Screen Rant » eclipse

New Moon’s Record-Breaking Opening Day

Rob Keyes — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 16:21:39 +0000

Summit Entertainment is pretty happy with themselves this weekend with their Twilight sequel New Moon already breaking loads of sales records in just the first day. It surely seems now that rushing the film into production after last November’s success of the first book in Stephanie Meyer’s vampire novel series was a good idea. Continuing the momemtum and hype, the third installment Eclipse has already wrapped filming and is set for a summer release, only half a year away.

Check out after the jump for a list of ridiculously high financial stats for New Moon coming in from reports everywhere.

With the expected (and now realized) opening success of New Moon, I am surprised that in my screening of the movie, there were no trailers for other major upcoming films – What we saw instead was all just for upcoming movies from Summit and E1 Entertainment and no other studios took advantage of the masses of eager moviegoers sitting in packed theaters everywhere.

Here are the numbers reported from Nikki Finke at Deadline Hollywood as of this morning:

Debuted at around $72 million in 4024 theaters but results still coming in.
Breaks the record for Friday opening and single day sales ($67 million from The Dark Knight).
The Friday totals include the insanely high midnight screenings that brought in 26.27 million from 3514 theaters – this beats both The Dark Knight and the latest Harry Potter.
Tracking for a $125 opening weekend which is still under numbers for the third Pirates of the Caribbean, The Dark Knight or Spider-Man 3.
Last year’s Twilight brought in just under $70 million so this one is destroying it as well as expectations which had the movie likely getting close to Iron Man numbers around $100 million.

Fandango is reproting that New Moon is 10 tickets/second throughout Friday and it’s the number one advanced ticket seller of all time for them.

What do you think of the box-office success of the Twilight films so far and what do you expect from next year’s installment?

If you missed it, check out Screen Rant’s New Moon Review.

Directed by Chris Weitz, New Moon stars Kristen Stewart, Taylor Lautner, Robert Pattinson and Ashley Greene – it’s playing everywhere currently. The Twilight Saga: Eclipse opens June 30, 2010 and is directed by David Slade.

Source: Deadline Hollywood

You Might Also Be Interested In:

Poster Friday: Kick-Ass, Avatar, Green Zone, Wolfman & More!

Rob Keyes — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 05:59:26 +0000

Happy Friday everyone! For our first Friday of November 2009, we’ve again gathered the latest posters to come out for this week’s poster round-up. So, before you head out to see this week’s opening movies, namely The Men Who Star at goats, A Christmas Carol, The Box and The Fourth Kind, check out the latest promo sheets below.

Screen Rant’s wall this week now includes new one-sheets for Kick-Ass, The Wolfman, Conan, The Twilight Saga’s Eclipse, Clash of the Titans, Scream 4, A Single Man, Avatar, Machete, Green Zone, Let Me In, Tell Tale and The Men Who Stare at Goats.

We also have a few bonus items for this year’s Pixar movie, Up.

Let’s get to it.

To start, here’s the first (awesome) batch of Kick-Ass posters that IGN premiered yesterday:

Continue to the next page for the other Kick-Ass posters and more!

You Might Also Be Interested In:

New Moon Stills, Clip and Twilight Re-Release Info

Paul Young — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 18:41:28 +0000

Twilight fans grab your life-size Robert Pattinson stuffed doll, call all of your friends, gather around your computer monitors and giggle together in anticipation because Screen Rant has got some skin-tingling news for you. Last week MTV showed its first ever Halloween special, Ulalume: Howling at the New Moon. During the show, MTV showed an exclusive clip from the upcoming Twilight sequel New Moon and in case you missed it (if you are a Twilight fan, then I seriously doubt you missed it) you can watch the clip over at MTV or just check it out after the jump.

All the popular kids were on hand to debut the new clip, including every girl’s (and a few oddball boy’s) favorite brooding teenage vampire hunk, Robert Pattinson (Edward Cullen). Oh yeah, in case you care, Kristen Stewart (Bella Swan) and Taylor Lautner (Jacob Black) were there too. But seriously, did you see the dreamy, pale-skinned, red-eyed Edward? That man just exudes sexy, in an “I want to drink your blood” type of way.

But before we get to the video, there is another piece of information that dropped that is sure to make you sparkle. Coming Soon is reporting that due to the huge success of the first installment of Stephenie Meyer’s young love vampire angst series of novels , Summit Entertainment has to decided to re-release Twilight in select theaters nationwide on November 19^th.

This is a rare event; the studio decided to offer this re-release because of the number of requests to see Twilight in theaters again, despite the fact that it is already available on DVD. The movie will be shown right before New Moon hits theaters (most likely a double feature) and the tickets will be available at a discounted price. Bottom line, don’t go anywhere near the mall on November 19^th or 20^th.

OK, enough yammering, time for the video clip:

MTV also released 3 new stills from New Moon (the first of which you saw above) and you can see the other two below. New Moon is direct by Chris Weitz (The Golden Compass), and stars Robert Pattinson (Twilight), Kristen Stewart (Adventureland), and Taylor Lautner (Twilight) in a story about a supernatural love triangle between Bella (Stewart), Edward(Pattinson) and Jacob (Lautner). Who will Bella ultimately fall in love with? Can she ever get over the hunky dreaminess of Edward to love the every-so-often super-hairy Jacob? You’ll just have to read the books or wait a couple of weeks to find out for sure. I know I’m biting my fingernails in anticipation.

Here are the other two stills as promised.

Admittedly, I’m not a fan of the films and neither the clips nor the pictures have me giddy with excitement to watch New Moon or the third Twilight installment, Eclipse. I even tried to read the books but never made it past the first couple of chapters. The whole thing reads like a morbid twist on Romeo and Juliet, with a dash of 90210 drama and just a hint of Sweet Valley High. Good thing I’m not the target audience, I guess. New moon will do very well in theaters because it managed to pick up a huge fan base. It’s just not my cup of tea but if it is yours, then I’m sure the film will not disappoint.

I would ask if you are planning to watch New Moon when it comes out in theaters but if you are reading this post, then chances are you already bought your advance tickets at Fandango.

New Moon fangs its way into theaters and makes you gush with excitement November 20^th, 2009.

