Twilight Coven Philippines

As the movies for the Twilight Saga are slowly winding down, Summit Entertainment has decided to create an interactive experience shaped around the fans, the reason why the series has become the phenomenal franchise it is today.

Instructions are accompanied by a welcome/demo video narrated by Nikki Reed (Rosalie).

From: The Official Twilight Saga Facebook

Summit Entertainment announced today the following have been cast in THE TWILIGHT SAGA: BREAKING DAWN for roles in The Amazon Coven, The Egyptian Coven, The Irish Coven and The Romanian Coven as well as the American and European Nomads as outlined below.

THE AMAZON COVEN

• Senna - Tracey Heggins
• Zafrina - Judi Shekoni

Among the oldest vampires in the world, Senna and Zafrina are descendants of an ancient Amazonian tribe.  They have lived outside of civilization for centuries and therefore make no attempt to keep up a human facade. Though they drink human blood, the Amazons have long been allies of Carlisle.

THE EGYPTIAN COVEN

• Amun - Omar Metwally
• Kebi - Andrea Gabriel 
• Benjamin - Rami Malek 
• Tia - Angela Sarafyan 

The Egyptian Coven consists of Amun, Kebi, Benjamin, and Tia, with Amun as the leader. It is stated that even though they are not a biological family, they could pass for one. Amun is extremely protective of his family and fearful of Aro.
THE IRISH COVEN

• Maggie - Marlane Barnes
• Siobhan - Lisa Howard
• Liam - Patrick Brennan

The Irish Coven, a relatively young group, was founded by Siobhan and Liam, but Maggie's talent made her an important element of it. They are not vegetarian but they are civilized.

THE ROMANIAN COVEN

• Vladimir - Noel Fisher
• Stefan - Guri Weinberg

The Romanian Coven is one of the oldest covens in the world and they were the ruling vampire family until they were unseated by the Volturi.  For that reason they harbor a centuries old resentment of the Italian coven.

THE AMERICAN NOMADS

• Garrett - Lee Pace
• Mary - Toni Trucks
• Randall - Bill Tangradi
• Peter - Erik Odom
• Charlotte - Valorie Curry

Turned during the Revolutionary War, Garrett has chosen to live a nomadic existence, wandering the world on his own. Garrett has never lost the rebellious spirit of his human life, and loves a good fight, always rooting for the underdog. Though not a vegetarian, Garrett is among Carlisle's closest and oldest friends.

Mary and Randall are American nomadic vampires.

Peter and Charlotte are nomadic vampires and mates.  They were created during the aftermath of the Southern Vampire Wars, in which Jasper was a key player.  They have remained friends with Jasper ever since.

THE EUROPEAN NOMADS

• Alistair - Joe Anderson

A nomadic vampire from England, Alistair has a misanthropic, brooding personality and a deep mistrust of all authority.  Although he counts Carlisle as his closest acquaintance, he doesn’t visit more than once a century.


About THE TWILIGHT SAGA: BREAKING DAWN

• The next chapter of THE TWILIGHT SAGA will be released as two separate films with the first of the two slated to be released in theatres on November 18, 2011 and the second coming to theatres on November 16, 2012.

• Academy Award® winner Bill Condon will direct both films starring Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson and Taylor Lautner. The project, based on the fourth novel in author Stephenie Meyer’s Twilight series, is currently being written by Melissa Rosenberg with Wyck Godfrey, Karen Rosenfelt and Stephenie Meyer producing.

• THE TWILIGHT SAGA: BREAKING DAWN illuminates the secrets and mysteries of this spellbinding romantic epic that has entranced millions.

About the TWILIGHT film series
  The TWILIGHT film series stars Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson and tells the story of 17-year-old Bella Swan who moves to the small town of Forks, Washington to live with her father, and becomes drawn to Edward Cullen, a pale, mysterious classmate who seems determined to push her away. But neither can deny the attraction that pulls them together...even when Edward confides that he and his family are vampires.  The action-packed, modern day vampire love story TWILIGHT, the first film in the series, was released in theatres on November 21, 2008 to a blockbuster reception. The second installment of the film franchise, THE TWILIGHT SAGA: NEW MOON was released November 20, 2009 and the third installment, THE TWILIGHT SAGA: ECLIPSE was released June 30, 2010.

