Twilight Saga: Ashley Grene poses for Maxim's December Issue

NEW MOON'S Ashley Greene has cemented herself as a Twilight sex symbol with a racy cover shoot.

New Moon actress Ashley Greene, who stars as Alice Cullen in the Twilight Saga, sent pulses racing when she made a stylish appearance at a New York bash to celebrate her new magazine cover.

Despite frequently being eclipsed by Twi co-stars Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart, the gorgeous 22-year-old has been earning serious fashion points during the promotional tour for New Moon.

Posing on the red carpet, the brunette wowed in a sexy navy-blue mini-dress with a plunging neckline, complete with striped cap sleeves and a slashed racer-back.

Ashley, who was attending the launch of her Maxim December issue, teamed the look with smouldering eyes and nude lips and cheeks.

The actress appears on the lads' mag cover in a sheer wet vest and unbuttoned denim shorts on a beach.

This article is from http://ok.co.uk

"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

Twilight Saga: New Moon better than Twilight

Sexier, darker and funnier, "New Moon" rises well above the anemic 2008 film version of Stephenie Meyer's "Twilight."

New director Chris Weitz ("The Golden Compass") injects more humor and visual style than Catherine Hardwicke did in the original, but "The Twilight Saga: New Moon" sags and lags like the first one as it senselessly runs on for more than two hours.

The film especially stumbles when the friendship between that vampire-lovin' Bella (a strong Kristen Stewart) and wolf-boy Jacob (Taylor Lautner) starts to heat up.

With sullen Edward (Robert Pattinson) literally out of most of the picture -- in an attempt to avoid his Bella bloodlust -- the romantic burden falls on the insanely broad shoulders of Lautner to perform pretty boy duties.

Lautner looks spectacular shirtless, and will undoubtedly make many tween hearts flutter. But he might have considered spending more time beefing up that acting muscle rather than perfecting his impeccable six-pack abs.

He and Stewart do have a nice chemistry at the start, but when Jacob reveals he's actually a wolf in tight clothing the script requires the actor to show some range of emotion, and it's no longer pretty to behold. Lautner doesn't have the acting chops of Pattinson.

Weitz and screenwriter Melissa Rosenberg ("Twilight" and TV's "Dexter") do their darndest to spruce up the material with clever references to "Romeo and Juliet" and "Little Red Riding Hood."

They even poke fun at the "Twilight" story. WhenJacob exp lains to Bella why he's hanging with his buff wolf buddies, who frolic shirtless together, he emotes: "It's not a lifestyle choice." Cute.

When Bella hops on a plane to chase after Edward in Italy, she's on Virgin Atlantic. Nice.

These touches, along with key supporting performances from Michael Sheen ("Frost/Nixon) as head of a vampire mob and scene-stealer Anna Kendrick as Bella's verbose friend, make "New Moon" shine bright.

"The Twilight Saga: New Moon"

Starring: Robert Pattinson, Kristen Stewart, Taylor Lautner, Ashley Greene, Kellan Lutz, Dakota Fanning, Michael Sheen

Director: Chris Weitz

Rating: PG-13

Running Time: 2 hours, 10 minutes

Where: Opens midnight today at area theaters

**1/2

This article is from www.mercurynews.com

Twilight Saga: More details on New Moon

NOW that television is screening Alan Ball's True Blood, the vampires in Stephenie Meyer's Twilight Saga seem more anaemic than ever.

True Blood's vampires have sex. Twilight's brood about not having it - which for their fans, of course, is an integral part of their appeal.

Meyer's hero, Edward Cullen (Robert Pattinson), is a gentleman vampire. Having been brought up on animal blood, he's sworn off the human kind. He and his mortal girlfriend, Bella Swan (Kristen Stewart), dare to kiss but whenever they do, Edward quivers delicately, preserving the possibility that smooch could suddenly deepen into love bite.

New Moon, the second film in the series, finds Edward and Bella settling into life as high school sweethearts in Forks, Washington, although she's already worrying about future complications. She wakes on her 18th birthday from a dream in which she's turned into her own grandmother, while 108-year-old Edward has remained his perennially youthful undead self. This scenario has become common lately. We've seen variations on the theme of time playing tricks and ageing men and women at differing rates in The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, The Time Traveller's Wife and Dorian Gray. Welcome to the Botox generation's defining nightmare.

In Bella's case, this fear has strengthened her curiosity about what it would be like to join Edward's team and become a vampire. He doesn't think it's a good idea. Noble as ever, he wants only to protect her and we're not far into the story before he and the rest of his family decide that they must leave Forks. For him and Bella, it's the end, he tells her. She will not be going with them. Instead, she will stay behind to subside into a chronic sulk. Admittedly, this means no more than a slight adjustment to Stewart's performance, which is already arranged around her pronounced gift for slouching and mumbling, but the prospect of watching her carry a large chunk of the film without her co-star is far from enticing.

