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The Pope And His Thoughts On New Moon

Joelle Tomlinson — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 15:01:33 +0000

It’s no great surprise that the Pope isn’t a major endorser of the Twlight series.

Conveniently timed to the release of the “New Moon” sequel to Twilight, the Vatican culture council leader, Monsignor Franco Perazzolo, issued a statement about the underlying evil in the series. According to E! online, he said “this film is nothing more than a moral vacuum with a deviant message and as such should be of concern”

His next comment further solidifies his position on the vampire and werewolf packed flick. “This theme of vampires in Twilight combines a mixture of excesses that, as ever, is aimed at young people and gives a heavy esoteric element.”

To clarify, esoteric simply means that the film is intended for only a small number of people with a specialized knowledge. In this case, this “small” number of people is a worldwide fan base of Twilighters, eager to indulge in their two hours of sparkly vampires, vicious werewolf clans and clumsy humans. This statement issued by the pope is reminiscent of the hate towards the Harry Potter series inspired by the Roman Catholic religion years earlier, which didn’t seem to affect sales and revenue.

New Moon Posts Great Opening Numbers

Joelle Tomlinson — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 05:26:07 +0000

Looks like the vampire-craze is here to stay.

The Twilight Saga: New Moon was released today (November 20), much to the enjoyment of avid Twilighters everywhere. According to ew.com, the flick set a new record for opening midnight shows, and it grossed around $26.3 million. Move aside, Harry Potter (who earned $2.2 million in the summer).

The story follows Edward and Bella, as well as incorporating the new wolf-gang that up-and-comer Taylor Lautner is a big part of. For those who have read the book, and followed the series, they already know about the consequences of a love triangle with a vampire and a werewolf. If not, Kristen Stewart’s (who plays Bella) anguish will be made clear through the Chris Weitz’s-directed film.

Other big names in New Moon are Robert Pattinson, Dakota Fanning and Ashley Greene. They each play blood-sucking vampires in the movie with special talents of their own. Along with these talents, it looks as though their star power is powerful as well, as the movie continues to draw in excited viewers worldwide.

Movie Review: Twilight New Moon

Eric Emin Wood — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 06:13:08 +0000

I am not the audience for this movie.

I did not see the original Twilight. I read the novel and was horrified; how many teenage girls truly believe that men like Edward Cullen exist? (Fewer, probably, than the number of boys men who expect to meet a gorgeous independent woman who caters to their every whim and is miraculously attracted to slovenly underachievers, but that’s a rant for another film.) In real life a man who stalks protects a woman the way Edward does will continue to do so whether her life’s in danger or not. Perhaps the majority of Twilight fans recognize this, and treat the stories as wish fulfillment, much as this reviewer does with good romantic comedies (though not, it must be said, The Ugly Truth, which peddled a similar adolescent fantasy).

On that level, New Moon delivers. It reproduces the central appeal of the books: a man who’s faster, stronger, more romantic, better at playing baseball and musical instruments alike and more beautiful than anyone you could possibly imagine falls for Bella Swan, an ordinary, unremarkable-looking girl, and continually professes not only that he loves her, but that he cannot live without her. So protective is he that when his otherworldly urges place her in danger he actually abandons her to protect her.

This is the basest sort of adolescent fantasy, the kind any writer who’s attended university could dream up, and yet it would be undone by a sense of manufactured cynicism if author Stephenie Meyer didn’t wholeheartedly believe in it. She does, and it would appear a wide cross-section of the western world does too.

The audience I saw New Moon with cheered when Robert Pattinson and Taylor Lautner entered, gasped when Bella was attacked by a vampire and cheered when a pack of werewolves defended her. Director Chris Weitz (The Golden Compass) provides plenty of eye candy, and even throws in a flourish or two (I enjoyed the way he depicted three months passing). With two exceptions – one of the worst-looking CG werewolves I’ve ever seen (only one, thankfully, not the entire pack, and only for one shot) and a flash-forward near the end that I doubt was intended to elicit hearty laughter from the audience but did – he gets the job done.

My problem with the movie lies completely with the source material. I hate Bella; she’s a wallflower, reacting to (instead of acting upon) events around her by screaming, moping and becoming recklessly suicidal when Edward leaves, yet suddenly protective of (and willing to die for) him if he’s in the room and in danger. Fans of Edward will be less than pleased that he’s off-screen for more than half the movie, appearing sporadically in a series of visions. And we all know the central conflict in Twilight is a metaphor for sex, with vampirism standing in for the horrid corruption that awaits Bella should she (gasp!) consummate her relationship with Edward without tying the knot first. To phrase it diplomatically, I do not share Meyer’s Mormon beliefs.

On the other hand, how is an adolescent girl’s desire to meet someone as protective as Edward any different from the hope that your True Love is out there, somewhere, and you could meet them, which forms the backbone of all romantic comedies?

I was completely and utterly indifferent to New Moon. Its fans will lap it up.

andPOP Speaks With Twilight New Moon Actor Bronson Pelletier

Jordan Bortolotti — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 06:05:45 +0000

OK everybody, the Twilight saga continues with New Moon (ladies please control your crying). We were lucky to sit down with Canadian heartthrob Bronson Pelletier for an interview during the recent press stop in Toronto. Bronson plays Jared in the movie and apparently had to get jacked up to play his werewolf character. He also spoke with us about his relationships with his fellow Twilight actors.