Source: MTV, Coming Soon

You Might Also Be Interested In:

The Twilight Saga: Eclipse First Images

Kofi Outlaw — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 14:37:31 +0000

The first images from the third installment of The Twilight Saga, entitled Eclipse, have jumped the gun and appeared online before People magazine could even debut them.

(Man, it is getting hard out there for these paper mags… Luckily you have your online ‘zines like Screen Rant™ bringing you the news first!)

This first Eclipse images shows us (what else) interspecies lovers Bella (Kristen Stewart) and Edward (Robert Pattinson) getting intimate in a nice plush green forest, complete with white flowers. Every tweenage girl’s dream.

The images have obviously been scanned out of a copy of People, and out of respect to the mag for doing the legwork to get the shots, I’m not going to post them here – but I will link you Twiehards out there to where you can see them:

ECLIPSE FIRST IMAGES

We’ll update with official images once they’re (promptly) released, so be sure to check back.

Does those photos fill you Twilight Saga fans with flutters of joy?

I know that Eclipse deals with the Edward/Bella/Jacob love triangle that kicks off in next month’s New Moon, while a bunch of vampires and werewolves are busy warring with some psycho vampires. I know that we’re going to see some steamy three-way vampire/human/werewolf romance set in the mountains (is it too early to start making “Brokefang Mountain” jokes?). And the fact that its all going to be captured by 30 Days of Night director David Slade just blows my mind…

If you want to know more all about how Eclipse is shaping up (who’s in it, when it started production, etc…) go HERE.

The Twilight Saga: Eclipse is slated to rush into theaters on June 30, 2010.

Sources: Live Journal via Coming Soon

You Might Also Be Interested In:

Twilight Saga: Eclipse Cast List & New Moon Volturi Pics [Updated]

Rob Frappier — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 10:42:21 +0000

[Update: We now have more pics of the Volturi to share!]

All right you twi-hards (I know you’re out there), we’ve got some great news for you. Not only has the final cast list for The Twilight Saga: Eclipse been confirmed, but we’ve rounded up some new pictures of the malevolent Volturi from The Twilight Saga: New Moon.

Let’s start with Eclipse.

To accompany stalwart Twilight veterans Robert Pattinson (playing Edward Cullen) and Kristen Stewart (playing Bella Swan), Eclipse has added a number of new actors to its mix. Among the newbies are Xavier Samuel as Riley, Catalina Sandino Moreno as Maria, Jack Huston as Royce King, Julia Jones as Leah, BooBoo Stewart as Seth, and Jodelle Ferland as Bree. Bryce Dallas Howard will also be joining the cast as Victoria, controversially replacing actress Rachelle Lafevre. Eclipse was written by screenwriter Melissa Rosenberg and is being directed by David Slade.

For those who need a little primer on The Twilight Saga: Eclipse, which is the third film in the Twilight series, here’s a description of the film from Summit Entertainment’s official press release.

In THE TWILIGHT SAGA: ECLIPSE, Bella once again finds herself surrounded by danger as Seattle is ravaged by a string of mysterious killings and a malicious vampire continues her quest for revenge. In the midst of it all, she is forced to choose between her love for Edward and her friendship with Jacob — knowing that her decision has the potential to ignite the ageless struggle between vampire and werewolf. With her graduation quickly approaching, Bella is confronted with the most important decision of her life.

Check out the complete cast list (from the same press release) below:

THE TWILIGHT SAGA: ECLIPSE Cast List

Kristen Stewart as Bella Swan
Robert Pattinson as Edward Cullen
Taylor Lautner as Jacob Black

Cullen Family
Ashley Greene as Alice Cullen
Peter Facinelli as Dr. Carlisle
Elizabeth Reaser as Esme Cullen
Kellan Lutz as Emmett Cullen
Nikki Reed as Rosalie Hale
Jackson Rathbone as Jasper Hale

Wolf Pack
Chaske Spencer as Sam Uley
Bronson Pelletier as Jared
Alex Meraz as Paul
Kiowa Gordon as Embry Call
Tyson Houseman as Quil Ateara

Other Quileutes
Gil Birmingham as Billy Black
Tinsel Korey as Emily

Nomad Vampires
Bryce Dallas Howard as Victoria

Volturi
Cameron Bright as Alec
Charlie Bewley as Demetri
Daniel Cudmore as Felix
Dakota Fanning as Jane

Additional Returning Cast Members
Billy Burke as Charlie Swan
Sarah Clarke as Renee Dwyer
Anna Kendrick as Jessica
Michael Welch as Mike
Christian Serratos as Angela
Justin Chon as Eric

New Cast Members
Xavier Samuel as Riley
Catalina Sandino Moreno as Maria
Jack Huston as Royce King
Julia Jones as Leah Clearwater
BooBoo Stewart as Seth Clearwater
Jodelle Ferland as Bree

If you’d like to put some of those names to faces, check out this image gallery from MTV. In the meantime, flip to the next page for a look at Dakota Fanning, Michael Sheen, and the rest of the Volturi in New Moon.

Click to continue reading ‘Twilight News: Eclipse Cast List & New Moon Character Pics’…

You Might Also Be Interested In:

Weekend Movie News Wrap Up: August 23, 2009

Niall Browne — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 19:08:47 +0000

This Week:

The Basterds have landed at the top of the box office; Karl Urban takes a bite out of Priest; Summit attempts to grab Jodie Foster’s Beaver; Rosario Dawson boards Unstoppable; The Twilight Saga: Eclipse begins; Pandorum is pushed back and is it a trick or a treat for Trick r’ Treat?

Box Office

Quentin Tarantino scored the biggest opening of his career with Inglourious Basterds. The Brad Pitt film shot up an impressive $37 million over the weekend giving The Weinstein Company a much needed financial boost. The R-rated Nazi killing epic will have a chance of cracking $100 million if word of mouth is good.

District 9 dropped less than 50% this weekend after banking an estimated $18.9 million. With $73 million already in the bag it looks like this $30 million film will be very profitable.

G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra banked another $12.5 million. The action-figure movie has now taken an impressive $120 million. The sequel should be out in a couple of years.

The Time Traveler’s Wife took $10 million this weekend. With a television series on the way it looks like someone somewhere thought that this would be profitable.

