Monday, 31 May 2010
The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn
The Twilight Saga:
Breaking Dawn
| Author | Stephenie Meyer |
|---|---|
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Series | Twilight series |
| Genre(s) | Paranormal romance, young-adult fiction |
| Publisher | Little, Brown and Company |
| Publication date | August 2, 2008 (USA) August 4, 2008 (UK, AUS) |
| Media type | |
| Pages | 756 |
| ISBN | ISBN 031606792X |
| OCLC Number | 229895748 |
| LC Classification | PZ7.M5717515 Br 2008 |
| Preceded by | Eclipse |
Plot summary
Breaking Dawn is split into three separate parts. The first part details Bella's marriage and honeymoon with Edward, which they spend on a private island off the coast of Brazil. Two weeks into their honeymoon, Bella realizes that she is pregnant and that her condition is progressing at an unnaturally accelerated rate. After contacting Carlisle, who confirms her pregnancy, she and Edward immediately return home to Forks, Washington. Edward, concerned for Bella's life and convinced that the fetus is a monster as it continues to develop with unnatural rapidity, urges her to have an abortion. However, Bella feels a connection with the child and refuses.The novel's second part is written from the perspective of wolf shape-shifter Jacob Black, and lasts throughout Bella's pregnancy and childbirth. Jacob's Quileute wolf pack, not knowing what danger the unborn child may pose, plan to destroy it, also killing Bella. Jacob vehemently protests this decision and leaves, forming his own pack with Leah and Seth Clearwater. Bella soon gives birth, but the baby breaks many of her bones and she loses massive amounts of blood. In order to save her life, Edward changes her into a vampire by injecting his venom into her heart. Jacob, who was present for the birth, almost immediately "imprints"—an involuntary response in which a shape-shifter finds his soul mate—on Edward and Bella's newborn daughter, Renesmee. This ends the enmity between Jacob and the Cullens, leading Edward and Jacob to regard each other as brothers.
The third section of Breaking Dawn shifts back to Bella's perspective, finding her changed into a vampire and enjoying her new life and abilities. However, the vampire Irina misidentifies Renesmee as an "immortal child", a child who has been turned into a vampire. Because "immortal children" are uncontrollable, creating them has been outlawed by the Volturi. After Irina presents her allegation to the Volturi, they plan to destroy Renesmee and the Cullens. In an attempt to survive, the Cullens gather other vampire clans from around the world to stand as witnesses and prove to the Volturi that Renesmee is not an immortal child. Upon confronting the gathered Cullen allies and witnesses, the Volturi discover that they have been misinformed and immediately execute Irina for her mistake. However, they remain undecided on whether Renesmee should be viewed as a threat to vampires' secret existence. At that time, Alice and Jasper, who had left prior to the confrontation, return with a Mapuche called Nahuel, a 150-year-old vampire-human crossbreed like Renesmee. He demonstrates that the crossbreeds pose no threat, and the Volturi surrender. Edward, Bella and Renesmee return to their home in peace.
Publication history
Development
The title, Breaking Dawn, is a reference to the beginning of Bella's life as a newborn vampire. The cover is a metaphor for Bella's progression throughout the entire series; she began as the physically weakest player on the board, the pawn, but at the end she becomes the strongest, the queen.The plays The Merchant of Venice and A Midsummer Night's Dream both influenced Breaking Dawn. Originally, Meyer wrote a book titled Forever Dawn, which was a direct sequel to Twilight.While the basic storyline remained the same, Forever Dawn was narrated completely from Bella's point of view, the werewolves and Jacob were "only sketchily developed", Victoria and Laurent were both alive, and there was an epilogue. Meyer went on to say that she "may post some extras someday if I ever have time to go back through the Forever Dawn manuscript—it's just as long as Breaking Dawn."
In regard to Renesmee's unique name, Meyer wrote that she "couldn't call her Jennifer or Ashley. What do you name the most unique baby in the world? I looked through a lot of baby name websites. Eventually I realized that there was no human name that was going to work for me, so I surrendered to necessity and made up my own." Meyer decided to include the pregnancy in her story while she was researching vampires and came across the legend of the incubus, a demon who could father children.
