Eclipse images & related news: While Seattle bleeds, Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart kiss in the meadow
You wouldn’t believe it judging from the image at the top of this article, but David Slade’s The Twilight Saga: Eclipse, the sequel to Chris Weitz’s New Moon and Catherine Hardwicke’s Twilight, is supposed to be a darker, more complex, more action-filled take on Stephenie Meyer’s romantic fantasy-adventure book series.
Here’s the gist of the Eclipse plot:
There are a number of bloody deaths in nearby Seattle, as the avenging vampire Victoria (Bryce Dallas Howard, replacing Rachelle Lefevre [more further below]) is determined to destroy the human teen and Forks, Washington, resident Bella Swan, who, for her part, is facing a terrible dilemma: Who should she choose, the centenarian “vegetarian” vampire Edward Cullen or the shapeshifting teen werewolf Jacob Black?
Either way, war may break out between vampires and werewolves, and/or between veggie vampires and human-blood-imbibing vampires. If that weren’t all, the fearsome Volturi Clan may want to do away with the peace-loving Cullen Clan.
It gets worse: Bella’s high-school graduation is fast approaching. And she has nothing to wear.
Now will anyone explain why Volturi member Felix (Daniel Cudmore) calls the royal vampire Aro (Michael Sheen) “Ah-ro” while his fellow Volturi Jane (Dakota Fanning) calls him “Arrow”? Is it a case of “I say potayto, you say potahto,” but … within the same group of vampires?
Hot-and-heavy action for the guys
Best known for the thrillers Hard Candy and 30 Days of Night, David Slade is supposed to have brought more “action” to Eclipse, as distributor Summit Entertainment wants more guys in theaters.
Clips have shown bits from the final battle pitting superman-strong newborn vampires against the Cullen clan and the local werewolves. Whether that will be enough to bring more male asses into theaters remains to be seen.
Melissa Rosenberg adapted Eclipse, which opens June 30 in the U.S. and several other territories.
Of note, Stephenie Meyer’s novels are no. 5 among the “most challenged” books of 2009 – i.e., books that fascists and religious fanatics want to have removed from libraries. Because of something like parents’ rights to tell other parents’ children what they can or cannot read.
Update: As part of – but apart from – the 2010 LA Film Festival, The Twilight Saga: Eclipse will have its world premiere on June 24 at the Nokia Theatre in downtown Los Angeles.
‘Flying gossip’
In other Eclipse news … On April 15, David Slade, busy at work on the Eclipse score, tweeted the following:
“In London overseeing the film score with Mr Howard Shore and enjoying all the gossip flying around. Onwards to the Eclipse!!”
The “flying gossip” Slade mentioned is probably the one about him being at odds with Summit Entertainment and refusing to (or being prevented from) direct(ing) reshoots for Eclipse a mere few weeks before the film opens on June 30.
If the rumors were to be believed, either New Moon’s Chris Weitz or Twilight’s Catherine Hardwicke might be called in as replacements.
And yet … Summit has officially explained that the “pickup shots” to be done in Vancouver had been planned a long while ago, that these don’t involve the romantic meadow sequence (cinematography: Javier Aguirresarobe), and that Slade was definitely going to be behind the camera handling Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson, Taylor Lautner, and whoever else is needed.
Update: Work on Eclipse’s pickup shots is supposed to take two to three days. David Slade flew from Britain to British Columbia for the job. “Arrive[d] safely on Canadian soil,” he tweeted on April 22. “The Ash Cloud [from the Iceland volcano Eyjafjallajökull] Apocalypse abates.”
‘Neutron Star Collision (Love Is Forever)’ likely ineligible for the Oscars
Muse (Matthew Bellamy, Christopher Wolstenholme, Dominic Howard) is supposed to be The Twilight Saga author Stephenie Meyer’s favorite rock band. In the acknowledgments section of Breaking Dawn, she thanks “the many bands and musicians that keep me motivated. Did I mention Muse already? I did? Too bad. Muse, Muse, Muse…”
Although written in 2009 and inspired by a personal event in Matthew Bellamy’s life, “Neutron Star Collision (Love Is Forever)” was recorded expressly for Eclipse. Theoretically, Muse’s song could be eligible for the 2011 Best Song Academy Award. However…
Since one may get to hear only a few refrains from “Neutron Star Collision (Love Is Forever)” in Eclipse, Muse’s song would be ineligible for the Academy Awards even if it had been expressly written for the movie.
That goes for most of the other Twilight Saga songs, as the movies in this particular franchise feature an overabundance of pop tunes, thus allowing for only a few snippets of each to be heard on screen.
Bill Condon to direct Breaking Dawn
Academy Award winner Bill Condon – whose credits include Gods and Monsters (which earned him the Best Adapted Screenplay Oscar), Kinsey, and Dreamgirls – has been announced as the director of Breaking Dawn, the next and final installment of the blockbuster Twilight Saga.
Besides Condon, disparate Oscar-pedigreed filmmakers under consideration at one point or another were Sofia Coppola (Lost in Translation, 1993), Gus Van Sant (Good Will Hunting, 1997), and Stephen Daldry* (Billy Elliot, 2000; The Hours, 2002).
Franchise screenwriter Melissa Rosenberg is penning the adaptation of Stephenie Meyer’s bestselling novel. Breaking Dawn should start shooting in the fall for a late 2011 release.
May 1 update: In a curious turn of events, Bill Condon (or a publicist?) has written a greetings message on the Twilight Saga Facebook page, addressing the various Twi-factions and inviting visitors to post questions and suggestions about his approach to Breaking Dawn. Here’s a snippet:
The wonderful world that Stephenie has created has obviously struck a chord with you, and I don’t think it’s difficult to see why. For me, her characters are simultaneously timeless, yet very modern. Rooted in a beautiful, real landscape with a great sense of place, Bella, Edward, Jacob, and the rest of the Forks/La Push menagerie, experience emotions that are primal, and universal: desire, despair, jealousy – and it all comes to fruition in BREAKING DAWN. This is a final chapter in the best sense; not just wide in scope and scale, but emotionally charged and intense throughout.
I’m a huge admirer of the already-iconic Kristen, Robert, and Taylor, and wanted to be the one to work with them as they face the challenges of bringing your beloved characters to the end of their journeys. Really, what could be more fun than that?
Well, one could plausibly think of a few things, but … never mind.
* Stephen Daldry was recently announced as the director of the screen transfer of Jonathan Safran Foer’s novel Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close.
Stretch Armstrong still a go (*until it went bust) for Taylor Lautner
The mighty James Bond may have gotten blindsided by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer’s financial woes, but (for now) nothing can stop distributor Universal’s superhero actioner Stretch Armstrong, to star Taylor Lautner.
Variety reports that Nicholas Stoller (Forgetting Sarah Marshall) has been called in to rewrite Steve Oedekerk’s original screenplay, while Rob Letterman (Monsters vs. Aliens) direct this film “adaptation” of the Hasbro toy.
Stoller and Letterman had previously collaborated on Gulliver’s Travels, starring Jack Black (no relation to Jacob Black), which is scheduled to open in December.
Breck Eisner ‘in talks’ to direct Stretch Armstrong
June 2012 update: According to THR, Breck Eisner, son of former Disney Emperor Michael Eisner and best known for committing The Crazies, is “in negotiations” to direct Stretch Armstrong for Relativity Media.
Taylor Lautner, who had been initially “attached” to the project (and to a reported $7 million paycheck) while it was at Universal, is no longer connected to it. Same for Nicholas Stoller, Rob Letterman, and producer Brian Grazer.
The original screenplay “inspired” by the Hasbro toy is currently being penned by Dean Georgaris, among whose writing credits are Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life and The Manchurian Candidate (2004). Also: Georgaris was a The Crazies producer.
Victoria replacement: Rachelle Lefevre out, Bryce Dallas Howard in
Last year, Bryce Dallas Howard, the star of Lars von Trier’s Manderlay and Jodie Markell’s The Loss of a Teardrop Diamond, replaced Rachelle Lefevre as the redheaded vampire Victoria, who plays a key role in the upcoming The Twilight Saga: Eclipse. If official statements are to be believed, Lefevre left the franchise due to “scheduling conflicts.”
Cast as one of Paul Giamatti’s wives in Richard J. Lewis’ Barney’s Version, Lefevre would thus have been unable to work on Eclipse, which (more or less; see below) would be shooting at the same time. Others have claimed – without hard evidence – that an important issue was Lefevre’s representatives demanding that her paycheck match her character’s lengthier screen time in Eclipse.
Below is Lefevre’s statement sent to EW.com. There’s no mention of salary disputes.
“I was stunned by Summit’s decision to recast the role of Victoria for Eclipse. I was fully committed to the Twilight saga, and to the portrayal of Victoria. I turned down several other film opportunities and, in accordance with my contractual rights, accepted only roles that would involve very short shooting schedules. My commitment to Barney’s Version is only ten days. Summit picked up my option for Eclipse. Although the production schedule for Eclipse is over three months long, Summit said they had a conflict during those ten days and would not accommodate me. Given the length of filming for Eclipse, never did I fathom I would lose the role over a 10[-]day overlap. I was happy with my contract with Summit and was fully prepared to continue to honor it. Summit chose simply to recast the part. I am greatly saddened that I will not get to complete my portrayal of Victoria for the Twilight audience. This is a story, a theatrical journey and a character that I truly love and about which I am very passionate. I will be forever grateful to the fan support and loyalty I’ve received since being cast for this role, and I am hurt deeply by Summit’s surprising decision to move on without me. I wish the cast and crew of Eclipse only the very best.”
According to screenwriter Melissa Rosenberg and Twilight director Catherine Hardwicke (clip), Bryce Dallas Howard had been offered the part of Victoria in the original Twilight movie but turned it down because she felt it was too small. In Eclipse, Victoria gets to create Seattle’s newborn vampire army and, at the dramatic climax, tries to kill Bella in the snowy mountains near Forks.
Now, just in case you’re wondering why Victoria hates Bella so much, it’s truly not a matter of wig envy. Instead, Victoria blames Bella’s paramour Edward for the death of her boyfriend, the vampire James (Cam Gigandet). A neck for a neck, as the old saying goes.
No Kurt Cobain for Robert Pattinson
Courtney Love has told The Canadian Press that rumors about Robert Pattinson having been handpicked to play Nirvana’s Kurt Cobain were “stupid.”
“Isn’t that so stupid, who would cast him?” Love remarked. “That’s just wrong, no offence (to Pattinson).”
“I watched the Twilight stuff very, very recently and I get it,” she added. “It resonates with the teenaged girl in me, I understand epic love of that nature; I write about it all the time. But isn’t [Pattinson’s casting] silly?”
Love then went on to say that she could see either Ryan Gosling or James McAvoy as Cobain.
No Heathcliff for Robert Pattinson
And despite some fan casting, it looks like there’s absolutely zero chance that Andrea Arnold (replacing Peter Webber who had replaced John Maybury), currently working on one more big-screen version of Emily Brontë’s Gothic romantic novel Wuthering Heights, will as much as consider Robert Pattinson for the brooding, passionate, borderline psychopathic Heathcliff.
Ironically, Robert Bernstein, one of the producers attached to the project, has told The Guardian that the new Wuthering Heights (adaptation by Olivia Hetreed) is getting off the ground at least in part thanks to the Twilight Saga effect.
“It’s clearly in the zeitgeist,” Bernstein remarked. “Why is anybody’s guess, but people are absolutely obsessed with this doomed, romantic love that can only be achieved beyond death, or in the case of Twilight, by becoming a vampire.”
Keep in mind that Wuthering Heights is one of Bella’s favorite books. (“If all else perished, and he remained, I should still continue to be; and if all else remained, and he were annihilated, the universe would turn to a mighty stranger.”)
When Peter Webber was to direct the project, Gossip Girl actor Ed Westwick was named as the prospective Heathcliff. The more mature Michael Fassbender has also been mentioned in connection with the role previously played by, among others, Laurence Olivier, Ralph Fiennes, and Timothy Dalton.
According to more recent reports, Andrea Arnold has been looking for an unknown – possibly of “gypsy” (Romany) origin.
Update: James Howson, a part-black unknown who looks nothing like the Heathcliff described in Brontë’s novel, ultimately landed the role opposite Kaya Scodelario as Cathy. (At the time of her casting, Scodelario tweeted: “im gonna be in the new Wuthering Heights film! as cathy! should probs read the book.”)
No Henry Cavill for Stephenie Meyer
And to think that Stephenie Meyer had initially wanted Henry Cavill – best known as Charles Brandon in The Tudors – to play Edward Cullen. But by the time Summit Entertainment optioned Twilight in 2007, Cavill was already 24 years old and thus too old to pass for a teenager. (Edward is over 100, but looks 17.)
The irony (considering the ongoing Robert Pattinson idolatry): After Pattinson was cast as Edward, angry Twilight fans were up in arms. Some found him too ugly (or just not good-looking enough); others associated him with his Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire character Cedric Diggory.
“The books have a huge following,” Pattinson told the London Evening Standard around that time, “and I’ve already got bags of letters from angry fans, telling me that I can’t possibly play Edward, because I’m Diggory. I hope I can prove them wrong.”
Now, imagine if they had seen him as a gay Salvador Dali in Little Ashes.
Editorial changes
Besides dropping a song by the British band Muse from the film’s soundtrack, another change is replacing editor Art Jones with Nancy Richardson.
According to EW.com, Nancy Richardson, who edited Catherine Hardwicke’s original Twilight film, was brought on board because Summit Entertainment said director David Slade’s material “needed a stronger edit.” Jones had previously worked with Slade in 30 Days of Night and Hard Candy.
Also in regard to this issue, Dread Central reported that “David Slade was excitedly tweeting about the progress of his editing process, including this statement: ‘Cutting like crazy, the film is getting closer working through the weekends again, adding more EDWARD!'”
But “maybe he still wasn’t adding enough Edward.”
On the Road with Kristen Stewart
Kristen Stewart has been cast as the free-spirited Marylou in the Walter Salles’ big-screen transfer of Jack Kerouac’s iconic Beat Generation novel On the Road. Jose Rivera, who penned Salles’ critical and commercial hit The Motorcycle Diaries, has been tasked with writing the screenplay.
Stewart should be joining Sam Riley, who will reportedly play Kerouac’s alter ego Sal Paradise. A couple of years ago, Riley won several British film awards for his portrayal of Joy Division’s Ian Curtis in Control.
A couple of rumored – and more box-office-friendly – titles for Stewart are Wanted 2 and David Fincher’s Hollywood version of the Swedish blockbuster The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. In the former, she would, even if not quite literally, take over from where Angelina Jolie left off; in the latter, she would play the titular computer hacker (Noomi Rapace in the original).
On the Road is expected to start shooting on Aug. 1 in New Orleans and (later on) Montreal, smack between the release of The Twilight Saga: Eclipse and filming of Bill Condon’s Breaking Dawn.
On the Road is slated to hit theaters sometime in 2011.
Italians do it better
June 19 update: The most curious thing about the video clips showing Kristen Stewart and Taylor Lautner being interviewed in Italy as part of their international The Twilight Saga: Eclipse promotional tour is that the hostess/interviewer actually feels the need to tell the screaming crowd: “A little more enthusiasm!”
“Buona sera, benvenuta. Come va?” Translation delay. “We’re really great!” says Stewart. Quick translation: “Benissimo!” [Screams.]
Lautner then says “I’m doing fantastic.” [More screams.]
Answering the interviewer’s question about what she remembers about her visit to the Rome Film Festival to promote Twilight two years ago (and the difference between then and now), Stewart says: “I have to say that out of everywhere we’ve gone, you guys have been – huh, and this I mean in the most positive way – the loudest.”
At that point, the interviewer didn’t feel the need to ask for more enthusiasm, explaining instead that the sage Madonna (the singer, not the saint) once said, “Italians do it better, even the loud.”
Later on, Kristen Stewart starts to answer a question but is prevented from going on by more loud screaming. By then, the hostess has clearly decided the crowd has displayed more than enough enthusiasm. “She hasn’t even said anything!” she tells them.
Those clips should be preserved for all posterity. They’re wonderful anthropological studies.
One interesting bit of information: Meyer changed the blocking of the Jacob-Bella kiss (“she taught us to kiss,” says Lautner) to match what she had imagined while writing Eclipse.
Breaking Dawn birth
June 18 update: The Twilight Saga screenwriter Melissa Rosenberg has assured her Facebook followers that Breaking Dawn will indeed feature the birth scene, sex scenes, feathers, and blood. In the Los Angeles Times, Rosenberg had been quoted as saying:
“On the fan site, on Facebook, all the comments are, ‘It has to be R rated! You have to show the childbirth! Gore and guts and sex!’ For me it’s actually more interesting to not see it. You know, you can do childbirth without seeing childbirth. … It doesn’t mean it’s any less evocative of an experience.”