Julie & Julia is playing as expected. Just down 25% from last weekend The Meryl Streep starrer banked $9 million this weekend. The film has now made a healthy $59 million.

Robert Rodriguez’s Shorts didn’t open as well as his buddy Quentin Tarantino. The directors latest family film grossed a meek $6.5 million. It was probably very cheap so it’ll turn a profit.

G-Force’s total now stands at $107 million after making $4 million. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince brought in another $3 million. With $290 in the bank already it looks like this Potter pic might just limp to the magic $300 million barrier.

The Ugly Truth and Post Grad were pretty much neck and neck with just under $3 million each. One has a grand total of $82 million and the other will finish it’s run with under $10 million.

Movie News

1. Star Trek and Lord of the Rings star (we’ll forget about Pathfinder) Karl Urban has signed on to Priest.
In the Scott Stewart directed film, Urban will play Black Hat, an evil vampire in the Paul Bettany film.

Hollywood really has gone vampire crazy lately. Let’s hope it doesn’t suck!

Source: The Hollywood Reporter

2. Summit Entertainment is in “advanced talks” to buy Jodie Foster’s The Beaver. The Mel Gibson starrer follows a depressed man who starts wearing a hand-puppet of the titular beaver.

I’m looking forward to this quirky dramedy.

The Beaver starts shooting in September.

Source: Variety

3. Rosario Dawson has jumped on board Tony Scott’s action-thriller Unstoppable. The runaway train film stars Scott favorite Denzel Washington and Captain Kirk himself, Chris Pine.

The film has had a start-stop momentum from when it was announced earlier in the year with Washington leaving the project when 20th Century Fox wanted him to make the film for less than his usual $20 million pay day. An agreement was reached and the film regained its drive.

Unstoppable arrives on November 12, 2010

Source: Variety

4. Earlier in the week cameras started rolling on The Twilight Saga: Eclipse.

That’s right you can now start anticipating new news featuring Robert Pattinson, Kristen Stewart and company. The hugely successful vampire series has been a massive hit with teens and fans of vampire fiction.

Creator Stephenie Meyer’s bank manager is also very interested in the books too!

Join Edward and Bella at a cinema near you when The Twilight Saga: Eclipse opens on June 30, 2010.

Source: Coming Soon.

4. If you’ve been waiting to see the Dennis Quaid/ Ben Foster sci-fi horror, Pandorum, then you’re going to have to wait a while longer. The film has now been pushed back a week to September 25th, moving it away from coming out at the same time as the Megan Fox starring/ Diablo Cody-scripted Jennifer’s Body.

Pandorum will now open opposite Bruce Willis’ Sci-fi actioner Surrogates.

Source: Shock Till You drop

5. Speaking of release dates – Michael Dougherty’s Trick r’ Treat finally has a concrete release. The long-awaited film will be out in time for… you guessed it: Halloween. Trick r’ Treat will be available on DVD and Blu-ray from Tuesday, October 6.

Source: Shock Till You Drop

That’s it for now. See you at the movies.

You Might Also Be Interested In:

Mid-Week Movie News Wrap Up – August 13, 2009

Niall Browne — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 16:12:34 +0000

This week:

Another actor takes a bite out of Twilight’s Eclipse; we have an update on Cowboys and Aliens; Colin Farrell + Mermaids= Ondine, Zac Efron finds a mother and David Mamet gets Frank.

1. The Twilight Saga: Eclipse keeps adding cast members: Jack Huston and Catalina Sandino Moreno (Maria Full of Grace) have both joined the cast of the teenage vampire flick.

According to The Hollywood Reporter regarding Huston:

“Huston will play Royce King II, a human that lived during the Great Depression.”

It sounds like a role that the young actor can sink his teeth into.

Bloody-Disgusting is reporting that Moreno will play the vampire Maria, who tries to create an army of “newborn vampires.”

Big job for a small woman.

Huston and Moreno join Robert Pattinson, Kristen Stewart and Bryce Dallas Howard in the big screen adaptation of Stephanie Meyer’s novel.

Huston will next be seen on TV in Eastwick, the small screen series based on the hit 1980’s Jack Nicholson starrer.

Eclipse is being helmed by David Slade (30 Days of Night) and starts shooting next week in Vancouver for a June 30, 2010 release (they better work fast).

Source: The Hollywood Reporter & Bloody-Disgusting

2. The ever-busy Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman have given an update on the adaptation of the graphic novel Cowboys and Aliens, which they wrote with Lost creator Damon Lindelof.

Orci said:

“We’re just literally waiting to hear if they hate it or what. We’re waiting to hear from the principals. We try not to turn it in until we think it’s ready. Obviously, there are always things you can improve.”

When asked if Robert Downey Jr was still attached Orci said:

“He’s one of the busiest men on the face of the Earth. If the schedule can line up, we’d absolutely love it.”

It sounds like there’s still a chance of having Downey Jr appearing – but if Sherlock Holmes is a hit then he’ll be juggling two franchises (the other obviously being Iron Man) so he might not want to do another big-budget film in between.

Time will tell.

Source: MTV

3. Colin Farrell has been keeping a low profile recently but late 2009 and 2010 seem to be lined up with quite a few films starring the Irishman.

There’s obviously Terry Gilliam’s The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, Triage and Neil Jordan’s Ondine.

Ondine is “lyrical modern fairy tale” about an Irish fisherman who catches what he believes to be a mermaid in his net. Polish actress Alicja Bachleda plays the mermaid.

First Showing nabbed a few images from the film – check out a few below.

Ondine is directed by Neil Jordan, the Irish director behind The Crying Game, Michael Collins, Interview with the Vampire and The Brave One. I feel that Jordan’s vision often out-weighs his talent – so here’s hoping that the final plot is as interesting as the premise.

You can head over to First Showing to see a few more pictures.

Source:: First Showing

4. Kim Basinger is in negotiations to join tween heart-throb Zac Efron in The Death and Life of Charlie St. Cloud.

According to Variety:

“Basinger would play the grieving mother of Efron’s character, a caretaker at a cemetery who has weekly meetings with a younger brother whose accidental death he feels was his fault.”

I think that I’ll give this one a pass.

