New Moon movie, the second sequel of Twilight saga, latest news and information. Updates about New Moon shooting and celebrities, Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson, Taylor Lautner, Ashley Greene, Peter Facinelli, Jackson Rathbone and director Chris Weitzso. Pictures and Trailer of New Moon, New moon movie new cast, new moon poster, new moon set, new moon set pictures, new moon wolf pack and new moon were wolves.
Twilight scribe Melissa Rosenberg faced an enormous challenge adapting Stephenie Meyer's 500+ page novel for the screen, but it's clear that the filmmakers chose to remain steadfastly faithful to Meyer's book. (Perhaps to a fault, considering the reviews.) Still, for fans, New Moon should feel just authentic enough to drive it toward an enormous opening weekend. So how do Rosenberg's additions, changes, and omissions from the text affect New Moon on film, and which ones work the best?
Way more shirtless boys!
We all hoped to get a glimpse of Edward's alabaster chest in Volterra, but who knew we'd get to see so much hot werewolf skin? Thankfully, the Wolf Pack run such high temperatures and explode away their clothes so frequently that cut-off jeans and no shirt are their shared ensemble of choice.
We get more fights, including an awesome Volturi throw down.
New Moon the book is infamous for its slow pacing, thanks to Bella's crippling depression (see below). So it's a good thing that the film throws in fistfights, wolf skirmishes, and chase scenes to liven things up a bit more. Our favorite: watching Volturi guard Felix put the smack down on our precious Edward, a scene crafted for the film.
Instead of talking to herself, Bella sends emails to Alice.
New Moon, like all of the Twilight books, makes frequent use of Bella's internal voice-overs to tell us what's going on in that angsty head of hers. In New Moon, Bella writes emails to her lost BFF, Alice, to work through her issues. We still get the voice-overs, but they're cleverly disguised as Bella's messages to Alice, and therefore much less "Vampire Diaries." (Also, creating a movie email address for Alice was a clever way to sneak in product placement for Apple's MobileMe email application.)
Bella's (a little) less mopey than she is in the books.
Much of the book is devoted to Bella's heartbreaking, months-long break-up depression, so it's a good thing that the film condenses her lost period a bit for the sake of storytelling. Critics complain already that Bella spends so much time staring into space, pining over Edward; if only they knew how much more we/she suffer in the books! Thankfully, Rosenberg's script snaps Bella out of her funk and moves on, sort of, in a relatively short span of time.
Bella's months-long depression, in the blink of an eye.
Fans were wondering how Chris Weitz would treat the infamous "lost" months of Bella's depression, which are depicted by blank pages in the book. After all, October, November, December, and January fly by as voids of nothingness to the girl. Weitz and Rosenberg's solution? A clever scene where Bella sits listless in front of her window as the camera moves around her to show the changing seasons outside. The trick captures her melancholia and is perfectly punctuated by Lykke Li's haunting, wistful track, "Possibility."
Edward doesn't hide Bella's photos.
In the book, when Edward decides to break up with Bella and leave town, he also sneaks into her room and hides her photos of him so that she'll have no reminders at all that he existed – a complete and total abandonment. (Can you imagine a world without pictures of RPattz? It would be horrible, indeed.) In the film, we see him in her room, but there's no messing with photographs, which would have been an unnecessary minor plot point anyway. Plus, those folks who think Edward's a little stalker-like might have been even more creeped out by him rifling through her stuff. Instead, we get the full impact of Edward's absence in Bella's misery.*
Jacob gives Bella a dream catcher.
One new scene in the film has Jacob giving Bella a dream catcher for her birthday, killing two birds with one stone in the process: giving her a present when Edward feels he cannot and putting the mack on her with a big bear hug right in front of Edward. Bella hangs the dream catcher above her pillow, but unfortunately for her, it doesn't help keep the nightmares away.
Bella goes for a bike ride at One Eyed Pete's.
Bella's attempt to put herself out there by going to Port Angeles with Jessica takes a dangerous (and hilarious) turn when she accepts a ride with a burly, beefy biker in order to hang on to her visions of Edward. In the book, she stops short of hopping on the chopper, but in the film she takes a full-on joyride with a stranger. How boring would it have been if she'd just turned around and walked back to safety?