After much speculation, Summit has finally chosen a director for the Twilight Saga's last installment, Breaking Dawn, rumored to start shooting later this year. Below is the official press release. Stephenie Meyer is also set to co-produce the film. (Source: Twilight Lexicon)

Los Angeles, CA April 28, 2010 – Summit Entertainment has confirmed that Academy Award® winner Bill Condon will direct THE TWILIGHT SAGA: BREAKING DAWN, based on the fourth novel in author Stephenie Meyer’s Twilight series. THE TWILIGHT SAGA: BREAKING DAWN, is currently being written by Melissa Rosenberg, and will star Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson and Taylor Lautner. Wyck Godfrey, Karen Rosenfelt, and Stephenie Meyer will produce the project.

“Bringing Stephenie Meyer’s BREAKING DAWN to the screen requires a graceful and intelligent hand and we believe Bill Condon is exactly the right steward, having shown equal and abundant talents of immense creativity and subtle sensitivity,” said Erik Feig, President of Production and Acquisitions, for Summit Entertainment.

Added author Stephenie Meyer, “I’m so thrilled that Bill wants to work with us. I think he’s going to be a great fit, and I’m excited to see what he does with the material.”

“I’m very excited to get the chance to bring the climax of this saga to life on-screen. As fans of the series know, this is a one-of-a-kind book – and we’re hoping to create an equally unique cinematic experience,” said Bill Condon.

THE TWILIGHT SAGA: BREAKING DAWN illuminates the secrets and mysteries of this spellbinding romantic epic that has entranced millions.

Condon is well known for writing and directing DREAMGIRLS, KINSEY, and GODS AND MONSTERS, for which he won the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay in 1999. He was nominated for a second Oscar for his screenplay for the movie musical CHICAGO in 2003. Most recently the multi-hyphenate directed the pilot episode for the Showtime series “The Big C” and produced the 81st Annual Academy Awards telecast, hosted by Hugh Jackman.

The third film in the franchise, THE TWILIGHT SAGA: ECLIPSE is due in theaters on June 30, 2010.

Yup, this really isn't a news round-up.

Just checking in to post a few things.

First, if you haven't heard through the fan grapevine yet, Summit Entertainment replaced Art Jones, the editor for The Twilight Saga: Eclipse and long-time collaborator of David Slade. He was replaced by Twilight editor Nancy Richardson. More info over at Entertainment Weekly.

Second, we previously reported that the Rob Pattinson and Emilie de Ravin film, Remember Me, is going to be released here in the Philippines on March 12. Reports are coming in from fellow fans that cinemas are promoting the release date of the film as March 10, Wednesday. We are still confirming this with Pioneer Films, the local distributor, but please take note of the new date anyway, especially if you're planning to reserve tickets early. Pioneer hasn't confirmed if the trailer for Eclipse will be attached to Remember Me due to the March 12 US embargo. We will post more details about this as we get them.

Third, speaking of Remember Me, the TCP admins are keen on supporting Rob's foray into film production as well as his non-Twilight ventures, so we will be raffling-off some tickets for Remember Me very soon. Keep visiting us!

Fourth, we've put up a new poll regarding the Twilight Graphic Novel. We hope you will take the time out to vote so that we can gauge interest in this new release. We hope to have some good news soon for people who are interested in buying the book.

Lastly, we've made it easier for you to find information regarding the local release of the New Moon DVD. All the information you will need is now permanently tacked to our site's sidebar to your right. There's also a link to the original announcement where you can post questions regarding the DVD. Don't post your questions in this blog post, use the link at the sidebar.

First off, Happy Birthday Bella Swan-Cullen!!!

The second full-length trailer of New Moon was reportedly shown in cinemas prior to the screening of Sorority Row, which is another movie from Summit Entertainment, and some fans have already uploaded it on video streaming sites. So if you've watched it, tell us what you think about it! An extended version of this trailer is the one to be premiering in the VMAs as reported by MTV.

Summit Entertainment has announced that it has acquired the rights to the Twilight in Forks: The Saga of the Real Town documentary and will be included in the New Moon DVD. Read the press release c/o Twilight Lexicon.

