After a fruitful and rewarding stint here as FEARnet's resident Twilight expert, I'm putting a wrap on Twi-coverage for now. Fear not, Cullenites: you can keep up with me at my new gig as West Coast Editor of Movieline.com!
For up to date Twitterings on Twilight and all things movies, follow me at Twitter.com/jenyamato, where I'll have my eye on all the juicy goings-on with our favorite vamps, and make sure to check in with our friends and cohorts keeping their fingers on the pulse of the Twilight Saga as Breaking Dawn Parts 1 & 2 approach:
What's a Twilight fan to do during the long, agonizing wait until Breaking Dawn Part 1 hits theaters in November 2011?
If you're like us, you're obsessing over the newly announced home video release of The Twilight Saga: Eclipse, which hits shelves December 4, 2010 packed with special features, commentaries, and more on DVD and Blu-ray.
In fact, the list of extra material was so tantalizing that it momentarily distracted from reading the Stephenie Meyer-endorsed The Hunger Games, and we started thinking… what do we really want to see in the Eclipse bonus features?
// More: The Top 5 Extras We REALLY Want From the 'Twilight: Eclipse' Blu-ray
After he made the gory bloodsucker pic 30 Days of Night, nobody expected David Slade's next vampire flick to be, well, a Twilight movie. But as producer Wyck Godfrey told me, Slade's unique background was exactly what made him the right man to helm the third film in the Twilight Saga, the scariest, most violent, and most vampire-infested installment in the franchise.
I caught up with Slade in Beverly Hills just days after he'd attended an informal Masters of Horror confab with the likes of Eli Roth, Guillermo del Toro, and Tobe Hooper, whose Texas Chainsaw Massacre Slade counts among his favorite movies of all time. An avid photographer, Slade snapped a photo of yours truly (he captures everyone who interviews him) before we got to talking about all things Eclipse.
Was directing a PG-13 Twilight film such a major change for Slade, whose previous features earned R-ratings for "disturbing violent behavior" (Hard Candy) and good old-fashioned bloody vampire violence (30 Days of Night)? What skin-ripping scenes in Eclipse were too extreme for the MPAA? How did he get Taylor Lautner to wear a skin-tight gray spandex wolf suit on set? And lastly, what message does he have for hardcore horror hounds reluctant to give his Twilight movie a chance?
Read on for my full chat with Eclipse director David Slade…
// More: Exclusive: David Slade on 'Eclipse' Decapitations and What Scared the MPAA
Among the new characters introduced in The Twilight Saga: Eclipse is Leah Clearwater, the Wolf Pack's one and only female shape shifter. Understandably, Leah's more than a little bitter about her new lycan status; you'd hate life, too, if your werewolf boyfriend dumped you because he "imprinted" on your BFF and you were forced to join his pack (and hear his thoughts) for all of eternity.
That hostility leads to an amusing scene in Eclipse between Leah and Bella Swan (Kristen Stewart), the human heroine of the Twilight Saga who thus far has never been taken to task for stringing along poor werewolf Jacob Black (Taylor Lautner). Leah, as played by 29-year-old actress Julia Jones (Hell Ride, Jonah Hex), is as deliciously resentful as we'd imagined her, tormented by her experience on the losing end of her own love triangle with Sam and Emily and desperate to prove herself as a new member of the pack.
In person, Julia Jones couldn't be farther from Leah Clearwater, although she understands the reasons for Leah's hostility towards the world. I caught up with her last weekend to discuss her Eclipse character, her rapport with her co-stars, and her role in this week's comic book-based supernatural Western, Jonah Hex (unfortunately, I just learned that her scenes from the latter film have been cut). She had high praise for Twilight co-star Taylor Lautner, with whom she'll get to play more in the upcoming Breaking Dawn films -- and almost as much passion for the hours of real life wolf footage she watched to prepare for her Eclipse role. Although she agreed that being a werewolf would have its definite drawbacks -- namely, finding yourself naked in the woods after reverting back to human form -- she looks forward to helping Leah reach her full bad ass potential in future Twilight sequels.
Hit the jump for my conversation with Eclipse actress Julia Jones!
// More: Exclusive: Meet Julia Jones, 'Eclipse's' Lone Lady Werewolf
News flash: The same writer who gave Dexter its shocking season finale is also the one responsible for the swoons you'll hear coming from theaters on June 30, the day that The Twilight Saga: Eclipse opens across the globe. That's right -- serial killers and sparkly vampires both live in the mind of Melissa Rosenberg, who's scripted all three Twilight films to date (and is currently writing the two-part Breaking Dawn films to close out the franchise).
Rosenberg worked closely with novel author Stephenie Meyer to adapt the third book, Eclipse, in which Bella Swan (Kristen Stewart) finds herself torn between Edward (Robert Pattinson) and Jacob (Taylor Lautner) as a vicious army of vampires led by Victoria (Bryce Dallas Howard) comes to kill her. With the threat of Victoria and her protégé, Riley (Xavier Samuel) looming overhead, plus horrific flashbacks to Jasper and Rosalie's origins and a number of head-ripping fight sequences, Eclipse is by far the darkest film in the saga thus far.
I caught up with Rosenberg to discuss her work on Eclipse and the impact that critics, fans, and Stephenie Meyer herself had on the ways the film differs from the book. She also shared her thoughts on where to split Breaking Dawn into two films, how she intends to stay true to the novel's gory details, and -- oh yes -- I made sure to champion the grassroots Twi-hard campaign to see lots and lots of feathers. (Read my previous New Moon chat with Rosenberg here.
