LATEST POSTS

March 22, 2010

'New Moon' DVD Release Party Details

The full list of the New Moon Cast ands Crew and their locations for Friday night's parties.

Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart aren't among the stars who will be out at the parties, but plenty of franchise favorites — including Nikki Reed and Peter Facinelli — will rub elbows with the fans very soon. Director Chris Weitz and screenwriter Melissa Rosenberg will also hit the parties.

Here's a full list of stars and stores, by city:

Atlanta: Chaske Spencer and Tyson Houseman at Blockbuster, 3944 Peachtree Road NE, Suite B

Bothell, Washington: Melissa Rosenberg at Fred Meyer, 21045 Bothell-Everett Highway

Cincinnati: Kiowa Gordon and Tinsel Korey at Suncoast Video, 11700 Princeton Pike

Houston: Daniel Cudmore at Borders, 3025 Kirby Drive

New York: Peter Facinelli at Best Buy, 52 East 14th Street, #64; the first 50 people in line get a special surprise

Parker, Colorado: Charlie Bewley at Blockbuster, 9871 Parker Road

Pittsburgh: Edi Gathegi at Best Buy, 4801 McKnight Road

Riverton, Utah: Christian Serratos, Mike Welch and Justin Chon at Wal-Mart, 13502 South Hamilton View Road

Santa Clarita, California: Chris Weitz and Nikki Reed at Wal-Mart, 26471 Carl Boyer Drive

Scottsdale, Arizona: Elizabeth Reaser at Borders on 7000 East Mayo Boulevard

Source

Chris Weitz Says He 'Lucked Out' In Getting To Direct 'New Moon'

'Pretty much a chimp could direct the second movie to do well,' director said at a 'New Moon' DVD release party Friday.

'New Moon' Star Nikki Reed Amazed By Crowd At DVD Release

'They just love the movies, and it's great to be a part of it,' 'Twilight Saga' actress said at a DVD-release party in California.

Peter Facinelli on the Best Buy New Moon DVD release in New York Crowd


Inside Best Buy, I got to talk to Peter Facinelli, who plays vamp patriarch Dr. Carlisle Cullen. Once upon a time, in Can’t Hardly Wait, he looked like a young Tom Cruise. The resemblance is still there, but there’s a slight gravitas, too, and a casualness that seems a bit more natural than Cruise’s ageless grinning.

When asked how he prepares to play Carlisle, Facinelli jokes “I go off and bite people on weekends. I try to eat raw meat.” Get serious here, Peter. “I always looked at him as a proper gentleman. I felt like Carlisle’s voice should be a little bit more velvety, lower-register.”

Having starred in the greatest teen film ever made, does he ever give Pattinson, Stewart, and Lautner any advice about dealing with teen fandom? “I’m very grateful that Can’t Hardly Wait has had such a great shelf life, but it was never a phenomenon like this. People are still fans of it and still quote Mike Dexter lines to me.” I can tell Facinelli that there is at least one EW writer who has a poster of Can’t Hardly Wait on their wall. He laughs.

What’s the most challenging thing about playing Carlisle? “He’s very still. To be still on film without being stiff is difficult. You start to overthink things. You’ll be like, ‘Why am I sitting? Vampires don’t sit. Should I be standing? Why do I have my hands in my pockets?’ Carlisle is used to putting on this human façade, always covering something.” That the vampires in the series are pretending to be human, a kind of performance-within-a-performance, is arguably much deeper than any of the actual story elements in the Twilight movies. Clearly, Peter Facinelli is a genius.

The first 50 fans in line get to come in for a quick trivia session. Facinelli asks the questions, and looks like he’s having a great time. The questions are mostly softballs, like “The Wolf Pack kills which nomad vampire?” Everyone answers every question correctly…except for one unlucky girl, who claims Jacob’s wolf fur is Chocolate Brown. (As we all know, it’s actually Rusty Brown.)

“Get her out of here,” Facinelli jokes.

“I’m Team Carlisle,” she says.