Source: Variety

5. Famed screenwriter David Mamet (The Untouchables) is planning to write and direct a new film version of The Diary of Anne Frank for Disney.

The film will be based on Frank’s diary; Albert Hackett and Frances Goodrich’s stage play and new material written by Mamet.

It might not make a whole lot of money – but I can imagine that this will be an Oscar contender.

Source: Variety

That’s it for now. See you at the movies.

You Might Also Be Interested In:

Mid-Week Movie News Wrap Up – August 5,

Niall Browne — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 15:21:35 +0000

This week:

Maggie Grace takes part in The Experiment with Adrien Brody and Forest Whitaker; get ready to Stare At Goats and George Clooney in November; Leonardo DiCaprio goes down to the woods with Little Red Riding Hood; Liam Neeson is an Unknown White Male, Josh Duhamel ruins Life As We Know it alongside Katherine Heigl; Sony Pictures Classics buy Blood Simple and find out which Silent Hill star has joined Twilight.

1. Lost star Maggie Grace will join Adrien Brody and Forest Whitaker in The Experiment. The plot (according to IMDB) is as follows:

“26 men are chosen to participate in the roles of guards and prisoners in a psychological study that ultimately spirals out of control.”

The Experiment is a remake of Das Experiment directed by Oliver Hirschbiegel (The Invasion).

Source: Bloody Disgusting

2. George Clooney’s forthcoming The Men Who Stare At Goats will premiere at the Venice Film Festival.

The film follows Reporter Bob Wilton (Ewan McGregor) as he investigates an odd experimental military unit lead by Lyn Cassady (Clooney).

The Grant Heslov directed film also stars Kevin Spacey and Jeff Bridges.

The Men Who Stare At Goats opens on November 6, 2009.

Source: The Play List

3. Leonardo DiCaprio’s Appian Way Production Company is developing a new Gothic take on Little Red Riding Hood.

David Leslie Johnson, the screenwriter of Orphan will pen this new interpretation of the infamous Brothers Grimm tale.

DiCaprio is not expected to star. Apparently he doesn’t look good in a red hood – but you never know, they might just need a woodcutter.

Somebody needs to point out to these people that Neil Jordan already did a gothic take on Little Red Riding Hood with A Company of Wolves.

Source: Variety

4. Liam Neeson will star in Unkown White Male for Joel Silver’s Dark Castle production company.

According to Variety:

“Neeson will play a doctor who goes to Berlin for a medical conference and gets into a car accident. When he awakens from a coma, he discovers that his wife doesn’t recognize him — and she’s living with another man who has assumed his identity.”

Director Jaume Collet-Serra will start shooting the film in January once Neeson completes work on The A-Team.

Source: Variety

5. Transformers star Josh Duhamel will join current rom-com queen Katherine Heigl in Life As We Know it.

“(The Greg Berlanti film) follows two unattached adults whose worlds are turned upside down when their mutual best friends die in an accident and name them as care-givers of their orphaned daughter.”

Heigel will produce the film alongside her mother Nancy.

I think that this just went into my must-see list for next year (sarcasm!)

Source: Variety

6. Sony Pictures Classics has signed-on to fund (and distribute) Director Zhang Yimou’s remake of the Coen Brothers’ Blood Simple.

“The film is set in a Chinese noodle shop in a sand dune-specked desert, rather than a bar in an unnamed Texas town.”

The untitled remake is billed as a “comedy thriller.” Just the like the original.

Source: Indie Wire

7. Silent Hill’s Jodelle Ferland has joined the cast of The Twilight Saga: Eclipse.

The young actress will join Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart as “a vampire who has just been turned.”

Ferland has also starred in Terry Gilliam’s Tideland and the forthcoming The Cabin In The Woods.

It doesn’t sound like a big role, but what do I know about Twilight?

Source: Variety

That’s if for now. See you at the movies.

You Might Also Be Interested In:

[Update] Bryce Dallas Howard Replaces Twilight ‘Eclipse’ Actress

Ross Miller — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 17:08:03 +0000

It is being reported that Bryce Dallas Howard (The Village, Terminator Salvation) has joined the cast of The Twilight Saga: Eclipse. Who is she playing? Well, the character of Victoria, replacing Rachelle Lefevre who played the role in the first two Twilight movies.

[Update: Both Summit Entertainment and Rachelle Lefevre have issued opposing statements with regards to the actress being replaced. See bottom of the post for details]

Howard joins the already established Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson and Taylor Lautner (as if you needed reminding) in the third installment of the successful vampire-love franchise. Summit Entertainment is citing scheduling conflicts as the reason for replacing Lefevre, and if you look at her IMDB resume, you can get an idea of what she might stupidly be favoring over the cash-cow that is the Twilight franchise. She currently has one film in definite pre-production for 2010 called Barney’s Version, and she’s rumored for another film called Web Cam.

Summit Entertainment had this to say about the switch in casting:

“We are incredibly happy that Bryce has agreed to come into the franchise… Rachelle brought Victoria to great screen life and Bryce will bring a new dimension to the character. The franchise is lucky to have such a talented actress as Bryce coming in to fill the role.”

I admit I haven’t read the Twilight books, so consider me uninformed as to how big of a role the character of Victoria plays in Eclipse. If the reasoning behind the switch of actresses was due to the fact that the character has an expanded role, then I’d say Summit was looking for a better actress (shock horror!) to do the role justice. But since it’s scheduling conflicts, that may not be the case.

UPDATE: It appears that there is indeed more to the story than simply “scheduling conflicts.” Lefevre is arguing that Summit would not accomodate her shooting on another film (which her commitment to was only for 10 days). Here is part of Lefevre’s statement:

“I was stunned by Summit’s decision to recast the role of Victoria for Eclipse. I was fully committed to the Twilight saga, and to the portrayal of Victoria. I turned down several other film opportunities and, in accordance with my contractual rights, accepted only roles that would involve very short shooting schedules. My commitment to Barney’s Version is only ten days. Summit picked up my option for Eclipse. Although the production schedule for Eclipse is over three months long, Summit said they had a conflict during those ten days and would not accommodate me.”