More snarky Anna Kendrick!
Besides giving Bella her very first brush with danger, the biker scene serves another purpose: letting Anna Kendrick shine. As Jessica, Kendrick once again steals every scene she's in, and Bella's foolish biker episode gives her some of her very best frenemy lines of dialogue. Bonus: Kendrick's blissfully ignorant snark attack on zombie movies.
Two words: Face Punch!
In addition to the zombie genre, New Moon has a little something to say about stupid action flicks. One of the best additions to the script involves Bella, Mike Newton, Jacob, and a popular (fake) blockbuster movie entitled Face Punch. (Tagline: "Let's DO this!")
Visions of RPattz dance in Bella's head.
While Bella's hallucinations of Edward in the books are purely auditory, there's no way that would fly in the film. So Weitz injects plenty of pretty Rob Pattinson shots throughout the entire duration of Edward's absence, scrumptious visions that come and go like wisps of smoke. And really, there's tons of RPattz bookmarking New Moon, so we don't miss him all that much. (What am I saying? There's always room for more RPattz!)
Victoria is definitely in the water.
When Bella is drowning after cliff-diving in New Moon, we clearly see Victoria swimming toward her in the water right before Jacob pulls her out of the water – something that was hinted at, but kept ambiguous, in the books. We like it better this way, as it makes Bella's danger more present and, let's be real, gives Rachelle Lefevre a little more to do, considering that she has exactly zero lines in the whole movie.
Bella hits Paul in the face!
In a film packed with phasing wolves and marble-cracking vampire fights, it's nice to see Bella get a little action. Angry that they've brainwashed her beloved Jacob, Bella confronts the Wolf Pack, shoves Sam Uley, and smacks Paul right in the kisser! Sure, it seems a little out of character, but at least in this moment, Bella is an agent of action and not merely reacting to the people around her. Plus, it leads into Paul's transformation and Jacob's mid-air phase, and the huge revelation of the Quileute secret.
Carlisle's Volturi painting comes to life.
Instead of waiting ‘til the end to meet the Volturi, we get an early peek at them when Carlisle's painting comes to life as Edward explains their history to Bella. Thank goodness! It would be such a waste to have even less of Aro & Co. in New Moon than the brief sequence we already get.
Victoria attacks Harry Clearwater.
While tracking the Wolf Pack – and slyly covering their footprints – Harry Clearwater suffers a fatal heart attack in the woods. But in the film, we see that Harry's heart attack comes from the shock of being attacked by Victoria, who is seen stalking Charlie's hunting party from up in the trees. The change here allows plot points to converge, as the ensuing wolf pursuit of Victoria runs parallel to Bella's fateful cliff-jump into the ocean. And again, it gives Rachelle Lefevre something to do.
New Moon has way more funnies.
Credit Rosenberg for injecting more sly humor into New Moon, which was especially necessary in this installment. Supporting humans like Jessica, Mike, and Charlie add levity to their scenes with the somber Bella, while more subtle winks, like the comparison of werewolfiness to a "lifestyle choice" and Bella's transatlantic ride aboard a Virgin Atlantic airplane, display a self-aware sense of humor.
Jacob and Bella almost kiss. Twice!
New Moon is Jacob's movie, so Rosenberg rewards him with not one, but two almost-kisses. If you look closely, their lips ACTUALLY TOUCH the second time!
Jacob and Edward face off in the woods – just not when you expect.
If you've read New Moon, you're already expecting the tense "treaty" discussion between Jacob and Edward. Rosenberg wisely juggles the timeline a bit, placing it before the key conclusion (see #19), and adds one last phase for the furious Jacob. (It's the closest Bella's two men come to blows in New Moon.)
Edward proposes!
Rosenberg saves the best for last, leaving Bella (and us) with the biggest possible cliffhanger. Again, the re-jiggered placement of the scene works better cinematically, and leads into the next film, Eclipse!
Alice's vision. OMG, spoilers! (Seriously, MAJOR spoiler here concerning future installments of the Twilight Saga.)