“She can stay!”

When the trivia portion of the night ends, Facinelli goes behind the Best Buy counter and pretends to be a cashier, as the fans walk up one by one to get their DVD. On multiple occasions, after signing the DVD he’ll say, “Thank you for shopping at Best Buy.” It’s pretty funny every time he says it.

There are still about 100 people in line outside. Emily and Courtney are at the back, having just shown up about five minutes ago. Like everyone else I’ve talked to, they hate the idea of two Breaking Dawn movies, and they don’t think 3-D is a good idea. “Everybody’s doing 3-D,” says Courtney. “It’s not always good with every movie.” (Somewhere, Jeffrey Katzenberg is crying.)

They ask me if the scene is crazy inside. “Of course,” I say. “Peter Facinelli is in there.”

“I watched Can’t Hardly Wait the other day,” says Courtney.

“That was like our high school movie,” says Emily. She looks at long line in front of her. “And now we’re totally teenyboppers. Again.”

Source

Mike Welch: Fans Howl for 'New Moon' at Riverton Walmart


As a true testament to the Twilight phenomenon, the midnight release of "Twilight Saga: New Moon" drew more than 5,000 people to the Riverton Walmart Supercenter Friday night, all of them clamoring at the door for a chance to brush shoulders with cast members and get their hands on one of the 300 signed special edition DVDs with bonus scenes from "Eclipse," the third movie in the Twilight saga.

Riverton resident Erin Thompson and her friends Tina Powell and Mindy Pehrson headed the line. A self-proclaimed "Twi-mom," Thompson said she had been standing in line since noon to snag a signed copy for her "Twilight" memorabilia collection.

"This is nuts, this is so crazy," Thompson said. "We went to the movie opening and this is the worst it's ever been."

Pehrson had also been in line since 12:30 p.m. with her son, James, who said his favorite thing about the series is "how there's a love triangle between Edward, Bella and Jacob."

Pehrson said she planned on watching the movie as soon as they get home.

"We are so excited, we can't wait," she said. "We've watched it on the Internet and we are psyched."

Scott Trudo, Riverton Walmart general manager, said his staff has been preparing for three weeks for the event and has worked on everything from ordering extra security to getting the games ready.

"It's been a lot of fun because a lot of the associates here are Twilight fans," Trudo said, "so they helped design their own shirts and they're wearing them tonight."

Trudo said the 1,000 copies of the Walmart exclusive Ultimate Fan Edition are a big draw for the store, which led the nation in "Twilight" DVD sales at the last release.

Three of the cast members slated to make an appearance, Justin Chon (Eric), Michael Welch (Mike) and Christian Serratos (Angela), said they expected the chaos that comes with the supernatural series.

"I would be, frankly, surprised if the DVD release wasn't just as crazy as every other part of this franchise," Welch said. "When the books come out it's a crazy thing, when the movie comes out it's a crazy thing, when Rob (Pattinson) is on the cover of GQ sales are up 40 percent of any GQ, ever, so I would expect nothing less from these magnificent, crazy, wonderful fans," he said.

Welch said the cast enjoys getting to meet personally with the fans who have contributed to their success.

"We will be able to shake hands and look in people's eyes and kiss babies just like we're running for president," Welch said. "It's almost the least we can do; it's only because of them that this thing is a big deal at all. I'm replaceable, they're not," he said.

Source

Kaleb Nation interviews 'New Moon' Chris Weitz & Nikki Reed


CNN Interview:'New Moon' director gets away from frenzy


Chris Weitz was determined to get the moon right. And when you have a movie about vampires and werewolves whose fans pay attention to every detail, it's important to get the moon right.

For the director of "The Twilight Saga: New Moon," though, the impetus for showing the moon phase properly in the shot that opens the film was an astrophysicist, not a Twihard.

"I went to a lecture by Neil deGrasse Tyson where he's complaining that they'd gotten the stars in 'Titanic' wrong," Weitz said. "So his voice was in the back of my head, that we had to get the phase of the moon properly."

