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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.

‘New Moon’ Cast Tours To Promote Upcoming Release

Joelle Tomlinson — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 05:51:09 +0000

One day before they invaded Los Angeles’ Hollywood & Highland Centre, the cast of “New Moon” kicked off their tour with a stop at a Nordstrom packed with infatuated Twilighters. Featuring appearances by fan favorites Edi Gathegi, Christian Serratos, Alex Meraz, Chaske Spencer, Bronson Pelletier and Kiowa Gordon, the group spoke exclusively to MTV News about their future plans between now and the premiere of “New Moon” on November 20.

“We’re here today — half the wolf pack, a sexy vampire and a regular human,” laughed Gathegi, who plays the (mostly) evil Laurent in the saga. “We’re here to meet 125 fans, take pictures with them and send them home happy.”

Apparently they did their job. Eager Twilighters were ecstatic to meet their favorite members if the “Twilight” saga. The merchandise also assisted in the general elated atmosphere as well.

“There’s this white shirt, and it has a giant tree on it and a bird,” Serratos said of her favorite piece in the Nordstrom “Twilight” line. “It’s really tight; I like it.”

“If I had to design something for my character, it would probably be a line of cardigans,” Christian said of what she’d expect if Nordstrom ever made clothes inspired by mousy Angela Weber. “She’s very cardigan-y, and very laid-back … very home-y, like fall in the woods. If she’s in jeans and a cardigan, she’s good.”

Gathegi was eager to get visit as many stops as possible. “As we kick off the tour, I don’t want to say which city I’m most looking forward to because then the other cities would think I wasn’t looking forward to them, and that’s not the case,” explained the always diplomatic vampire nomad. “But I’m really excited about going to Washington D.C., because I haven’t been to D.C. since I was a kid. I’m a man now, and I want to see where Obama lives — because he’s from Kenya too.”

Twilight’s New Moon Soundtrack Hits Number One

Sara Harowitz — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 13:43:34 +0000

Had enough of vampires? Too bad. If you’re not a fan of Twilight, you’re a clear minority these days.

The Twilight Saga: New Moon soundtrack has been propelled to the Number One spot on the Billboard Top 200 after one week on the shelves and digital services, reports rollingstone.com.

The album sold an additional 153,000 copies this week – a 33 per cent increase over its debut week on sale. Tim McGraw’s Southern Voice debuted at Number Two and Michael Buble’s Crazy Love dropped to Number Three after a two-week reign at Number One.

According to current estimations, however, New Moon’s time at the top of the charts will be short-lived. Another, and perhaps even more hyped, soundtrack is expected to take New Moon’s place: Michael Jackson’s This Is It.

The soundtrack that coincides with the documentary film of the same name is estimated to sell 300,000 to 350,000 copies, giving the late King of Pop his sixth Number One album on the Top 200, and his first since Invincible from 2001. While Jackson’s 2003 greatest hits album Number Ones is the year’s bestselling album with 2.2 million copies sold, it was not eligible for the Top 200 when it was taking the top spot in sales following Jackson’s death on June 25.

Three other albums managed to affect the Billboard Top 20: Joss Stone’s Colour Me Free went in at Number 10 with 27,000 copies, Rammstein’s Liebe Ist Für Alle Da came in at Number 13, and Flight of the Conchords’ I Told You I Was Freaky at Number 19.

Last week’s Top 10 only suffered minimal sale decreases. The Flaming Lips felt the biggest slump as their new album Embryonic dropped from Number Eight to Number 51. Mario’s D.N.A. felt it too, falling from Number Nine to Number 40. However, Taylor Swift saw a sale increase, as did Owl City. “Fireflies,” Owl City’s Number One single off of Ocean Eyes, allowed the album to jump from Number 20 to Number Eight on a sales increase of 31 per cent.

Band of Skulls on Side B – They Are Doing Something Right

Dan Busheikin — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 19:14:15 +0000

I haven’t listened to ‘rock’ music for years, but there’s something about Band of Skulls that I can’t get enough of. Baby Darling Dollface Honey has the same rawness and musicality of a White Stripes record, but with a unique and irresistible charm. Add to that a very attractive female bassist and I’m sold. Band of Skulls is featured on the new Twilight soundtrack alongside some of my other favourites like Thom Yorke, Bon Iver, and Grizzly Bear, so clearly they’re doing something right.

Lauren Conrad Tackles The Movie Industry

Joelle Tomlinson — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 01:15:45 +0000

Lauren Conrad’s spotlight may be gone from reality show, The Hills, but she has deftly redirected it to her newest movie-making endeavor.

Conrad has decided to work with the executive producers of Twilight, Marty Bowen and Wyck Godfrey, to turn her novel, “L.A. Candy,” into a film.

“I mean, you can’t do much better, right?” she remarked to MTV News at the launch of her Kohl’s LC Lauren Conrad clothing line.

According to mtvnews.com, she went on to explain that the book was never meant to be a movie. Instead, Conrad had envisioned it as a TV show. The former Hills star knows a thing or two about TV. “Originally, when people started talking to me about turning the books into television, I was really excited,” she explained. “Then we got approached about the movie and I wasn’t really sure it would work. The story is supposed to take place over a couple of years and it’s hard to do with a movie.”

With doubts of a movie deal in her mind, she went on the book tour, and that’s when inspiration hit her. “I was sitting in a room and then it just came to me,” she explained about why she finally decided to turn it into a film. “I came up with a format that worked and discussed it with them. They really liked it.”

New Moon Soundtrack Listing

Robert Ostfield — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 22:31:05 +0000

The New Moon soundtrack listing is now available. Is it everything Twilight fans hoped?

1. Death Cab for Cutie – Meet Me On the Equinox

2. Band of Skulls – Friends

3. Thom Yorke – Hearing Damage

4. Lykke Li – Possibility

5. The Killers – A White Demon Love Song

6. Anya Marina – Satellite Heart

7. Muse- I Belong To You (New Moon Remix)

8. Bon Iver & St. Vincent- Rosyln

9. Black Rebel Motorcycle Club – Done All Wrong

10. Hurricane Bells – Monsters

11. Sea Wolf- The Violet Hour

12. OK Go – Shooting the Moon

13. Grizzly Bear – Slow Life

14. Editors – No Sound But the Wind

15. Alexandre Desplat – New Moon (The Meadow)

SNL Wants Robert Pattinson

Vanessa Baker — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 19:53:27 +0000

On the red carpet for the 61st Annual Emmy Awards, E! News kicked off a campaign to get Twilight’s Robert Pattinson a hosting gig on Saturday Night Live.

“We would love to get Robert Pattinson,” said Seth Meyers. “How dare you tell me he’s the hot guy from Twilight, like I don’t already know! We’re actually hoping if he’s not available, at least his hair will come by and host.”

“Oh yeah, he’d be great,” said Kristen Wiig.

Andy Samburg simply gave a thumbs-up and nodded when asked if he thought Pattison would do a good job hosting.

Season 35 of the sketch comedy show premieres on September 26. Megan Fox will have the honour of hosting while U2 performs as the musical guest.

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!