When Aro "sees" Alice's vision of the future, he lets her, Edward, and Bella go with the knowledge that sometime soon, Bella will become a vampire. As a special treat, the film shows us Alice's vision of Edward and Bella running through the woods (alas, in giggle-worthy outfits and slow motion). But after the snickers die down, think about exactly what you are seeing and you'll realize that it's essentially a preview of sorts… of something with the initials B and D!
That said, there are a couple of changes that don't work so well. Jacob's mood swing in the theater and subsequent threat of physical violence to poor Mike Newton seems incredibly out of character. Later in the film when the phone rings in Bella's kitchen, Jacob definitely knows it's Edward on the phone (as opposed to thinking it's Carlisle as in the book), which makes him more of a jerk. Source
'It gets a lot more tricky to make them digital, yet photographically representational,' visual-effects master Phil Tippett says.
From "Star Wars" to "Indiana Jones" to "Jurassic Park," visual-effects maestro Phil Tippett has had a hand in some of the greatest movies of the past 30 years. This past weekend, if the wolves of the record-setting blockbuster "New Moon" thrilled you, then you have him to thank.
In an exclusive interview with MTV, the owner of Tippett Studio was eager to chat about making the wolf pack come to life, the intensive research that had his computer artists hanging out with the real thing, and why trips to the "New Moon" set often became a hairy proposition.
MTV: Congratulations, Phil, the fans seem pretty pleased with the movie so far.
Phil Tippett: I suppose so; I'm not quite one of that ilk.
MTV: You're not a teenage girl?
Tippett: Nooo. [Laughs.] I've been through it — I've been through the teenage-girl thing not that long ago with my daughters. But I'm on a break from it now.
MTV: You worked on Chris Weitz's "The Golden Compass." So, did he just call you up and ask you to do "New Moon" as well?
Tippett: No, actually we didn't deal with Chris that much. We were involved in "The Golden Compass," then everything came our way right at the very end [of the "New Moon" production] in a 911 call [from a producer]. She realized that she had a bunch of wolves to do, so she gave us a call and said, "Hey, this is right up your alley, what do you think?" And we said, "Yeah, we're onboard."
MTV: What were the greatest challenges on "New Moon"?
Tippett: With the werewolves, the big deal from Chris and from Stephenie Meyer's books was that these things are horse-sized wolves, not traditional beastly, werewolf-y, quasi-human type things. They are, for all intents and purposes, timberwolves. And so, that's the trick; you get into that uncanny valley — the land usually occupied by computer-generated canines and cats, which are so much a part of our world that when you're trying to do a duplication of the character that's not fantasy, it's so common to everybody's observation that it gets a lot more tricky to make them digital, yet photographically representational.
MTV: So, real things are harder to make than made-up things?
Tippett: Very much. If you have a bug from another planet, or a giant robot, or something like that, you can get away with murder — but when it's something recognizable, then the onus is on you.
MTV: Did you do a lot of research into wolves?
Tippett: Yes, they're required to do very specific things, to move certain ways, and to that end we do an incredible amount of research — the co-supervisor on the show, Matt Jacobs, led an exposition down to a wolf preserve in Los Angeles. He brought a bunch of the animators and art department guys, and they observed a bunch of timberwolves to commune with them and their behavior and get their vibe.
MTV: This is one of the most eagerly anticipated movies of 2009. Were there a lot of top-secret measures you had to take as you worked on the effects?
Tippett: There were things that were amusingly irritating. Like, the paparazzi got so bad following the stars everywhere that in some instances we were going to these godforsaken locations out in the middle of nowhere, and sometimes the production would put up signs pointing to a different location to confuse the paparazzi. Of course, that would totally confuse us as well, which would make us show up late to the set. [Laughs.]
MTV: That's hilarious. Tell us about the wolves themselves.
