Michael Sheen Cast As Vampire In ‘New Moon’

Michael Sheen played Lucian, leader of the Lycans in not one, not two but three Underworld films – two of which I can personally identify as being particularly tedious, the third of which I’m passively avoiding. Now he’s set to switch sides and head up the Vampires as Aro, boss of the fangsters in New Moon, Chris Weitz’s Twilight sequel.

The Daily Mail got the story and a quote from Weitz to back it up:

Michael’s role is so important because he’s the head of all vampires. Aro is, on the surface, a very gracious and friendly vampire, but beneath that he is a tremendous threat.

Weitz is definitely a more interesting and talented director than his brother, and his ‘active pursuit’ of Sheen is a class play. He’s taking this film seriously when it would be so easy not to. Any shortcomings of The Golden Compass were not through Weitz’ sincerity and hard work.

Aro doesn’t seem to be one of the main characters in New Moon – fans of the ’saga’, please fill in the blanks in the comments – but he does seem set to recur in future installments. Weitz has done a favour for whatever director takes over the franchise with film three by getting Sheen on board.

We in the UK have been fortunate enough to receive a good hunk of Sheen already this year with Tom Hooper’s excellent The Damned United. That’s one of Sheen’s biopics, and adds notorious football manager Brian Clough to a gallery of real-life roles that’s probably extensive enough to earn him a mention in the Guinness Book of Records. Here are the others, by my count: Robbie Ross in Wilde; Tony Blair in The Deal and The Queen (and, soon, The Special Relationship); Jeremy Dyson in The League of Gentlemen’s Apocalypse; Kenneth Williams in Fantabulosa; Nero in Ancient Rome: The Rise and Fall of an Empire; HG Wells in HG Wells: War With the World; and David Frost in Frost/Nixon.

I’m always impressed by that list. I’m curious how deliberate it is that Sheen has ended up playing so many biographical characterisations. He seems to suggest it’s accidental, but this score seems way outside of any random roll of the roles. At the very least, this constitutes the most flexible flavour of typecasting I’ve ever seen.

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Kristen Stewart – ‘New Moon’ Will Be ‘More Tragic’ Than ‘Twilight’

As legions of “Twilight” fans no doubt already know, the vampire Edward Cullen leaves behind his town—and his true love, Bella—at the beginning of “New Moon.” That’s some heavy stuff, so it’s no surprise that the actress who plays Bella views the second book as considerably more harsh than the first one.

“It’s a struggle,” Kristen Stewart told the Los Angeles Times. “It’s almost lower-key, almost depressing. It’s more tragic this time around. It’s not as sunshine and roses.”

That’s not to say the original movie was some G-rated, feel-good popcorn flick. After all, Edward and Bella had to fight off blood-thirsty vampires throughout the film, and Ms. Swan eventually wound up in the hospital after a nasty bite.

But a vampire noshing on your flesh is nothing compared to being left behind by your true love. “[Bella] loses him, which is certainly a crazy concept for me to accept because that’s the basis for the entire first movie,” Stewart said.

Losing Edward means Bella dives into the troubling world of werewolves with her friend Jacob Black. But that adversity seems to be an opportunity for the teenage character to mature. “She grows up quite a bit,” the 18-year-old actress said. “She’s forced to, and she’s got strength and inner determination. A lot of people in her situation would be like, ‘OK, done.’”

While Bella is beset by challenges throughout “New Moon,” Stewart believes that with “Twilight” under her belt, making the second movie will be, if not easier, than certainly a fresh experience. “The beginning is different,” she said. “Preproduction is different. I’m not trying to make something. It’s already there, just going back into it. Different. It’s just a continuation.”

The continuation, of course, has already began. Filming is underway in Vancouver and the cast grows almost every day. The latest additions are Canadian model Noot Seear (who will play Heidi) and British actor Jamie Campbell-Bower (who will play Caius).

“It’s a different movie,” says Stewart, “but a lot happens.”

Which of the first two books did you prefer? Does darker “Twilight” material mean a better movie—or just different?

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Dakota Fanning Confirmed for Twilight’s ‘New Moon’

In January, Dakota Fanning said she was in talks to play Jane in the Summit Entertainment sequel The Twilight Saga’s New Moon . Now, People has confirmed that she is officially on board.

The 15-year-old actress is set to star as a sinister vampire with an angelic exterior who works for the Volturi. Filming of the Twilight sequel is set to begin in Vancouver later this month. The movie hits theaters on November 20, 2009. "We did just get a script. We’re shooting the rest of the films back to back," said Nikki Reed, who plays Rosalie Hale in the film.