"New Moon," which comes out on DVD Saturday, did a lot of things properly, indicated by the fans' support. Though "Twilight," the first film in the series, received respectful reviews and good box office, "New Moon" -- which continues the story of lovestruck human Bella and vampire Edward -- was the bigger blockbuster, outgrossing the first film by more than $100 million domestically and earning more than $700 million worldwide.

Weitz, who directed "American Pie" and "About a Boy," also had something to show besides moon phases. Coming off the disappointing "The Golden Compass," an experience that left a bitter taste in the director's mouth, he wanted to demonstrate he could take a popular book and make an equally popular film by being faithful to the source material.

Weitz talked to CNN about the "New Moon" frenzy, an embarrassing shot and those ungrateful actors. The following is an edited version of the interview.

CNN: For the DVD, what do you think the fans will appreciate the most?

Chris Weitz: What they'll appreciate most is certain scenes that didn't make it into the film. ... There's basically more Bella [Kristen Stewart], there's more Edward [Robert Pattinson], there's more Jacob [Taylor Lautner], and it's often sort of more extended versions of scenes where things are discussed at greater length rather than entirely new scenes. I think there's a lot of good stuff in the movie for fans, and at the same time we didn't want to get rid of any of their favorite scenes.

CNN: At the time the movie came out, you said you were hoping to do the commentary with Pattinson and Stewart. What happened?

Weitz: They blew me off! (laughs)

CNN: Those young actors.

Weitz: I have to say, they had a lot on their plates ... and there came a day when it was just me in a room, and I said, "I don't want to do this alone," so we managed to get my editor [Peter Lambert] on a satellite linkup, and we watched the movie together. And I think that it's frankly rather amusing, because we have a joshing relationship, whereas it may have been a bit more stilted had it been the kids and me, because they'd have to say nice things about me all the time.

CNN: When you watch the movie again, is it the kind of thing that you say, "Why did I make that decision?" perhaps because there was a deadline you had to hit.

Weitz: Well, there is that old saying, "A film is never finished; it's abandoned." But there's only one shot in the movie that embarrasses me, because every time I saw it in the movie, everybody laughed, even the most Twihard of them all. It's when you first see Bella has become a vampire, and she's running through the woods in this very diaphanous dress, and I guess my corny-meter was off that day. Everyone seems to find that terribly amusing.

CNN: How did a Cambridge-educated, nice, half-Jewish boy get involved with "New Moon" to start with?

Weitz: (laughs) Well, they asked. I think the first reason that I got involved was that I liked the actors very much. I think they're very good. Then I went to see the [first] movie in a little theater, and the response of the fans around me was amazing -- their degree of devotion, the delight they took in it. And you don't always get that as a director. You don't always know that there are going to be people watching and taking pleasure from what you're doing, so that's kind of a wonderful opportunity.

CNN: In the DVD commentary, you said you let the opening shot of the moon go on and on because you figured there would be 30 seconds of screaming when the titles came up. Was that true?

Weitz: The first time I saw it, there was quite a lot of screaming, just because of the buildup and anticipation were so great. People had been waiting so long to see it that it was good that they had a bit of time to calm down before you first saw Bella.

CNN: Were you reluctant to get involved in this, having come off "The Golden Compass" -- another big studio project, best-selling book series, where you had both fans who knew the books backwards and forwards and a studio that wanted a big hit?

Weitz: Well, no. I had something to prove, which was that if you really made a movie that was faithful to the book that it was going to succeed, and I felt that hadn't been the case on "Golden Compass." ... I knew I could do it properly if given the right kind of support. So there was a bit of redemption that I was looking for in that regard.

CNN: I don't want to get too much into "The Golden Compass," but do you think the studio was reluctant because of the atheistic themes in the original books?