Tippett: Well, we put a good amount of time into studying the behavior and the physical actions of timberwolves, and then multiplied that up to a 1,200-pound character, so that the weight and mass appear to fit properly into earth-specific gravity and all that stuff. Sam Uley is the big-kahuna wolf, definitely the biggest one. Each wolf is between 1,200 and 800 pounds, and a lot of that is on a shot-for-shot basis — Embry and Jared are the smallest. Sam is the biggest one, then Paul and Jacob are roughly the same size — Jacob is maybe a little bit bigger.
MTV: In one key scene, Jacob's wolf makes eye contact with Bella. Tell us about that shot.
Tippett: One of the things Chris was very insistent on was that all the wolves have human eyes, as opposed to normal wolves who have these golden, very piercing classic wolf eyes. The way he had laid out a number of scenes was there were some extreme close-ups of wolf eyes, with Bella reflected in them, like that Jacob scene. Chris wanted to make sure that Taylor Lautner's eyes would be the right choice, emotionally, for those scenes.
MTV: How did you achieve that?
Tippett: We got Taylor to peel his eyelids way back, and we got in really close with a camera and shot his eyes.
MTV: Wow. Was it like "A Clockwork Orange" thing?
Tippett: Yeah. [Laughs.] No, we had him do it with his own hands, so he could find his own comfort level. We didn't use any instruments of torture.
With even Kirsten Stewart questioning Bella's alliance to Edward and with Taylor Lautner looking particularly beefy these days, it's no wonder die-hard Team Edward members are questioning their allegiance to the brooding vampire.
Some fans are switching teams altogether — so does that mean no one is on Team Edward anymore?
"I'm still Team Edward," Stephanie told MTV News early Friday after catching a midnight screening of "New Moon" in New York. "Die-hard."
The majority of Twi-Hards agreed that no matter how hot Lautner gets, Edward will always have their hearts. But, obviously, Jacob has his supporters too, many of whom were always behind the werewolf, along with some newcomers.
"I was definitely Team Edward, and I'm kind of leaning toward Jacob now," Alyssa said. Another fan added: "Team Jacob. I like the underdog."
At a Thursday "New Moon" screening in New York, Stewart elaborated on Bella's relationship with Edward in the forthcoming films. "I've always backed her up in her devotion to Edward," she said. "And to see that falter will be interesting. ... I'm looking forward to seeing the love triangle actually becoming a problem. We sort of innocently touch on it in 'New Moon,' but it actually becomes something that is very, very real."
World Premiere of New Moon last Monday in Los Angeles and Video interviews with the wolf pack cast Chaske Spencer (Sam Uley), Bronson Pelletier (Jared), Kiowa Gordon (Embry Call), Tinsel Korey (Emily), and Boo Boo Stewart (Seth Clearwater).
Watch the interview with the New Moon stars during Premiere of Twiligjht Saga: Newmoon Cameron Bright (Alec), Gil Birmingham (Billy Black), and Justine Wachsberger (Gianna).
It’s not every day that you get an opportunity to speak with an Academy Award nominee, let alone one who recently was the recipient of two World Soundtrack Awards. But for all his accolades, French film music composer Alexandre Desplat is a true artist, devoted wholly to his craft. If he is publicly acknowledged for his work, so be it. He accepts it humbly, and keeps his head buried in whatever project he undertakes.
With the release of The Twilight Saga: New Moon, however, Desplat may find himself unintentionally metamorphosing from workhorse to rock star. Having delivered a score that ignites imagination and passion from its listeners, surely many more honors are in the cards.
He completed seven scores this year (Chéri, Coco avant Chanel, Un prophète, L'armée du crime, Julie & Julia, The Fantastic Mr. Fox, and the aforementioned New Moon) and he’s already got three in production for 2010…so far. How can someone possibly concentrate on such a work load when he is consistently offered awards?
It is here where our conversation begins…
It’s funny; I thought I would get better at it when I go up on stage to grab whatever award it is. But as I look out into the audience, I see people like Steven Spielberg, Clint Eastwood, Robert DeNiro, and Charlize Theron, I get so impressed and I ask myself, “What am I doing here???” I’m very humbled by it and very happy at the same time.
Do they affect you as a creative energy and the projects you take on?
