Archives for May 2008

OK in fairness it’s not the same one driven by Robert Pattinson (*waves to Summit*…although I bet you could raise a ton of money for charity raffling that off), but you can win a Volvo C30 by participating in two events where the money goes to charity. 

First up is Applebee’s in conjunction with the Delaware Valley Volvo Retailers in the Philadelphia, South Jersey, Wilkes Barre/Scranton, Delaware, and Baltimore area are raising money for Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation. Alex’s Lemonade Stand is a fabulous organization that raises money to fight childhood cancer. All you have to do is fill out a form at an Applebee’s in the above areas and donate $5 to the charity to enter the drawing. When you do, you get a $5.00 coupon off your next Applebee’s order. How cool is that?

Those of you in the Boston area have a similar opportunity.  (I am putting aside my Yankees allegiance to post this, and there is a strong possibility my Yankee fanatic family may not forgive me) The Boston Red Sox have a similar promotion. it is a raffle…the tickets are $10 a piece and the prizes are 7 World Series rings or a Special "Red Sox" Volvo C30. The proceeds go to benefit The Red Sox Charitable Foundations (usually the Jimmy fund and others like "Childrens and Family" charities). The Raffle is limited to Massachusetts residents who are 18 years or older.

If you are a myspace friend of Christian Serratos (Who plays Angela) you can see some fun pictures she has posted of her getting ready for the Twilight prom shoot, including one completely adorable picture of her and Justin Chon (Eric Yorkie).   Just a reminder for anyone who is not aware Angela is with Eric in the movie.  *I would like to remind everyone that these pictures belong to Christian and should not be taken and posted else where on the internet without her permission.

Micheal Welch (Our beloved Mike/Mike) has posted, the exclusive preview of "The Latest" given to the Lexicon last week, on his blog.  If you missed it the first time around be sure to check it out!

Justin Chon (fun loving Eric Yorkie) would like everyone on his myspace to know, "Hey its Justin Chon, I am going to be at the vc film festival this sunday at 3:oopm at the directors guild 7920 Sunset Blvd. Los Angeles, CA. I would love to see some of you twilighters out there!!!"  So if you are around LA tomorrow drop in and say hi!  Take a picture with Justin and send it in to us!

In the most recient issue of Entertainment Weekly you can find a wonderful review of the host on news stands now.

Its not too late to save big and pre order The Host (release May 6th) as well as the Special Edition of Eclipse (release May 31st)! The Eclipse Special Edition will not only contain the first chapter of Breaking Dawn, but also a Tee-shirt transfer and a sneak peek at the new cover art for Breaking Dawn!  So order TODAY!

Just for fun, here is our Top Ten list of thing we learned while in Portland:

10. The donuts in Portland are not for "dunkin" but rather for "dippin."

9. You can visit China, Vegas, and Hollywood without leaving the city limits.

8. Portland…erm…"street people" could earn a living as comedians, hence the creative begging from one person on the off ramp of US80 and Hollywood who claimed he was too old to be a prostitute.

7. Beware of the Yeti.

6.  If you don’t like the weather, wait five minutes and it will change.  Seriously. 

5. Splurge and buy yourself a decent road map – preferably one with ALL of the street names included.

4. Decent Rain gear is a must! Forget fashion and raid your nearest Marmot outlet before getting on a plane.

3. Get ready for alternating stoplights.  Can someone explain that one please!

2. Mike isn’t the only one who needs to remember to pack an extra pair of socks! (Or two… or even shoes!)

1. No need to dry your hair in the morning.  The "wet dog look" is unavoidable.

And now on with our show!

Our trip to the set began bright and early at 5am (it may have been that time on the west coast, but our bodies were still on Eastern Standard Time so it felt like eight!).  After a good home-style breakfast, which was essential given the day ahead of us, we began our 2 hour drive to the coast.  The morning was very cold and wet, so we were worried about the conditions we would face on the beach.  But nothing prepared us for the shock of what came next. And I quote…" Is that snow?" Yup that’s right….it was snowing!  BeMyEscape had to kick the SUV into four wheel drive to maneuver through the pass.  (The SUV was conveniently equipped with a button marked snow!)  There were even snow plows out the higher up we went.  Despite the sense of foreboding the snow brought, it was very beautiful as you can see. But luckily as we descended through the mountain pass, the snow turned back to rain.

Once we reached base camp, we decided to brave the storm and get out to take some pictures.  Having never been to First Beach ourselves, we relied on the pictures others had shown us for comparison.  The massive mounds protruding out of the water really did the trick for us.  (Being children of the 80’s, at this point we all noticed that rock formation bore a striking resemblance to the beach in Goonies!  Which was later confirmed by Kim on the front page.)