Finally Someone Admits The Twilight Kids Are Doing It

Jordan Bortolotti — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 03:48:46 +0000

It’s official! According to the superficial.com, Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson have had some sort of romance. The news comes from the original Twilight director Catherine Hardwicke. In a recent interview with Time Magazine she spilled the beans stating, “I didn’t have a camera in the hotel room. I cannot say, but in terms of what Kristen told me directly, it didn’t happen on the first movie.” I think we can all read between the lines as to what “it” means. However, I can’t really say I’m shocked. Seriously? Is this news? Two really good looking people can only be stuck together for so long and eventually they’re going to find their way into bed together.

Although, there was a considerable age difference between the two on the first movie. At four years apart, Twilight’s boy wonder was dangerously close to earning the nickname Robert Polansky. The director even cautioned the young superstar, “After I cast him, I told Rob, Don’t even think about having a romance with her,” Hardwicke says. “She’s under 18. You will be arrested.” Well, I guess Edward really would do anything for Bella. Even if it means spending some time in the slammer, once again Twilight is showing us all that love has no boundaries.

New Moon Trailer

andPOP Staff — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 13:18:50 +0000

We have the trailer for New Moon which debuted at the VMA’s on Sunday. Will it be as big or even bigger than Twilight? Probably. Expect to see more visual effects, werewolves, motorcylce stunts, and a whole lot more!

Vancouver Gets Eclipsed By Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart

Emma Renda — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 04:15:05 +0000

The now-infamous cast of Eclipse, the Twilight sequel have been spotted throughout Vancouver where the third installment of the series is currently filming. It will be a prime time for some snooping too, as rumours have been flying about romances between a number of duos on the set.

Lead actors Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson arrived just days ago, Stewart still clad with a mullet from her title role in the Joan Jett biopic Runaways. They were sited a few nights ago getting cozy at a Kings of Leon concert in Vancouver Aug. 15, with photos of them practically making out appearing on RadarOnline.com and Just Jared. This comes after the two attended Comic-Con, an international and now celebrity hot spot comic book convention in San Diego, where they were practically joined at the hip according to the Los Angeles Times.

Also on site in Vancouver are Ashley Greene (Alice Cullen) and Xavier Howard (Riley) who have been spotted together throughout the city, although like Stewart and Pattinson, no romance has been confirmed. Bryce Dallas Howard (Victoria) invited her husband Seth Gabel and son Theodore along for the trip to the Great White North and Dakota Fanning just left after filming her scenes as the character Jane.

Eclipse has already been scheduled to hit theatres on June 30, 2010, just eight months after the release of New Moon this November, with director David Slade (30 Days of Night, Hard Candy) in charge.

Twilight Cast Turns Into Chocolate

Ilan Mester — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 14:08:47 +0000

Robert Pattinson, Kristen Stewart and Taylor Lautner get their own chocolate bar in the shape of their “Twilight” characters Edward Cullen, Bella Swan and Jacob Black respectively.

Necco sub-brand SkyBar is releasing these “New Moon” bars as well as special boxes of “Twilight” Sweethearts. But of course, they had to add a vampire twist to the flavours which include “Secret Strawberry,” “Passion Fruit” and “Tempting Apple.”

The chocolates are 79-cents each and can be purchased at Blockbuster stores, while the hearts — which come in theatre sized boxes — can be purchased for $2.99.

All three “Twilight” stars are set to make an appearance at this year’s Comic-Con along with “New Moon” director Chris Weitz. There have been rumours of exclusive “New Moon” footage being unveiled at the comic book festival.

Zac Efron, Kristen Stewart Among Most Beautiful People

Ilan Mester — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 20:55:15 +0000

Christina Applegate graces the cover of this year’s “People’s Most Beautiful” issue, but many teen idols are featured in the magazine as well.

“Twilight’s” Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart have both made People’s annual 100 Most Beautiful List. “I don’t get it. It’s funny, you look the same for years, and no one ever mentions it. Then suddenly it’s a big deal,” Pattinson tells People.

Other young stars such as “Gossip Girl’s” Taylor Momsen, brothers Nick and Joe Jonas and “17 Again” star Zac Efron have also made the list.

Efron revealed to People his secret to staying fit. “Backpacking, hiking, surfing, swimming, playing tennis — things that get you active and are also fun.”

And the list of teen stars doesn’t end there. “Camp Rock’s” Demi Lovato and fellow Disney star Selena Gomez have also made the list.

Taylor Swift (who also made it on People’s list) told the magazine it’s important to look natural. “It’s important to be comfortable with who you are and go natural once in a while”.

‘Twilight’ Star To Rock ‘N’ Roll

Eva Lam — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 08:00:07 +0000

Kristen Stewart, currently starring in the box-office hit “Twilight,” will play Joan Jett in an upcoming rock ‘n’ roll biopic.

“The Runaways” will centre on the titular ’70s band, which was co-founded by Jett in 1975 and went on to become the first successful all-female hard rock group.

The movie is expected to follow the members from their sudden rise to fame as teenagers to their disillusionment and breakup in 1979.

Jett eventually formed the Blackhearts, coming out with such hits as “I Love Rock N’ Roll” and “I Hate Myself for Loving You,” and is still recording and touring.

Floria Sigismondi, known for her music videos, will direct from her own screenplay, while Jett will act as an executive producer.

The movie is expected to begin production in 2009 and will need to work around Stewart’s “Twilight” commitments. The 18-year-old has already signed on to reprise her role as Bella in the sequel “New Moon,” scheduled to shoot in early 2009.

“Twilight, which sold a record number of advance tickets in Canada ahead of its Nov. 21 opening, has since taken in more than $120 million at the domestic box office.