Ashley Greene talks to MTV on the possibility of making a Breaking Dawn film in this interview.

Radar Online has posted the second part of their interview with Chaske Spencer. He talks about getting close with the rest of the wolf pack, acting with Tinsel Korey, and other highlights on the New Moon set.

The 2009 MTV Video Music Awards will debut not only the first single from the New Moon soundtrack (Death Cab for Cutie's Meet Me on Equinox) but also show an extended trailer of the New Moon film. More details about the program here. The event will be (again) hosted by Russell Brand, infamously known for cutting off Robert Pattinson's introduction of Paramore in last year's event.

Stephenie Meyer ranked No. 82 in Vanity Fair's The New Establishment 2009, where the magazine lists the top 100 influential people in the Information Age.

Jackson Rathbone shares with MTV on Jasper's backstory in Eclipse and more on what Jasper will undergo in both New Moonand Eclipse films.

Get to watch the first trailer of Twilight in Forks: The Saga of the Real Town exclusively on MTV. What do you think of the tone of the trailer?

Teen Vogue posts an excerpt of its article on Taylor Lautner, detailing his life pre-Twilight and including behind-the-scenes photos and video of his cover shoot.

More on the involvement of Death Cab for Cutie in the New Moon soundtrack, along with their preparation to shoot the video for "Meet Me on Equinox" in this MTV interview.

Summit Entertainment has signed a deal with Habbo to further promote New Moon in the latter's virtual worlds. More about the partnership from Ad Week.

Check out MTV's coverage of the Vampire Ball which was held during the Twilight convention.

Test your Eclipse knowledge in this quiz by ReelzChannel.

Don't forget to vote for Twilight in the 2009 Scream Awards!

Fandango recently posted the second part of their New Moon set visit. They were able to view rehearsals for a Volturi scene, where Jane unintentionally (then intentionally) "tortures" Edward, and Bella looks on in horror. The article described the process the actors went through, and a bit of their facial expressions. (It's actually a bit spoilerish... for that one scene anyway.) The writer was even able to meet with Melissa Rosenberg and series author Stephenie Meyer! Here's a peek:

Pattinson stops in his tracks, arches his head back and expresses a look of excruciating pain. He lets out a grunt, the wires pull him back, and then drop him on his back. A camera that's zoomed in on Jane's face shows her red eyes widen and follow him to the spot on the ground where he falls. She hardly blinks. As Bella begs her to stop, Jane keeps staring, and her lips curve into a faint, smug smile.

Along with the set visit was their exclusive interview with Jamie Campbell Bower.

On MTV:
Chris Weitz's brother, fellow director, Paul Weitz, was interviewed about the uncanny timing which has both them working on different vampire movies. Read it here.

Taylor's New Moon wolf pack brother, Kiowa Gordon, shared a special scene in New Moon that they fondly call "the muffin scene", which, apparently, Taylor didn't partake in.

"When they were eating their funny little muffins, I was standing in the back, all pissed off," Lautner said of the scene, which depicts Jacob as not being too thrilled with the whole imprinting/ turning-into-a-wolf drama. "So I just got to watch them eat their muffins."

And something I found really cute: Kelly Clarkson, who has been very open about her love of Twilight, sang to a cardboard cutout of Robert Pattinson as Edward Cullen at a concert in Illinois. More on it as well as her thoughts on being a potential artist on the movie soundtrack here.

And thanks to the special people in youtube, you can watch a clip of that part of the concert here. :)

Kristen Stewart and Taylor Lautner shared that they would like to go on American Idol and sing Taylor Swift's "Love Story". The pair showed off their camaraderie while being interviewed during their Entertainment Weekly cover photoshoot. Kristen was particularly light and carefree, a welcome change to the (sexual) tension that seems to persist whenever RPattz is around... Sorry! I just had to go off on a tabloid tangent there.

Anyway, Taylor and Kristen's video interview can be viewed here on EW.com.

While Summit and the Eclipse staff probably haven't even exactly finalized sets for the third movie yet, except apparently for this one for Jasper's flashback scene, people are already needing reassurance for a fourth movie. This article on EOnline says that YES, there will be a Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn.