There is help at hand, however, in the shape-shifting form of Bella's friend Jacob Black (Taylor Lautner), a son of the local Native American tribe, the Quileute. He has long fancied her and, with Edward out of the way, he sets out to show her what a nice guy he is. And for a while all goes well. Stewart produces a few flickering smiles of appreciation as well as squeezing out one or two sentences of at least six words. Things are looking good - up to the moment when she discovers she's been dating a werewolf.

The film is a lot more ponderous than the first one, which was directed by Catherine Hardwicke ( Lords of Dogtown). Given the extreme lassitude of her two leads, Hardwicke did have some trouble with the story's potential for co-ordinating a little black comedy with its purple passion but her successor, Chris Weitz ( The Golden Compass), hasn't a clue. For long stretches, it seems as if Edward's sister, Alice (Ashley Greene), is the only member of the cast who has been licensed to laugh. And while the high camp elements haven't been eliminated, it's impossible to tell if Weitz can see them.

Jacob and his fellow wolf men, for instance, are pretty funny, with their buffed bodies and fondness for wandering bare-chested through the forest while lustily picking fights with one another, but I suspect that we're meant to take them seriously. The only certainty is that they make a change from Edward, who can't venture into the sunlight for fear of being coated with fairy dust and made to melt away.

The werewolves occasion a few computer-generated brawls as they go hunting a team of bad vampires but it's not until the denouement that we see any real action. This takes place during a brisk trip to Tuscany, where Bella and Alice head off in pursuit of Edward, who has gone to consult the Volturi, an ancient family of vampire aristocrats. Their leader is played by Michael Sheen, who's done a lot of shape-shifting of his own recently, having been cast as Tony Blair in The Queen and David Frost in Frost/Nixon. This time, he's in 18th-century court dress with white facepaint and red contact lenses. He looks like a hung-over pixie who's spent too long at the bottom of the garden.

There is one thing to be said about the way Weitz handles time travel. He can make two hours and 10 minutes seem like a thousand years.

This article is from www.smh.com.au

New Moon Cast in LA Red Carpet

The Twilight stars came out to play at the world premiere of The Twilight Saga: New Moon on Tuesday.

Fans lined the red carpet for hours before the event, with some even travelling from Australia to be in LA. There were the standard "we love you..." style signs and some strange effigies of Robert Pattinson spotted.

Pattinson, when he did arrive, looked debonair and relaxed in black tie, while Taylor Lautner opted for a blue suit with slim tie - very Mad Men.

Kristen Stewart went for her trademark dark eyes with a pale, strapless floor length gown, with a tulle skirt shot through with black thread. She looked decidedly more vampiric than her very human character Bella.

While Stewart was snapped with her wolf co-star Lautner, Pattinson, who she is reportedly dating, kept his distance.

Ashley Greene, who plays vampire Alice Cullen, looked stunning in red, with her long, dark locks loose around her shoulders.

Of the other ladies on the red carpet, Dakota Fanning wore her hair loose and looked cute in a short, black strapless dress. Former Lost actress Emilie De Ravin (who starred in Remember Me with Pattinson - due out next year) wore a decidely drab off the shoulder, short, grey dress with shoes that were entirely too heavy for the floaty material of her dress.

Click here to check out some photos from the red carpet. 

This article is from tvnz.co.nz

Are you for the vampire Edward Cullen or the werewolf Jacob Black

By GERALDINE JEREMIAH

WHEN it comes to The Twilight Saga phenomenon, fans of the teen vampire romance movie franchise are unanimous in their love of it.

However, there is one thing Twilight fans are divided over, and that is, which of the movie’s two leading men – the vampire Edward Cullen (played by Robert Pattinson) or the werewolf Jacob Black (played by Taylor Lautner) – to support.

This has caused a massive split among Twihards (a term coined to categorise diehard Twilight fans) who either come under Team Edward or Team Jacob.

The folk at Galaxie too faced the dilemma of choosing which New Moon heartthrob to grace the Nov 16 issue’s cover.

Hence, to please both parties, Galaxie has released a first-of-its-kind double-cover issue; one cover in support of fang-tastic Edward and another for he-wolf Jacob.

What this means is there are two versions of the Nov 16 issue of Galaxie at the newsstands. Twihards can either choose to go with the Edward or Jacob cover, while fence sitters can opt to collect both.

With The Twilight Saga: New Moon set for release this month, the Team Edward vs Team Jacob debate is expected to record a new benchmark of impassioned support.

Besides the special cover, Twihards can also get excited over the load of New Moon pictures (including drool-worthy screen captures of Jacob’s shirtless torso) packed into the cover story, which list eight top reasons to watch the movie.

