Cynical of the Twilight books for their pre-teen target audience and resulting exploitation of young girl idealism, I scoffed last year when my newly found college friends told me they were huge fans of the series. Insisting that I would love the stories if I read them I eventually accepted their challenge and to my embarrassment and surprise I found they were right.
Though the poor writing constantly ticked me off, the hopeless romantic in me was ultimately won over and I read each book within 24 hours. The Romeo and Juliet-esque love story of all consuming love between these two teens pulled me in and never let go. My reaction was similar to the first movie of the series, Twilight.
I was completely unimpressed with the movie itself; from the bad acting, awkward moments and unrealistically intense love between Bella and Edward. Despite its obvious flaws, however, I left the theater positively giddy over Edward and fantasizing at having a boyfriend like that.
Upon viewing the second installment of the series, New Moon, I had a comparable experience. Once the initial excitement from the movie wore off, I realized the movie was pretty bad and I only liked it because it played on my own stereotypically female weakness for love stories. This exploitation pervades the books and the movies and is the sole reason that either have been so successful — the fantastical almost Cinderella like story of an average girl stumbling into wonderfully unreal situations and living “happily ever after” with her “Prince Charming” Edward.
To be blunt though, the whole thing is porn for girls. Bella is utterly ignorable in her basically average appearance and personality, leaving the focus free to be the eye candy of Jacob and Edward and their assumption of the roles as perfect boyfriends. Both are sensitive, romantic, incredibly attractive and most importantly are head over heels in love with Bella. New Moon’s reliance on Jacob’s amazing physique to hold interest is undeniable as the plot certainly leaves something to be desired. Twilight’s ability to hit on and exploit young girl’s emotions in the tender scenes between Edward and Bella is exchanged for more fighting scenes and awkward moments in New Moon. The sensitivity and naivety that Twilight almost captured could have been seriously utilized in New Moon to its advantage.
The film pretty much requires a familiarity with the first film, if not with the entire book series. I can only imagine what the long awkward pauses and Bella’s nonsensical behavior would have been like to endure without some prior insight. Beautiful beach scenes and other cinematographic moments were at times note worthy but overall left something to be desired.
Bella’s complete dependence on Edward’s love, while meant to be romantic, is really just pathetic. Granted at the end Edward is shown to be just as helpless without her, but the whole thing would probably make women’s rights advocates like Elizabeth Cady Stanton roll over in their graves. Jacob is the only thing that seems to help Bella deal with her loss, and that is by playing the macho man by fixing Bella’s bike. Perhaps this could be seen as a metaphor for trying to fix Bella’s broken heart. Subtly in the plot is also an unbending stance against premarital sex and a rebuke of female expression of sexuality. If Bella attempts anything too racy with Edward her life is at stake by rendering him out of control and thus risking a slip in his control over biting her. Bella’s request in the first movie to “kiss me” is met with Edward ending things before they went too far — how realistic…
Thus the movie is successful for all the wrong reasons and it really makes me sad, but I found myself reeled in just like the rest. Such idealistic portrayals of romance belong amongst the fairy tale creatures they include in Twilight; New Moon. Hopefully the next two movies will hit a bit more closely to reality and a little less on stereotypes.
SOURCE: New Twilight film an exploitation of youthful idealism
Showing posts with label Comments on Twilight New Moon. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Comments on Twilight New Moon. Show all posts
Sunday, December 6, 2009
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Twilight Saga: Miley Cyrus comments on Twilight
In an interview with The Morning Mashup, Miley Cyrus disses Robert Pattinson and confesses her infatuation with Zac Efron. After being quizzed about People Magazine's "Sexiest Man Alive," Cyrus conceded that Johnny Depp did deserve to be called sexy, but if she had her way, Efron would top the list.
"...Zac Efron is the hottest person in the world. I really, really like him. And it's weird, I've kind of talked about it before and been like, it's weird because he's my friend."
However, the Disney sweetheart sang a different tune when it came to the subject of the Twilight movies.
"I think it's a cult. I think it's bad. I think it's like, just, people get too into it and like, for me I think it's like, I don't know, it's like when guys look at supermodels and they're like, that's the perfect girl. That's what those kind of movies do to us."
This article is from http://www.dailyfill.com
"...Zac Efron is the hottest person in the world. I really, really like him. And it's weird, I've kind of talked about it before and been like, it's weird because he's my friend."
However, the Disney sweetheart sang a different tune when it came to the subject of the Twilight movies.
"I think it's a cult. I think it's bad. I think it's like, just, people get too into it and like, for me I think it's like, I don't know, it's like when guys look at supermodels and they're like, that's the perfect girl. That's what those kind of movies do to us."
This article is from http://www.dailyfill.com
Twilight Saga: New Moon Director Chris Weitz ignores film critics
THE TWILIGHT SAGA: NEW MOON director CHRIS WEITZ has chosen to ignore what film critics say about his latest movie - because he's more concerned with the opinions of the series' notoriously hard-to-please fans.
Weitz was brought in to replace Catherine Hardwicke for the Twilight sequel after she was sidelined by studio executives, but his take on author Stephenie Meyer's fantasy franchise was still met with mixed reviews.
But, now that he's managed to thrill Meyer's devotees, Weitz is happy - and he insists he doesn't need the opinions of film critics.
He tells Entertainment Weekly magazine, "Nothing surprises me in terms of reviews... If one could imagine their biggest fears, it would be complete rejection of the movie by the fans.
"What I've realised over the last week is I won't necessarily get good reviews for this movie. Having swallowed that, this was made for the fans, and if you don't get it, then you don't get it."
The Twilight sequel made a staggering $140.7 million (£87.9 million) in its opening weekend (20-22Nov09) in America alone to become the third biggest debut in American box office history.
This article is from http://www.contactmusic.com
Weitz was brought in to replace Catherine Hardwicke for the Twilight sequel after she was sidelined by studio executives, but his take on author Stephenie Meyer's fantasy franchise was still met with mixed reviews.
But, now that he's managed to thrill Meyer's devotees, Weitz is happy - and he insists he doesn't need the opinions of film critics.