HitFix.com has a treat in the form of audio interviews with some of the New Moon cast--Taylor, Rachelle Lefevre, Michael Sheen, Jamie Campbell Bower, Cameron Bright, Charlie Bewley--as well as staff--screenwriter Melissa Rosenberg, producer Wyck Godfrey, and stunt coordinator Cam Waldbauer.

Fandom News
Summit has partnered with Creation Entertainment to organize a host of Twilight fan conventions set for the next three years. The first one is set for August 28, in New Jersey, according to Examiner.com. We also posted the news release from Summit. You can read it here.

Uh oh, someone's fed up with the haters. Twilight Examiner Amanda Bell decided to write about her frustration with the media making fun of the fan community just to get them to visit sites or read their posts. (Truly, that is the nature of media: to "sensationalize" and prod people to get a reaction. Negative publicity is still publicity. Sad but true.)

In the latter parts of her piece, she defends:

Twilight fans are not stupid. They are not a definite sub-class or counterculture. They are a diverse group of people, including highly intellectual men and women, who prefer the series for one reason or another - albeit at times, yes, the beauty of the actors and actresses is a part of it. They don't need to be tormented by the vicious tongues of writers who disagree with their opinions, and they certainly do not need to be categorized as infantile, insatiable, and unreasonable. Instead, perhaps a little respect can be shown by writers by presenting fans with unadulterated information and facts - sans the misbegotten humor ploys.

Bravo, Amanda Bell, for being brave enough to stand up to the closed-minded ones. :) You can read the rest of her article here.

CAST NEWS
Looks like things are starting to get ugly. Rachelle Lefevre is reportedly suing Summit Entertainment for breach of contract, after suddenly being replaced as Victoria in the third Twilight sequel.

On a related note, Rachelle thanked her fans on her twitter account for being supportive.

@RachelleLefevre I am so touched by all your responses and feel incredibly blessed to have fans like you. From the bottom of my heart: THANK YOU.

When asked by MTV on their thoughts about Rachelle's departure, both Peter Facinelli and Jackson Rathbone remained diplomatic. They did express how they will miss her for Eclipse. More on it here.

MTV.com spoke to Caius, or rather, Jamie Campbell-Bower and he dished about the Volturi having a "nude scene" in New Moon.

"We just all sit there, completely naked, for one scene," revealed "New Moon" actor Jamie Campbell Bower, talking about a racy moment that was added into the upcoming film. "Yeah, it's me, Michael Sheen and Christopher [Heyerdahl]; we just sit there, naked."

JCB was apparently only joking, New Moon director, Chris Weitz, was quick to reassure. In a message to the international fansites sent by Summit Entertainment after JCB's "revelation", Chris wrote:

Dear all,
I would like to put everyone’s mind at rest and let them know that the Volturi are not naked! Jamie (Campbell-Bower) has what you might call a dry sense of humor and almost managed to convince me — which is why he’ssuch a good actor. Anyway, be assured that, even though we do want the look of the Volturi to be a bit of a surprise, they are always — as in the book! — fully clothed.
best,
Chris Weitz

Jamie, himself, just recently, tweeted his apologies.

@Jamiebower: Apologies for misleading people into thinking that there would be a nude scene in New Moon. Never meant it to offend anyone. Sorry. X

MTV has an interview with Twilight-inspired trio, The Bella Cullen Project, who will be performing at the Dallas TwiCon. Read about their new video here.

Stephenie Meyer has sparked the reincarnation of the vampire genre, such that vamps are the special feature (and cover) of Entertainment Weekly's recent issue. I heard they made Tom Cruise's Lestat the top bloodsucker. If you disagree, they still have a poll up on their site, where, naturally, our Edward is leading.

Wanna have that "vampire glow"? Fans will get to feel like a Cullen with Twilight Beauty, the official cosmetic line for Twilight. See the site here. To be launched August 17th, at present, the site only fronts a splash page with character and future product shots, and linked logos to what I assume will be their two brands: Luna and Volturi. Interesting how their gloss?... Or is that cheek+lip tint?... is named "Venom".

MOVIE and SITE NEWS
Images from the New Moon calendar have been posted online and can be viewed through ROBsessedpattinson.com. Unfortunately, no movie stills this time. Instead, each month features the same gorgeous headshots you can see on the movie's official site. A pensive, extremely and starkly golden-eyed Robert Pattinson as Edward Cullen is the September calendar's flavor of the month.