Meyer states in regard to ending the series that:
"The Twilight Saga is really Bella's story, and this was the natural place for her story to wind up. She overcame the major obstacles in her path and fought her way to the place she wanted to be. I suppose I could try to prolong her story unnaturally, but it wouldn't be interesting enough to keep me writing. Stories need conflict, and the conflicts that are Bella-centric are resolved."
Marketing and release
Entertainment Weekly magazine released an excerpt of Breaking Dawn on May 30, 2008. Stephenie Meyer also revealed a 'Quote of the Day' from Breaking Dawn for about three weeks prior to its August 2, 2008 release. The first quote was released on Stephenie's website on July 12, 2008. The first chapter of Breaking Dawn, "Engaged", was released in the special edition of Eclipse. Breaking Dawn was officially released on August 2, 2008 through midnight release parties in over 4,000 bookstores, most of which involved costume and trivia contests, crafts, and face painting.Godiva also made a Twilight-themed chocolate bar, which was released in Barnes & Noble book stores at the release parties.A four-city Breaking Dawn Concert Series, featuring Stephenie Meyer and Blue October's Justin Furstenfeld, coincided with the novel's release. The concert series sold out three of its four locations on the day that tickets went on sale, selling out in under an hour in one city.
Publication
Prior to the novel's release, the first three Twilight books had already sold 8.5 million copies throughout the US and over 2 million copies in the UK. Breaking Dawn was one of the most anticipated book of 2008 with The Guardian noting, "Teenagers across the world are anxiously awaiting the next instalment of author Stephenie Meyer's vampiric series of novels." To meet the high demand, Little, Brown Books added a printing of 500,000 additional copies just prior to publication of the title, bringing initial print run to 3.7 million.The book sold 1.3 million copies in the US and 20,000 copies in the UK in its first 24 hours of release, as well as 100,000 copies in Canada during its first weekend. Breaking Dawn debuted at #1 on USA Today's top 150 best sellers list and has gone on to spend over 58 weeks on the list. It was also the biggest-selling children's book of 2008 with over 6 million copies sold.
A special edition of Breaking Dawn was released on August 4, 2009, containing a DVD of the Breaking Dawn Concert Series and a poster of Bella and Edward.
Reception
Reception of Breaking Dawn was, at best, "mixed".Lev Grossman wrote, "First, since there's a lot of one-star reviews up on Amazon, let me say up front: I loved Breaking Dawn." Cara von Wrangel Kinsey of School Library Journal responded with a positive review, describing the book as "captivating" and noting, "While this novel is darker and more mature than the earlier titles, Meyer's twists and turns are not out of character." The Charlotte Observer agreed and called the book "pretty darned good", but criticized the book's length saying, "I wish [Stephenie Meyer] hadn't felt compelled to pack so much into one volume. It should have been two books." Mary Harris Russell of the Chicago Tribune also responded with a positive review and hailed the book as a "fun read", noting that Stephenie Meyer "continues to produce witty writing about families, teenagers and popular culture", while Time called the book "a wild but satisfying finish to the ballad of Bella and Edward" and gave it a rating of A-.An article in The Daily News Tribune said of Breaking Dawn, "Some of the dialog is a bit stilted,... but, if you stay close to Meyer's rich and prodigious narrative, you too might fall in love with its suspense and moving sensitivity".Publishers Weekly stated that the main problem with Breaking Dawn was that, "Essentially, everyone gets everything they want, even if their desires necessitate an about-face in characterization or the messy introduction of some back story. Nobody has to renounce anything or suffer more than temporarily—in other words, grandeur is out."In an article by The Associated Press, journalist Sara Rose wrote on NewsOK.com that fans of the series would love "engaging characters, great humor, a distracting obsession with beauty, focus on the minutiae of emotions"; however "casual readers may be disappointed with a lot of build-up and little action." The Independent called the book, "shockingly, tackily, sick-makingly sexist" and said that "Bella Swan lives to serve men and suffer."Entertainment Weekly graded Breaking Dawn with a D, criticizing the birth scene and Bella's "unwavering passion for Edward" and having no other goals. The Washington Post also responded with a negative review, making comments such as, "Meyer has put a stake through the heart of her own beloved creation," and "Breaking Dawn has a childbirth sequence that may promote lifelong abstinence in sensitive types."
In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Meyer responded to the negative response of many fans to the book and called it the "Rob Effect"; she said that the fans need time to accept the ending of Breaking Dawn, just as they needed time to accept Robert Pattinson playing the role of Edward in the Twilight movie.
