Twilight Coven Philippines

Source: The Official Twilight Saga Facebook.

Hello fans!


Has it really been five months (and a day) since my last dispatch? In my defense, they've been five months spent immersed in the world of TWILIGHT - something I'm sure you can all appreciate. We're in the thick of pre-production now, juggling everything from casting to storyboarding to location scouting, getting it all ready to go, but I do want to take a moment to announce to you exclusively a few of the amazing production team members who are hard at work alongside me, bringing these movies to life. I hope you'll be as excited about them as I am:

Guillermo Navarro, who won an Academy Award for the beautiful PAN'S LABYRINTH, is our cinematographer. Guillermo and I have been painstakingly planning each shot, with a team of very talented storyboard artists.

Michael Wilkinson, our costume designer, is bringing his brilliant vision to the styles of all your favorite characters. Michael's created fantastic looks for 300, WATCHMEN, and the upcoming TRON: LEGACY - just wait 'til you see his take on the vampire witnesses who come to Forks from around the globe.

Jean Black, our makeup designer, has worked extensively with the Coen Brothers and David Fincher, most recently making exquisite, award-winning contributions to THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON. I'm honored to be working with her.

Richard Sherman, with whom I made GODS AND MONSTERS and KINSEY, is on-board as our production designer. Richard's one of my oldest collaborators and a terrific designer, and you may be interested to know that he also happens to be a lifelong vampire aficionado.

Our Oscar-winning visual effects supervisor John Bruno has been responsible for some of the most memorable special effects ever, with his groundbreaking work on display in everything from POLTERGEIST to AVATAR. He and his team are working intensely to develop solutions to the host of special effects challenges that Stephenie created for us in BREAKING DAWN, including that remarkable kid...

Wonderful, imaginative people all and very exciting, intense times for us. Even with the months of work we've already put in, we're barely underway on the journey, and I do hope to get back to you much sooner next time with more news. Until then, thanks for your warm reception and continued support!


Very best regards,

Bill

I think it's customary (tradition?) to reassure the fans now whenever someone new takes the helm of the franchise. (Um, are they scared of us? We don't bite... much.) Here's a letter from Bill Condon.

Note: Near the end, he asks for questions and comments, so if you have any and you're on Facebook, visit the source: The Official Twilight Saga Facebook FanPage. (And while you're there, join our TCP facebook group!)

Greetings Twihards, Twifans, Twilight Moms, Team Edward, Team Jacob and Team Switzerland,

I just want to say hello to all of you and let you know that I'm stoked to be getting underway on the adventure of making BREAKING DAWN. As you've probably heard, I've been given a very warm welcome by Stephenie and Team Summit - who are super-focused, as you know, on getting these movies right.

I'm pretty busy bringing myself up to speed on what you already know by heart: I've read BREAKING DAWN twice, rewatched Catherine's and Chris's movies 2-3 times each, have all four CDs playing in my car, and have Catherine's notebook, Mark Cotta Vaz's companion books, and even Volume 1 of the graphic novel here on my desk - a corner of my office is starting to look like Hot Topic. I realize that this barely qualifies me for "newborn" status in the universe you've been living inside for a few years now, but a guy's gotta start somewhere.

Like many of you, I've always been slightly obsessed with vampires, dating back to the prime-time series DARK SHADOWS, which I followed avidly as a kid. But that alone hadn't been enough to get me interested in making a vampire movie, even though my early screenwriting and directing efforts grew out of a great love for horror movies and thrillers. Since making GODS AND MONSTERS thirteen years ago, however, I've been yearning for a return to a story with Gothic overtones.

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?

Please feel free to ask questions in the comments section below, and I'll do my best to answer them. I hope that this will be the first of many occasions I'll get to check in with you as we set to work bringing BREAKING DAWN to the screen. I am excited and grateful to have all of you alongside me for my TWILIGHT journey.

All best,

Bill Condon

P.S. Answer #1: No, there won't be any musical numbers

Good to know. :)

Before anything else, if you haven't been following us on Twitter, we were able to confirm the release date from Pioneer Films: The Twilight Saga: Eclipse will be shown June 30 locally. :)

---

So, was it a shock to learn about Bill Condon taking the reins from Catherine, Chris and David? It's creating a lot of questions in my mind at least, particularly since that last book has so many different crazy elements in it --- the pregnancy, the "Alien" childbirth scene, the mutant half-vampire baby, the NON-battle. Plus, there's the issue of whether it will be a one or two shot. And Condon's last directorial gig was Dreamgirls. Should we expect Edward bursting into melancholic song as part of his "burning man" portrayal? (Well, I wouldn't mind seeing RPattz in a musical. Now, THAT would be a challenge for him! But let's not tempt fate too much.)

As this is the last movie, and we, mostly, HAVE been able to adjust to the idea of CH's blue tint, CW's gold tones and awesome CGI (sorry, personal admin bias), and, hopefully, we'll see the light of DS's darker direction, we may cross our fingers that BC will be able to work miracles. Just to help us face this though, here's a little insight through the LA Times. The Twilight Lexicon also features highlights from Condon's career.

However, we still have Eclipse this June 30! So let's just leave the inevitability that is the Breaking Dawn film in the back of our heads to stew for a bit until after.

---

Speaking of the third movie, part of the cast (and by that we mean the main trio) and crew are up in Vancouver reshooting some scenes the past few days. Malicious Mandy offers a bit of info. See Set Report1 and Set Report2.

The LA Times asked the Cullens what to expect from their characters in Eclipse.

This is a bit late, but the Twitter haz it: the official Twilight twitter account confirms that Kellan Lutz now tweets! Rejoice Kellmett fans! Follow him here.

Robert Pattinson is listed as one of People Magazine's World's Most Beautiful 2010 (along with Kristen Stewart and Ashley Greene) AND is also on this year's Time 100 World's Most Influential. Love how Chris Weitz penned the write-up:

I have to be careful about what I write here because it will be tweeted the moment TIME hits the stands. And if I say something bad about Rob Pattinson, I'm dead meat. That's the devotion the Twilight films inspire. It's certainly not how he planned it. And though I am continually impressed by the aplomb with which he handles the hysteria, I occasionally think he would take it all back if given the chance. Because essentially, Rob, 23, is a reserved, bookish sort of specimen, a guy who'd rather spend the night at the corner table in the pub with friends — a bit of a weirdo, frankly, in the best sense.

So how to write about someone who seems to answer Freud's rhetorical question, What do women want? Perhaps it's just worth pointing out that it'd be fun to have a beer with him even if he weren't Edward Cullen. That we haven't seen a tenth of what he can do onscreen. And that important things, beyond the veil of Hollywood, occupy his time too — music, conversation, ideas, a sense of the absurd. Which, maybe, explains why he never gets to my e-mails. I love you, Rob! Call me!

(Can I PLEASE say it? I heart Chris Weitz!)

Incidentally, and correct me if I'm wrong, but I think Rob is only the second person in the Twilight universe to be included in this list. Stephenie Meyer was part of it in 2008. So, congratulations, RPattz! We hope being on this particular list will open more of the right doors for you.

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.