What’s Missing from Breaking Dawn Part 2 Footage

 

 

For Laura’s Movies.com column this week she covers what are the most important items that we haven’t seen or barely seen.

Lastly, for a franchise that has built itself on romance, there is a decided lack of romance that has been shown to fans other than those who attended Comic-Con. That footage is pretty much nowhere to be found online so it’s probably fair to say the majority of the 30 million fans on Facebook alone probably haven’t seen it.  We have gotten a brief glimpse of Edward and Bella holding hands in the first trailer, and those that went to the Target DVD release got a sweet moment of Edward and Bella in their cottage, but that’s it. Footage was definitely shot in the cottage location (which is a fan favorite romance moment), but how much of that sequence is in the movie remains to be seen.

Check out her whole column on Movies.com

Movies.com: Countdown to Breaking Dawn What to Expect at Comic Con

Laura’s regular Breaking Dawn column is back in full swing over at Movies.com after taking a couple of months hiatus. Check out her predictions as to what will go down this year for the last big Twilight hurrah.

Another item to be on the lookout for is a PR stunt from the team at Summit/Lionsgate. With that many fans lined up three days in advance, they always do something. It’s a beautiful photo op for them with so many fans gathered in one place. Why not take advantage? The only question remaining is what exactly are they going to pull-off this time around?

Last year, on Thursday morning to play off the movie name and to coincide with the break of dawn at circa 6:00am, they served the fans in line breakfast with beverage, muffins, coffee mugs, and posters being given away. Now, what’s more impressive about this, is that it wasn’t just a bunch of college students hired out to do the distribution. There were actually Summit executives handing out food and swag. After the crowd was warmed up with the free food and gifts, came phase two: a visit from the cast. Nikki Reed, Ashley Greene, and Elizabeth Reaser from the Cullen family made an appearance along with Julia Jones and Booboo Stewart from the wolfpack. They worked the fan lines in each of the tents signing autographs and posing for photos. The last bit of fun for some lucky fans was pulling a specially marked ticket from a bag that allowed the bearer to get an autograph from Robert Pattinson, Kristen Stewart, Taylor Lautner, and Bill Condon right after the Breaking Dawn Hall H panel.

Check out the rest of Laura’s Breaking Dawn column on Movies.com

Movies.Com Discussion on Twilight Sequels and Reboot The Lexicon’s Laura Weighs In

Movies.com had Laura on as a Twilight expert to discuss the reboot and sequels buzz.

We cover:

  • Does a reboot make sense
  • What were the quotes about reboots and sequels
  • What a studio wants vs. what is likely
  • Material left not yet in the movies
  • Is The Host taking the forefront of new Stephenie Meyer project
  • But how can she resist the call of sequels
  • Is this really a money thing for both the studio and Stephenie
  • Will fan interest force a sequel
  • What about a DVD ultimate collectors edition
  • What are the stories left to tell that fans want filmed
  • Is it practical to film Midnight Sun
  • Would Taylor Lautner be more inclined to stay around

Get the audio here.

Laura’s regular Movies.com columns will be restarting as the Breaking Dawn part 2 hype now kicks into full swing.

 

 

Twilight Saga DVD Retropective: What Are the Highs and Lows

In her column for Movies.com, Laura explores the history of the Twilight Saga DVD’s. Which are the fan favorites, stand-out moments, and what is missing.

The one item that fans seem to universally want is actor commentary by the three leads: Robert Pattinson, Kristen Stewart, and Taylor Lautner. The original Twilight DVD featured commentary by director Catherine Hardwicke, Pattinson, and Stewart. All of them were relative rookies in the commentary process at that time. There was a refreshing honesty in the playful banter and downright quirkiness that went on. It wasn’t canned, and it embraced the cheesier moments of the film. Pattinson’s self-deprecating comments such as, “Looking scary with a baseball outfit on and a little bouffant, you know, it just does not work. Especially with sculpted eyebrows … I’m really scary in reality…” endeared fans to him all the more. People felt as if they were watching the film with their friends commenting.

Check out the rest on Movies.com

A Twilight TV Show? The Fans’ Opinion

There has been much talk since the Summit/Lionsgate merger about turning the Twilight Saga into a TV franchise due to some comments made by Lionsgate CEO Jon Feltheimer.  For her Movies.com article, Laura ran a poll here at the Lex asking if fans wanted to see a Twilight TV show.  The response was quite interesting, and Laura sums up her findings in the article found here.

