Twilight Screenwriter Mellisa Rosenberg, who has already completed the script for New Moon, says that the scripts so far have taken notes from Brokeback Mountain and Romeo and Juliet:

MTV: I would think the greatest challenge for you was to portray a romance that “Twilight” fans consider to be so powerful and epic. Where did you go for inspiration?

Rosenberg: Well, “Romeo and Juliet” is an obvious comparison. I discovered [after reading "Twilight" that Meyer] uses “Romeo and Juliet” quite heavily in “New Moon.” And this is going to sound a little crazy, but “Brokeback Mountain” was a great model of forbidden love.

MTV: So when it came time to portray the Edward/Bella romance, you thought about Heath and Jake?

Rosenberg: Well, “Brokeback Mountain” for two reasons: One, the short story [that was the basis] for “Brokeback Mountain” is beautiful, pure, very small — 20 or 40 pages — and the writers of “Brokeback Mountain” [the movie] would take one sentence, one four-word sentence, and it would become a story line. It would become a character. It was such a beautiful adaptation. I learned a great deal from reading that book and then watching the movie. It taught me a lot about adapting. But I had the opposite challenge with “Twilight” than they had with “Brokeback” — with “Brokeback,” they had to let it grow and breathe. I had to condense a great deal. For instance, with the James character and the evil vampires — taking what is really only the last 25 percent of the [novel] and bringing it forward. There were a couple moments like that where you go, “OK, wait a minute, [Meyer] is just suggesting this. But let’s let it play.”

MTV: But as far as the Edward/Bella romance is concerned, you see similarities to the “Brokeback” relationship?

Rosenberg: Yeah, it was just so poignant, and the forbidden-love element, that you have this deep yearning and passion and yet you have to keep it secret — to want to be with each other and to have to stay away on some level. So “Brokeback,” for me, was a great model for how to structure the romance in the story.

Screenwriter Melissa Rosenberg Was Inspired By ‘Brokeback Mountain’

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Taylor Lautner is geared up for New Moon, and his expanded role in it–

But today, the actor most likely to be doing the dance of joy is the fast-rising, fan-kissing, underwear-signing Lautner. After establishing in the first film that he has a thing for Bella and the nerve to stare down Edward, he’s already busy practicing his lines for Jacob Black’s expanded role as a lover, fighter and werewolf in the next flicks.

“The quote I love the most is Jacob’s quote, ‘Does my half being naked bother you?’ That quote just cracks me up,” he laughed when we met him for the first time, on the “Twilight” set. “Because, you know, that’s when he’s shirtless, not wearing a top — we’ll have to wait to see what he looks like.”

Lautner is hoping to get a chance to prove his fighting skills:

Lautner plans to begin bulking up now that “New Moon” has received the official green light, and is also hoping to work some of his real-life martial-arts background into Jacob’s upcoming battles. “They found a YouTube video of me on ESPN when I was 11, and they were just freaking out and were watching it over and over again. … I said that it’d be cool if Jacob did some of that in the fight scenes,” he told us in August. “[Hardwicke] said, ‘Yeah, that would be cool.’ “

Here’s the fabulous video he’s speaking of–how cute!–

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Hillary Duff is in on the Twilight action, too–she says her boyfriend might have to worry about a vampire moving in on his turf!:

She says, “I told my boyfriend, I was like, ‘Edward Cullen… I mean, find me a vampire, you might be done…!’ He’s handsome.”

Hillary Duff Falls for Vampire Pattinson

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Amy Wilkinson at EW’s Popwatch notes that with its locales and morphing werewolves, the budget for New Moon will have to be bigger:

As a fan of the Stephenie Meyer-penned series, I’m cautiously optimistic about the sequel, but it’s hard not to think about several obstacles to overcome in moving the story from the page to the big screen. First is the quantity — and quality — of the special effects it requires. With its morphing werewolves and new locations, the budget for New Moon will figure to have to be substantially larger than Twilight’s paltry $37 million price tag to make it credible. (I can’t be the only one disappointed with the running and sun-induced “dazzle” effects in the first flick.) Second is the prospect of a largely Robert Pattinson-free script. Not to give too much away to newcomers, but Pattinson’s heartthrob vamp Edward Cullen is largely absent from Meyer’s second novel. Clearly, Pattinson and his perfectly coiffed hair have been a big draw for smitten Twilight fans. The filmmakers will either need to figure out a way to bring Edward into the plot or risk the possibility Team Edwarders might feel disappointed. And finally, in the realm of special effects, how the heck is Taylor Lautner going to grow a foot within the next year to portray the gargantuan Jacob?

‘Twilight’ opening weekend ensures ‘New Moon’ will rise

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Do you live in Oregon, LA or Italy? Do you think you’d be a great extra in the New Moon movie? This just might be your chance!

“New Moon”, Summit Entertainment’s sequel to the highly successful feature film “Twilight”, is now currently in pre-production and casting directors are accepting photos and resumes from talent. Filming begins in March, 2009. Open casting calls will be posted here also, as soon as dates and locations are released.