Summit Entertainment are very much opposing Lefevre with their statement, stating the actress knew full well that Eclipse would be shooting in August and that she should have kept the franchise in mind when committing to another film. Here is part of their statement:

“We at Summit Entertainment are disappointed by Rachelle Lefevre’s recent comments which attempt to make her career choices the fault of the Studio. Her decision to discuss her version of the scheduling challenges publicly has forced the Studio to set the record straight and correct the facts.”

- “Ms. Lefevre’s representatives were advised as early as April that THE TWILIGHT SAGA: ECLIPSE was expected to start shooting in early August.”

- “If Ms. Lefevre was, as she describes “passionate,” about being part of THE TWILIGHT SAGA, we feel that she and her representatives would have included us in her decision to work on another film that would conflict with the shooting schedule of THE TWILIGHT SAGA: ECLIPSE.”

Are you Twilight fans out there pleased with the change of casting? Who do you agree with about the change of actress: Rachelle Lefevre or Summit Entertainment?

The Twilight Saga: Eclipse is set to start shooting in Vancouver in August, and has a release date of June 30th, 2010.

Source: Variety

You Might Also Be Interested In:

Xavier Samuel Cast as Riley in ‘The Twilight Saga: Eclipse’

Rob Frappier — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 04:55:55 +0000

They sure don’t waste any time over at Summit Entertainment. Just one day after Screen Rant reported on speculation that Harry Potter actor Tom Felton might snag the coveted role of Riley in Eclipse, the third film in the massively popular Twilight Saga, The Hollywood Reporter has reported that the part has gone to Xavier Samuel, a relative newcomer out of Australia.

According to IMDB, Samuel has appeared in a handful of films in Australia. Eclipse will mark Samuel’s American debut.

I wonder if young Mr. Samuel realizes just how absolutely insane his life just became. The casting of an unknown actor to fill out the Twilight universe is no big surprise. Before Robert Pattinson landed the prime role of Edward in the first Twilight film, the actor’s best known work was as Cedric Diggory in Harry Potter. Now, the guy is on the cover of every teen magazine in the world. I guess that’s the trade off: deal with bloodsucking vampires on screen and blood sucking media in the real world.

So, what’s the big takeaway from this casting news? Well, if you’re not a fan of Twilight, nothing at all really. You can continue to live your life ignoring the hordes of screaming pre-teen girls (unless you’re going to Comic-Con of course.) If you do like Twilight, however, then Eclipse just added one more pretty young face to its rapidly expanding cast of vampires, werewolves, and other mythical beasts.

What do you think? Better than Channing Tatum and Tom Felton?

The Twilight Saga: Eclipse is slated to begin filming August 17, 2009 and will hit theaters on June 30, 2010.

Source: THR

You Might Also Be Interested In:

Twilight Spinoffs After Twilight Sequels?

Rob Keyes — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 04:20:00 +0000

With New Moon wrapping up production and its rushed release set for this November and with Eclipse beginning production next month, which will open next summer, AND with Breaking Dawn coming quickly after that, what happens next?

The four (finished) books of Stephenie Meyer’s Twilight Saga will have all been translated to the big screen. All will be rushed out within the next two years with nothing left to go on. That is of course, assuming Meyer doesn’t hurry up and finish that fifth book, Midnight Sun, which she stopped working on after an incomplete draft of it leaked online.

However, that book is just the first one all over again from the perspective of Edward as opposed to Bella so it may not be too much new – it’s more of a companion novel. What if fans want more?

Well, the one thing holding Summit Entertainment back is the lack of more books to translate to the silver screen. Or is it?

It now seems that the possibility of spinoffs is very real and come the end of the four current movies, we could be seeing more milkage of the cash cow coming our way in the form of entirely original screenplays based on the world set up by Meyer.

In a brief interview with Radar Online at the 36th Annual Vision Awards in Beverly Hills this weekend, Twilight producers Wyck Godfrey and Greg Mooradian revealed that they are entirely open to the idea of spinoffs after the main four films have been completed:

“Stay tuned. I think if our movies do as well as the first did all possibilities are out there. But right now we need to finish what we have and finish Stephenie’s vision as best we can and then let’s see where the audience demands us to go from there.”

If the movies do well, which is not unexpected, there’s no doubt that they’ll want to cash in on the built-in fanbase’s desire for more. As we start seeing the sequels roll out, there will likely be aspects of the world and/or characters that become stand-out fan favorites and that would be ripe for the making of a spinoff movie(s) to extend the franchise. We’re living in the age of franchise extensions through sequels and remakes so this is not out of the realm of possibility.

The films have a relatively low budget and are being made in mere months. Despite this being very evident in the trailer for New Moon, the movie should make a ton similar (or more) than Twilight did last fall so there’s no reason to stop assuming the sequels perform well.

One idea proposed during the interview is that of a movie centered in on the Volturi vampire guild, which is led by Aro, played by the incredibly talented Michael Sheen. That guy can lead any film in my mind and I can see a movie moving forward on that angle involving the many new characters we’ll be introduced to this Fall in The Twilight Saga: New Moon.

In the novels, the Volturi rule the vampire world and play a major part in New Moon but not so much in Eclipse (could be slightly different in the film). Some other members of the Volturi include Jane, Heidi, Marcus and Caius who are being played by Dakota Fanning, Noot Seear, Christopher Heyerdahl and Jamie Campbell Bower respectively.

Do Twilighters want more films that extend past Stephenie Meyer’s work? If so, in what should they be about?

The Twilight Saga: New Moon opens this November 20, 2009 and The Twilight Saga: Eclipse is scheduled to release early next summer on June 30, 2009. Expect Breaking Dawn not long after.

Sources: Radar Online, The Geek Files

You Might Also Be Interested In:

Twilight Saga: Eclipse to Start Shooting Yesterday

Kofi Outlaw — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 21:04:56 +0000

You might remember a post written by Screen Rant guru Vic Holtreman back in February, which begged the question “Just How Fast CAN They Make a Twilight Movie?” in reference to the news that The Twilight Saga: New Moon was going to be released just one year after Twilight, with the third film in the franchise, The Twilight Saga: Eclipse, aiming for a release date just SEVEN MONTHS after New Moon!

Well, today we have an official answer to Vic’s question: almost faster than you could write that post, Holtreman.