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‘Eclipse’ Gets a Release Date – But How Do the Twilighters Feel?

In case you haven’t heard, the “Eclipse” release date has been leaked. And my honest thoughts? I could put a hundred more G’s after my “OMG!” and it wouldn’t even begin to convey them.

Okay, Twilighters, here’s the good news: You’ve made it to prime time. The release date is in late June, prime tentpole territory typically reserved for the likes of Will Smith, superheroes and hundred-million-dollar Michael Bay movies. No more of these November, let’s-hope-we-catch-the-teens-while-they’re-home-for-the-holidays release dates for you guys. In fact, a quick peek at the 2010 release schedule shows that “Eclipse” will be butting heads with such heavyweights as “Prince of Persia,” “Toy Story 3” and Jackson Rathbone’s “The Last Airbender.”

Unfortunately, there’s also some bad news: Eyebrows were raised among the fans when the “New Moon” release date was announced as being a year after “Twilight” arrived in theaters. Now, “Eclipse” will hit screens a mere seven months after “New Moon.” Figuring in the roughly three months that Chris Weitz required to prepare the second film, that gives the director of the third movie barely four months to shoot it, edit it, get the special effects up to speed and put the film in theaters.

Of course, if a director other than Weitz is chosen to film “Eclipse,” he or she could have longer to prepare the movie. But any “Twilight” fan would be right to be a bit concerned about the new date – because, as Hollywood has shown us time and time again, hastily-made sequels like “Legally Blonde 2,” “Conan the Destroyer” and the “Saw” films often, well, suck.

The advantage of “Eclipse,” obviously, is that the text is already written – and amongst the Twilighters, it’s perfect just as it is. Stay tuned to MTV as we’ll keep following all the details on “The Twilight Saga” films in the months (and now years!) to come.

Enough about my thoughts, what are yours? Are you more happy that “Eclipse” is being filmed, or nervous about the super-fast turnaround time awaiting the third film’s director?

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‘Twilight’ exclusive or just plain rumor: Chris Weitz will not direct ‘Eclipse’

Chris Weitz will not direct the third film in the Twilight series, Eclipse, a source close to the production tells EW.com exclusively. Because New Moon, which Weitz is helming, and Eclipse are due to be released so close together, (on Nov. 20, 2009, and June 30, 2010, respectively), Weitz will be in post-production on New Moon at the same time that Eclipse will be shooting.

That said, the source confirms a report that the movies will not be shot simultaneously or back-to-back; there will be a brief gap between the production of both films.

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‘The Twilight Saga: New Moon’ Logo Revealed!

As Juliet once said to Romeo: A rose by any other name would smell as sweet. Now, modern-day star crossed lovers Bella Swan and Edward Cullen are getting ready to carry on with their cinematic love affair. But will the second “Twilight” movie smell as sweet now that it has a brand-new name?

MTV News has the scoop on the official name and logo for Chris Weitz’s soon-to-film sequel to “Twilight.” Dubbed “The Twilight Saga’s New Moon” (although the title treatment leaves off the “’s”) the film’s official title art stays true to the look of the first movie while swapping in an orange tint, a subtle crescent moon, and the release date of 11.20.09.

Although the look of the new logo will undoubtedly get Twilighter tongues wagging, it’s the five-word official title that is the most prominent variation from Stephenie Meyer’s simple “New Moon.”

With roman numerals now considered taboo in Hollywood, and sequel names like “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen,” “Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer” and “Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li” in vogue, it makes sense that Weitz and crew would label the future films as “The Twilight Saga.” At the risk of reading too much into five words, it also seems to imply that “New Moon” will boast a more epic feel than the first movie.

As for the logo itself, Weitz has chosen to stay with the lowercase lettering, personable font and light-streaks-poking-through look of last year’s hit film. In switching from blue to orange, the movie’s upcoming posters will be instantly distinguishable from those of the original “Twilight” – which should make them look a whole lot cooler when teenage girls all over the world add them to their walls. The presence of orange also begs a new question: Now that blue and orange are taken, which colors should be used for “Eclipse” and “Breaking Dawn”?

It’s one of the most anticipated movies of the year. It’s the next installment in a worldwide phenomenon. And now, it’s called “The Twilight Saga’s New Moon.” Stay tuned, Twilighters, as MTV will continue to bring you all the latest news from now until November.

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Casting Call for ‘Twilight’ Sequel, ‘New Moon’

René Haynes, the casting director for New Moon, this year’s follow-up to the smash hit Twilight, has announced an open casting call for the film, which is scheduled to go into production in a couple of months. The film will be released in November.