Kristen Stewart apologizes for using the R word
June 3: About one month before The Twilight Saga: Eclipse opens, Kristen Stewart has opted to issue an apology for her use of the word “rape” as a metaphor for having paparazzi unrelentingly assault her person wherever she goes.
Here’s what Stewart, who played a rape victim in Speak (2004) and who has done public service announcements for the advocacy group RAINN, told People.com. (It’s unclear whether Stewart’s quotes were said in the order posted below – or with nothing else in-between them):
“I really made an enormous mistake – clearly and obviously. And I’m really sorry about my choice of words.”
“I’ve made stupid remarks before, and I’ve always reasoned: ‘Whatever. They can think what they want.'”
“‘Violated’ definitely would have been a better way of expressing the thought.”
“People thinking that I’m insensitive about this subject rips my guts out. I made a big mistake.”
Here’s what Kristen Stewart said, via The Huffington Post:
“What you don’t see are the cameras shoved in my face and the bizarre intrusive questions being asked, or the people falling over themselves, screaming and taunting to get a reaction. The photos are so … I feel like I’m looking at someone being raped. A lot of the time I can’t handle it. It’s fucked. I never expected that this would be my life.”
Now, imagine if Stewart had said instead: “When I’m surrounded by paparazzi taunting and screaming at me, I feel like I’m in a war zone.” Would anyone anywhere have taken the trouble to criticize her for using the “war” word in vain?
It’s always good to remember that no matter what you say or do, someone somewhere will get (possibly deeply) offended. So, should you go through life apologizing – not for doing something unethical or uttering something cruel but for merely offending people?
The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner sells 1 million copies in U.S.
June 30 update: Stephenie Meyer’s The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner: An Eclipse Novella has sold more than 1 million copies in the United States after coming out on June 5.
According to publisher Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner is the year’s best-selling book to date.
Bree Tanner is the newborn vampire briefly seen near the end of Meyer’s third Twilight Saga novel, Eclipse. The novella follows Bree’s trajectory from newborn vampire to her untimely demise. In the movie, Bree is played by Daytime Emmy and Genie Award nominee Jodelle Ferland (Genie: Tideland, 2006 [nomination at age 12]; Daytime Emmy: Mermaid, 2000 [nomination at age six]).
Little, Brown Books adds that almost 100 million copies of the Twilight Saga books – Twilight, New Moon, Eclipse, and Breaking Dawn – have been sold in nearly 50 countries.
Twilight novel passes 2 million milestone in U.K.
July 26 update: Stephenie Meyer’s Twilight has become the 13th novel to sell more than two million copies in the United Kingdom in the 21st century.
According to TheBookseller.com, besides Meyer only three other novelists have achieved the same feat so far this century:
- J.K. Rowling (Harry Potter series)
- Dan Brown (The Da Vinci Code and Angels & Demons)
- Mark Haddon (The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time)
Curiously, Twilight was not a big literary hit when it was first published in the U.K. in 2006, selling a mere 1,684 copies as per Nielsen BookScan data. The book only caught on in summer 2008, following the publication of Breaking Dawn, and, more importantly, a few months before the release of Catherine Hardwicke’s movie version.
Nikki Reed, Ashley Greene, and Elizabeth Reaser Eclipse character poster.
The Twilight Saga: Eclipse cast
Besides Robert Pattinson, Taylor Lautner, and Kristen Stewart, experiencing all this transformational drama are Bryce Dallas Howard, Xavier Samuel, Peter Facinelli, Elizabeth Reaser, Dakota Fanning, Kellan Lutz, Ashley Greene, Nikki Reed, and Jackson Rathbone.
Plus Billy Burke, Daniel Cudmore, Michael Welch, Jodelle Ferland, Cameron Bright, Booboo Stewart, Christian Serratos, Kirsten Prout, Charlie Bewley, Justin Chon, Julia Jones, Alex Meraz, Sarah Clarke, Jack Huston, and Gil Birmingham.
And Oscar nominees Anna Kendrick (Up in the Air, 2009) and Catalina Sandino Moreno (Maria Full of Grace, 2004).
“Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart Kissing” notes
Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson, Ashley Greene, Nikki Reed, and Elizabeth Reaser The Twilight Saga: Eclipse images: Kimberley French | Summit Entertainment.