He tells Entertainment Weekly magazine, "Nothing surprises me in terms of reviews... If one could imagine their biggest fears, it would be complete rejection of the movie by the fans.
"What I've realised over the last week is I won't necessarily get good reviews for this movie. Having swallowed that, this was made for the fans, and if you don't get it, then you don't get it."
The Twilight sequel made a staggering $140.7 million (£87.9 million) in its opening weekend (20-22Nov09) in America alone to become the third biggest debut in American box office history.
This article is from http://www.contactmusic.com
Monday, November 23, 2009
New Moon shattered box-office records selling $70m (NZ$95m) of tickets on its opening day
Have you been bitten? If you're over 20, or happen to own a Y chromosome, the answer is probably not. But if you talked to a teenage girl at the weekend, or stepped into the crowded foyer of a cinema, you'll almost certainly have been touched by the all-conquering vampire phenomenon that is Twilight.
New Moon, the second instalment of this remarkably-successful series, began selling out cinemas on Thursday, and promptly shattered box-office records. In the US, it sold $70m (NZ$95m) of tickets on its opening day, more than any other film in history. By Sunday night, it had clocked-up global earnings of roughly $260m (NZ$355m, an opening-weekend figure only bettered twice.
Millions of "Twi-hards" with their T-shirts proclaiming allegiance to "Team Jacob" or "Team Edward" are duly turning this teenage fantasy into the biggest youth entertainment franchise since Harry Potter, with an overall value estimated to be in the tens of billions. British actor Robert Pattinson, the film's square-jawed male lead, may not be competing for Oscars any time soon; but he is nonetheless suddenly one of the most valuable men in show-business.
"What's refreshing is that it has not just drawn the usual audience of horror fans, but also appealed to a teenage girl sensibility. It has managed to draw much more widespread acknowledgement," said Ali Jaafar, the international editor of Variety in London. "The first in the series was big but this second one has built its success on new fans."
Setting the box-office showing in context, Tim Richards, chief executive of Vue Entertainment cinemas, one of the UK's largest commercial chains, said simply: "These were the largest attended midnight shows we have ever done. We were adding extra shows right up to the last moment to cope with the demand."
Not bad, you might say, given that the books that spawned Twilight, by US author Stephanie Meyer, were mercilessly panned by literary critics, with one British newspaper declaring them: "astonishing, mainly for the ineptitude of prose."
Not bad, either, given the lukewarm critical reception for both films: New Moon garnered just 37 per cent positive reviews on the filmranking website Rotten Tomatoes, which dubbed it "too long" and complained of its "clunky" storyline.
But who is making all the money? The most obvious first answer, of course is Ms Meyer, a devout, somewhat reclusive, 35-year-old Mormon who lives in small-town Arizona and claims the idea for the Twilight novels first came to her in a dream in 2003. Her four-book series, told from the breathless, girly perspective of Bella, has since sold more than 85m copies, and been translated into 37 languages, netting her an annual income that was recently estimated by Forbes magazine at $50m (NZ$68m).
This article is from www.nzherald.co.nz
New Moon, the second instalment of this remarkably-successful series, began selling out cinemas on Thursday, and promptly shattered box-office records. In the US, it sold $70m (NZ$95m) of tickets on its opening day, more than any other film in history. By Sunday night, it had clocked-up global earnings of roughly $260m (NZ$355m, an opening-weekend figure only bettered twice.
Millions of "Twi-hards" with their T-shirts proclaiming allegiance to "Team Jacob" or "Team Edward" are duly turning this teenage fantasy into the biggest youth entertainment franchise since Harry Potter, with an overall value estimated to be in the tens of billions. British actor Robert Pattinson, the film's square-jawed male lead, may not be competing for Oscars any time soon; but he is nonetheless suddenly one of the most valuable men in show-business.
"What's refreshing is that it has not just drawn the usual audience of horror fans, but also appealed to a teenage girl sensibility. It has managed to draw much more widespread acknowledgement," said Ali Jaafar, the international editor of Variety in London. "The first in the series was big but this second one has built its success on new fans."
Setting the box-office showing in context, Tim Richards, chief executive of Vue Entertainment cinemas, one of the UK's largest commercial chains, said simply: "These were the largest attended midnight shows we have ever done. We were adding extra shows right up to the last moment to cope with the demand."
Not bad, you might say, given that the books that spawned Twilight, by US author Stephanie Meyer, were mercilessly panned by literary critics, with one British newspaper declaring them: "astonishing, mainly for the ineptitude of prose."
Not bad, either, given the lukewarm critical reception for both films: New Moon garnered just 37 per cent positive reviews on the filmranking website Rotten Tomatoes, which dubbed it "too long" and complained of its "clunky" storyline.
But who is making all the money? The most obvious first answer, of course is Ms Meyer, a devout, somewhat reclusive, 35-year-old Mormon who lives in small-town Arizona and claims the idea for the Twilight novels first came to her in a dream in 2003. Her four-book series, told from the breathless, girly perspective of Bella, has since sold more than 85m copies, and been translated into 37 languages, netting her an annual income that was recently estimated by Forbes magazine at $50m (NZ$68m).
This article is from www.nzherald.co.nz
Sunday, November 22, 2009
"Vampires are metaphors for sexuality, but one of the reasons they're so popular in the Twilight universe is that they're safe," says Melissa Rosenberg
Edward, the undead hero of the Twilight movies and books, broods and simmers like a James Dean starter kit. Jacob, his werewolf foil, sports six-pack abs and looks as if he's been bench-pressing pickups. But they might as well be hanging out in a nunnery for all the action they get. Their chaste love interest, Bella, can only pine.
Then there's Sookie Stackhouse, the spitfire waitress at the heart of HBO's cult series True Blood (based on novels by Charlaine Harris). As Bella chills in the Pacific Northwest, Sookie gets hot and heavy with her vampire beau Bill in steamy Louisiana. No repression here: The deliciously campy True Blood, which enters its third season next year, just says yes. (It also indulges in every last one of HBO's relaxed content allowances. As the ads say, it's not TV.)
Sex was at the root of vampire mythology even before 19th-century novelist Bram Stoker sent unwitting Jonathan Harker off to Eastern Europe to close a big real-estate deal with that mysterious Dracula fella, only to find the Count was after his woman.