Awards and honors
Breaking Dawn was the recipient of a British Book Award for "Children's Book of the Year", despite competition with JK Rowling's The Tales of Beedle the Bard. In the 2009 "Children's Choice Book Awards", the novel was chosen as "Teen Choice Book of the Year" and won Meyer the "Author of the Year" award.Film
Main article: The Twilight Saga (film series)#Production
Summit Entertainment announced in November 2008 that they had obtained the rights to the fourth book in Stephenie Meyer's series, Breaking Dawn.The studio greenlit a two-part adaptation of The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn in April 2010. The film's first part is tentatively scheduled for release on November 18, 2011, while the films second part is tentatively scheduled for release in the summer of 2012.Bill Condon will be directing both parts; The Twilight Saga author, Stephenie Meyer, will co-produce the films along with Karen Rosenfelt and Wyck Godfrey.
The Twilight Saga: Eclipse
The Twilight Saga: Eclipse
| Directed by | David Slade |
|---|---|
| Produced by | Wyck Godfrey Karen Rosenfelt |
| Written by | Melissa Rosenberg (Screenplay) Stephenie Meyer (Novel) |
| Starring | Kristen Stewart Robert Pattinson Taylor Lautner Bryce Dallas Howard Billy Burke Dakota Fanning |
| Music by | Howard Shore |
| Cinematography | Javier Aguirresarobe |
| Editing by | Nancy Richardson Art Jones |
| Distributed by | Summit Entertainment |
| Release date(s) | June 30, 2010 |
| Running time | 124 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $65,000,000 |
| Preceded by | The Twilight Saga: New Moon |
| Followed by | The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn |
The Twilight Saga: Eclipse
is an upcoming romantic-fantasy film scheduled for release on June 30, 2010. It is based on Stephenie Meyer's Eclipse and will be the third installment of The Twilight Saga film series, following 2008's Twilight and 2009's New Moon. Summit Entertainment greenlit the film in February 2009. Directed by David Slade, the film will star Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson, and Taylor Lautner, reprising their roles as Bella Swan, Edward Cullen, and Jacob Black, respectively. Melissa Rosenberg, who penned the scripts for both Twilight and New Moon, will be returning as screenwriter.
Filming began on August 17, 2009 at Vancouver Film Studios,nd finished in late October, with post-production began early the following month.Because of scheduling conflicts, Bryce Dallas Howard will play Victoria, replacing Rachelle Lefevre who previously played her. It will be the first Twilight film to be released in IMAX.
Plot
See also: Novel's plot
Summit Entertainment released a plot summary of The Twilight Saga: Eclipse on February 20, 2009, which states:Cast
Main cast :
- Kristen Stewart as Bella Swan, who finds herself surrounded by danger and targeted by the vengeful vampire Victoria. In the meantime, she must choose between her love for vampire Edward Cullen and her friendship with werewolf Jacob Black.
- Robert Pattinson as Edward Cullen, Bella's vampire boyfriend who can read minds, except for Bella's. In New Moon, Edward left Bella, and now he has returned to try to stay a part of her life.
- Taylor Lautner as Jacob Black, a werewolf in whom Bella found solace during Edward's absence in New Moon. Now, Edward has returned to Bella's life permanently, and Jacob is looking for ways to prove that he is better for her.
Secondary characters
- Ashley Greene as Alice Cullen, a member of the Cullen family who can see "subjective" visions of the future and who is close friends with Bella.
- Peter Facinelli as Carlisle Cullen, a compassionate doctor who acts as a father figure to the Cullen coven. He is the one that created the Cullen family except for Alice and Jasper.
- Elizabeth Reaser as Esme Cullen, a loving mother figure of the Cullen coven.
- Kellan Lutz as Emmett Cullen, the strongest member of the Cullen family, and provides comic relief
- Nikki Reed as Rosalie Hale, the most beautiful member of the Cullen family.
- Jackson Rathbone as Jasper Hale, a member of the Cullen coven who trains his family to fight newborn vampires and can control/manipulate emotions.
- Billy Burke as Charlie Swan, Bella's father and Forks' Chief of Police.
- Bryce Dallas Howard as Victoria, a vampire who wants to kill Bella to avenge her mate, James.
- Xavier Samuel as Riley, part of Victoria's army of vampires.