The most basic of questions is, “Would the fans want a TV show?” Only 27% of the fansbase responded to that question with a flat-out “no”. The remainder were split between instant approval and maybe. The most important thing to the fans in these last two categories was the involvement of Stephenie Meyer. It’s no shock to anyone that Twilight fans are highly protective of their franchise. They don’t like deviation from what is in the books.  Author Stephenie Meyer is for many fans the final word when it comes to change. If Stephenie Myer approves it, then they’ll accept adjustments. One fan named Jackie summed it up by stating, “I think a TV show or series would be a great idea. It would have to have Stephenie involved to have the same continuity as the books. Her story and the way she tell it is what sells the books and the movies, it would not work if it went in any other direction.”

Read more in the article about exploring back stories and focusing on minor characters.  And let us know if this has changed your opinion or made you think of the possibility of a TV show in a new light.

Iconic Twilight Movie Moments Part 2

Back in December, Laura started a countdown of iconic movie moments from the Twilight saga. Here’s the follow up story on Movies.com covering the moments from Breaking Dawn Part 1.

Right away the wedding leaps to mind when talking about iconic Breaking Dawn images. After all, the wedding is what the entire series was leading up to. So, is there a way to say that there is a single, definable moment at that wedding? Actually, there’s not one, but two.

As much press as the wedding reveal dress received, one iconic moment seems not to be the dress unveiling so much as Kristen Stewart and Billy Burke’s intimate dialogue where the nervous Bella says, “Don’t let me fall,” and Charlie responds, “Never”.  It was one of the first tear jerker moments for many fans.

The second wedding moment came post-ceremony with Edward’s speech. After a number of double entendre toasts from Emmett, and Charlie making thinly veiled references to his prowess with firearms, viewers get a sincere moment as Edward explains what the marriage means to him. This very public declaration of love stands out amongst the lavish wedding montage. It‘s a rare moment of total honesty from Edward that gives it iconic status.

Now if fans were looking forward to the wedding, they were doubly looking forward to the honeymoon. Online debate raged over wanting an R-rated cut. Could PG-13 be sexy enough? Would the memorable scenes of the book come through? Here is where the movie delivered both an iconic book scene and delivered a new one.

In the books there is a fade to black when it comes to the specifics of the honeymoon. In the movie version, we were able to see more (well, as much as PG-13 will let you see) and in doing do we hit what may be the iconic moment of Part 1. That would be the headboard crack heard ’round the world.  As soon as the teaser was shown, it was the image on thousands of icons and animated gifs. Team Headboard tee shirts sprung up. About the only thing that didn’t happen was the headboard having its own Twitter account.

 

Let us know what you think the iconic movie moments from Breaking Dawn Part 1 was in the comments. Read the whole story at Movies.com.

Year End List: Top Ten Iconic Twilight Saga Moments Pre-Breaking Dawn

Laura decided to try and tackle a top ten list this week for her regular Breaking Dawn column and discovered it was going to be harder than she realized.

It’s that time of year when everyone seems to be making a top ten list, so why don’t we jump into the mix too. The Twilight Saga has so many possibilities when it comes to top moments. I started out writing an overall Top Ten Twilight Saga Iconic Moments list taking into account all the Twilight Saga movies, but quickly realized I was going to have to totally rethink that idea because The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 1 has so many iconic moments just by itself. This was definitely destined to be a two-part idea. So for this week, let’s take a look at the Top Ten Twilight Saga Iconic Film Moments leading up to Breaking Dawn Part 1. Then, in my next column, we’ll examine the Breaking Dawn Part 1-specific ones.

1. The original Twilight movie has possibly the most iconic image of the series. It’s the moment where both Bella and Edward are entranced with each other right after Edward saves Bella from Tyler’s out-of-control van. For many fans who didn’t know anything about Twilight until they saw the films, that was the moment that hooked them. They became captivated by Robert Pattinson and/or the Bella and Edward love story right there during those intense few seconds.

2. One of the most parodied parts of the entire series is the infamous moment in the meadow of “Say it out loud. Vampire.” If you ask people who aren’t fans of the series for a Twilight Saga moment that stands out in their minds, this one is easily it. Even though we don’t get the romantic meadow scene as presented in the book, the scene is memorable to fans nonetheless. It’s the big reveal to Bella that confirms what Edwards is, and consequently it’s what drives the action forward from that point on.

3. The final iconic moment in Twilight is the prom with Edward and Bella’s dance at the gazebo. It’s the first truly prolonged, tender moment they have in the films. Iron and Wine’s song Flightless Bird: American Mouth underscored the sequence and became an instant fan favorite. It was now unofficially Bella and Edward’s song, the one that defined who they were to each other. So far, it is the only song to make a comeback on any of the soundtracks. It currently serves as the song at their wedding in Breaking Dawn Part 1.

Check out which other moments made the list on Movies.com (Their commenting system over there is VASTLY improved if you have had trouble before)

Breaking Dawn Countdown: Chh-Chhh-Chh-Changes to the Script

So can you believe that Laura is now counting down to movie number two over on her regular every-other-Thursday column over at Movies.com? This week she covers new material not found in the books that was added to the script.

Apologies to David Bowie for this week’s title, but there were — as with any book-to-screen adaptation — several differences between the book and what was portrayed on screen in The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 1. Now, certainly no one expects every scene exactly as written in a novel to make it to the screen; inevitably things need to be condensed or left out all together. On the other hand, sometimes there is material that was never in the books to begin with that makes it onto the screen. The question is, given cuts, how effective is this new material when fans feel very protective of the original source?

The first major insertion of new material that leaps to mind in Breaking Dawn: Part 1 is the presence of Irina of the Denali Coven at Bella and Edward’s wedding. As every Twilight fan knows, Irina sets some major wheels into motion in the second half of the novel Breaking Dawn. Since the Denali Coven and their interaction with Laurent wasn’t focused on in New Moon, it left something of a gaping plot hole that had to be addressed. It was interesting to see screenwriter Melissa Rosenberg and director Bill Condon handle this dilemma. They deftly had Irina react to Seth’s presence at the wedding, have a flashback to Laurent, establish Irina’s romantic ties to him, and then have Irina storm off. That’s a lot of material to cover in roughly ninety seconds of film time, but they managed it. By doing so, they set the plot for Breaking Dawn: Part 2 securely on course.

Check out the rest of the article at Movies.com. What is your opinion on highlighted changes and others?

Monday Morning Review: ‘The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn, Part 1’ from a Fan’s Perspective

Be warned the review that lies ahead contains massive spoilers, so if you haven’t watched the film, don’t read it. It’s part of Movies.com’s latest series called Monday Morning Review (MMR). The concept behind MMR is “…a review of a film the Monday morning after it arrives in theaters. As such, this review is written for people who have seen the film, and will discuss plot points, spoilers, etc, so read it only if you’ve seen it or if you don’t mind knowing everything that happens.” The Lexicon’s Laura (who freelances a a bi-monthly column for Movies.com) was asked to pen this review.

It would be really easy to jump on the “Wimpy Heroine, Sparkly Vampire, Shirtless Werewolves are Banal Abominations” train. Let’s face it, proportionately there are as many reviewers taking that stance as there are going to be folks lining up for midnight sales on Black Friday. Certainly there is more than enough room to poke fun at far-fetched plot lines, predicable longing looks, and implausible dialogue. So taking all of this into consideration, why did The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 1 rake in an estimated $30.25 million on midnight screenings alone, and, later, $139.5 million? Far from falling on its economic face, Breaking Dawn Part 1 is well placed to shatter several box office records, and to finish its cinema run as a top five movie of the year.

Given that the novel Breaking Dawn is considered by many fans to be a huge letdown, and that it is the least popular book in the franchise by far, it does make you wonder why the movie version is doing so well. By in large it’s been established that this franchise is being fueled but its loyal female fanbase. There are a few fanboys out there known as “Twiguys,” but the male audience seems to be largely comprised of men that end up getting dragged along under duress to a screening by their girlfriends, wives or friends. So given that it’s a movie “for the fans” that weren’t really that happy with the novel, let’s take a look at why Breaking Dawn Part 1 is succeeding.

See the rest on Movies.com

Will Breaking Dawn Have the Fans Flocking Back For Big Screen Rewatch?

In her Movies.com article this week, Laura explores what is going to be necessary for Breaking Dawn to score fan re-watch. The stakes are really high in the fourth movie. Will it deliver in the fan and economic expectation factors? Check out Laura’s critical success areas and box office predictions.

Unquestionably, the single most blogged-about item with regards to Breaking Dawn Part 1 is the honeymoon. For months there has been nonstop discussion among fans about Isle Esme, feathers, and headboards. As soon and the press junket happened, the question of would the honeymoon be sexy enough for fans again came into play. Fans heard Robert Pattinson, Bill Condon, and Kristen Stewart all talk about “toning down the thrusting” to keep the PG-13 rating, while the trailer and teaser clips have all given a glimpse into that night. We’ve seen Pattinson’s muscular back and headboard crash, Stewart’s towel drop on the beach, and the enraptured look on the pillows. Now the big questions are: “Is there more?” and “Do the fans get the payoff they want?” The rewatch factor is going to heavily rely on what the Isle Esme scenes deliver. Fans won’t flock back to theaters again and again if this payoff isn’t huge.

See more on Movies.com