 We headed over to the set following the map and signs plainly posted on the route.  The drive was windy and the roadway was very narrow at times. At one point we were almost hit by a car that was flying around a blind corner. Yeah, having your life flash before your eyes was not a very good way to start the set visit, but we survived. The crew was set up in the parking lot overlooking the beach.  There were tents of all kinds as well as a few trailers.  Everyone was bundled up in rain gear and knee high boots — and we soon found out it was for a very good reason. 

The walk from the parking lot down to the beach was muddy, slippery, and included a generous helping of puddles, roots, and rocks to bar our path. Yeah, like that was going to stop us!  The terrain was rough, but beautiful and undisturbed by civilization.  We reached the beach, which consisted of higher ground that was covered in larger, black, sea-smoothed stones and lower ground that was your normal beach sand.  After making our way through down the steep sloping rocky hill the sandy beach was a welcome yet equally difficult walk.  With each step we sloshed and sank into the wet sand.  (If that’s what it was like for our feet, we’ll let you imagine what the equipment was doing!)

They were filming when we arrived.  We were introduced around by our host for the day and then we went to work getting as much footage as we could.  We filmed Taylor, Kristen, and Catherine talking through the scene before shooting another take. You can hear us in the background explaining to the reelz.com reporter what scene was being filmed and which actor was playing which part.  They were very nice, and we were able to help them understand more about the books, storyline and actors in the film. 

The first actor we had a chance to meet up with was Taylor. He was so friendly and had such a beautiful smile that we all left with such a great impression of "Jacob."  Ladies… if you don’t already adore him, get ready to be charmed! 

After a long day filled with excitement, a moody Mother Nature, and very hard work, we headed back to our hotel room to thaw. BeMyEscape, with very tired eyes, expertly navigated us back through the mountain pass. Cocoa, grateful for the warmth and not being able to feel her feet, counted no less than 8 blisters – a quick trip to Walgreens soon ensued to buy flip flops.  Ambereyes reveled in her umbrella being the only one of the four to survive the fierce winds, while Alphie admired the scenic trip back to Portland basking in the memories of the day.

Next up…Interviews!

This was the day that Catherine Hardwicke described as "But, at the end of our shoot day at the beach, with Jacob and Bella, the rain soaked through all my Gortex, through three layers of jackets and socks. I rang out my waterproof gloves and could have watered my rose bushes for an entire summer. The crew had to hold down the lunch tent to keep it from blowing away. Grown men were crying, but the actors and crew gave it their best."

The official Twilight movie page has a message from Catherine Hardwicke.  Take note of the terrible weather shooting day Catherine is talking about…It’s the day we were there!  Discuss all the production diaries on our messageboard.

Thanks to Nena Cullen!

Stephenie is certainly revving up for the Host release just 5 days away now. Her website has been updated with links to a bunch of reviews for the book. Some have previously been reported here, but others are new so be sure to check them out!. Also check out this review and this coupon.

Also, Stephenie will be making a variety of TV appearances during The Host Tour. First up is a spot on CNN. According to Seth *waves hi to Seth*, Stephenie’s webmaster and brother, "You can watch Stephenie on The Glenn Beck Show on Tuesday, May 6th for the release of The Host. Glenn Beck’s show airs three times a day on CNN Headline News — check your local listings." 

We also know that Stephenie will be appearing on a Salt Lake City based TV program during her Utah leg of her tour. We’ll try to have a master list of Stephenie’s media appearances up ASAP so you can all set your TIVOs, digital recorders, or plain old VCRs!

Also do check out  The Host Index and The Host Library run by several Lexiconers.

Film School Rejects asks a question about Twilighers vs. Trekkies, (Go send them your thoughts!) and then follows up by discussing the Catherine and Rob interview from MSN.

Meanwhile, the folks on G4 have their own Rob interview.

On the hot picture front, Twilighters has photos of the actor doubles.

Good news for those of you living in the UK! Borders has decided to go with midnight release parties in many of their UK stores. Kudos to Borders for stepping up in the international market as well!  Here’s part of an email received by Cullenist that talks some details.

"Thanks for your reply.  We will definitely be going ahead with some events and activities surrounding the release of Breaking Dawn on the afternoon and evening of Saturday 2nd August (the book is released here then too, not the 4th as was previously reported).
 