- Jack Huston as Royce King II, Rosalie's former fiance.
Production
Development
In early November 2008, Summit announced that they had attained the rights to the remaining books in Stephenie Meyer's Twilight series: New Moon, Eclipse, and Breaking Dawn. In February 2009, Summit confirmed that they would begin working on The Twilight Saga: Eclipse. On the same day, it was announced that since New Moon director Chris Weitz would be in post-production for New Moon when The Twilight Saga: Eclipse began shooting, he would not be directing the third film. Instead, The Twilight Saga: Eclipse would be helmed by director David Slade, with Melissa Rosenberg returning as screenwriter.Casting
Summit Entertainment revealed that they would replace Rachelle Lefevre, who played an evil vampire named Victoria, with Bryce Dallas Howard in late July 2009. They attributed the change to scheduling conflicts, and Lefevre responded by saying she was "stunned" and "greatly saddened" by the decision. Bryce Dallas Howard was initially approached to play Victoria in Twilight, but she rejected it as it was "too small of a part".Silent Hill's Jodelle Ferland was cast as the newly turned vampire, Bree. Other new cast members include Xavier Samuel as Riley, Jack Huston as Royce King II, Catalina Sandino Moreno as Maria,Julia Jones as Leah Clearwater, and Boo Boo Stewart as Seth Clearwater.
Filming and post-production
Principal photography began on August 17, 2009 at Vancouver Film Studios. On August 29, photos captured Kristen Stewart, Billy Burke, and other principal actors, filming a scene with graduation caps and gowns. September 2 brought Xavier Samuel together with Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson filming at a soundstage for scenes at Bella's house. Director David Slade stated that they filmed a scene with a tent on September 13. He also said on his Twitter account that they filmed a kiss between Jacob and Bella on September 17. Filming wrapped up on October 29, 2009, while post production began in late November. Slade published multiple updates on his Twitter account proclaiming that editing was going well. He said the "story and the way [they] approached the film calls for a more realistic approach." In April 2010, it was revealed that reshoots to the film were needed. Both Slade and Stephenie Meyer were present at the shoot along with the three main stars.In January 2010, an early draft of the film's script was leaked on the Internet. The script presumably belonged to star Jackson Rathbone, as his name was watermarked across each page.
Music
Main article: The Twilight Saga: Eclipse (soundtrack)
The score for The Twilight Saga: Eclipse will be composed by Howard Shore, who composed the scores for such films as The Lord of the Rings trilogy and The Aviator. The film's soundtrack will be released June 8, 2010 by Atlantic Records in conjunction with music supervisor Alexandra Patsavas' Chop Shop label. The lead single from the soundtrack will be "Neutron Star Collision (Love Is Forever)", performed by the British band Muse.On May 11, 2010, Myspace.com announced that the full Eclipse soundtrack listing would be unveiled starting at 8 a.m. the following morning every half-hour, totaling six hours.
Marketing
On November 5, 2009, the American Film Market revealed the first poster for The Twilight Saga: Eclipse. In late February 2010, Summit Entertainment announced that the first trailer would be attached to the studio's own film, Remember Me, which also stars Robert Pattinson. On March 10, 2010, a 10-second preview of the trailer was released online, followed by the release of the full trailer the next day. The trailer's release coincided with the launching of the film's official website. The Twilight Saga: New Moon DVD and Blu-ray Walmart Ultimate Fan Edition includes a 7-minute first look at The Twilight Saga: Eclipse. On March 23, the second poster for the film was released. The final Eclipse trailer debuted on The Oprah Winfrey Show, and in promotion for the movie, Robert Pattinson, Taylor Lautner, Kristen Stewart, and Dakota Fanning made a guest appearance on the show May 13.Nordstrom and Summit Entertainment have also joined together to sell a fashion collection inspired by The Twilight Saga: Eclipse, as was done for the previous installment, The Twilight Saga: New Moon. Created by Awake Inc., the collection will be based on Ashley Greene's Alice and Kristen Stewart's Bella. The Eclipse collection will be available on June 4, 2010.