New Moon galore continues in the contest section, where fans can stand to win New Moon merchandise from exclusive T-shirts, mugs, keychains to the movie’s soundtrack.

There are also loads of other contests from winning autographed CDs from Boys Like Girls to cool Ninja Assassin goodies like baseball caps and wallets.

Galaxie is also packed full of its all-time favourite entertainment elements – gossip, news and exclusive interviews. So get your copy of Galaxie today. Galaxie is published twice a month by The Star Publications (M) Bhd.

This article is from www.star-ecentral.com

Twilight Saga: "I've seen him (Robert Pattinson) grow a lot, and I've seen him get more comfortable with his position [as a celebrity]," says KristenStewart

BEVERLY HILLS, California — Judging by the photos that leaked Tuesday night, a lot of people enjoy dreaming that Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart's onscreen romance also extends offscreen. But no matter what the truth is, this much is fact: Rob and Kristen are happy to have the other at their side as they ride the "Twilight Saga" wave.

"He's thoughtful," Stewart explained recently when we asked the actress to name the quality in RPattz that means the most to her. "I don't want to be specific. It's funny to talk about your friends in [these terms], because this is now going to be the one thing that's my favorite thing about Rob. It's going to be the thing."


Way back in March 2008, when MTV visited the "Twilight" set, two things were obvious: Kristen and Rob were going to set the big screen on fire, and the duo were growing close. Onscreen, Edward and Bella are romantic, honest and protective of one another; offscreen, Rob and Kristen have a funny, self-deprecating dynamic that has helped them grapple with all the insanity of the saga's explosion.

"It's strange, because she's changed over the movies I've done with her," Rob said of his leading lady. "I think from the first one, I was so quiet [and] very determined to do something on the first movie. I wanted to look very serious, and it made her, I guess, a little bit more reticent about how to deal with me."

These days, the duo fly around the world attending premieres and events, and all those hours together have undoubtedly made life easier than it would be if only one was experiencing all this fame alone. "He's real," Stewart said of Pattinson, arguing that he hadn't changed — and that's a good thing. "He's a real guy."

"As we've been doing stuff together," Pattinson said of his favorite quality in Stewart, "I guess what I admire is that she's more stubborn than me in a lot of ways. I mean, she really stands up for what she thinks is right and is generally on the same page with what I think is right."

"[Rob] has gotten more confident as he's gotten older," Stewart said, explaining that although he's still the same guy on the inside, he's no longer the shy, giggling actor we first interviewed in Portland nearly two years ago. "Just as all of us have gotten to know ourselves a bit more, because we're constantly put in a position of self-reflection. If you're constantly asked about yourself all day long, it really makes you actually consider what you're saying, and you're in a position where people are listening.

"I've seen him grow a lot, and I've seen him get more comfortable with his position [as a celebrity]," Stewart added of Pattinson. "But I also don't see any change in who he is."

This article is from www.mtv.com

Twilight Saga : Eclipse Full Cast and Crew

Here's the full cast and crew listing of Twilight Saga : Eclipse.

Directed by

David Slade

 

Writing credits

Stephenie Meyer novel

Melissa Rosenberg screenplay

Cast

Kristen Stewart : Bella Swan

Robert Pattinson : Edward Cullen

Taylor Lautner : Jacob Black

Billy Burke         : Charlie Swan

Ashley Greene : Alice Cullen

Jackson Rathbone : Jasper Hale

Nikki Reed         : Rosalie Hale

Kellan Lutz : Emmett Cullen

Elizabeth Reaser : Esme Cullen

Peter Facinelli : Dr. Carlisle Cullen

Gil Birmingham : Billy Black

Other cast:

Dakota Fanning : Jane

Kirsten Prout : Lucy

Anna Kendrick : Jessica

Bryce Dallas Howard : Victoria

Cameron Bright : Alec

Alex Meraz : Paul

Chaske Spencer : Sam Uley

Kiowa Gordon : Embry Call

Michael Welch : Mike Newton

Julia Jones : Leah Clearwater

Charlie Bewley : Demetri

BooBoo Stewart : Seth Clearwater

Jack Huston : Royce King II

Daniel Cudmore : Felix

Christian Serratos : Angela

Jodelle Ferland : Bree

Bronson Pelletier : Jared

Tinsel Korey : Emily

Catalina Sandino Moreno : Maria

Sarah Clarke : Renée Dwyer

Brenna Roth : Emily

Justin Chon : Eric

Tyson Houseman : Quil Ateara

Xavier Samuel : Riley

Produced by

Bill Bannerman : co-producer

Marty Bowen : executive producer

Wyck Godfrey : producer

Greg Mooradian : producer

Mark Morgan : executive producer

Karen Rosenfelt : producer

 

Cinematography by

Javier Aguirresarobe

 