But desire can be handled in different ways.
And as Twilight creator Stephenie Meyer has discovered, along with the Twilight film team, vampire chastity means big business with teenage girls. The Twilight books have sold more than 70 million copies. The first movie, released last year, made $384 million worldwide. And the second one, New Moon, took in $72.7 million on Friday, its first day, to break the single-day domestic box office record.
"Vampires are metaphors for sexuality, but one of the reasons they're so popular in the Twilight universe is that they're safe," says Melissa Rosenberg, the screenwriter for the first two Twilight movies. "They're safe but tantalizing in their sexuality. Edward protects Bella from her own raging hormones."
Yes, one of the hunky stars (Robert Pattinson) plays a vampire, and the other (Taylor Lautner) is a werewolf. But sex appeal knows no such species boundaries in the Twilight world. And the Twilight world, not coincidentally, knows no sex.
Ah, repressed desire. Ah, unattainable monsters of my dreams.
Bella has to stifle her urges because she's a good girl. In Twilight , a reflection of Meyer's Mormon faith, sexual impurity is a no-no. The hot boys are vampires and werewolves; you don't want to get them too excited or who knows what might happen. Best not to find out. Even kissing is a dodgy proposition.
Past vampires might scoff at the Twilight gang's restraint. Vampires, after all, are known for their libido; when they drink blood they're not just quenching their thirst. Witness Dracula's three comely brides in the classic 1931 Bela Lugosi movie.
"That sexual connection has been there from early on in vampire stories," says Sean Griffin, an associate professor in Southern Methodist University's cinema-television department. "Our fascination with vampires has always been tied to a fascination and repulsion over sex."
How that fascination plays out depends on the vampire story. It can be as subtle as the admiration of a luscious neck in Werner Herzog's Nosferatu. It can be comically lurid: Recall the "Oops, I spilled red wine on my white shirt" scene that precedes Catherine Deneuve and Susan Sarandon's hook-up in The Hunger. It can be the point of the whole movie: The European erotic vampire film (West Germany's Vampyros Lesbos, the Dutch Daughters of Darkness) is a subgenre unto itself.
Women looking for a good time in True Blood frequent a vampire bar. (The subsequent encounters don't always end well.) Guys looking for a boost in the bedroom can score a vial of illegal vampire blood, or V, which makes Viagra seem like Kool-Aid. One of the show's non-vampires, Sookie's hot-to-trot brother Jason, drinks too much V and suffers consequences that should ring familiar to anyone who has seen a Cialis commercial. There's also the legal version, sold over the counter and at bars, which gives the show its title.
At the opposite end of the spectrum is Twilight's "No sex please, we're vampires" stance. Sure, other bloodsuckers want to sink their teeth into Bella. But they're bad vampires. Edward is a good boy. He even spends most of New Moon in a far-away world that plays like a series of outtakes from The Da Vinci Code. That way, he can't even touch his beloved.
"It is chaste," says Rosenberg. "But there's always a smoldering sexuality under the surface. To me, anticipating the act is more tantalizing than actually seeing it, and more erotic."
Maybe Twilight and True Blood say as much about us as they do about vampires. America's sexual attitudes are conflicted to say the least. On the one hand, we cling to puritan notions of virtue. Meanwhile, the commercial culture of beer ads, sitcoms and Viagra sales pushes libertinism to extremes.
The middle can be a lonely place. Even for a vampire.
The sexual attitudes of Twilight and True Blood extend to other differences between the franchises. For instance, both franchises deal with notions of assimilation, or what it's like for vampires to live in a human world. "True Blood creates a more complicated view of what assimilation means," says Griffin. "For Twilight it means white family, white clothes, white home, playing baseball. But True Blood is trying to make the metaphor to actual social situations very explicit."
The vampire population of True Blood has "come out of the coffin," as the show puts it. Characters are white, African-American, Latino, straight, gay. Bill's vampire friends ask where he's been keeping himself; he explains that he's been "mainstreaming." Vampire rights advocates debate anti-vampire missionaries on talk shows. The show's opening credits show a sign that reads "God hates fangs," a reference to real-life anti-gay propaganda. Assimilation and identity are explored as political issues.
Tensions and blood run thick on the show – as thick as the repression in Twilight and its universe of idealized purity. As Twilight plays it safe, True Blood keeps engaging the outside world – a world where sex isn't a four-letter word.
This article is from www.dallasnews.com
Then there's Sookie Stackhouse, the spitfire waitress at the heart of HBO's cult series True Blood (based on novels by Charlaine Harris). As Bella chills in the Pacific Northwest, Sookie gets hot and heavy with her vampire beau Bill in steamy Louisiana. No repression here: The deliciously campy True Blood, which enters its third season next year, just says yes. (It also indulges in every last one of HBO's relaxed content allowances. As the ads say, it's not TV.)
Sex was at the root of vampire mythology even before 19th-century novelist Bram Stoker sent unwitting Jonathan Harker off to Eastern Europe to close a big real-estate deal with that mysterious Dracula fella, only to find the Count was after his woman.
But desire can be handled in different ways.
And as Twilight creator Stephenie Meyer has discovered, along with the Twilight film team, vampire chastity means big business with teenage girls. The Twilight books have sold more than 70 million copies. The first movie, released last year, made $384 million worldwide. And the second one, New Moon, took in $72.7 million on Friday, its first day, to break the single-day domestic box office record.
"Vampires are metaphors for sexuality, but one of the reasons they're so popular in the Twilight universe is that they're safe," says Melissa Rosenberg, the screenwriter for the first two Twilight movies. "They're safe but tantalizing in their sexuality. Edward protects Bella from her own raging hormones."
Yes, one of the hunky stars (Robert Pattinson) plays a vampire, and the other (Taylor Lautner) is a werewolf. But sex appeal knows no such species boundaries in the Twilight world. And the Twilight world, not coincidentally, knows no sex.
Ah, repressed desire. Ah, unattainable monsters of my dreams.