Release
Tickets for The Twilight Saga: Eclipse went on sale on various online movie ticket sellers on Friday, May 14, 2010.Awards
| Year | Nominated work | Award | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | Eclipse | National Movie Awards - Most Aniticpated Movie Of The Summer | Won |
Sequel
Summit Entertainment announced in November 2008 that they had obtained the rights to the fourth book in Stephenie Meyer's series, Breaking Dawn. The studio greenlit an adaptation of The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn in April 2010, which may be split into two films. The film's first part is tentatively scheduled for release on November 18, 2011. Bill Condon will be directing, and author Stephenie Meyer will co-produce the films along with Karen Rosenfelt and Wyck Godfrey.The Twilight Saga: New Moon
The Twilight Saga: New Moon
| Directed by | Chris Weitz |
|---|---|
| Produced by | Mark Morgan Wyck Godfrey |
| Written by | Melissa Rosenberg (Screenplay) Stephenie Meyer (Novel) |
| Starring | Kristen Stewart Taylor Lautner Robert Pattinson Ashley Greene Rachelle Lefevre Billy Burke Michael Sheen Dakota Fanning |
| Music by | Alexandre Desplat |
| Cinematography | Javier Aguirresarobe |
| Editing by | Peter Lambert |
| Distributed by | Summit Entertainment |
| Release date(s) | November 16, 2009 (Los Angeles Premiere) November 20, 2009 |
| Running time | 130 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $50,000,000 |
| Gross revenue | $709,711,008 |
| Preceded by | Twilight |
| Followed by | The Twilight Saga: Eclipse |
Melissa Rosenberg, who handed in a draft of the film script during the opening weekend of Twilight, returned as screenwriter for The Twilight Saga: New Moon. Filming began in Vancouver in late March 2009,and in Montepulciano, Italy, in late May 2009.
The Twilight Saga: New Moon was released on November 20, 2009, in most countries, and set domestic box office records as the biggest midnight screening with $26.3 million. This led to the biggest single day domestic gross with $72.7 million.The film also opened with the third biggest domestic opening weekend ($142,839,137).The film was well received by fans, but critical reception was less favorable.
The Twilight Saga: New Moon has become the highest grossing film released by Summit Entertainment, and also the film with the widest independent release, playing in over 4,000 theaters in its theatrical run. The Twilight Saga: New Moon was released on DVD and Blu-ray on March 20, 2010 through midnight release parties. The film has grossed, as of April 2010, $144,808,588 in North American DVD sales, selling more than 6,367,352 units,4 million of which were sold within its first weekend, beating Twilight's 3.8 million units sold in its first two days.
Plot
On her 18th birthday, Bella Swan wakes up from a dream in which she sees herself as an old woman. She expresses her distaste with growing older than her boyfriend Edward Cullen, a vampire who stopped aging physically at 17. Despite her lack of enthusiasm, Edward's adoptive family throws Bella a birthday party. While unwrapping a gift, Bella gets a paper cut, causing Edward's brother, Jasper, to become overwhelmed by her blood's scent and attempt to kill her. Realizing the danger that he and his family pose to Bella, Edward ends their relationship, and the Cullens leave Forks, Washington permanently.Edward's departure leaves Bella heartbroken and depressed for months. However, when her father, Charlie, decides to send her to live with her mother in Florida, Bella agrees to spend time with her friends. After seeing a movie with Jessica, Bella sees a group of men on motorcycles. This reminds her of when Edward previously rescued her from an assault, and she sees his image warning her to stay away. Bella discovers that thrill-seeking activities evoke Edward's preserved image. She is also comforted by her deepening friendship with Jacob Black, a cheerful companion who eases her pain over losing Edward. When Jacob suddenly begins avoiding her, Bella discovers he has become a werewolf, an age-old enemy of vampires. Jacob's pack members are on constant patrol for Victoria, a vampire searching to kill Bella due to the death of her mate, leaving Jacob little time to spend with her. Alone again, Bella returns to seeking thrill-inducing activities.
Through a series of miscommunications, Edward believes Bella has killed herself. Distraught over her supposed suicide, Edward flees to Italy to provoke the Volturi, a powerful vampire coven capable of killing him, by exposing himself in the sunlight. Alice, Edward's sister, and Bella rush to Italy to save Edward, and arrive just in time to stop him. However, the Volturi determine that Bella, a human who knows that vampires exist, must either be killed or transformed into a vampire herself. Alice stops them from killing her by sharing her premonition with Aro, a Volturi elder who is able to read thoughts, in which Bella has been transformed. Returning to Forks, Edward tells Bella that he always loved her and only left to protect her. She forgives him, and the Cullens vote in favor of Bella being transformed into a vampire, to Edward's dismay. However, Jacob reminds Edward of the treaty the Cullens made with the Quileute tribe: they will not attack each other, as long as the Cullens do not bite any humans. The movie concludes with Edward telling Bella that he will change her into a vampire if she marries him first.