The main thing there is to be inspired by film. That’s what drives me; that’s what I like; that’s my life. The rest is just an accident. You get an award or you don’t get an award, who cares? But if you make a great film, it’s fantastic, and it’s the best thing you could do if you find a great relationship with a director. Of course, the great thing about awards is that your name becomes more exposed. But I think the body of work that’s behind you is most important. Because if I did bad work and provided bad music for movies, I’m not sure I would get another call.
Have you ever been confused or concerned about receiving accolades for certain projects, when there might be another project you feel stronger about and SHOULD be recognized?
Honestly, it’s really out of my hands. Each project I commit my entirety to. I spend my life doing it, with long hours every day and night. So I don’t really see any difference, whether it be a movie with an hour and a half of music, like New Moon , or a French movie like L'armée du crime, where there is only 40 minutes of music with an orchestra. To me, both have the same level of difficulty and challenge.
One of the truly remarkable traits of your soundtracks is that when listening to it, the audience participant easily loses himself/herself within the atmosphere you created. And I think that is due to your seemingly innate ability to find the “voice” of the movie. What is your process for becoming so connected to your projects? Do you receive a copy of the movie that you watch over and over until the pattern emerges?
Yes, that’s exactly it. I have copies of each movie. I write movie soundtracks because I want to write movie soundtracks. It is no accident or a business that I wanted to have. I could be selling soap if I wanted a business. I do it because I am fascinated by the process of creating music for films. I never wanted to be a concert composer, either. When I watch a movie, I have a strange intuitive chemistry that drives me along. So it is great to actually have the movie to watch again and again. Sometimes I find the right path right away, but even if I do, I choose not to get excited about it and explore other pathways. I circle around the movie for a long time, so I can be sure that what I am throwing at the picture definitely belongs with it.
It’s funny; sometimes when I am offered a movie to score, I receive a copy with my music from previous scores on the temp track. And the directors say, “Oh, it works so well!” But I don’t see it at all; it definitely doesn’t work at all. It’s the wrong pitch, the wrong color. It’s a new body of work I have to invent; it’s a new challenge. It’s not just the melodies; it’s the sound, the texture…it’s like a new fabric I have to design.
Which leads me to ask; many times you will have multiple films being released in the same year, so how do you give each film its proper attention, so there is no crossover in sound design? Most composers who take on mass quantities of begin to sound similar or unintentionally repeat stylistic elements. How do you avoid that trap?
Well, there are two keys to that. Key #1 is not to do the same type of movie over and over. If I was to do only love stories or dramas or just thrillers, I would be doing the same music, because I would be in a niche. And there is only so much you can do in a niche. If you look at my body of work for any given year, you will see that there are no two types of movies that are the same in that year. And the second one is to just use your brain three times more than you did before – push every cell in your brain during the day and during the night to find ideas and working with an obsessed passion.
So, how did come to get the New Moon score project? Was this something you actively sought out, or did it fall into your lap?
I was actually very lucky to know Chris Weitz, with whom I worked on The Golden Compass. He called me and offered the film, and I said, “Sure Chris, I would love to work with you again.” It was a great experience working with Chris. He loves music, speaks French, and we have a nice relationship.
Did you listen to Carter Burwell’s score for the first Twilight film when you accepted New Moon?
No, not only did I not listen to it, but I didn’t even watch the movie. I didn’t want to be influenced by it. Carter is a great composer and I loved his scores for the Coen Brothers. And I knew that if I went there, I would be in danger, because I knew that I would enjoy it and then be influenced by it. So I just passed and avoided it altogether.
Wow, that’s very rare for a movie score to completely deviate from its predecessor in such a way. Usually movies that become franchise series’ employ recurrent motifs throughout each film to carry that thread of familiarity, regardless of how many different composers might be involved.
Well, there were no requests from the Production Company or Chris to reuse any of the themes. I would have done it with pleasure, because again, Carter is a composer I really respect. And since I didn’t have to, I didn’t.
Carter’s score was a brooding, coming-of-age, romance kind of score. But yours took on a much grander role, creating this forbidden romance sound fused with homage to classic vampire and horror films from the past.
