production and hits theaters on December 12th, but the filmmakers are already talking about the possibility of shooting the sequels back-to-back. Details after the jump, plus a new photo.
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