Cast
Main cast
- Kristen Stewart as Bella Swan, a teenage girl who has fallen in love with Edward Cullen, a vampire. She is heartbroken when Edward abruptly leaves her, but is raised out of her depression through her friendship with family friend Jacob Black.
- Robert Pattinson as Edward Cullen, Bella's vampire boyfriend who abruptly leaves town to protect her.or much of the film, Edward only appears as a figment of Bella's imagination.
- Taylor Lautner as Jacob Black, Bella's old childhood friend and a member of the Quileute tribe. He becomes close to Bella after Edward leaves, and transforms into a werewolf.
- Ashley Greene as Alice Cullen, a member of the Cullen family who can see "subjective" visions of the future and who becomes best friends with Bella. Secondary cast
- Billy Burke as Charlie Swan, Bella's father and Forks' Chief of Police.
- Peter Facinelli as Carlisle Cullen, leader and father figure of the Cullen family.
- Elizabeth Reaser as Esme Cullen, Carlisle's wife and the mother figure of the Cullen family.
- Kellan Lutz as Emmett Cullen, a member of the Cullen family.
- Nikki Reed as Rosalie Hale, a member of the Cullen family who "feels really strongly about her hatred for Bella."
- Jackson Rathbone as Jasper Hale, a member of the Cullen family who thirsts for Bella's blood after she gives herself a paper cut.
- Rachelle Lefevre as Victoria, a vampire who wants to kill Bella to avenge her lover, James.
- Edi Gathegi as Laurent, a vampire who also tries to kill Bella.
- Michael Sheen as Aro, the leader of an ancient Italian vampire coven known as the Volturi.
- Dakota Fanning as Jane, a guard of the Volturi who has the ability to torture people with illusions of pain.
- Anna Kendrick as Jessica Stanley, Bella's self-involved friend.
- Michael Welch as Mike Newton, Bella's friend who has a crush on her. He joins her on a date with Jacob.
Production
Development
In early November 2008, Summit announced that they had obtained the rights to the remaining books in Stephenie Meyer's Twilight series: New Moon, Eclipse, and Breaking Dawn. On November 22, 2008, one day after the theatrical release of Twilight, Summit confirmed that they would begin working on The Twilight Saga: New Moon. "I don't think any other author has had a more positive experience with the makers of her movie adaptation than I have had with Summit Entertainment," said Meyer. Melissa Rosenberg had been working on adapting the novel prior to Twilight's release and handed in the draft for The Twilight Saga: New Moon during Twilight's opening weekend in November 2008.The extraordinary world that Stephenie has created has millions of fans, and it will be my duty to protect on their behalf the characters, themes and story they love. This is not a task to be taken lightly, and I will put every effort into realizing a beautiful film to stand alongside a beautiful book.
Chris Weitz, director of The Twilight Saga: New Moo
Casting
Due to major physical changes that occur in the character of Jacob Black between Twilight and New Moon, Weitz considered replacing Taylor Lautner in the sequel with an actor who could more accurately portray "the new, larger Jacob Black."In an attempt to keep the role, Lautner weight-trained extensively and gained approximately 30 pounds.In January 2009, Weitz and Summit Entertainment announced that Lautner would continue to play the role of Jacob in The Twilight Saga: New Moon. In an interview, fellow cast member Kristen Stewart talked about Lautner's transformation saying, "He's an entirely different person physically."In late March 2009, Summit Entertainment released a list of the actors who would be portraying the "wolf pack" alongside Lautner. The casting for the rest of the Quileute tribe was headed by casting director Rene Haynes, who has worked on films with large American Indian casts, such as Dances with Wolves and Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee. A casting call was also held in Vancouver in February 2009, specifically asking for "any first nations/aboriginal actors and actresses between the ages of 15 and 25".
Talking about the casting of Michael Sheen as Aro, director Chris Weitz claims to have "'aggressively' pursued the actor", and describes the character as "on the surface, a very gracious and friendly vampire, but beneath that he is a tremendous threat."