Bella has to stifle her urges because she's a good girl. In Twilight , a reflection of Meyer's Mormon faith, sexual impurity is a no-no. The hot boys are vampires and werewolves; you don't want to get them too excited or who knows what might happen. Best not to find out. Even kissing is a dodgy proposition.
Past vampires might scoff at the Twilight gang's restraint. Vampires, after all, are known for their libido; when they drink blood they're not just quenching their thirst. Witness Dracula's three comely brides in the classic 1931 Bela Lugosi movie.
"That sexual connection has been there from early on in vampire stories," says Sean Griffin, an associate professor in Southern Methodist University's cinema-television department. "Our fascination with vampires has always been tied to a fascination and repulsion over sex."
How that fascination plays out depends on the vampire story. It can be as subtle as the admiration of a luscious neck in Werner Herzog's Nosferatu. It can be comically lurid: Recall the "Oops, I spilled red wine on my white shirt" scene that precedes Catherine Deneuve and Susan Sarandon's hook-up in The Hunger. It can be the point of the whole movie: The European erotic vampire film (West Germany's Vampyros Lesbos, the Dutch Daughters of Darkness) is a subgenre unto itself.
Women looking for a good time in True Blood frequent a vampire bar. (The subsequent encounters don't always end well.) Guys looking for a boost in the bedroom can score a vial of illegal vampire blood, or V, which makes Viagra seem like Kool-Aid. One of the show's non-vampires, Sookie's hot-to-trot brother Jason, drinks too much V and suffers consequences that should ring familiar to anyone who has seen a Cialis commercial. There's also the legal version, sold over the counter and at bars, which gives the show its title.
At the opposite end of the spectrum is Twilight's "No sex please, we're vampires" stance. Sure, other bloodsuckers want to sink their teeth into Bella. But they're bad vampires. Edward is a good boy. He even spends most of New Moon in a far-away world that plays like a series of outtakes from The Da Vinci Code. That way, he can't even touch his beloved.
"It is chaste," says Rosenberg. "But there's always a smoldering sexuality under the surface. To me, anticipating the act is more tantalizing than actually seeing it, and more erotic."
Maybe Twilight and True Blood say as much about us as they do about vampires. America's sexual attitudes are conflicted to say the least. On the one hand, we cling to puritan notions of virtue. Meanwhile, the commercial culture of beer ads, sitcoms and Viagra sales pushes libertinism to extremes.
The middle can be a lonely place. Even for a vampire.
The sexual attitudes of Twilight and True Blood extend to other differences between the franchises. For instance, both franchises deal with notions of assimilation, or what it's like for vampires to live in a human world. "True Blood creates a more complicated view of what assimilation means," says Griffin. "For Twilight it means white family, white clothes, white home, playing baseball. But True Blood is trying to make the metaphor to actual social situations very explicit."
The vampire population of True Blood has "come out of the coffin," as the show puts it. Characters are white, African-American, Latino, straight, gay. Bill's vampire friends ask where he's been keeping himself; he explains that he's been "mainstreaming." Vampire rights advocates debate anti-vampire missionaries on talk shows. The show's opening credits show a sign that reads "God hates fangs," a reference to real-life anti-gay propaganda. Assimilation and identity are explored as political issues.
Tensions and blood run thick on the show – as thick as the repression in Twilight and its universe of idealized purity. As Twilight plays it safe, True Blood keeps engaging the outside world – a world where sex isn't a four-letter word.
This article is from www.dallasnews.com
Twilight Saga: NewMoon beats the previous $14,331,000 record set by Harry Potter And The Half Blood Prince
The Twilight Saga: New Moon has blitzed the Australian box office, taking a record $16,010,000 on its opening weekend.
The film easily beat the previous $14,331,000 record set by Harry Potter And The Half Blood Prince.
"What a phenomenal result," said Robert Slaviero, chief executive of Hoyts Distribution.
"This is way beyond our expectations and confirms that the Twilight franchise has well and truly arrived."
The teenage vampire love story, which stars Robert Pattinson, Kristen Stewart and Taylor Lautner, opened on November 19 on 530 screens across Australia.
It became the third-highest opening day Australian release with just over $5 million in ticket sales, beaten only by the Lord Of The Rings part two and three.
The third instalment in the Twilight franchise, Eclipse, will be released in July 2010.
The films are based on a series of four novels by Stephenie Meyer.
- ABC/AAP
This article is from www.abc.net.au
The film easily beat the previous $14,331,000 record set by Harry Potter And The Half Blood Prince.
"What a phenomenal result," said Robert Slaviero, chief executive of Hoyts Distribution.
"This is way beyond our expectations and confirms that the Twilight franchise has well and truly arrived."
The teenage vampire love story, which stars Robert Pattinson, Kristen Stewart and Taylor Lautner, opened on November 19 on 530 screens across Australia.
It became the third-highest opening day Australian release with just over $5 million in ticket sales, beaten only by the Lord Of The Rings part two and three.
The third instalment in the Twilight franchise, Eclipse, will be released in July 2010.
The films are based on a series of four novels by Stephenie Meyer.
- ABC/AAP
This article is from www.abc.net.au
Saturday, November 21, 2009
Twilight Saga: Ashley Greene in Naperville
"Twilight" and "New Moon" star Ashley Greene received what is now the standard greeting from fans when she appeared Saturday at a Naperville movie theater.
"Wooooooooooooohh!!!!!"
After the opening scream, Greene sat down and signed books, pictures, DVDs and other items for the "Twilight" faithful, who waited in a line that snaked outside the door of the Hollywood Palms Cinema.
"Oh my god, I'm shaking!" said Romeoville resident Margaret Osborne after getting Greene's autograph. "I told her what a great job she did in these movies."
Greene plays Alice Cullen in the films based on the wildly popular "Twilight" saga, a series of four novels by author Stephenie Meyer that chronicle the romance between sweet everyteen Bella and handsome, mysterious Edward Cullen, who is part of a family of vampires.
"The Twilight Saga: New Moon," the movie adaptation of the second novel in the series, opened this weekend to astounding business, setting a new single-day domestic box office record by taking in $72.7 million in its first day.