Empire reports that The Twilight Saga: Eclipse is slated to start shooting on August 17, 2009, with the principal shoot scheduled to end on Halloween 2009. That means that the third Twilight film will already be in the can almost a month before the second film (New Moon) is even out in theaters!

Of course, this über-rushed shooting schedule is Summit Entertainment’s way of cashing in on the Twilight franchise while it’s still at the height (if you could call it a height) of its popularity. And Twilight fans, I’m sorry (Screen Rant has struck a tenuous truce with you guys in recent months), but if you think that this is anything but a BLATANT money-motivated exploitation of this series, you are deluding yourselves. For all the crap we’ve gotten in the past for slamming The Twilight Saga, it looks like the studio doesn’t care any more about the (alleged) “quality” of Stephenie Meyer’s books than a male over the age of sixteen does (if the f/x in that New Moon trailer are any indication).

Still, I’m sure some Twilight fans have already convinced themselves that Summit Entertainment is simply catering to their rabid desire for more Edward-Bella-Jacob creature-on-creature action. I won’t try to shatter that illusion any more than I already have. Plus, the news that 30 Days of Night director David Slade (above) will be helming Eclipse has made me slightly curious about the film (just slightly).

The Twilight Saga: New Moon is slated for release on November 20, 2009.

The Twilight Saga: Eclipse is slated for release two days later on June 30, 2010.

Source: Empire

You Might Also Be Interested In:

Robert Pattinson Confirms Twilight’s ‘Breaking Dawn’

Ross Miller — Wed, 20 May 2009 19:03:14 +0000

As if Twilight fans needed another reason to get excited about the hit vampire movie franchise, Robert Pattinson, who is the series heartthrob both off and on-screen, is here to fuel the excitement. At Cannes on Tuesday, Pattinson confirmed to The Hollywood Reporter that a fourth movie will happen, based on the fourth book in Stephanie Meyer’s Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn.

Pattinson said he’s committed to star in the fourth (and presumably last) installment of the series, but he is unsure as to when studio Summit Entertainment are going to start production on Breaking Dawn. The Studio is currently busy with the second and third Twilight movies, as well as Pattinson’s schedule being jam-packed (playing a vampire sure has opened up a lot of doors for the young star).

[SPOILER!!!!]

Breaking Dawn would see Edward Cullen and Bella Swan dealing with their marriage and subsequent pregnancy.

[END SPOILER]

I don’t think it’s a surprise that there are plans to make Breaking Dawn – if New Moon and the third Twilight sequel, Eclipse, are both as successful as the first movie was (which I see them being), you can guarantee Breaking Dawn will get made.

For you Pattinson fans out there who want to know as much as you can about what he’s up to, he is getting ready to finish shooting New Moon on Friday in Italy, which is shooting simultaneously with Eclipse. Once New Moon’s shooting wraps up, he then plans to take the weekend off before he heads for a planned 8-week shoot of a movie called Remember Me. As Twilight fans will know, New Moon sees Edward as, “a voice in Bella’s head,” says Pattinson.

He continued with – “You’re playing a figment in Bella’s imagination so I was trying to do it in a 2-D way. I hope it doesn’t translate onscreen as being boring.” After his two month shoot, Pattinson will then head back to Vancouver to finish shooting Eclipse, hopefully before October.

Since they are shooting New Moon and Eclipse at the same time, it’s clear that the studio has every bit of faith in the franchise. I have said it before, but Twilight could have gone either way at the box office – flop or success – and for some reason it just clicked with general movie going audiences, and was a huge hit. My guess is you’ll hear about Breaking Dawn going into production when Eclipse wraps up (maybe even before that), and it will get released in the fall of 2011.

So are you glad Breaking Dawn is being made into a movie? Did you like the Twilight movie, and are you looking forward to the three sequels?

New Moon is scheduled to be released on November 20th in the US, and November 27th in the UK this year. Eclipse is set for a June 30th, 2010 release.

Source: THR

You Might Also Be Interested In:

David Slade Apologizes For Twilight Remarks

Rob Keyes — Tue, 05 May 2009 19:18:03 +0000

Remember way back when Screen Rant reported on David Slade, the director for The Twilight Saga’s Eclipse, making fun of the first Twilight and telling his followers on Twitter that he’d rather be shot than watch it?

Oh crap, that was just yesterday!

Well, we reported about his twitter account mysteriously vanishing and now without surprise, we have some more damage control in the form of Mr. Slade explaining the joke and re-assuring the fans that he’s dedicated to making a good movie for the fans.

The director, most known for his movies Hard Candy and vampire flick 30 Days of Night, personally sent the following letter to the Twilight fansite, Twilight Lexicon:

“Dear Laura and Lori

I would be grateful if you could distribute this statement to the fans of Twilight:I would like to address some statements that I made regarding Twilight.

When I made these comments, I had neither seen the film nor read the books. I was promoting a comedy short film that I had made for Xbox and every pop culture subject was seen as a possible comedy target. I was being silly and none of the statements were from the heart.

Of course, I have since seen the movie and read the books and was quickly consumed with the rich storytelling and the beautifully honest characters that Stephenie Meyer created.

I would like to reassure everyone involved that I am invested in making the best film that I am humanly capable of, and that I am acutely aware of the power of the original books we serve.

Please be rest assured this statement is absolutely from the heart.

yours sincerely

DAVID SLADE”

How elegant and romantic, David. I was touched by the part when he says it’s from the bottom of his heart… David Slade will fit in just right into the Twilight world.

Like I said yesterday, it’s no big deal. He hadn’t seen the movie and many non-fans were poking fun at the movie last November when the buzz surrounding it was rampant. A director who was critical of it can hopefully improve it and make Eclipse better for the fans and regular moviegoers.

What do you think of this little debacle?

The Twilight Saga’s New Moon is currently filming and is scheduled to open this November 20, 2009. The third installment, Eclipse, is planned to open next summer June 30, 2010.

Source: Twilight Lexicon

You Might Also Be Interested In:

Eclipse Director Hates Twilight?

Rob Keyes — Mon, 04 May 2009 16:53:36 +0000

Warning: The fans of Twilight may not be pleased with this news.