Chris and I are both cinephiles, and we like The Bride of Frankenstein and Polanski’s movies. I love Coppola’s Dracula; it’s a masterpiece in all aspects – visually and the score, which is fabulous. Our primary decision was about the longing love story, and the epic that these characters go through. Maurice Jarre was the only reference Chris and I used for this film. And I actually dedicated the score to Maurice.
I loved that even the tenderest moments in the score have a sense of danger and uneasiness, like each turn plunges you deeper into the unknown. Even the track “Marry Me, Bella” has a great sense of apprehension to it.
Yes, definitely. There are many moments in the film where you have to feel unsettled emotions. She has to choose between two men and doesn’t know how to make the choice. I actually used that element to blur the two love themes – the one for Edward and the one for Jacob. But they are of the same vein, so as you are watching and listening, are you hearing Edward’s or Jacob’s? I love to put these subliminal tricks into the score just for the fun of it.
How did you come to decide to use an Asian element to represent the tribal aesthetic?
Well, as you know, Native Americans descended from Asia, so it only made sense to me. I used Japanese taiko as a wide Asian element – strong and organic, because it’s wood.
Another track that instantly jumped out at me was “Wolves v. Vampire,” because it was a wild ride of a cut. It had a very Old Hollywood, Max Steiner bombast mixed with big boldness of John Williams. It really reminded me of King Kong vs. Jurassic Park.
Nice! I can live with that. I’ll just keep that as a compliment. What can I say? You just named the best composers of that kind. From Waxman to Williams going through Goldsmith and Herrmann – they are all the masters of the craft, and I hope to one day follow their path. If you hear those things in the score, it means that I did learn well and shows my passion for movie soundtracks as well as these composers who I admire so much.
I met John Williams once at the Golden Globes when he won for Memoirs of a Geisha. I had a nomination myself [for Syriana], and I was embarrassed to be there. How could I be nominated at the same time as John Williams? I went to introduce myself very humbly to him, and I felt like a child – I could barely speak. So you really just paid me a great compliment.
My pleasure; I really was blown away by your work on this score. Now, on the New Moon soundtrack, you submitted a song called “The Meadow.” Was that actually a demo track for what would become the New Moon score?
No, not at all. It’s actually the original version of the love theme that I wrote for the film. It’s the love theme in its most basic, simplified state. The score was actually recorded about a month later. And I just thought the solo piano would be the best option to match with the other songs that were on the soundtrack. I think an orchestral piece at the end would have been a bit strange or inappropriate. I wanted the music to have a real sense of movement and emotion.
Obviously, you had to be aware of how massive the fan base is for the Twilight saga, with the films, books, and chart-topping soundtracks. Did that add any pressure to you when writing the score?
There was absolutely no pressure at all. I was working with a good friend, Chris Weitz, who was very protective and enthusiastic of the work. And I simply took it as another film project. I didn’t think for one second that this was a huge deal. I’d actually made that mistake before, thinking that what I was doing was going to turn into something massive, and it really derails your train of thought and puts too much pressure on you. I think I’ve grown up a little bit.
I was only asking, because Twilight’s fan base is so strong, it pretty much single-handedly caused Carter’s score for the first film to actually chart in the Billboard Top 100. And it is so rare for a score to even chart, let alone sell so many copies.
Yes, it is very rare. And I really hope that my score and Carter’s will help to bring more of this kind of instrumental music to the audience, because radio is way too song-focused. There was a time (when I was not around) when radio was not only about songs; they played instrumental pieces, be they classical or jazz. And I think this is a great chance we have to bring music full circle again.
UPDATE SUNDAY 12:00 PM: Summit Entertainment now officially estimates that The Twilight Saga: New Moon took in $140.7M from 4024 theaters this weekend. This puts the film in third place for all-time opening weekends, behind The Dark Knight ($158.4M) and Spider-Man 3 ($151.1M) and ahead of Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest ($135.6M). The film also hauled in $118.1M from 25 foreign countries for a worldwide total $258.8M.