Film Editing by

Art Jones

 

Casting by

Stuart Aikins

Sean Cossey

Rene Haynes

 

Production Design by

Paul D. Austerberry

 

Art Direction by

Catherine Ircha

Jeremy Stanbridge

 

Set Decoration by

Rose Marie McSherry

 

Costume Design by

Tish Monaghan

 

Makeup Department

Joann Fowler : key makeup artist: second unit

Michelle Hrescak : assistant makeup artist

Lise Kuhr         : assistant makeup artist

Robin Mathews : makeup designer: Kristen Stewart

Robin Mathews : personal makeup artist: Kristen Stewart

Sara Michael : assistant makeup artist

Patricia Murray : assistant makeup artist

Michael Nickiforek : prosthetics and fake body fabrication

Cristina Patterson Ceret: contact lens coordinator/painter

Charles Porlier : makeup department head

Amy St. Jean : first assistant makeup artist

Bill Terezakis : prosthetic aging design and sculpture

 

Production Management

Barbara Kelly : unit production manager

 

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director

Josy Capkun : key second assistant director

E.J. Foerster : second unit director

Jack Hardy : first assistant director: second unit

Justin Muller : first assistant director

 

Art Department

John Alvarez : assistant art director

Alistair Bell : carpenter

Salmon Harris : storyboard artist

Rodrigo Segovia : set designer

Adrien Van Viersen : storyboard artist

Neil Westlake : graphic designer

 

Sound Department

James Kusan : production sound mixer

Tony Wyman : boom operator

 

Special Effects by

Alex Burdett : special effects supervisor

Harry Tomsic : fabricator

 

Visual Effects by

Howard R. Campbell : lead technical director/lighting: Tippett Studio

Steve Casa : 3d scan technician

Joshua Frankel : previsualization supervisor: Proof Inc.

Danny Jones : roto/paint supervisor

David Schnee : lead digital compositor: Tippett Studio

Hamish Schumacher : lead compositor: Image Engine

Shawn Walsh : visual effects executive producer: Image Engine

 

Stunts

Trevor Addie : stunts

Loyd Bateman : stunt performer

Janene Carleton : stunt performer

Lauro Chartrand : stunt actor

Jonathan Eusebio : fight coordinator

Rikki Gagne : stunt performer

Lani Gelera : stunts

Layton Morrison : stunt coordinator

Darryl Quon : stunts

Jackson Spidell : assistant fight coordinator

Larissa Stadnichuk : stunt double: NIkki Reed

John Stoneham Jr. : stunt coordinator

John Stoneham Jr. : supervising stunt coordinator

Alicia Turner : stunt double: Bryce Dallas Howard

Jon Valera         : assistant fight coordinator

Eli Zagoudakis : stunt double: Jackson Rathbone

 

Camera and Electrical Department

Skylar Almas : grip

Cary Cooper : remote camera technician: scorpio head

Tony Derkach : main unit grip

Jacob Egglestone : lamp operator

Kimberly French : still photographer

Brent Gies         : rigging best boy

Alex Godfrey : main unit grip

Sandra Hardy : rigging lamp operator

Gaetan Jalbert : rigging gaffer

Carl Jensen : best boy grip

Gene Keigher : key rigging grip

Jan Klompje : camera trainee

Matt Margolis : main unit grip

Chris Martin : main unit grip

Ed McMahon : dolly grip

Saubrie Mohamed : lighting technician

Robert L. O'Hara : a dolly grip

Courtland Sandover-Sly : main unit grip

Bill Stefandis : main unit grip

Owen Taylor : gaffer

Bill Tennant : lamp operator

Mike Thorkilsen : rigging lamp operator

Tony Thorpe : main unit grip

Roger Wells : rigging best boy

John Westerlaken : key grip

Robin West : rigging lamp operator

Adriene Wyse : second assistant camera

 

Casting Department

Damian Ambach : casting assistant

Andrea Brown : extras casting director

J.J. Ogilvy         : casting assistant

 

Costume and Wardrobe Department

Tess Brummitt : truck costumer

Debbie Geaghan : costume coordinator

Aieisha Li         : costume supervisor: 2nd unit

Bren Moore : truck costumer: 2nd unit

Karin Nosella : assistant costume designer

 

Transportation Department

Ryan Moroz : driver: cast

 

Other crew

Sheila Allen : production accountant

Toni Atterbury : unit publicist

Abraham Fraser : location manager

Allison Garfield         : assistant to producer

Cameron Grierson : clearance/product placement coordinator

Dan Kuzmenko : assistant location manager

Brett McDermid : second assistant production coordinator

Jill McQueen : first assistant production coordinator

Claudia Morgado Escanilla : script supervisor

Mike Park         : production legal counsel

Benjamin R. Reder : production legal counsel

SOURCE : IMDB.com