Weitz: I think they were reluctant because there were any religious themes at all, actually. I still to this day really don't consider it an atheistic series of books, and in a funny way, I've bounced from a movie which, if anything, would be considered irreligious to a movie that some people consider to be a hidden advertisement for religion and chastity and all those things. But I think New Line was frightened of the source material. But that's crazy, of course, because if you're going to make a movie of a book, you should be familiar with the book's content.

CNN: Are you surprised by the Beatles-level frenzy that has surrounded the "Twilight" actors and the making of the film?

Weitz: I wasn't prepared for it, honestly. I knew it was a big deal, but it's one thing to deal with that conceptually and another to fear for their lives in the presence of thousands of teenagers. I was really astonished ... to encounter that level of devotion, and I'm very happy, I must say, to be able to lapse into complete obscurity again and never be recognized for the rest of my life.

Source

Twilight Cast & Crew Members Attending New Moon DVD Release Parties

NEW YORK: Peter Facinelli

PITTSBURGH: Edi Gathegi

ATLANTA: Chaske Spencer & Tyson Houseman

SEATTLE: Melissa Rosenberg

SALT LAKE CITY: Justin Chon, Michael Welch, & Christian Serratos

DENVER: Charlie Bewley

PHOENIX: Elizabeth Reaser

CINCINNATI: Kiowa Gordon & Tinsel Korey

HOUSON: Daniel Cudmore

LOS ANGELES: Chris Weitz and Nikki Reed

Source

Video:Taylor Lautner Dirt Bike Riding Lessons in Twilight 'New Moon'


The Twilight Saga: New Moon Exclusive DVD Bonus Feature

MySpace Home Theater | MySpace Video

Video: TWilight "New Moon" Behind the Scenes of the Cliff Diving Scene

Kristen Stewart's Behind the Scenes of the Cliff Diving Scene in Twilight Saga: New Moon from Access Hollywood.

March 17, 2010

Access Hollywood Behind the Scenes in the New Moon DVD



Taylor Lautner Interview on set of New Moon from InStyle UK

InStyle UK interviews Taylor Lautnerfrom the set of Twilight Saga:New Moon about becoming the character Jacob Black in the movie.

'New Moon' DVD Clips Reveal Never-Before-Seen Footage

MTV features 'New Moon' Never-Before-Seen Footages from DVD Clips and few featurettes found in the DVD's extras.

Clip 1: As any good Twilighter knows, some major changes occurred between the first two films. Most significant was the fact that principal shooting was moved from Portland to Vancouver, meaning that many of the real locations utilized by Catherine Hardwicke would need to be duplicated. In this clip, the folks behind the production talk about some of the bigger challenges on the sequel — including rebuilding Bella's home with a new window for Jacob, and using the film's increased budget to give the stars a more substantial, adult wardrobe.

Clip 2: "Hey, guys, it's Taylor Lautner. We are in the rainy cold of the Pacific Northwest, and it is the first day of filming on 'New Moon,' " the boy/man known as Taycob explains at the beginning of this clip, which explains the development of Bella and Jacob's relationship. "Really, it's Jacob putting her back together in some way," director Chris Weitz explains of their dynamic in the middle of the film, as Bella deals with Edward's absence by growing closer to the teen wolf. "And yet, the sad thing about it is that even when Jacob is helping Bella pick up the pieces as it were, it's so that she can go off and see her vampire ex."

Clip 3: Adrenaline-pumped Taylor Lautner puts his fears aside as he's shooting this action-packed transformation scene, a pivotal moment in the "New Moon" story line. "Bella and Jacob are running towards each other — Bella thinks Jacob is going to grab her and wrap her up in his arms and Jacob [goes] right over top of her," Taylor tells us as he's all harnessed up. "I get jolted up in the air 10 feet; it's kind of dangerous." The clip gives fans a cool peek at the behind-the-scenes techniques used to get the stunt just right (check out the cardboard wolf standee in the middle of the field). "In the moment, I'm not thinking about the danger involved," Lautner explained in the footage. "Because I have so much adrenaline going."


Source

New Moon ‘Love Triangle’ DVD