The recently announced director of The Twilight Saga’s Eclipse, David Slade, has had his twitter account completely removed. Why? And what does that have to do with anything?

Well, because one of his tweets from back when Twilight hit theaters last fall made fun of the movie and revealed that Slade wanted to avoid it like the Plague. Uh oh!

The folks over at /Film uncovered this interesting information and have an audio clip up of director David Slade talking on a radio show about what he had said. Just to clarify, he didn’t say he hates the movie, he just joked about how he had no interest in seeing it because he obviously thought it was stupid and he relayed that info to his followers in a poetic and humorous fashion.

“Twilight drunk? No, not even drunk. Twilight on acid? No, not even on acid? Twilight at gun point? Just shoot me.”

Well, Summit Entertainment knows he was joking but I’m sure they’re worried about what the hardcore fans may think. That’s no doubt why it was deleted – They need to hide that evidence after all… Or perhaps he does, because he actually thought Twilight looked awful from the promotional material and online blog negativity, and now that he’s being paid by them to direct one of the sequels, that can’t look too good.

Or, perhaps Slade really doesn’t like the movie and if Summit can turn a hater into a supporter, and a director with gruesome vampire-directing experience into one of their own, maybe they can strengthen their already-devoted fanbase?

This news really isn’t that negative to me. If anything, a director who was critical of the first movie can only make his own version better for it. We’ve seen the cast for New Moon grow to include some quality actors in Michael Sheen and Dakota Fanning, so it seems that Summit are attempting to make the series more serious and not just tween candy. Can Slade help accomplish that?

Money does talk in Hollywood, that’s no surprise. What do you think of the director of Eclipse now?

The Twilight Saga’s New Moon is currently filming and is scheduled to open this November 20, 2009. The third installment, Eclipse, is planned to open next summer June 30, 2010.

Source: /Film

You Might Also Be Interested In:

Twilight Screenwriter Wants Channing Tatum

Rob Keyes — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 18:06:06 +0000

In recent weeks, we’ve seen a ton of updates for the upcoming Twilight Saga movies including the announcement of David Slade directing The Twilight Saga’s Eclipse. With New Moon currently shooting and opening this fall, we can expect to hear plenty more updates on casting decisions as well as plenty of new rumors.

Well, it’s already started.

Melissa Rosenberg, screenwriter in charge of adapting Stephenie Meyer’s Twilight novels to the big screen, recently spoke a little bit about Edward Cullen’s increased role in her adaptation of New Moon and about who she’d like to play the “bad boy” vampire character Riley in Eclipse: Channing Tatum.

“There’s a very big battle at the end with Riley, and I think Channing would do that so well”

“And there are some complexities to that character… He really is tragic. He’s a puppet for Victoria [bad-girl vampire played by Rachelle Lefevre]. So he has to break your heart a little bit at the end when he realizes that she doesn’t want him. Channing could do that beautifully.”

I think someone’s got a crush on Mr. Tatum…

We haven’t even seen either of his two biggest movies this year (Public Enemies and G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra), yet I feel like I’ve seen Channing Tatum in everything recently – with his name popping up as a rumored candidate for every upcoming movie role there is. While his movie Fighting came out recently but wasn’t exactly a box office smash, we can still expect to see his face in the media a lot more later this summer.

I’m still waiting to see him play Captain America, Thor, Gambit and ever other superhero out there (he was rumored for all of these parts). I wonder if he’ll actually get this role in Eclipse.

For those Robert Pattinson fans out there, Rosenberg also spoke about the character of Edward Cullen. Despite his small role in New Moon, she said not to worry; she’s crafting the script to include him a lot more.

“In the book, he’s actually an enormous presence in [Bella’s] mind… he’s so present in her mind throughout the entire center of the book, so we really played off that, and it kept him alive in a slightly different way, but fans will feel it’s true to the book. You can’t have a Twilight without Rob Pattinson.”

So Twilight fans, what do you think of Channing Tatum as Riley?

New Moon opens this November 21, 2009 and The Twilight Saga’s Eclipse is scheduled to hit theaters next summer, June 30 2010.

Source: E! Online

You Might Also Be Interested In:

Official: David Slade To Direct The Twilight Saga’s Eclipse

Rob Keyes — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 01:40:43 +0000

No more rumors of Drew Barrymore or Juan Antonio Bayona directing the third Twilight movie – for the decision of who will helm Eclipse has been made!

Erik Feig, Summit Entertainment’s President of Production officially announced today that David Slade (30 Days of Night, Hard Candy) has been hired to helm The Twilight Saga: Eclipse.

This isn’t very surprising considering we reported this morning that this might be happening alongside the first picture of the Wolf Pack members who will be featured in this year’s The Twilight Saga: New Moon.

Some snippets from the Press release:

Meyer stated, “I am thrilled that David Slade will be directing ECLIPSE. He’s a visionary filmmaker who has so much to offer this franchise. From the beginning, we’ve been blessed with wonderful directorial talent for the Twilight Saga, and I’m so happy that ECLIPSE will be carrying on with that tradition.”

Feig said, “Stephenie Meyer’s ECLIPSE is a muscular, rich, vivid book and we at Summit looked long and hard for a director who could do it justice. We believe we have found that talent in David Slade, a director who has been able to create complex, visually arresting worlds. We cannot wait to see the ECLIPSE he brings to life and brings to the fans eagerly awaiting its arrival in summer of 2010.”

In ECLIPSE, Bella once again finds herself surrounded by danger as Seattle is ravaged by a string of mysterious killings and a malicious vampire continues her quest for revenge. In the midst of it all, she is forced to choose between her love for Edward and her friendship with Jacob — knowing that her decision has the potential to ignite the ageless struggle between vampire and werewolf. With her graduation quickly approaching, Bella is confronted with the most important decision of her life.

So, Twilight fans, what do you think of who’s in charge of bringing the third book of Stephenie Meyer’s successful series to the big screen? He’s certainly got some vampire experience on his resume – some very gruesome vampire experience at that.

New Moon began principal photography last week and is set for release November 20, 2009. Eclipse is currently scheduled as a summer tent-pole for next year, opening June 30, 2010.