Osborne, one of a group of friends who made the trip to the Hollywood Palms to meet Greene, said the character of Alice Cullen is one of her favorites in the "Twilight" universe. Alice, a vampire, is the adoptive sister of Edward.
"I really do feel like (Alice) could totally be my best friend," Osborne said.
Plainfield resident Annissa Reyes was left giggling and practically speechless by her quick meeting with Greene.
"I love her character because she's so different," Reyes said.
Naperville resident Karen Declan saw "New Moon" at its midnight opening and planned to see it again after getting her copy of the novel signed by Greene. As she waited near the end of the line Saturday, she talked about what draws her to "Twilight."
"It's such a romantic story," she said. "And the characters are so vivid. I can see parts of myself in Bella. I can also see parts of myself in Edward. It's so dramatic."
The line of fans included the usual contingent of tween and teen girls, but it also had plenty of moms and, yes, even men.
Osborne and her friends Christy Zeigler, Julie Massaro and Andrea Anderson said they are moms who have become even bigger fans of the "Twilight" saga than their children.
"I don't think the kids love it the way we do," Osborne said.
Greene is scheduled to do another signing at Hollywood Palms from noon to 6 p.m. today. Her co-star, Kellan Lutz, who plays Emmett Cullen, is scheduled to appear at the Hollywood Blvd. theater in Woodridge from noon to 6 p.m. today.
This article is from www.dailyherald.com
"Wooooooooooooohh!!!!!"
After the opening scream, Greene sat down and signed books, pictures, DVDs and other items for the "Twilight" faithful, who waited in a line that snaked outside the door of the Hollywood Palms Cinema.
"Oh my god, I'm shaking!" said Romeoville resident Margaret Osborne after getting Greene's autograph. "I told her what a great job she did in these movies."
Greene plays Alice Cullen in the films based on the wildly popular "Twilight" saga, a series of four novels by author Stephenie Meyer that chronicle the romance between sweet everyteen Bella and handsome, mysterious Edward Cullen, who is part of a family of vampires.
"The Twilight Saga: New Moon," the movie adaptation of the second novel in the series, opened this weekend to astounding business, setting a new single-day domestic box office record by taking in $72.7 million in its first day.
Osborne, one of a group of friends who made the trip to the Hollywood Palms to meet Greene, said the character of Alice Cullen is one of her favorites in the "Twilight" universe. Alice, a vampire, is the adoptive sister of Edward.
"I really do feel like (Alice) could totally be my best friend," Osborne said.
Plainfield resident Annissa Reyes was left giggling and practically speechless by her quick meeting with Greene.
"I love her character because she's so different," Reyes said.
Naperville resident Karen Declan saw "New Moon" at its midnight opening and planned to see it again after getting her copy of the novel signed by Greene. As she waited near the end of the line Saturday, she talked about what draws her to "Twilight."
"It's such a romantic story," she said. "And the characters are so vivid. I can see parts of myself in Bella. I can also see parts of myself in Edward. It's so dramatic."
The line of fans included the usual contingent of tween and teen girls, but it also had plenty of moms and, yes, even men.
Osborne and her friends Christy Zeigler, Julie Massaro and Andrea Anderson said they are moms who have become even bigger fans of the "Twilight" saga than their children.
"I don't think the kids love it the way we do," Osborne said.
Greene is scheduled to do another signing at Hollywood Palms from noon to 6 p.m. today. Her co-star, Kellan Lutz, who plays Emmett Cullen, is scheduled to appear at the Hollywood Blvd. theater in Woodridge from noon to 6 p.m. today.
This article is from www.dailyherald.com
Twilight Saga: The Roman Catholic Church calls Twilight series a "moral vacuum with a deviant message"
The Roman Catholic Church has expressed concerns over the growing popularity of the Twilight series, as Vatican officials have called the vampire franchise a "moral vacuum with a deviant message".
The worldwide hype of the series has drawn criticism from the Vatican, with officials urging parents to be more vigilant about the type of films their children are watching, reports imdb.com.
"The theme of vampires in Twilight combines a mixture of excesses that as ever is aimed at young people and gives a heavy esoteric element. It is once again that age-old trick or ideal formula of using extremes to make an impact at the box office. This film is nothing more than a moral vacuum with a deviant message and as such should be of concern," said Monsignor Franco Perazzolo of the Pontifical Council of Culture.
The second film in the vampire series, The Twilight Saga: New Moon, hit cinemas worldwide on Friday.
Vatican officials previously criticised the Harry Potter film franchise for its themes of magic and wizardry, as well as Dan Brown's The Da Vinci Code and Angels and Demons for their depiction of the Catholic Church.
This article is from www.hindustantimes.com
The worldwide hype of the series has drawn criticism from the Vatican, with officials urging parents to be more vigilant about the type of films their children are watching, reports imdb.com.
"The theme of vampires in Twilight combines a mixture of excesses that as ever is aimed at young people and gives a heavy esoteric element. It is once again that age-old trick or ideal formula of using extremes to make an impact at the box office. This film is nothing more than a moral vacuum with a deviant message and as such should be of concern," said Monsignor Franco Perazzolo of the Pontifical Council of Culture.
The second film in the vampire series, The Twilight Saga: New Moon, hit cinemas worldwide on Friday.
Vatican officials previously criticised the Harry Potter film franchise for its themes of magic and wizardry, as well as Dan Brown's The Da Vinci Code and Angels and Demons for their depiction of the Catholic Church.
This article is from www.hindustantimes.com
Twilight Saga: Moms love New Moon too
Early Friday morning, I dropped a carload of kids at school and pretended I was going to work as usual. But I drove madly back to Tempe Marketplace, where I met up with a group of 40-something friends outside Harkins Theatres.
We had a date with a vampire.
We were an hour and a half early for the first daytime showing of "New Moon," the second movie in the "Twilight" saga about teenage Bella Swan and her love for vampire dreamboat Edward Cullen, but the theater already was packed with women our age. The air was thick with pheromones. (Is it hot in here - or is it just me?)
OK, technically, we're a little old for "Twilight," a series of four books and now two movies geared toward teenage girls. But moms got sucked in, wanting to know what their daughters were devouring so voraciously. Next thing you know we brought it to book club and were wearing T-shirts emblazoned with "Team Edward" and necklaces that say "Bite me."
We remember what it was like to be 17 and madly in love for the first time. "Twilight" lets us relive it. It's the kind of story a girl can sink her teeth into. (And, as grown-ups, we can go to the movies on a school day and edge out the teenagers for the best seats.)
"I'm so excited!" coos Stacy Nelson of Tempe, an otherwise normal, 40-year-old mother of two.
She started reading the books last summer after hearing her teenage niece and sister-in-law go on about them, and saw "Twilight" at the top of the New York Times best-seller list for weeks. She got the first book, "Twilight," at the library, read it in a day and half and then went right out and bought the next two, "New Moon" and "Eclipse."
"I was addicted," Stacy says. She told her husband to take the kids out for dinner without her and read late into the night. She says, "For me, it was just a nice reality escape. Sometimes life is just so serious and so busy."
We've got jobs and kids, and we're happy with the women that we've grown to be. But "Twilight" lets us travel back to that time when all that mattered was whether our lab partner was cute and if someone (please) would ask us to the prom. Yes, we know it's corny, but it's also so much fun.
Jennifer Howell, 32, of Queen Creek, understands us. She and her friend, Esperanza Lumm, 33, of Phoenix, are obsessed with "Twilight." They met a year and a half ago at Arizona TwilightMOMS, a book club of women dedicated to the series.
"All of us remember first love and how it's all-consuming," says Jennifer, a mother of two who has been married to her high-school sweetheart for 12 years. (Her husband gave her "New Moon" pajamas for her recent birthday.)
She and Esperanza are "Twi-hards," among the most hard-core fans, following the author and cast on Twitter and going to cast appearances, conventions and book-release parties. Seems there is safety, if not sanity, in numbers.
"We talk about them like they're our best friends. That's how obsessive we are," Jennifer says. She and Esperanza saw the movie at its midnight release.
Esperanza likes the romance and that the books are written by local author Stephenie Meyer, a Cave Creek mother of three.
After reading "Twilight," Jennifer and Esperanza began reading other young-adult fiction and now write reviews and host author chats on their Web site, L8bloom eronline.blogspot.com.
In the new movie, Edward leaves Bella, thinking she'll be safer if he moves away.
Bella, near zombielike from the abandonment, spends time with her very cute friend, Jacob Black, who turns out to be a man-wolf. In the end, Bella must save Edward from doing himself in after he mistakenly thinks she's dead. (Shakespeare, what are you doing here?)
Edward (played by actor Robert Pattinson) is insanely dreamy. Don't grimace; this is not a case of robbing the cradle. Edward is 109 years old despite his youthful appearance. So, technically, he's more than twice my age.
(However, I gasped along with the rest of the audience when Black, played by 17-year-old actor Taylor Lautner, took off his shirt. I felt so dirty.)
My friend Shannon (last name withheld because she should've been at work) is into vampire Jasper Cullen (played by Jackson Rathbone), who can regulate the emotions of those around him, bringing peace when things get tense. Shannon, a Maricopa mom of three, settles into her seat and says, "I told my husband I'm going to see my movie husband. He knows not to bother me about my Jasper obsession."
Her real husband, Merle, decided last minute to join us and showed up just before the movie started.
"I at least have to be here to revive her," he says.
Shannon read the first "Twilight" book in one night. Merle bought her the next two books the next day. When the fourth book, "Breaking Dawn," was released in 2008, Shannon lined up early at Costco, even though she had preordered it on amazon.com. She couldn't wait.
At Jasper's first appearance on the screen, Shannon let out a breathy "Whoo!" Merle just chuckled.
When the theater lights go up and our heart rates go back to normal, we glance at our cellphones for a time (and reality) check. Edward will have to go on without us. Heavy sigh. The kids are calling to be picked up from school.
This article is from www.azcentral.com
We had a date with a vampire.
We were an hour and a half early for the first daytime showing of "New Moon," the second movie in the "Twilight" saga about teenage Bella Swan and her love for vampire dreamboat Edward Cullen, but the theater already was packed with women our age. The air was thick with pheromones. (Is it hot in here - or is it just me?)
OK, technically, we're a little old for "Twilight," a series of four books and now two movies geared toward teenage girls. But moms got sucked in, wanting to know what their daughters were devouring so voraciously. Next thing you know we brought it to book club and were wearing T-shirts emblazoned with "Team Edward" and necklaces that say "Bite me."
We remember what it was like to be 17 and madly in love for the first time. "Twilight" lets us relive it. It's the kind of story a girl can sink her teeth into. (And, as grown-ups, we can go to the movies on a school day and edge out the teenagers for the best seats.)
"I'm so excited!" coos Stacy Nelson of Tempe, an otherwise normal, 40-year-old mother of two.
She started reading the books last summer after hearing her teenage niece and sister-in-law go on about them, and saw "Twilight" at the top of the New York Times best-seller list for weeks. She got the first book, "Twilight," at the library, read it in a day and half and then went right out and bought the next two, "New Moon" and "Eclipse."
"I was addicted," Stacy says. She told her husband to take the kids out for dinner without her and read late into the night. She says, "For me, it was just a nice reality escape. Sometimes life is just so serious and so busy."
We've got jobs and kids, and we're happy with the women that we've grown to be. But "Twilight" lets us travel back to that time when all that mattered was whether our lab partner was cute and if someone (please) would ask us to the prom. Yes, we know it's corny, but it's also so much fun.
Jennifer Howell, 32, of Queen Creek, understands us. She and her friend, Esperanza Lumm, 33, of Phoenix, are obsessed with "Twilight." They met a year and a half ago at Arizona TwilightMOMS, a book club of women dedicated to the series.
"All of us remember first love and how it's all-consuming," says Jennifer, a mother of two who has been married to her high-school sweetheart for 12 years. (Her husband gave her "New Moon" pajamas for her recent birthday.)
She and Esperanza are "Twi-hards," among the most hard-core fans, following the author and cast on Twitter and going to cast appearances, conventions and book-release parties. Seems there is safety, if not sanity, in numbers.