And since we've touched up on the site, if you haven't visited it lately, there have been some updates! Firstly, the links to the Official Store on Amazon as well as that to The World of Twilight are now up! The latter, particularly, can let you send specially-designed Twilight E-cards by Hallmark... for that special Edward or Bella in your life. Or... even... James! [minamic: The James e-card mockup on the flash intro cracks me up for some reason. *winks at Mabs*]

You can also visit the Twilight MySpace Community and download the New Moon widget on that site.

Of note on The World of Twilight is the button leading to Eclipse's future webpage, which states the date of the movie's release next year: 6-30-2010. Wow.

The site also has the New Moon movie's worldwide release date in different countries listed. Ours currently says November 20, 2009. However, as the promo materials posted locally presently says November 25, 2009, we're opting for a "wait-and-see" stand about the actual Philippine premiere date. Basically, we'll wait for word from the distributor.

And the plot thickens...Summit Entertainment has issued a statement on Rachelle Lefevre's thoughts on the Eclipse recast move:

It was not until July 20th that Summit was first informed of Ms. Lefevre’s commitment to BARNEY’S VERSION, a commitment we have since been advised she accepted in early June. Summit had acted in good faith that she would be available to fulfill her obligations both in terms of rehearsals and shooting availability for THE TWILIGHT SAGA: ECLIPSE. We feel that her choice to withhold her scheduling conflict information from us can be viewed as a lack of cooperative spirit which affected the entire production.

Furthermore Ms. Lefevre took a role in the other film that places her in Europe during the required rehearsal time, and at least ten days of THE TWILIGHT SAGA: ECLIPSE’s principal photography. This period is essential for both rehearsal time with the cast, and for filming at key locations that are only available during the initial part of production.

For the entire article, click here c/o Twilight Lexicon.

A woman from St. Louis, Missouri, found the script for New Moon and another film entitled Memoirs in the trash bin outside a hotel. The report says that several actors that are part of the George Clooney film, Up In The Air, are staying at the hotel, including New Moon cast member, Anna Kendrick. Anna's manager denies that the script was hers, and that she would dispose of a script in such a manner.

The woman returned the scripts to Summit Entertainment via her lawyer, and was promptly invited to the premieres of the two movies. Summit, however, did not confirm if the scripts were authentic. It seems that they primarily wanted to reward the woman for her honesty and set an example.

Read the rest of the story here.

So what would YOU have done if you found the New Moon script in a trash bin? Send us your comments!

From Summit Entertainment's Official Website:

DAVID SLADE TO DIRECT SUMMIT ENTERTAINMENT'S THE TWILIGHT SAGA: ECLIPSE

Los Angeles, CA April 22, 2009 — Summit Entertainment announced today that David Slade has been hired to direct THE TWILIGHT SAGA: ECLIPSE from a screenplay written by Melissa Rosenberg. THE TWILIGHT SAGA: ECLIPSE, the third film in the studio's TWILIGHT film franchise based on the Stephenie Meyer's blockbuster book series, will be released theatrically in North America on Wednesday, June 30, 2010. The announcement was made by Erik Feig, Summit's President of Production.

Meyer stated, "I am thrilled that David Slade will be directing ECLIPSE. He's a visionary filmmaker who has so much to offer this franchise. From the beginning, we've been blessed with wonderful directorial talent for the Twilight Saga, and I'm so happy that ECLIPSE will be carrying on with that tradition."

Feig said, "Stephenie Meyer's ECLIPSE is a muscular, rich, vivid book and we at Summit looked long and hard for a director who could do it justice. We believe we have found that talent in David Slade, a director who has been able to create complex, visually arresting worlds. We cannot wait to see the ECLIPSE he brings to life and brings to the fans eagerly awaiting its arrival in summer of 2010."

Filmmaker Slade came to prominence as a director for his work on 2006's engrossing film HARD CANDY starring Academy Award® Nominated actress Ellen Page as well as directing 2007's genre hit 30 DAYS OF NIGHT which opened to number one at the box office its first weekend of release.