In addition to becoming the new champ in midnight box office and single-day totals on Friday, New Moon has now shattered several other records as well. It was the #1 biggest non-summer opening weekend of all time and the biggest ever box office opening for an independent film (and widest indie release in history). New Moon also broke the record for fastest to reach $100M, beating The Dark Knight and Spider-Man 3, and had the highest opening ever for a "vampire" genre film (passing Twilight). New Moon passes Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen's $109M for the top opening weekend of 2009. It's per theater average of $34,965 was the fourth best ever. Of the top 34 films with numbers released today, New Moon took in more than all the 33 others combined. International markets are also reporting record box office receipts. Nikki Finke has a running list at Deadline Hollywood from Argentina to the UK.
After its record-shattering $72.7M first day Friday, there was a 41% drop from Friday to Saturday when it took in $43.2M. This was about the exact same percentage decrease Twilight had one year ago (down 40.8% Saturday, down 41.9% Sunday). Another 40% drop going into Sunday, based on advance sales, tracking polls, and other industry formulas, is expected to bring in another $24.8M for a weekend total of $140.7M and a per theater average of $34,965. Audiences were 80% female with 50% under 21. Many international regions have yet to release the film. Sources expect New Moon to eventually pass $500M worldwide. Twilight ended its run with $385M.
For those who are new to the box office numbers game, it may seem odd to have these figures when Sunday isn't even over yet. But it is standard procedure to have weekend totals announced at this time. After the Saturday box office totals come in on Sunday morning, studios always estimate Sunday and come up with a weekend projection. Of course, Sunday and weekend figures can only be estimates at this point. The actual Sunday numbers aren't known until Monday. But many years and literally thousands of projections have yielded formulas that allow the industry to predict fairly closely what Sunday will be based on Friday and Saturday's numbers and, therefore, what the weekend will look like. The actual numbers that come in on Monday are usually not too far off from the estimates made on Sunday. They usually adjust slightly up or down but are rarely far off.
Let's be honest, if hardcore horror fans turn their noses up at anything it's "The Twilight Saga," but Spike TV is jumping on the phenomenon by making "New Moon" a centerpiece of "SCREAM 2009."
The network announced today that the pseudo awards show will feature cast members from "New Moon" as well as the debut of new footage from what is expected to be one of November's biggest releases. Who will appear from the cast is unclear, but it would be surprising for Summit to drag Kristen Stewart or Robert Pattinson from Vancouver for the event while they are still shooting "The Twilight Saga: Eclipse." Our guess? "New Moon" vampire and "Underworld" franchise star Michael Sheen or the members of the Wolfpack (with shirts on for this crowd).
"Twilight" isn't the only vampire franchise that will be celebrated, however. Also in attendance will be the "True Blood" entourage of creator Alan Ball, Stephen Moyer, Anna Paquin, Alexander Skarsgård and Sam Trammell.
Non vampire fans will be happy to see Tobey Maguire present Spider-Man co-creator Stan Lee honored with the Comic-Con Icon Award. In many ways the Marvel Comics legend is Hollywood's current creative mindtap having created or co-created the Hulk, Iron Man, the X-Men, the Fantastic Four, Thor and the Avengers. Maguire will soon dawn the tights again to play the web-slinger in "Spider-Man 4."
For horror fans, "SCREAM 2009" will present the godfather of the modern horror film, George Romero, with this year's Scream Mastermind Award. Romero is the innovator behind "Night of the Living Dead," "Dawn of the Dead" and "Creepshow."
A significant tribute will also be presented to the cast of "Battlestar Galactia" with a cast reunion and a "farewell tribute" featuring Edward James Olmos, Tricia Helfer, Grace Park, James Callis, Kate Vernon, Katee Sackhoff, Michael Trucco Tahmoh Penikett and executive producer David Eick.
The awards themselves are of the people's choice variety with 16 different categories. J.J. Abrams’ sci-fi action-adventure “Star Trek” leads all entries with 17 nominations including the categories of The Ultimate Scream, Best Science Fiction Movie, Best Director, Best Ensemble, Holy Sh*t Scene-of-the-Year (we couldn't make that up) and a nod in the all-new Fight Scene-of-the-Year category. “X-Men Origins: Wolverine” and “Watchmen” each nabbed 13 nominations while "Twilight" received 10. HBO’s “True Blood” led all television series with nine nominations. Fans can log onto scream.spike.com until Saturday, October 17 to vote for their favorites.