New Moon Auditions

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What do you want to see in the trailer for New Moon? Some fans have already put in their two cents with these cool trailers for New Moon that are popping up. Which one is your favorite? Check out all 15 New Moon Trailers after the jump! [click to continue…]

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CNN reports that some stars of Twilight, such as Taylor Lautner, will be not be making a return performance in New Moon:

Fans are particularly invested in whether Taylor Lautner, who is markedly shorter and more boyish-looking than Meyer’s description of his character, Jacob, will return to vie for Bella’s heart. ”We are definitely talking and thinking about it right now,” says Erik Feig, Summit’s president of production. ”Taylor’s fantastic as Jacob in “Twilight.” I think when we get closer to shooting, the director is going to look at everyone as if they are brand-new to the role.”

And just who that director will be remains to be seen. As of press time, Hardwicke — who now holds the record for best opening-weekend box office for a female director — hadn’t signed on. But she spent much of the weekend sequestered in meetings with lawyers, agents and studio executives. She felt hamstrung by her modest budget through much of the “Twilight” shoot. ”I had more elaborate stunt sequences designed and very crazy, cool stuff that I wanted to do,” she says. ”We had locations taken away. We had five days cut before we started to shoot. But, you know, I kind of got past that, I just had to let it go.”

After the grueling production, Hardwicke now wants to make sure the studio shows her the money to properly tackle “New Moon’”s tricky plotline — which includes location shooting in Rome and several characters who must realistically morph from teenage boys into werewolves.

The Special Effects also came under fire–particularly the sparkly effects that turned out to look like salt:

Summit’s Feig has nothing but praise for Hardwicke, but he maintains that the sequel doesn’t necessarily demand a bigger budget. ”I don’t think there was anything excessively lavish about “Twilight,” and yet the world was fully realized,” he says. ”We’ll do exactly the same thing with New Moon.” Still, the studio might want to throw more money at the universally trashed special effect that was supposed to make Pattinson sparkle magically in the sunlight but left him looking merely sweaty. ”People make realistic CGI dragons, so you wouldn’t think making people sparkle would be that hard,” says Meyer.

But for now, only Pattinson and Stewart are confirmed:

For now, only Pattinson and Stewart are sure to live on in Meyer’s fantasy world. The two young stars, neither of whom banked on this sudden explosion of fame when they signed on for the movie, are currently limping through the last lap of their American promotional tour. (After a brief Thanksgiving rest, they’ll gear up again to spread “Twilight” fever across Europe.)

Who would replace Taylor Lautner as Jacob Black? Should he be replaced?

‘Twilight’: Where does the fandemonium lead now?

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Sabrina Rojas Weiss writes about her wishes for the upcoming Twilight sequel–chief among them is:

1) Go back to the books and re-examine what makes us fall in love with Edward and Bella, as much as what makes them fall in love with each other. Yes, their story overflows with gooey melodrama, but there’s also a healthy serving of sarcasm and light-hearted banter, which is when the readers can actually see themselves in the characters. Before you jump into those “I can’t live without you” scenes, give us a little bit of Edward reading her friends’ minds to eavesdrop on her clumsiness. You did it right in that scene when they arrive at school together and she says that everyone’s looking at them. “Not that guy,” he offers, and then has to retract. We really needed more of that before the meadow scene. You’ll have a chance to do this in the beginning of “New Moon,” before the birthday party turns into a disaster. And when Edward leaves, the audience will be counting on some cuteness from Jacob and Mike to keep us all from jumping off a cliff.

The Cullens also need to make more of a mark:

2) Beef up the roles of the other Cullens. Without backstory, they all seem like pretty, flat background characters. Those black-and-white, costume flashbacks were cool. More, please. Especially when you illustrate Carlisle’s wild days with the Volturi.

The special effects are a bit much, and a bit cheesy:

3) Cut back on the special effects, a lot. If vampires move too fast for humans to see, then why would we even have seen those cheesy blurs? All of that worked way better in our imaginations, and maybe it should stay that way. I’d rather see them appear out of thin air, than whoosh around like characters in a Sci Fi Channel movie. And whatever you did to make Edward sparkle was so unlike the rest of the movie, it took me completely out of the story and made me laugh. Everything else about the aesthetic of “Twilight” was beautiful, and I’m ready to book a vacation to the Pacific Northwest right now. I realize the werewolves pose a big problem, and you run the risk of them looking either like Falkor or something out of “Episode I.” Please, I beg you, use real wolves!

Give Kristen Stewart the room to, well, just be Bella:

5) Let Kristen Stewart do her thing. There were moments in “Twilight” that really reminded me of the gritty, natural teen angst of “Thirteen” — the actors had room to breathe and act like real people, with real problems. I was in tears when Bella told Charlie she was leaving Forks for good. In “New Moon,” Bella’s depression can be Kristen’s chance to shine as an actress, so don’t muck it up with layers of dramatic music. While you’re at it, for the Volturi, let’s get some good character actors who won’t ham it up like cartoon vampires. More Gary Oldman than Tom Cruise, if you will.

And finally, a small point–the pre-fight poses have gotta go–

6) OK, this is reverting to the gripe list I said I wouldn’t write, but can you also do away with the silly crouching pose the vampires do before they fight? What is that about? These are graceful killing machines. Not little kids pretending to be lions.

In The Wake Of ‘Twilight,’ Here’s My ‘New Moon’ Wish List

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