"We talk about them like they're our best friends. That's how obsessive we are," Jennifer says. She and Esperanza saw the movie at its midnight release.
Esperanza likes the romance and that the books are written by local author Stephenie Meyer, a Cave Creek mother of three.
After reading "Twilight," Jennifer and Esperanza began reading other young-adult fiction and now write reviews and host author chats on their Web site, L8bloom eronline.blogspot.com.
In the new movie, Edward leaves Bella, thinking she'll be safer if he moves away.
Bella, near zombielike from the abandonment, spends time with her very cute friend, Jacob Black, who turns out to be a man-wolf. In the end, Bella must save Edward from doing himself in after he mistakenly thinks she's dead. (Shakespeare, what are you doing here?)
Edward (played by actor Robert Pattinson) is insanely dreamy. Don't grimace; this is not a case of robbing the cradle. Edward is 109 years old despite his youthful appearance. So, technically, he's more than twice my age.
(However, I gasped along with the rest of the audience when Black, played by 17-year-old actor Taylor Lautner, took off his shirt. I felt so dirty.)
My friend Shannon (last name withheld because she should've been at work) is into vampire Jasper Cullen (played by Jackson Rathbone), who can regulate the emotions of those around him, bringing peace when things get tense. Shannon, a Maricopa mom of three, settles into her seat and says, "I told my husband I'm going to see my movie husband. He knows not to bother me about my Jasper obsession."
Her real husband, Merle, decided last minute to join us and showed up just before the movie started.
"I at least have to be here to revive her," he says.
Shannon read the first "Twilight" book in one night. Merle bought her the next two books the next day. When the fourth book, "Breaking Dawn," was released in 2008, Shannon lined up early at Costco, even though she had preordered it on amazon.com. She couldn't wait.
At Jasper's first appearance on the screen, Shannon let out a breathy "Whoo!" Merle just chuckled.
When the theater lights go up and our heart rates go back to normal, we glance at our cellphones for a time (and reality) check. Edward will have to go on without us. Heavy sigh. The kids are calling to be picked up from school.
This article is from www.azcentral.com
Thursday, November 19, 2009
Twilight Saga: "...[New Moon] this angst-ridden mush is best-suited to 13-year-old girls"
The new Twilight film comes with a new director (The Golden Compass's Chris Weitz), and an increased budget.
Gone is the indie feel of director Catherine Hardwicke's original, in favour of a more cinematic, action-packed approach: a wise move, in fact, since it effectively enlivens and condenses the excruciatingly protracted dialogue of Stephenie Meyer's second book.
This time, our vampire Romeo, Edward (Robert Pattinson, left with not much to do but pose – no bad thing), has broken up with his mortal Juliet, Bella (Kristen Stewart), because he thinks it'll be sensible.
Of course it's not; she gets depressed and seeks adrenalin rushes by jumping off cliffs and tearing around on motorbikes.
Waiting in the wings is Jacob Black (newly buff Taylor Lautner, proudly whipping off his T-shirt every two seconds), who cheers Bella up and wants to be more than a pal until... doh! He finds out he's a werewolf.
Which is OK, because she's used to weirdos and doesn't love him like that.
It's sweet enough, with Stewart and Pattinson's chemistry still a potent force on screen, but this angst-ridden mush is best-suited to 13-year-old girls or those seeking hot flushes from all the bare-chested eye-candy.
And don't get too excited about the posters advertising appearances by Michael Sheen and Dakota Fanning: both are woefully underused.
This article is from www.metro.co.uk
Gone is the indie feel of director Catherine Hardwicke's original, in favour of a more cinematic, action-packed approach: a wise move, in fact, since it effectively enlivens and condenses the excruciatingly protracted dialogue of Stephenie Meyer's second book.
This time, our vampire Romeo, Edward (Robert Pattinson, left with not much to do but pose – no bad thing), has broken up with his mortal Juliet, Bella (Kristen Stewart), because he thinks it'll be sensible.
Of course it's not; she gets depressed and seeks adrenalin rushes by jumping off cliffs and tearing around on motorbikes.
Waiting in the wings is Jacob Black (newly buff Taylor Lautner, proudly whipping off his T-shirt every two seconds), who cheers Bella up and wants to be more than a pal until... doh! He finds out he's a werewolf.
Which is OK, because she's used to weirdos and doesn't love him like that.
It's sweet enough, with Stewart and Pattinson's chemistry still a potent force on screen, but this angst-ridden mush is best-suited to 13-year-old girls or those seeking hot flushes from all the bare-chested eye-candy.
And don't get too excited about the posters advertising appearances by Michael Sheen and Dakota Fanning: both are woefully underused.
This article is from www.metro.co.uk
Who would enjoy a series of books about a whiny teenage girl (Bella Swan) desperately in love with a vampire minus fangs (Edward Cullen)?
Stephanie Meyer awoke from sizzling fantastical dream of a girl accompanied by a sparkly vampire in a beautiful meadow. Her dream was so vivid that in the midst of a hectic life of motherhood, she wrote a book. And then another.And then a third and a fourth. The result is the Twilight Series.
Who would enjoy a series of books about a whiny teenage girl (Bella Swan) desperately in love with a vampire minus fangs (Edward Cullen)? Apparently every other whiny teenage girl and their mother. It became a cultural phenomenon overnight and has been turned into two full-length feature films that have surprised the box office.
The second book, “New Moon,” starts out where Twilight left off. Bella still loves Edward with all of her soul and believes they could not survive apart. She gets a very rude awakening when after his brother (still adjusting to the “vegetarian,” or no human blood, diet of the Cullen clan) attacks her at her birthday party and Edward decides for the both of them that Bella would live a lot longer if he wasn’t around.
They had me at “Goodbye Bella.” I hate to admit it, but Meyer had me crying like a baby and feeling that heartbreaking angst right alongside Bella. It’s amazing when a book can draw you in and I found myself never wanting to put it down during those first few chapters.
People ask me what makes Meyer a good writer, and when I read “New Moon” I realized it’s that she refuses to play it safe. She didn’t just make Bella pine for her lost love, but she created an entirely new character for the book. Bella went coo-coo and became a totally different person. She keeps Bella in her head, thinking about Edward, having visions of him, rarely ever letting anything else intrude in her mind, even hunger.
“I knew this was the stupidest, most reckless thing I had done yet. The thought made me smile. The pain was already easing, as if my body knew that Edward’s voice was just seconds away.” Bella convinces herself that the reason she can see Edward in her mind is because of adrenaline. To prove it, she dives off a cliff. This behavior is too extreme for impressionable teens. Okay, your boyfriend dumped you so hey, jump off a cliff. You can have a mental breakdown and have your happily ever after in your head.
The issue of Jacob Black, Bella’s wolf/best friend, was expected because the groundwork was laid out perfectly in the first book. I didn’t think he was going to turn into an actual wolf who’s in love with a whiny teenage girl and color blind. He doesn’t see a single red flag Bella throws at him. It’s all more groundwork for the third book, “Eclipse.” Once you read that book, it will all make sense and the sad part is, you know it and it makes it really difficult to keep reading “New Moon.”
I had a hard time finishing the book and I started scanning a few chapters in the future to see if Edward ever comes back. I was having withdrawal and the book was starting to lose my interest.
Meyer anticipated this and knew I was developing a case of A.D.D. and flipping through the pages searching for my, I mean Bella’s, Edward. The book transitions back to focusing on the vampire aspect of the Jacob-Bella-Edward love triangle. It becomes what’s described as a modern day, human/vampire, Romeo and Juliet-esque type story. This is how it goes…boy saw girl commit suicide in dream…boy is torn apart…girl is saved…boy doesn’t know it…boy wants to die because he see’s no reason to live if girl is dead. Insert a clan of very, very, very…very old vampires and boy should be able to get what he wants easily. Except there’s a third and fourth book of the series so do you really think anyone dies?
I have a serious problem with the layout of this book. I understand that every story has a beginning, middle, and an end. However, this book seemed more like a placeholder. I enjoyed getting to know Jacob better than I did in “Twilight” and I also got a kick out the new vampires introduced in “New Moon.” Compared to the other three in the series, it didn’t have enough substance though. Meyer could have easily split it in half and included the first part at the end of “Twilight” and the second part in the beginning of “Eclipse.”
Overall, I enjoyed the book and it set me up perfectly to start reading “Eclipse.” Meyer sends her readers into a direction that unequivocally creates the path she intends them to go down in order to understand the last two books of the series. And I guess this generation did need a hot vampire; after all, I had Lestat (Interview with a Vampire, by Anne Rice).
This article is from www.advocate-online.net
Who would enjoy a series of books about a whiny teenage girl (Bella Swan) desperately in love with a vampire minus fangs (Edward Cullen)? Apparently every other whiny teenage girl and their mother. It became a cultural phenomenon overnight and has been turned into two full-length feature films that have surprised the box office.
The second book, “New Moon,” starts out where Twilight left off. Bella still loves Edward with all of her soul and believes they could not survive apart. She gets a very rude awakening when after his brother (still adjusting to the “vegetarian,” or no human blood, diet of the Cullen clan) attacks her at her birthday party and Edward decides for the both of them that Bella would live a lot longer if he wasn’t around.
They had me at “Goodbye Bella.” I hate to admit it, but Meyer had me crying like a baby and feeling that heartbreaking angst right alongside Bella. It’s amazing when a book can draw you in and I found myself never wanting to put it down during those first few chapters.
People ask me what makes Meyer a good writer, and when I read “New Moon” I realized it’s that she refuses to play it safe. She didn’t just make Bella pine for her lost love, but she created an entirely new character for the book. Bella went coo-coo and became a totally different person. She keeps Bella in her head, thinking about Edward, having visions of him, rarely ever letting anything else intrude in her mind, even hunger.
“I knew this was the stupidest, most reckless thing I had done yet. The thought made me smile. The pain was already easing, as if my body knew that Edward’s voice was just seconds away.” Bella convinces herself that the reason she can see Edward in her mind is because of adrenaline. To prove it, she dives off a cliff. This behavior is too extreme for impressionable teens. Okay, your boyfriend dumped you so hey, jump off a cliff. You can have a mental breakdown and have your happily ever after in your head.
The issue of Jacob Black, Bella’s wolf/best friend, was expected because the groundwork was laid out perfectly in the first book. I didn’t think he was going to turn into an actual wolf who’s in love with a whiny teenage girl and color blind. He doesn’t see a single red flag Bella throws at him. It’s all more groundwork for the third book, “Eclipse.” Once you read that book, it will all make sense and the sad part is, you know it and it makes it really difficult to keep reading “New Moon.”
I had a hard time finishing the book and I started scanning a few chapters in the future to see if Edward ever comes back. I was having withdrawal and the book was starting to lose my interest.
Meyer anticipated this and knew I was developing a case of A.D.D. and flipping through the pages searching for my, I mean Bella’s, Edward. The book transitions back to focusing on the vampire aspect of the Jacob-Bella-Edward love triangle. It becomes what’s described as a modern day, human/vampire, Romeo and Juliet-esque type story. This is how it goes…boy saw girl commit suicide in dream…boy is torn apart…girl is saved…boy doesn’t know it…boy wants to die because he see’s no reason to live if girl is dead. Insert a clan of very, very, very…very old vampires and boy should be able to get what he wants easily. Except there’s a third and fourth book of the series so do you really think anyone dies?
I have a serious problem with the layout of this book. I understand that every story has a beginning, middle, and an end. However, this book seemed more like a placeholder. I enjoyed getting to know Jacob better than I did in “Twilight” and I also got a kick out the new vampires introduced in “New Moon.” Compared to the other three in the series, it didn’t have enough substance though. Meyer could have easily split it in half and included the first part at the end of “Twilight” and the second part in the beginning of “Eclipse.”
Overall, I enjoyed the book and it set me up perfectly to start reading “Eclipse.” Meyer sends her readers into a direction that unequivocally creates the path she intends them to go down in order to understand the last two books of the series. And I guess this generation did need a hot vampire; after all, I had Lestat (Interview with a Vampire, by Anne Rice).
This article is from www.advocate-online.net
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