"SCREAM 2009" will tape on Saturday, October 17 and premiere on Tuesday, October 27 at 10:00 PM ET/PT. Will you watch?
A few hours ago I spoke with Michael Sheen regarding his new movie “The Damned United”. While I’ll have much more on his new film soon, I was able to ask Michael about some of his other projects like “The Twilight Saga: New Moon”, “Tron Legacy”, “Alice in Wonderland” and the “Underworld” franchise. So if you’d like to hear what Michael had to say about those projects, hit the jump.
The first thing Michael told me was he’s heard the rumors about a 4th “Underworld”, but no one has contacted him yet.
We then spoke about the next “Twilight” movie, “New Moon” and he revealed the main reason he took the role of Aro is because of his daughter. He also talked about working on Tim Burton’s “Alice in Wonderland” and explained his love of the book and how the movie is going to be different.
Finally, when I did the TV portion of the junket, I asked Michael about his work on “Tron Legacy”. He told me about his love of the first film and how the sequel was practical sets and not green screen. Here’s what he said. The rest of the quotes are below.
You were in a very successful franchise, “Underworld,” and so I was wondering if they’ve talked to you about doing a 4th film?
Michael Sheen as Aro, leader of the Volturi, in The Twilight Saga New Moon.jpgMichael Sheen: Nobody has spoken to me about it. I heard a rumor…I heard someone saying there might be a 4th film but nobody has actually contacted me about it.
So going into “Twilight: New Moon”, were you nervous about taking this role because you had already come from a franchise like that, or were you more excited for the role? What was your thought process and what was it like making the film with all the hubbub around it?
Michael Sheen: I was mainly excited about it because I knew I would make my daughter very happy. Up front, that was the main reason. And then I read the books and I really enjoyed the books. I didn’t think I was going to, but I really did enjoy them. Then I was concerned that the fans of “Twilight” would be like, “But he’s played a werewolf; we can’t have him as a vampire,” and all that. But it hasn’t been like that. And because it was a very different character and I could sort of lose myself in it, hopefully people won’t have a problem with me having been in this other werewolf/vampire franchise. So when I went to do it, I just loved the character. I relished the opportunity to be there and be part of it. Now I’m just very pleased to have a whole new generation of people I can scare.
You mentioned your daughter. You’re quoted in the NY Post as saying she was a little annoyed when you took the part.
Michael Sheen: Right, well, I think she felt a whole combination of emotions. I think she was a bit overwhelmed by the fact that I was going to be in it. I think she was really excited, but, at the same time, I remember what this was like when I was ten, eleven. If there was something I was really into, the last thing I wanted was for my mom and dad to be into it as well. That’s just annoying. So she was very excited and she cried when I first told her about it. I think it was just her fantasy/imaginative world suddenly colliding with her reality. She didn’t know how she felt about it. She punched me I remember and kicked me. I think that was her sort of frustration with me. In fact it was her mother who said, “Is it because that’s your thing and now daddy’s getting in on it?” And she said, “Yes.” So it was her (as usual) very perceptive mother who got that. But then, very quickly, she made peace with that and then she was just very excited about going to the premiere.
How do you find your inner white rabbit?
michael_sheen_image.jpgMichael Sheen: Everyone has an inner white fluffy animal. It’s such an iconic character that I didn’t feel like I should break the mold too much. I sort of just went with it. It’s a great character and a great story. “Alice in Wonderland” and “Peter Pan”were the first stories growing up that had a huge impact on me and have stayed with me ever since. So to be part of Tim Burton’s version is just a dream come true.
Since those lines are so classic, did you approach it like you would a “Hamlet”?
Michael Sheen: As a sort of cultural iconography, you know you are sort of treading that path. But Tim’s version of the story is not the original version. It’s everything you’d want in an “Alice in Wonderland” but it’s slightly off kilter as Tim Burton is one to do. It’s not like I was doing the same thing as has been done before.
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