You Might Also Be Interested In:

New Moon Wolf Pack Pic; Update on Eclipse Director Search

Kofi Outlaw — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 15:58:41 +0000

As proof that we really do love you Twilight fans here at Screen Rant, we’ve got a double whammy for you today: First, a pic of the (very shirtless) young men who will be running with the recently revealed Wolf Pack in this Fall’s The Twilight Saga: New Moon.

Second, we’ve got an update on who the powers that be over at Summit Entertainment might be eyeing to direct the Twilight series’ next installment, The Twilight Saga: Eclipse.

Now for a look at the boys of the Wolf Pack (ladies, take a deep breath):

The Wolf Pack is ready to get hairy.

Ok, so I can’t even tell you how weird I felt posting that pick. But I digress…

The actors in the pic are Chaske Spencer, Alex Meraz, Kiowa Gordon and Bronson Pelletier. In the novel, the Wolfpack (who protect humanity against the Vampires) were Native Americans living in a small community. What’s cool about New Moon the movie is that they’ve stayed true to the novel, hiring a cast of all Native American actors to play the Wolf Pack. I dig it.

ECLIPSE DIRECTOR UPDATE

Nikki Finke is whispering that director David Slade, who up until now has been known for harder-edge fare like Hard Candy and 30 Days of Night is being eyed to direct the third installment of the series, The Twilight Saga: Eclipse.

Slade has reportedly taken meetings with Twilight Saga author Stephenie Meyer and Summit president of production, Erik Feig. No deal has been signed yet, but a meeting of that stature means Slade is likely in the running.

Hmmm… David Slade doing a Twilight film? Now that could be interesting. Certainly a better choice then frickin Drew Barrymore!

That’s about it for today, Twilight fans. Check in tomorrow when another bit of news will surely drop about The Twilight Saga: New Moon, Eclipse, Breaking Dawn, or whatever else Meyer and Summit do to cash in on please the fans of this series.

Source: Deadline Hollywood & Coming Soon

You Might Also Be Interested In:

Drew Barrymore Is NOT Directing ‘Twilight: Eclipse’

Ross Miller — Sat, 18 Apr 2009 19:26:36 +0000

There has been much speculation over the past few months as to who will direct the second and third installments in the Twilight movie franchise. For the second film, New Moon (which just started shooting the other day), The Golden Compass helmer Chris Weitz was hired to direct, but it hasn’t been quite as clear cut with the third film.

Actress-turned-director/producer Drew Barrymore was reportedly amongst a small group of names being considered to helm Eclipse. There were no confirmations of any of them, including the much speculated Juan Antonio Bayona, but there were many Twilight fans both for and against Barrymore taking the directing reigns for the third movie.

Well, those who were on the “against” side of the fence can sleep a little easier, as Barrymore confirmed herself that she will not be directing Eclipse.

Courtesy of MTV, Barrymore recently denied her directorial involvement in the threequel, having the following to say on the matter:

“Oh, I wish that I was [directing it]! I adore that project and I adore the team that’s making it… And I am very honored to now be a director and going up for other movies and being offered other movies as a director. I’m now an actor/producer/director! How lucky am I! No, we’re not going to do it together.”

As I said in my previous post about this matter, I don’t think it was a good idea, anyway. I mean, nothing against Barrymore (either personally or as an actress), but it’s just her pure inexperience as a director (at this point in time) that deemed her the wrong person to whom the studio should hand the reigns of a sure-to-be-successful movie franchise.

Barrymore has her first feature film coming out later this year – an indie comedy called Whip It!, in which she stars with Juno’s Ellen Page. Maybe that’s what caused Summit Entertainment to not go with her for Eclipse – perhaps they had her on a short list because she “adores” the series and was a well known name beforehand, which would undoubtedly get it more attention (as if it needs it, though). But perhaps ultimately her inexperience lost her the chance.

Now there’s no way of knowing if Barrymore would have done a good job with a Twilight movie (unless they, for some reason, consider her for any future films in the series), but with her inexperience I really don’t think she would have.

Eclipse currently lies without a confirmed director, however The Orphanage director Juan Antonio Bayona is a strong possibility.

So, are you Twilight fans out there glad or sad that Barrymore isn’t directing Eclipse? Who should direct the film instead?

Eclipse is currently scheduled to be released on June 30th, 2010.

Source: MTV Movies Blog

You Might Also Be Interested In:

‘The Orphanage’ Director To Helm Twilight’s ‘Eclipse?’

Ross Miller — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 17:11:48 +0000

It was reported a couple of weeks ago that actress-turned-director Drew Barrymore was amongst a small group of people being looked at to helm The Twilight Saga’s Eclipse (or The Twilight Saga: Eclipse, or just Eclipse, or whatever the hell they’re calling it). A diverse list that reportedly ranges from Barrymore, to New Moon director Chris Weitz’s brother Paul, to Walk the Line director James Mangold.

Well the latest name being thrown around is horror filmmaker and Guillermo Del Toro protege Juan Antonio Bayona, who made the uber-creepy The Orphanage last year. Although a few of the other names have been dismissed by the powers that be, Bayona has surfaced more than once and out of those suggested seems like the most credible candidate to end up getting the gig.

If he were to be the chosen one, that would make three different directors for the three installments in the franchise – a female breakout director, Catherine Hardwicke with Twilight, a mainstream action/fantasy director in Chris Weitz for New Moon, and now possible a genre filmmaker for Eclipse. Although I would have preferred that they would have just stuck with Hardwicke for all three (I really think this franchise requires the female touch – Hardwicke did a decent job with the first one), it’s also pleasing to see them be so bold and hire a different director for each installment.

Bayona’s Spanish language The Orphanage put him firmly on the horror movie map (if you haven’t seen it by the way, I highly recommend it), and his being held up high by Del Toro doesn’t exactly hurt his reputation. For those of you wondering if he’s ever made an English language film before he’s scheduled to make his first one for Universal called Hater, described as “a dystopian thriller.”

I understand (and feel free to correct me if I’m wrong) that the third book has some full-on battles between vampires and werewolves, so in that way Bayona’s experience with that sort of thing could make him a great choice for it.

So would Bayona be a good choice to direct the third film in the Twlight franchise? If not, who should direct instead?

Source: RiskyBusinessBlog

You Might Also Be Interested In: