USA Today: Hollywood Brings Out a New Breed of Brawn

Eclipse trailer Jacob abd BellaUSA Today covers a variety of reasons why actors who have been around and were not really well known, to total newcomers are going to be making a splash this year as the latest predicted Hollywood heartthrobs. These types are coming in two categories and Twilight, they claim, is part of the reason:

“The ‘Twilight’ factor

The reason for the double standard?

“It’s the two archetypes you see in Twilight,” Dergarabedian suggests. In one corner is brooding vampire Edward and, in the other, burly werewolf Jacob. “It’s probably an attempt to make sure women see these films.”

Not a bad guess. Yes, the target audience of such geek-squad fare remains men 18 to 25, who can almost always be counted on to show up for at least the opening weekend of a comic-book adventure. But as the cost for special-effects and possible 3-D treatment escalates, it isn’t a bad idea to reach beyond the core crowd and add some eye candy for the ladies as well.

Consider that the first three romantic Gothic thrillers based on the hugely popular book series have collected nearly $1.8 billion total in worldwide ticket sales by targeting female ticket buyers.

Meanwhile, barely known actors Robert Pattinson, 24, and Taylor Lautner, 19, turned into overnight sensations. Besides, it is normal for the definition of a movie hunk to go in cycles, says Jeanine Basinger, head of film studies at Wesleyan University.”

See more on USA Today. So ladies which do you prefer, the brooding or the brawn?