A fancy dress competition and a quiz sound like great ideas, we will definitely try and incorporate them into the day…I have been thinking about holding a party in store in the evening …
 
By the way, you may want to let you friends know that ALL Borders stores, such as the Birmingham one, around the country will be holding some activities on Saturday 2nd to celebrate the release.  However, you should also tell them that Oxford Street’s party is going to be much bigger and better than the others!!"

Now for those of you who live in Australia, things are starting to shape up, but they need a little help from you, the fans.  Here’s the scoop the long-time Lexiconer Alexa Stone:

"Sydney’s Kinokuniya bookstore is interested in organising a major event for the release of Breaking Dawn; they would like to have a prom like the USA did last year, but the thing is they can’t do anything if they do not have the numbers (which must stand somewhere between 200-300 people).

We have been trying to get people to let us know how interested they would be, but we are having some major trouble getting people as any place we are posting at doesn’t anywhere near get the kind of visitors the Lexicon gets in one day alone. We would very much like to have this event, which will not be going ahead if we do not get the numbers."

So, if you want to get that party rolling contact Alexa here!

This is Hot off the Presses ladies and Gentlemen!  Summit gave us the heads up this was coming and here it is!  They have released a new promo picture for the movie!  See it here exclusively on Cinematical!  Go show Cinematical some Lexicon Love!

We started our adventure to the View Point Inn from downtown Portland armed with our cameras and complimentary hotel map, where we then swore, for the second time together, that we would never again use 411-info for directions.  After much driving we found our way to the park used for several scenes in the film.  All the footage above comes from the same state park, which is huge by the way. You could call it one stop scene shopping. 

The first thing you notice about the landscape of Portland is that it is vivid green. Everyone tends to say that but it is true. The natural beauty of the area is so hard to explain — saying that everything is green is an understatement.  The snow topped mountains create a stunning contrast to the lush surrounding forest. This feature magnifies itself ten fold once you venture out of the city and into the scenic parks that surround it.  The roads that lead into the park are small and winding, so pack your Dramamine if you are prone to motion sickness.  All the twisting and turning is well worth it when you finally crest the hill and land at Vista House which over looks the Columbia Gorge.  The view brings new meaning to the phrase breathtaking.  Though the wind was fierce it did not stop our curiosity.  We strolled around the charming circular building admiring the grandeur of the sight.  Ambereyes would like to mention that if you are a contact wearer, be sure to bring your glasses instead, or a good bottle of eye drops. The wind dries out eyes very quickly, and you want to be sure you can see for the rest of your trip because this precipice is not all this magnificent park has to offer. 

Once back in the car, we wound down the other side of the park (away from the View Point Inn) in search of the falls mentioned on all the signs leading into the park.  The roads wound and curved as we descend further into the gorge.  In some areas there is only enough room for one car on the road, and there are no guardrails so driving can be a bit scary.  Navigating this area was no easy feat for our driver, BeMyEscape.  She maneuvered our large SUV through effortlessly, all while avoiding the on coming vehicles who loved her side of the road more then their own.  Everything is covered in moss in the surrounding forest including the small one lane bridges, fully defining Bella’s words "Everything that’s supposed to be brown…is all covered up with squishy green stuff here…"  Along the drive to Multnomah Falls are smaller, but no less beautiful falls, each bursting from the shaded green landscape making you feel as though you were in a fairy tale rather than Portland, Oregon.

The spectacle that is Multnomah Falls was entirely worth the long drive down.  Be careful of cross traffic as you leave the parking lot though! They tend not to like it when you stop to video tape the falls in the middle of the road — Who knew? This waterfall actually is a double fall, with the first dropping from the top of the mountain into a pool and then the second dropping from the pool to the base of the falls.  The sound of the water grows in intensity as you make your way up the steps to the base of the falls.  It is truly an impressive display of the power of nature.  Alphie was the only one who braved the wet slope of the trail to hike up the path to the bridge.  It’s not that far, so if you have the chance to visit, make your way up the winding path to the bridge that overlooks the pool at the base of the higher falls. 

We then made our way back up the gorge to where the View Point Inn is located.  It’s aptly named for the view from its rooms; it would certainly be something spectacular to wake up to.  It was late at night so the inn was closed.  Alphie’s camera died just as we made it to the location so we were unable to capture a view of the actual entrance used for the prom. But the set decoration for the entrance was still in place around the corner from where we caught footage.  And we believe that the final scene between Bella and Edward from the book is replicated at the small fountain found in the center of the property which can be seen briefly in the fading light of the footage we captured. 

It was an amazing start to our visit, and we hope you enjoyed seeing the park through our eyes.  Next stop…Indian Beach and some one-on-one with the cast.

Discuss this and other set visit posts here on our message boards.