Filmonic » New Moon

So, how much did New Moon make?

Liam — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 20:16:06 +0000

Even though the early consensus from critics isn’t good, New Moon was always expected to dominate the box office this weekend, and so far it has. Spectacularly:

From Nikki Finke:

Summit Entertainment just announced its New Moon debuted with $26.27M in 12:01AM screenings from 3,514 theaters. That sets a new midnight opening record, smashing The Dark Knight’s $18.4M on July 18, 2008, and Harry Potter And The Half Blood Prince’s $22.2M on July 15, 2009. (Summit’s re-release of Twilight Thursday night in 2,057 dates made $1.3M.) Meanwhile, Fandango tells me that New Moon is trending to sell more than 10 tickets per second on the site throughout the course of today.

Wowza. Those are some dedicated fans.

New Moon is also breaking records overseas:

Summit reported Thursday afternoon that at midnight showings on 466 screens in Australia, the movie took in AUS$1.7 million ($1.6 million). It sailed past the previous Australian midnight record set by “Star Wars: Episode III — Revenge of the Sith,” which took in AUS$1.26 million ($1.2 million) in 2005.
In France, where “Moon” completed its first day, it was No. 1 with 488,000 admissions, translating to $4.26 million, from 751 theaters. By comparison, “Twilight” scored 140,960 admissions, $1.158 million, on its first day in that country.
In Italy, partial returns put the movie’s gross at €$1.83 million ($2.7 million) from 625 screens. The movie is shaping up as the third-highest Wednesday opener in Italy, behind only “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince” and “Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.”
Meanwhile in Spain, “Moon” drew €1.475 million ($2.2 million) on 652 screens. In Spain, it also ranked as the third-best Wednesday opening ever — behind “Order of the Phoenix” and “Half-Blood Prince.”

I think it’s safe to assume New Moon will out-gross Twilight.

Have you seen New Moon? If so, what are your thoughts?

Summit to re-release Twilight

Liam — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 21:13:45 +0000

Oh my god it’s happening again! Save yourselves! Summit Entertainment have decided to re-release Twilight into selected theatres again due to fan demand. For one night only on November 19th (the day before New Moon opens) fans will be able to see the film that launched this whole vampire and Robert Pattinson craze. According to Variety some places may offer discounted admission prices so if you’ve never seen Twilight now is your chance to see it on the cheap!

While I’m not a fan of the films this is quite a cool move by Summit, and studios should do this more often. Marvel should consider releasing Iron Man again a day before Iron Man 2 opens, and the same with other studios with upcoming sequels. The big screen will always be a better experiences even if you own the film on DVD and Blu-ray.

Final New Moon trailer

Liam — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 16:17:50 +0000

As far as New Moon and Twilight trailers go, this new trailer is probably the best. After watching it I got the strange feeling of actually wanting to see the film. I didn’t feel that once for Twilight.

Here’s the trailer:

New Moon stars Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson, Taylor Lautner and Daktota Fanning. There’s also the guy who played Colossus in the X-Men films. From the looks of things Chris Weitz has done a better job than Twilight director Catherine Hardwicke, which should please fans.

New Moon Volturi character posters

Liam — Sat, 29 Aug 2009 13:03:09 +0000

ComingSoon.net were sent a few character posters for The Twilight Saga: New Moon. The posters show members of the vampire coven known as the Volturi. They are regarded as “royalty” by other vampires because they have lived for well over three thousand years and act as police, enforcing the rule that vampires’ existence remain a secret from humans. Above is Dakota Fanning as Jane, who creates illusions of pain.

Click here to see the rest of the vampire police force!

Twilight Saga: Eclipse casting drama

Liam — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 15:42:06 +0000

I didn’t see Twilight and i’m not interested in the whole vampire love story thing, although I am aware that Summit Entertainment hit the jackpot with the franchise and it was good to see a smaller studio finding success. While I’m not that interested in the films, I did read about some of the developments. For whatever reason they decided to ditch Twilight director Catherine Hardwicke and hired Chris Weitz for New Moon. However, they then announced that David Slade would be directing the third film, Eclipse, and it became apparent that Summit are so eager to see money rolling in that they were not willing to wait for anyone, not even the directors.

So with Summit in that frame of mind it wasn’t that much of a surprise to read that Bryce Dallas Howard (Spider-Man 3, Terminator Salvation) would be replacing actress Rachelle Lefevre in the role of Victoria due to ’scheduling conflicts’ with a film called Barney’s Version starring Dustin Hoffman. Well as with most mid-franchise re-castings, the fans aren’t happy, and neither is Rachelle Lefevre who engaged in a ‘were having a disagreement in public via press releases so lets keep it civil’ with Summit:

From Variety:

“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 10 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 10 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.”

Summit responded with:

“We at Summit Entertainment are disappointed by Rachelle Lefevre’s recent comments which attempt to make her career choices the fault of the Studio. Her decision to discuss her version of the scheduling challenges publicly has forced the Studio to set the record straight and correct the facts.
“Ms. Lefevre’s representatives were advised as early as April that THE TWILIGHT SAGA: ECLIPSE was expected to start shooting in early August.
“If Ms. Lefevre was, as she describes “passionate,” about being part of THE TWILIGHT SAGA, we feel that she and her representatives would have included us in her decision to work on another film that would conflict with the shooting schedule of THE TWILIGHT SAGA: ECLIPSE.
“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.
“Contrary to Ms. Lefevre’s statement, it is simply untrue that the Studio dismissed her over a ten day overlap. It is not about a ten day overlap, but instead about the fact that THE TWILIGHT SAGA: ECLIPSE is an ensemble production that has to accommodate the schedules of numerous actors while respecting the established creative vision of the filmmaker and most importantly the story.
“The fact remains that Ms. Lefevre’s commitment to the other project – which she chose to withhold from Summit until the last possible moment – makes her unfortunately unavailable to perform the role of Victoria in THE TWILIGHT SAGA: ECLIPSE.”

Oh dear. As the Twilight franchise has a large (mostly young female) fanbase Summit have been forced to respond in public to prevent a mass boycott. Any Twilight fans have an opinion on this? Any non-Twilight fans have an opinion on the politics involved?

New Moon teaser trailer

Liam — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 12:27:41 +0000

Any Twilight fans out there? Well I found this on the internets and you may like it. Personally I’m not interested but it’ll probably make you squeal, and possibly cry.

New Moon poster

Liam — Tue, 19 May 2009 22:58:44 +0000

Summit Entertainment have released the first poster for The Twilight Saga: New Moon which features Kristen Stewart as Bella Swan, Robert Pattinson as Edward Cullen and Taylor Lautner as Jacob Black.

In other Twilight saga news Pattinson confirmed to The Hollywood Reporter that Summit will be moving ahead with a fourth film.

Michael Sheen to join New Moon

Liam — Sun, 12 Apr 2009 15:20:31 +0000

Michael Sheen seems to like repetition in his life. Michael Sheen seems to like repetition in his life. He played former British Prime Minister Tony Blair on TV, then again in The Queen, and will be playing him for a third time in The Special Relationship (with Dennis Quaid as Bill Clinton). He played journalist David Frost on stage, and then again for the film Frost/Nixon. He battled vampires in Underworld: Rise of the Lycans, and according to The Daily Mail he will now become one, as he has joined vampire flick New Moon (sequel to last years Twilight).

Sheen, 40, who made his name with uncannily realistic portrayals of well-known figures in Oscar-winning films The Queen, Frost/Nixon and The Damned United, will get his biggest pay cheque yet, a reported £5million, to star in New Moon.
In New Moon, Sheen will play Aro, the leader of an Italian vampire clan called the Volturi.
Director Chris Weitz confirmed Sheen’s casting to The Mail on Sunday and said he had ‘aggressively’ pursued the actor.
‘Michael’s role is so important because he’s the head of all vampires,’ he said. ‘Aro is, on the surface, a very gracious and friendly vampire, but beneath that he is a tremendous threat.’

Usually The Daily Mail is nothing more than a typical British tabloid, however they have quotes from director Chris Weitz which helps it’s credability, compared to the usual ‘a source says’. I guess this makes Sheen the first ‘real actor’ to join the franchise (I went there) as the other cast members seem to be fresh faced newcomers hired purely for their looks. However like the Harry Potter actors, i’m sure they will grow with each film.

Eclipse release date

Liam — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 19:50:38 +0000

The Twilight sequel, New Moon, hasn’t even started filming yet however that hasn’t stopped Summit Entertainment from setting the release date for Eclipse, the third film in the series. According to Variety, Eclipse will be released on June 30, 2010, which is 7 months after New Moon’s November release.

Melissa Rosenberg, who penned the “Twilight” and “New Moon” scripts, is working on “Eclipse.” Summit hasn’t yet selected a director for “Eclipse,” in which Bella is forced to choose between Edward and Jacob.

Fans will no doubt be happy about not having to wait too long between films, but will all of this rushing have a negative impact on the quality of the film? Summit seem so caught up in this ‘get rich quick scheme’ that they won’t even work around the directors. At this rate there will be a different director for each film. Not good.

Dakota Fanning in New Moon?

Liam — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 00:02:53 +0000

According to E! Online Dakota Fanning has been offered a role in New Moon. If the story is accurate and Dakota accepts she will be playing Jane, a member of the Volturi, an Italian group of vampires who maintain vampire order and ensure that humans don’t find out about vampires’ existence.

“There were no auditions,” a source reveals. “They just offered it to her outright, and now they’re in negotiations. They’ve been going back and forth.”

I feel as though all of this is beneath Dakota. I feel like she would be taking a step back if she were to play a supporting role in this vampire film. Yes, Twilight made a lot of money but it cannot exactly be classed as a great film. Fanning has been doing some good small drama films recently, to add to films such as War of the Worlds and Man on Fire. Do not accept Dakota! I forbid you!