In ECLIPSE, Bella once again finds herself surrounded by danger as Seattle is ravaged by a string of mysterious killings and a malicious vampire continues her quest for revenge. In the midst of it all, she is forced to choose between her love for Edward and her friendship with Jacob — knowing that her decision has the potential to ignite the ageless struggle between vampire and werewolf. With her graduation quickly approaching, Bella is confronted with the most important decision of her life.

More on David Slade: IMDB page | Wikipedia

Thanks to Honey for the alert.

And we now have our official New Moon cast, straight from Summit.

SUMMIT ENTERTAINMENT STARTS PRODUCTION ON THE TWILIGHT SAGA: NEW MOON

Los Angeles, CA April 15, 2009 — Principal photography has begun on Summit Entertainment's THE TWILIGHT SAGA: NEW MOON, it was announced today by Erik Feig, Summit's President of Production. Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson and Taylor Lautner reprise their roles as Bella Swan, Edward Cullen and Jacob Black. Academy Award-nominee Chris Weitz (THE GOLDEN COMPASS, ABOUT A BOY) is the director. NEW MOON is filming on locations in Vancouver, BC and Tuscany, Italy.

Also rejoining the movie are Ashley Greene as Alice, Peter Facinelli as Carlisle, Elizabeth Reaser as Esme, Kellan Lutz as Emmett, Nikki Reed as Rosalie, Jackson Rathbone as Jasper, Edi Gathegi as Laurent, Rachelle Lafevre as Victoria and Billy Burke as Charlie Swan.

New cast members include the legendary Volturi, a venerable coven of vampires who weigh and impose the laws of the vampire world, as well as two new members of the Quileute Indian Nation. The Volturi include Charlie Bewley as Demetri, Jamie Campbell Bower as Caius, Daniel Cudmore as Felix, Christopher Heyerdahl as Marcus, all Volturi enforcers. Dakota Fanning plays Jane, a high ranking and powerful Volturi member and Cameron Bright is Alec, her brother. Noot Seer plays Volturi member Heidi. Michael Sheen plays Aro, the Volturi leader. Graham Greene appears as Harry Clearwater, Quileute tribal leader and old friend of Bella's father Charlie. Tinsel Korey is Emily, the fiancé of Sam Uley.

In NEW MOON, Bella Swan (Kristen Stewart) is devastated by the abrupt departure of her vampire love Edward (Robert Pattinson) but her spirit is rekindled by her growing friendship with the irresistible Jacob Black (Taylor Lautner). Suddenly she finds herself drawn into the world of the werewolves, ancestral enemies of the vampires, and she finds her loyalties tested.

Jamie Campbell Bower was last seen in Tim Burton's "Sweeney Todd" and is the lead singer of the band The Darling Buds. Daniel Cudmore played Colossus in the "X-Men" films, "X2" and "X-Men: The Last Stand." Dakota Fanning was last seen in Summit Entertainment's sci-fi thriller "Push" and provided the lead voice in the animated feature "Coraline." Graham Greene earned an Academy Award nomination for his work in "Dances With Wolves," and has appeared in such films as "The Green Mile," "Die Hard: With A Vengeance" and "Transamerica." Chrisopher Heyerdahl has appeared in such films as "The Chronicles of Riddick," "Catwoman" and "Blade: Trinity." Tinsel Korey has worked on numerous films and television shows, from "Into The West" to "The Lookout," opposite Joseph Gordon-Levitt. She is also a singer/songwriter. Vancouver-born Noot Seer began modeling at age 13 and has lived in New York, Barbados, Guyana and New Zealand. She was a champion horseback rider prior to her modeling career. She made her film debut in the comedy "Head Over Heels," starring Freddie Prinze, Jr. and Monica Potter. Michael Sheen last starred opposite Frank Langella in Ron Howard's film "Frost/Nixon," and played Britain's Prime Minister Tony Blair to Helen Mirren's Queen Elizabeth in "The Queen." The award-winning actor was recently seen in "Underworld: Rise of the Lycans."

The announcement can be found here, on the Summit Entertainment website. Click on News.

Just when I thought the telenovela was over....

Variety reports that Summit Entertainment has greenlit Eclipse for production with a, get this, 30 JUNE 2010 release date. And we thought New Moon was in Production Express. The report also says that a director for Eclipse has yet to be chosen.

In relation to that, Entertainment Weekly says that Chris Weitz will definitely not direct Eclipse, as the production timelines for both New Moon and Eclipse will most likely overlap. Contrary to ancient reports, though, the two sequels will not be shot back-to-back, rather, Eclipse will begin production as New Moon goes into post-production. There is no official confirmation from Summit about this yet.

E! Online has an article about the New Moon logo and adds that their source inside Summit says that the movie will only be entitled "New Moon" and not "The Twilight Saga's New Moon" as MTV reported. They also mention the tidbit from OK! Magazine's 7 Secrets of New Moon about Paramore returning to perform a song for the sequel's soundtrack. However, Hayley Williams has commented via the band's official Livejournal that these reports are false.

Meanwhile, Nikki Finke of Deadline Hollywood Daily went and dug up the old issue of Catherine Hardwicke's departure from the franchise once again. Readers would remember that she was also the one who beat Summit Entertainment to announcing that Catherine will be replaced.

OK! Magazine caught up with 90210 star AnnaLynne McCord who is in talks to play Heidi in New Moon. "I am so disappointed but it doesn't look like it is going to happen with my schedule. But keep your fingers crossed for me. I hope that it still does!" Click here to read the full story.

We apologize if there haven't been any updates here on the blog. mabelletaka and I have been extremely busy at work.

Anyway, here are the news items that have accumulated while we were busy outside of the Twilight universe:

As long as the New Moon cast list remains a mystery, there will be casting rumours flying everywhere. The latest to come out of the New Moon rumour mill is this one: Kellan Lutz's co-star in 90210, AnnaLynne McCord, is said to have auditioned for the role of Heidi (one of the Volturi). Read the full story on E! Online here. Thanks to Mary Grace for the tip.

Also speeding uncontrollably out of the rumour mill is the news that Lionsgate is going to acquire Summit Entertainment. Hollywood Insider thinks that this is unlikely (and so do I), since Summit is doing very well on its own, especially now that it has a hit franchise in Twilight.

Variety is reporting that the New Moon cast will be shooting scenes in Volterra in May of this year. In the same article, they also reported about Eagle Films' acquisition of the distribution rights for New Moon in Italy. Read the full story here.

Some of the stars of New Moon dish to Access Hollywood about some details on the script of the sequel. There's also more info about the film from scriptwriter Melissa Rosenberg here.

Media Boulevard has a very detailed interview with Solomon Trimble.

Lastly, author Stephen King was recently interviewed by USA Today, and his comments about Stephenie Meyer and Twilight sparked some rather violent reactions from Twilight fans.

[Stephen King isn't the most diplomatic person out there when it comes to commenting on certain issues and personalities, so I'm really not surprised. He is usually very candid. While I personally think his comment about Stephenie in a public forum is somewhat uncalled for, he is entitled to his opinion, and Twilight fans shouldn't really over-react to this. What I found more noteworthy is that he's got a good pulse on what makes Twilight so appealing to its target audience. And even more interesting, we actually said the same thing in a discussion in Danag Podcast Episode 11, which will be uploaded in time for Valentine's, but which we recorded last week. Watch out for that! -CdL]

MTV has more about Jackson Rathbone and his recent concert with his band, 100 Monkeys. Click here.

BellaandEdward.com finally has photos of the Inkworks Twilight Trading Cards Pieceworks set in their gallery.

The Hollywood Reporter has a very revealing interview with Summit Entertainment bigwigs Rob Friedman and Patrick Wachsberger. The duo talked about how Twilight has changed the company, as well as more details about Summit and their projects. They also made clarifications about the Catherine Hardwicke issue. We also finally have confirmation that the budget for New Moon is bigger than Twilight's:

THR: Will "New Moon" stay in the same $38 million budget range?

Friedman: No. The next one will be higher than that. We believe that the film will naturally be more expensive. Sequels become more expensive, and we have more special effects.

Wachsberger: And locations. In the second movie there is a sequence in Italy.

THR: There is talk that because Edward is out of the picture for much of "New Moon," there will be elements of the second and third books combined into the second movie.

Wachsberger: No, but Edward is present for the movie.

The budget is bigger, but don't expect New Moon and the rest of the Twilight Saga to turn into mega-budget blockbusters just yet. Later in the interview, Rob Friedman said:

Friedman: Are we gonna be in the $100 million-plus production business? No.

Oh well....

Yahoo! Movies and The Hollywood Reporter have awarded Twilight this month's Purple Filmstrip Award for being the highest rated movie and the one with the most-viewed trailer on Yahoo this month.

Rob Pattinson reveals to ContactMusic.com exactly what he finds attractive in women. [Nice, Rob. Alice says there will be many psychiatric ward breakouts in the coming months and you will be seriously stalked. Take cover.]

/Film reports that Jackson Rathbone is in talks to take on the role of Sokka in M. Night Shyamalan's The Last Airbender, the live-action adaptation of the hit Nickelodeon animated series, Avatar.

ABC News has something to say about why Catherine Hardwicke was axed from the franchise.

Entertainment Weekly has more details about the New Moon movie, details that present a lot of issues that may not sit well with many Twilighters. Summit is reportedly looking at a tentative release date of November 10 20, 2009. They're looking to get the new, as yet unnamed director, into the pre-production treadmill by December 15th [That's next week! Good luck, new director!]. They reportedly only allocated $50 million for the movie, and they might be looking to replace Taylor Lautner. [Since I've come to expect the unexpected when it comes to the Twilight Saga, there are really just a few things that can render me speechless, and most of them are of the magnitude of Edward Cullen Carlisle Cullen showing up on my doorstep and proposing marriage to me. But this news is just... *mind goes blank*]

If you're looking to express some outrage, why not send a well-written and polite letter to Summit? The Twilight Lexicon posted this suggestion, and I think it's sensible. Don't post an online petition, it doesn't work.

Summit Entertainment, LLC
1630 Stewart Street, Suite 120
Santa Monica, California 90404
Attn: Twilight Saga Concerns

Summit Entertainment just released this statement:

SUMMIT BEGINS SEARCH FOR NEW MOON DIRECTOR

Los Angeles, CA, December 7, 2008 – Summit Entertainment and director Catherine Hardwicke jointly announced today that the filmmaker will not be directing the next installment in the newly minted TWILIGHT film franchise. Summit’s targeted end of 2009 or early 2010 release of the film, NEW MOON, does not work with Ms. Hardwicke’s required prep time to bring her vision of the film to the big screen. Thus as has been done before with many successful film franchises, the studio will employ a new director for NEW MOON.

"I am sorry that due to timing I will not have the opportunity to direct NEW MOON,” said Hardwicke. “Directing TWILIGHT has been one of the great experiences of my life, and I am grateful to the fans for their passionate support of the film. I wish everyone at Summit the best with the sequel– it is a great story."

“Catherine did an incredible job in helping us to launch the TWILIGHT franchise and we thank her for all of her efforts and we very much hope to work with her on future Summit projects,” said Erik Feig, Summit’s President of Production. “We as a studio have a mandate to bring the next installment in the franchise to the big screen in a timely fashion so that fans can get more of Edward, Bella and all of the characters that Stephenie Meyer has created. We are able to pursue an aggressive time frame as we have the luxury of only adapting the novels into screenplays as opposed to having to create a storyline from scratch.”

News of Hardwicke's departure/firing from the franchise started when Deadline Hollywood Daily's Nikki Finke posted about it on her column. Several websites picked up the story even before Summit released their statement.

This comes on the heels of Hardwicke's interview with MTV about her plans for New Moon [notice, she said she can make the time frame Summit wanted], as well as an earlier press statement from Summit about their new partnership with US TV channel, Showtime, who are contracted to air 42 of Summit's films from 2008 to 2012, including ALL of the Twilight Saga movies. [Imagine, Breaking Dawn finished and released by 2012. Uh... wow.]

Now THAT'S something to think about on a Monday morning. [And while I, personally, am still enraged at how this whole issue has gone down, I won't be posting my thoughts here. I may not think Catherine Hardwicke was perfect in Twilight, but I feel she and the Twilight film franchise deserves more respect. I'll go rant in the Forums. :p]

What do you guys think of these pieces of news, and who do you think is a good choice to direct New Moon? Post your answers in the comments.