Casting Scoop has all the details, as well as a few auditioning pointers, but if you’re young Native American, you may have a shot:

“Seeking Native American Teens and Young Adults,” the posting begins, “Casting Director René Haynes and her staff are very happy to accommodate any Native teens and young adults (who look very youthful) who are interested in sending them an audition.”

So there you go. The next steps are to submit a photo and a contact number to info@rhcasting.com by January 30th. I have a feeling if you get cast, you’ll be squarely on team Jacob.

Source: GetTheBigPicture.net

Will Taylor Lautner Play Jacob Black In New Moon?

I found this post on Entertainment Weekly’s site. You know, I think if Taylor doesn’t get the part, it will upset my wife just as much as my daughter. What’s wrong with that picture?

According to sources around Hollywood, things may start looking very hairy for Taylor Lautner. The actor — not to mention legions of Twilight fans — has been desperate to learn whether Summit Entertainment will cast him once more as Jacob Black in the Twilight sequel New Moon.

This week, Summit is expected to announce its decision for the next film based on Stephenie Meyer’s wildly successful series of vampire romance novels. Kristen Stewart, 18, is set to return as Bella Swan, the beautiful human who falls for a softhearted bloodsucker. And Robert Pattinson, 22, has a lock on his job too; his turn as Edward Cullen, the hunky, soulful vampire, has made him an overnight superstar with young female moviegoers around the planet.

But Lautner, 16, has a more uncertain future. That’s because the character he was so perfectly cast to play in the first Twilight film — a slim, baby-faced teenager — will be greatly expanded in the sequel. And by greatly expanded, we mean into a hulking, snarling, seven-foot Lycan. ”Jacob is a totally different character in New Moon,” says Melissa Rosenberg, screenwriter of both Twilight films. ”He’s a foot taller and huge — and he’s supposed to look 25. It’s really a question of whether or not the same actor can play the role.” Rosenberg is quick to add, however, that ”everyone would love to keep him. We all think he’s the loveliest person ever.”

Lautner’s certainly been doing everything in his mortal power to hang on to the part. Since Twilight, he’s gained 19 pounds and is promising to pack on 10 more before shooting starts on New Moon this March. And judging from a widely reprinted red-carpet interview, he’s not shy about letting Summit and New Moon’s director, Chris Weitz (who joined the fran­chise last month after Twilight’s director, Catherine Hardwicke, left over creative differences), know that he has the chops for the gig. ”My job for Twilight was to bring Twilight Jacob to life — the friendly, happy-go-lucky little Jacob,” he told MTV News. ”My job for New Moon is completely different. I’ve been looking forward to that. I’ve been getting ready for it, and I can assure them I will follow through with that.”

Source: ew.com

Looking Ahead: ‘New Moon’ movie

Sarah Jaffe over at Newsarama has some thoughts about the future of the ‘Twilight’ saga in the cinema…

I’m a formerly-resistant Twilight convert who’s now seen the movie twice. I’m about halfway through the third book, and having just finished New Moon, I’ve got more thoughts on the film adaptation as it moves forward, with a new director and possible other changes.

The Twilight books are written in first person and read like a teenager’s gushing diary, with little description of action–or even of characters besides hair color, size, and beauty. This allows readers to project whatever they want to see onto them, but makes it hard to create characters for a performance.

But the books get better as they go along–fewer adverbs and gushing descriptions comparing Edward Cullen to male models, and more action. There are motorcycles, cliff diving, werewolves, more evil vampires, and a daring daylight rescue scene where Bella gets to do the rescuing, for once. So New Moon has the potential to be a better movie than Twilight.

(possible spoilers below. Just sayin’) Read more

‘Twilight’ Sequel ‘New Moon’ to Open November 20, 2009

Tough to say whether or not speeding up the process like this will help the finished product or not, but you can’t really blame Summit Entertainment for wanting more Twilight, pronto. After all, the studio has no other calling cards in the minds of the audience, no franchises people are dying to see other than the one with a horny but chaste teenage girl dating a vampire 100 years her senior.

So with the announcement today in Variety that New Moon will be released November 20, 2009, the same weekend that saw Twilight explode at the box office this year, Summit is letting it be known once and for all that it is going to play the hand it’s been dealt.

The big difference here, and where Summit may be acting with a wee bit of arrogance, is that November 20th is already staked out by Sherlock Holmes, the animated Planet 51, and the new Three Stooges movie, which will probably die a miserable box office death. So is the studio engaging in a little Cuban Missle Crisis action here, waiting to see who blinks first? Would Warner Bros. move Sherlock Holmes to avoid the head-to-head battle?

Source: GetTheBigPicture.net

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