// More: Exclusive: Melissa Rosenberg on 'Eclipse,' 'Breaking Dawn,' and Feathers
After playing the rigid vampire Jasper Hale in two Twilight films, Jackson Rathbone (Dread, S. Darko) finally gets to loosen up and rip heads off in Eclipse, the third film in the series. It's a welcome change for Rathbone, who told me over the weekend how much he relished the chance to dive deeper into Jasper's past as a human and his violent life with the vampiress Maria (Catalina Sandino Moreno).
(Jasper's present day scenes had their perks as well. Rathbone gets to spar with his fellow Cullens and make heads roll in the fight against the newborns -- and though he wouldn't disclose the exact terms, Rathbone let slip what he did to make sure his kissing scene with co-star Ashley Greene made it into the script.)
It'll be a busy summer for Rathbone, who also stars in M. Night Shyamalan's The Last Airbender, opening just days after The Twilight Saga: Eclipse hits theaters on June 30. But between promoting those films and reuniting with his cast mates to film Breaking Dawn this fall, the aspiring director hopes to shoot a short film and, one day, make his feature directing debut in the horror genre. In the mean time, he's studying up. Read on to find out which recent gore-fest made Rathbone's flesh crawl with approval.
// More: Exclusive: Jackson Rathbone on 'Eclipse' and His Horror Directing Dream
I like to picture the two-part Breaking Dawn movie as a NC-17 gynecology horror flick packed with pillow-biting sex and bellies ripped open, and guess what? I'm not alone. In fact, Twilight Saga producer Wyck Godfrey is the one who brought up David Cronenberg's Dead Ringers when we met to discuss this month's Eclipse, in which Twilight heroine Bella Swan (Kristen Stewart) finds herself torn between her vampire and werewolf beaus as an army of bloodsuckers threatens to kill everyone she loves. (He also told us he'd love to cast Stewart in his remake of the brutal French-language pic Martyrs. More on that here.)
But Godfrey knows his Twilight audience, so I asked him to set the record straight on rumors that the two-part final installment, Breaking Dawn, could go for an R-rating. Over the course of a highly entertaining discussion, he explained why 30 Days of Night director David Slade was chosen to helm Eclipse, what made Dreamgirls razzle-dazzler Bill Condon right for Breaking Dawn, and how elements of horror filmmaking factor into the vampire romance franchise.
We discussed Bella's newfound confidence in Eclipse, and how her infamous upcoming childbirth scene could possibly go down with a PG-13 rating. He mused on how 3D might be used to film part of Breaking Dawn, which begins shooting this November. He gave a compelling defense of Bella Swan's problematic attractions to both Edward and Jacob, a love triangle that reaches a boiling point in Eclipse but develops new complexity as we move into Breaking Dawn. Most importantly, Twi-hards, Wyck Godfrey promised plenty of feathers.
Dive in for the full interview!
// More: Exclusive: 'Eclipse' Producer Wyck Godfrey on 3D, 'Breaking Dawn,' and More
Sex, Robsten, and vampire battles to the death were just a few of the juicy topics up for discussion at this weekend's press junket for The Twilight Saga: Eclipse, where stars Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson, and Taylor Lautner fielded questions on the third film in the vampire romance series. Lucky for you, I was on the scene to bring you the ten juiciest truths the Big Three shared on the eve of the Twilight franchise's first summer opening. Who discussed sex and marriage? Who described "vicious" on-set fighting? And most shocking of all, who revealed the guiltiest of all guilty pleasures? Hit the jump to find out.
// More: Ten Truths Uncovered at the 'Twilight: Eclipse' Junket
The fifth official Twilight book is out -- but is it essential reading for fans?
That's the big question surrounding Stephenie Meyer's latest Twilight offering, an unexpected new Eclipse novella centered on newborn vampire Bree Tanner. For the fans, the fact that Meyer's added to her four-book Twilight universe should be reason enough to rejoice, since we never dreamed there'd never be another novel after Breaking Dawn (don't hold your breath for Midnight Sun, folks). For completists, the 178-page The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner expands even further upon the certain fate that befalls Bree during her brief appearance in the third Twilight book, Eclipse. But even if you've already read Eclipse and know where her journey ends, there's plenty more to learn about the world of Twilight's vampires through Bree's young, ill-fated, blood-red eyes
After the star-crossed romance of Twilight and the depression that dominated New Moon, will Eclipse finally bring The Twilight Saga into bona fide horror movie territory?
// More: Will 'Eclipse' Make 'The Twilight Saga' A Horror Franchise?
Thanks to MySpace Music, Twi-fans finally got to read the complete artist lineup for the soundtrack to Twilight: Eclipse – and while the requisite army of red-hot indie bands is not entirely surprising (we all knew there'd be at least one Muse song too), it's still a very intriguing collection... and possibly a touch darker too, to match the sequel's more ominous tone. Hit the jump and find out who made the cut!
Sure, it'd never happen as long as tween power rules the Twilight box office -- but what would Breaking Dawn be like in a world without ratings boundaries?
Now's a great time to wax fantastic about the fourth and final Twilight Saga film, what with Bill Condon recently signed on to direct, Melissa Rosenberg scripting, supporting Cullen vamps reportedly holding out for more money, and the prospect of Breaking Dawn being split into two parts still up in the air. Who knows? Maybe if Twi-hards demand to see as much blood and guts as shirtless Edward and Jacob shots, Condon will be emboldened to push for darker stuff… because with all of the horrific elements in Stephenie Meyer's series-ending novel, Breaking Dawn could take a turn for the bad-ass and finish the Saga with a bang.
Without further ado, imagine Breaking Dawn with these more daring, risqué tweaks…
[Spoiler Alert! Tons of Breaking Dawn novel spoilers contained below.]
