Chris Weitz to Direct New Moon

Well, folks, it's a done deal. Summit Entertainment has signed Chris Weitz to direct New Moon. Those unfamiliar with the name or face should know that he directed American Pie and The Golden Compass. I suppose he's a satisfactory director. But as far as I can tell he holds no special powers in story telling like 3 of my favorites: Sam Raimi, Tim Burton or Guillermo Del Toro. I mean, you know when you are watching a Guillermo Del Toro flick, no question about it! I singled out those 3 directors because they are masters at spinning fanciful, mystical stories. In my mind I can imagine how each of them would leave their distinctive mark on New Moon, or Twilight for that matter. It'd be cool, that's all I'm saying. I suppose that Chris Weitz will do ok. I gotta rag on him a minute because it's hard for me to fathom the delicate budding teenage emotions of New Moon being handled correctly by the guy who directed American Pie. I was really nervous until I read the letter Weitz wrote to the Twilight Saga fans. Apparently many other Twilighters had misgivings for he felt compelled to placate us all with a heart felt letter (posted on Stephenie Meyer's website):

Dear fans of Twilight, New Moon, Bella, Edward and Jacob,

In the past few days I have been involved in a whirlwind romance with Stephenie Meyers’ extraordinary books.
And I am very grateful to have received her permission to protect New Moon in its translation from the page to the screen.
For fans of the books and of the film of Twilight, this may come as an unexpected twist. So I want to write briefly to try to put you at ease, and to give you reason to hope for and expect the best.
For the last decade of my career as a director, I have chosen to make adaptations of complex and involved works of literature. This has always begun with the love of a book and its characters, story, and theme; and it has always involved a respect of and responsiveness to the feelings of other people who loved those books.
When I saw the film of Twilight, I was alternately entranced and left hungry for more. I was also struck by the extraordinary passion for the characters, story and theme that was evident in the people sitting in the seats around me. My job is to live up to that devotion.
Like many of you, I am a fan of Catherine Hardwicke’s work. I can’t really say much about why she is not doing New Moon because I wasn’t involved in those decisions. But I can say that I will devote myself to making the very best and most faithful version of New Moon that can be brought to the screen. To those who doubt that as a male director I can capture Bella’s experience, I can only say that emotion is universal and that my work has often involved working with some of the most talented actresses in the world.
For the rest, the proof will have to be in the pudding. But I promise to remain responsive to your hopes and fears.
I thank you for this opportunity and for your faith.
Very best,
Chris Weitz

I admit, the letter from Weitz did wonders in softening my contrary position. I promise all of you that I won't dwell on whining about what in my opinion is a directorial misstep on the part of Summit. Unless Weitz does something stupid, then all bets are off.

If any one's interested, Chris Weitz starred in a movie once. It's pretty creepy, hope he didn't write it! It's called Chuck & Buck.

Twilight Gross to date: $214,568,151

Hey all!

Just read, according to http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=twilight08.htm Twilight has grossed $214,568,151 worldwide so far. AND it's still playing in some theaters. As a matter of fact, yours truly plans to see it one more time tomorrow afternoon. That's number 4 for me :) So, for any of you other Twilighters going to the 4 o'clock viewing at Colony Square Mall in Zanesville, see you there! Yay, Twilight!!!!!! My fervor for all things Twilight is waning so I suppose as soon as I finish the Christopher Moore novel I'm reading I will get out the saga and once again immerse myself into the wonderful world of Forks, Washington. Look out Edward, here I come!

Entertainment Weekly's Best Movie Cameo of 2008

This weeks edition of Entertainment Weekly had a whole host of best and worst of 2008. Just wanted to let you know that the best movie cameo of 2008 goes to Stephenie Meyer in Twilight! I would have to agree there. It was a surprise and delight to catch a glimpse of Stephenie in the diner scene! Go Stephenie!!

Oh, and in totally unrelated news,

here's a sweet picture of Edward

and Bella lying in the grass.

Just thought I share...

Robert Cut his hair

Robert Cut His Hair!

Just a quick note to all to tell you that Robert cut his hair. Yes, the boy went and done it! Personally I think he's dreamy either way but I agree with probably most of the Twilighters out there. I think he was way sexier with the mussy crop of sex hair on top!

So long as he looks like our mind's eye of Edward once shooting for New Moon starts in February 2009.

R.I.P (hopefully temporarily) Sexy Hair, Hello No-Nonsense Crop Top:

Jacob Black Role

Just a quick update. I read in Entertainment Weekly this week that Summit Entertainment is seriously considering recasting the role of Jacob Black. Taylor Lautner's manager is pressing hard core for them to use CG (computer generated) special effects to enhance Lautner's size and look so that he can continue in the role.

Hopefully Summit is smart enough to figure out it would be a lot cheaper (and wiser) to recast rather than dump a crap load of money into unnecessary special effects to make Lautner fit the part physically. It'd be a shame to keep Lautner and use money to enhance his physical appearance that would otherwise be better spent on legitimate needed special effects, like the werewolf transitions or vampire beautification and talents.

I am looking for viable contact information for Steven Strait so that we Twilighters (who are pro Steven) can bombard him/his people with requests and suggestions that he try for the part. The only hopeful lead I've found is a website that boasts having celebrity contact info. The catch is that it isn't a free site. However, for $1 you can find information immediately. I plan on looking into it further. If I find any solid information, I'll let you know. The site is 'contact any celebrity' and below is link directly to the Steven Strait page. Let me reiterate that there is no contact info listed on the link, unless you pay the dollar to see it. If I check it out and it seems legit, I'll post it immediately!

http://www.contactanycelebrity.com/trial/do/celebrityView?name=Steven-Strait&id=57881

If anyone else has Steven's contact info or can find it, let me know and I'll post it for everyone else so we can encourage him to audition!

Summit Entertainment Dumps Director Catherine Hardwicke

In a revealing article on Nikki Frinke's Deadline Hollywood Daily website (http://www.deadlinehollywooddaily.com/index.php?s=catherine+hardwicke) Summit Entertainment announced that Catherine Hardwicke will not be asked to direct the second installment in the Twilight saga movies, New Moon. They said basically that there was a schedule clash between her time frame and theirs. But it really sounds like a load of bull to me. Read the article and decide for yourself.

I personally enjoyed the earthy feel Hardwicke's direction gave to Twilight. I imagine whoever they choose will make it a point to give the movie a 'polished' feel. What ever vision the new director has, s/he better live up to what Hardwicke has done so far. I think it's crappy to dump Hardwicke, especially since Twilight has the distinction of grossing more money opening weekend than any other female directed movie in history!

Take heart Twilighters. I'm not completely opposed to seeing someone else at the helm for New Moon. This isn't a totally bad thing. Although I'd rather Catherine be given the chance to direct New Moon, especially with more cash available the second time around. I'm somewhat curious how another director will envision the book in movie form. I have only two requests (and by requests, I mean demands).

1. That they choose a female director. Because, after all, the Twilight saga was written by a woman, mainly for woman, from the viewpoint of a woman. And so it should be directed by a woman!

And 2. the director must be a passionate fan of the saga. No one else can do it justice. It was Catherine's passion for the story that drove her to work so hard when creating a vision true to the book.

Whether that is Summit's intent or not, I hope they have their hearts in the right place when shopping around for a new director. Otherwise, there's no wrath quite like that of a scorned Twilighter!

Follow that Blog!

Hiya, all you diehard Twihards!

Just an FYI, I added the 'Follow This Blog' gadget to my sidebar for your convenience friends! Please click on it to get RSS feeds of my Twilight Saga blog delivered right to your inbox!

Have a great weekend everyone!

Twilight Revisited, a Success!

Peggy and I went to see Twilight again last night. We met for dinner first and discussed in detail our thoughts on the books. I was on cloud nine, no kidding. Someone in the flesh to discuss Twilight and all those wonderful, magical characters with! My only complaint is that the evening went by too fast. Before we knew it, it was time to head over to the theater. My ardour for everything Twilight had settled somewhat, which is a good thing (because it's exhausting being obsessed with something all the time). Yes Twilight and Edward and Jacob are still some of my very favorite things, but daydreaming about them had become secondary to ...living!

As tempted as I am to pick up Twilight and start rereading the saga, I will refrain. Because after seeing the movie again, I feel myself getting pulled right back into the obsession. And if I allow myself to get Twilight out and read it, there will be no looking back. I'll succumb to the magical draw of Forks, Bella, Jacob ...and Edward. Ah, Edward!

Peggy and I went into the second viewing of Twilight with different perspectives. She had seen it the first time with no prior knowledge of the story (more or less). She hadn't read the saga. I think that would've been a cool thing, to have seen the movie before reading the books. I had of course read them (a few times) but they weren't extremely fresh in my mind. That was on purpose, I tried to remove myself from the story so I could have a fresh perspective. It was hard to do the first time I saw the movie. I couldn't make my mind focus on the actual movie. Instead I just noticed what was different from the book, what was the same, and especially how the movie felt like a 'cliff notes' version of the book. The scenes seemed choppy to me.