[edit] Filming and post-production
Pre-production for The Twilight Saga: New Moon started in December 2008.Filming was scheduled to begin on March 23, 2009 in Vancouver, but began a few days early. David Thompson Secondary School served as the location for the high school scenes in the movie.Filming in Montepulciano, Italy occurred in late May 2009 and ended on the 29th.[citation needed] Almost 80% of the visual effects created for the film were done by an Indian firm, Prime Focus.Music
Main article: New Moon (soundtrack)
The score for The Twilight Saga: New Moon was composed by Alexandre Desplat while the rest of the soundtrack was chosen by music supervisor Alexandra Patsavas, who also produced the Twilight soundtrack. The New Moon: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack album was released on October 16, 2009 by Patsavas' Chop Shop label, in conjunction with Atlantic Records. It debuted at number two on the Billboard 200 albums chart, and climbed to number one a week later after selling 153,000 copies in its first full week of release.Marketing
The first promotional poster from The Twilight Saga: New Moon was released on May 19, 2009. On May 31, Robert Pattinson, Kristen Stewart, and Taylor Lautner revealed the film's first trailer at the MTV Movie Awards.Following the release of the trailer, two scenes from the film were presented at the 2009 San Diego Comic-Con.A 14-second preview of the second trailer was released online on August 12, 2009, and the full-length trailer was featured before theater showings of the film Bandslam. The film's third trailer was shown at the MTV Video Music Awards on September 13, 2009. Spike TV also aired a new trailer at the 2009 Scream Awards on October 27, 2009.
American Idol finalist Allison Iraheta hosted an 8-minute block prior to the showing of The Twilight Saga: New Moon in 1,200 theaters across the United States, where she talked about her upcoming album and played some tracks, including "Friday I'll Be Over U", "Pieces", and "Trouble Is".In addition, prior to the film's release, author Stephenie Meyer made an appearance on The Oprah Winfrey Show to promote the film.
Release
Many theater showings sold out as early as two months prior to The Twilight Saga: New Moon's release date. The film set records for advance ticket sales, causing some theaters to add additional showings. The film is also the biggest advanced ticket seller on Fandango, surpassing Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith. The Twilight Saga: New Moon accounted for 86 percent of Fandango's online ticket sales the weekend before the film was released. Morning ticket sales for The Twilight Saga: New Moon on its day of release are estimated to total $13.9 million.Box office
The Twilight Saga: New Moon set records as the biggest midnight opening in domestic (United States and Canada) box office history, grossing an estimated $26.3 million in 3,514 theaters.The record was previously held by Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, which grossed $22.2 million domestically during its midnight premiere. The film grossed $72.7 million on its opening day domestically, becoming the biggest single-day opening in domestic history, beating The Dark Knight's $67.2 million.This opening strongly contributed to another record: the first time that the top ten films at the domestic box office had a combined gross of over $100 million in a single day.The opening weekend of The Twilight Saga: New Moon is the third highest opening weekend in domestic history with $142,839,137, behind The Dark Knight and Spider-Man 3. The Twilight Saga: New Moon also has the sixth highest worldwide opening weekend with $274.9 million total. With an estimated budget of just under $50 million, it is the least expensive movie to ever open to more than $200 million worldwide.Over Thanksgiving weekend, the film grossed $42.5 million, and including Wednesday and Thursday ticket sales, grossed $66 million. It has earned $230.7 million in total since opening last week, 22% more than the previous installment grossed in its entire theatrical run. Internationally, the film grossed roughly $85 million over the weekend, adding up to a total worldwide gross of $473.7 million in ten days.In its third weekend New Moon grossed $15.7 million in the domestic market and another $40.7 million internationally, for a worldwide gross of $570.1 million. In its fourth weekend, the film dropped down to #4 with an estimated $10 million, bringing its domestic total to an estimated $270 million. "New Moon" has so far made $296,623,634 in the U.S. and Canada with an additional $413,087,374 in foreign markets for a worldwide total of $709,711,008 as of April 1.
Critical reception
Reviews for the film have been generally negative. Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reports that 28% of 203 critics have given the film a positive review, with a rating average of 4.6 out of 10. The site's general consensus is that "The Twilight Saga's second installment may satisfy hardcore fans of the series, but outsiders are likely to be turned off by its slow pace, relentlessly downcast tone, and excessive length."Among Rotten Tomatoes' "Top Critics", which consists of popular and notable critics from the top newspapers, websites, television and radio programs, the film holds an overall approval rating of 38%, based on a sample of 39 reviews. Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from film critics, has a rating score of 44 based on 32 reviews.Robert Ignizio of the Cleveland Scene described The Twilight Saga: New Moon as an "entertaining fantasy", and noted that it "has a stronger visual look [than Twilight] and does a better job with its action scenes while still keeping the focus on the central love triangle." Michael O'Sullivan of The Washington Post gave the film two and half stars out of four, praised Kristen Stewart's performance in the film and wrote, "Despite melodrama that, at times, is enough to induce diabetes, there's enough wolf whistle in this sexy, scary romp to please anyone." The Seattle Post-Intelligencer gave the film a "B" grading and said, "the movie looks tremendous, the dialogue works, there are numerous well placed jokes, the acting is on point."
Time Out New York gave the film 3 stars out of 5, calling it "acceptable escapism for those old enough to see it yet still young enough to shriek at undead dreamboats." Jordan Mintzer from Variety stated, "Stewart is the heart and soul of the film", and added that she "gives both weight and depth to dialogue...that would sound like typical chick-lit blather in the mouth of a less engaging actress, and she makes Bella's psychological wounds seem like the real deal."
Mick Lasalle from the San Francisco Chronicle responded with a more mixed review, stating, "[E]xpect this film to satisfy its fans. Everybody else, get ready for a bizarre soap opera/pageant, consisting of a succession of static scenes with characters loping into the frame to announce exactly what they're thinking." Digital Spy gave the film 2 stars out of 5, praising Kristen Stewart for "carrying the film on her shoulders and, once again, bringing plenty of soul to a character who might otherwise come across as self-indulgent", but was critical of its lack of action, ultimately calling it "a draining experience". Roger Ebert gave the film 1 star out of 4 and said that it "takes the tepid achievement of Twilight, guts it, and leaves it for undead." Richard Roeper graded The Twilight Saga: New Moon with a C- and called it a "plodding, achingly slow, 130-minute chapter in the saga". Mark Sells from The Oregon Herald gave the film 1 1/2 stars out of 5, and suggested that "the magic will have to remain in the minds of the readers as this translation fails to inspire or connect beyond the pages."
Home media
The Twilight Saga: New Moon was released on DVD and Blu-ray on March 20, 2010 through midnight release parties.Special features include audio commentary by director Chris Weitz and editor Peter Lambert, a behind the scenes documentary, and music videos. The DVD is set for a release of March 22, 2010 in the UK. Unlike the DVD and Blu-ray release, the Ultimate Fan Edition of the New Moon DVD includes a 7-minute first look at the upcoming sequel to New Moon, The Twilight Saga: Eclipse. It was released April 14, 2010 in Australia and New Zealand. Within its first weekend of release in the United States, the DVD sold over 4 million units, beating Twilight's 3.8 million units sold in its first two days.Within the first month of its release on DVD, the film grossed $144,808,588 in North American DVD sales, selling more than 6,367,352 units.Awards and nominations
2009: ShoWest Fan Choice AwardGolden Raspberry Awards
2010: Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Screenplay - Melissa Rosenberg (nominated)
2010: Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Prequel, Remake, Rip-off or Sequel (nominated)
2010: Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Supporting Actor - Robert Pattinson (nominated)
2010: Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Screen Couple - Kristen Stewart and either Robert Pattinson or Taylor Lautner (nominated)
Empire Awards
2010: Empire Award for Best Actor - Robert Pattinson (nominated)
2010: Empire Award for Best Newcomer - Anna Kendrick also for Up in the Air (nominated)
BAFTA Awards
2010: BAFTA Award for Rising Star - Kristen Stewart
National Movie Awards
2010: National Movie Award for Best Fantasy Film
2010: National Movie Award for Best Performance - Robert Pattinson
Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards
2010: Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Award for Favourite Movie (nominated)
2010: Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Award for Cutest Couple - Jacob Black and Bella Swan
2010: Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Award for Cutest Couple - Edward Cullen and Bella Swan (nominated)
2010: Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Award for Favourite Movie Actor - Taylor Lautner mtv movies awards 2010 nominees
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