Last night however, it had been even longer since I'd read the book and I'd already seen the movie so it was a lot easier for me to just go and focus on enjoying the movie itself. I loved it even more the second time! I did not get the sense of a choppy cliff notes version again. The movie flowed and the story seemed consistent and smooth. I'm not exaggerating! The excitement of being in an over crowded theater at the midnight viewing was gone as well. That was great and totally added to the experience the first time but had been maybe a little distracting from really seeing and enjoying the movie itself. My heart still raced with Edward's first grand appearance onscreen, it was all very satisfying. And the things that bothered me the first time didn't so much this time. My only complaint remains (and was even more heightened this time) Kristen Stewart's portrayal of Bella. Hopefully she will tone down the drama and play up Bella's 'goofy in love in the face of danger' attitude for New Moon.
*NEW MOON SPOILER COMMENT BELOW*
Of course, Kristen Stewart may be able to do a really good job in New Moon simply because if you've ever watched anything she's in, including Twilight, you'll notice that she always seems to have pessimistic overtones to her character portrayals. She's very low key; a downer, if you will. And so, since Edward breaks Bella's heart and leaves her in New Moon, Kristen's melodramatic portrayal may actually synch with Bella's frame of mind in New Moon. But I still think she got Bella wrong in Twilight. If you pay close attention (or even if you try to ignore it) you will notice how Kristen almost never delivers any of Bella's lines without stuttering through them (although intentionally) or rolling her eyes dramatically ...and I also have to mention this annoying little head shake thing she does. I'd say 70% of the time she is talking, she minutely shakes her head from side to side. Was this for added emphasis on the import of the words she is speaking? I would bet so. It doesn't help and hopefully someone will point it out to Kristen before filming of New Moon starts.

Filming of New Moon! Yay! In case you didn't notice, I'm changing direction here, readers. I didn't intend on ragging on Kristen Stewart today. My intent was to tell you how much I really enjoyed myself last night, and I DID. 100%! I very often digress, of which you all are aware. I will do some research and let you know just when filming will begin! Now, back to my night with Peggy.

After Peggy saw Twilight the first time, she went home and ordered the whole saga online.(Another Twilighter convert!) And she's read all but Breaking Dawn. Going into the theater last night she'd become a savvy Twilight lover. Her perspective had changed majorly. She was way more excited this time. Now that she knows the details of the story, she was chomping at the bit to see the movie again. And she loved it even more! It was great!

So I'd say our evening was a great success. I told her last night and I'll say it again: Peggy if you want to go back, just give me a holler! I'll be there in a second :D

Twilight Revisited!

I was on call for my job all of last week so I didn't get to go see Twilight again. But I am planning on going again this Friday. I know compared to all you other Twilighters out there I'm a lightweight! But I always had intentions of seeing it again. I wanted to let the first viewing stew for a while. Let it simmer and fade. THEN head back out and see what I glean from a second viewing. I want to know if my opinion will change.

I was planning on going alone to see it this time. But I got a happy surprise when I read my email today. My best friend Peggy wants to go see it again too. This is major news to me. I've created a Twiligher! I am the only one of my small group of friends who was obsessed over the Twilight saga. The only one to even read them actually. But my friends were so enticed by the hype surrounding the movie and the lure of a midnight showing that they accompanied me to see Twilight. I must tell you that after seeing it, Peggy went home and bought all four books.

I think that my friends may have thought that these books were your typical vampire stories. You know; blood, fangs, long black cloaks and scary glowing eyes in the dark. But after seeing Twilight, they realized that it is as far from the vampire cliché as you can get. (Not that I mind the cliché, I rather enjoy any vampire story!) The Twilight saga doesn't fit into the mold of the typical vampire story, it's a romance, plain and simple. BUT, there's the alluring part. Neither is the Twilight saga a typical romantic story. It fits into both the category of vampire story and romantic story, but in an atypical way. It breaks the mold. And that is one of the things that makes it so special. There is nothing in the story that seems familiar and so you are compelled to keep reading (usually in an obsessive sort of way that all us Twilighters comprehend). That appeal is something very hard to explain and therefore, very hard to convince someone of. I know I just gushed about how wonderful these books are to everyone I ran in to, but until a person can experience for themselves, it doesn't quite grip you how addictive Twilight is! Come on, how can 17 MILLION of us be wrong? :)

So I think that we'll see a grand spike in the Twilight saga's book sales. Because not only does the Twilight movie fulfill something that all us original Twilighters were waiting on, it also serves as a catalyst for new Twilighters. If you are like me, you'll jump in feet first and reread that saga again like it's the first time! Enjoy the amazing journey all over again, with all the new fanatics in tow.