The Wall Street Journal has an intriguing look at the impact Twilight has had on the Harry Potter franchise.

Alicia Penner, a 13-year-old from Rocky Mountain House, Alberta, read the “Harry Potter” books 57 times. She watched the “Harry Potter” movies. Then last fall, a friend lent her the teen vampire book series “Twilight”—and she was hooked. The “Harry Potter” poster that used to hang on her bedroom wall has been replaced by the “Twilight” poster she got for her 13th birthday.

As a new “Harry Potter” movie opens next week, the bespectacled wizard faces a new challenge: how to compete for the attention of a young audience that has been growing up—and is starting to prefer the angsty teen romances and cooler, edgier characters of the “Twilight” books and movies.

Truth be told, I think there’s room in the world for both–I love Harry Potter but I also love Twilight. Each holds a special place in my heart for different reasons.

[via @RobPattzNews, thanks Lali_Whitlock!]

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E has answered a popular question around these parts–will it be possible to get tickets to the New Moon premiere? Probably not, The Answer B! responds–

“The more high-profile the movie, the harder it would be for the general public—and less than A-list stars—to get tickets,” says publicist and former Sony publicity associate Marc Kruskol. “There are rows set aside for the stars, the filmmakers and their guests. Studio bigwigs usually have reserved seats as well. Other invited guests include agents and other industry-related folks.”

Check out the rest of the response at E!

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The website AskMen has a feature up about reasons vampires appeal to women, and how guys can use this knowledge to their advantage–would you agree with some of these, or are they just wishful thinking? For example–

Vampires are loners: The average guy runs with a pack; a group of close drinking buddies who come over to watch the game, hit the links on the weekends and get into trouble together. This clan takes up quality time and attention that is usually reserved for a girlfriend. Vampires work alone. They don’t have many friends, and if they do, they are usually out doing their own thing. Women love vampires because they have all the time in the world. Literally.

What the single guy could learn: Don’t hang out with your friends so much. Make time for her and occasionally bag plans with the boys. The guys, the game, the golf, and the beers will always be there. Show her you are your own man.

Vampires require no commitment during the day: Even though women love to spend as much time as possible with the man they adore, they still want some alone time to do things with the girls or on their own. They feel bad if they don’t at least call and check in a few times during the day. Women love vampires because vampires can’t take up the entirety of a woman’s day. Hell, they can’t even stay that late into the night. Sleepovers only last until the sun is coming up and vampires are nowhere to be found until the sun goes down.

What the single guy could learn: Sometimes a woman does just want to be alone. Give her time to do her own thing and be her own person. Give her space to be independent. It will make the time she spends with you even more special.

Check out the rest of the list at AskMen.

[Stills via edwardemmett09]

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The New Moon trailer and recently released stills from the movie have revealed that New Moon will not have the same blue tint that Twilight did.   I’ve made the image above which roughly approximates the old Twilight look on one half of an image from New Moon and keeps the other side as it will be in the movie.   

How do you feel about this change–do you think it is for the best, or do you wish it still had the icy tones of the original movie instead of the new golden look?

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BuzzSugar has an article describing five reasons they are optimistic about New Moon–it’s interesting to read this type of thing from a non-fan’s perspective. They said that Twilight was a bit of a critical dissapointment:

The faithful flocked to theaters, but some folks new to the story left wondering what all the hype is about. I’m hoping the next movie in this saga, New Moon, will be an improvement over the first one when it hits theaters later this year. While I’m sure it’ll be huge no matter what, I’d rather it be good!

• A Freer Adaptation of the Book
• Two Words: Wolf Pack
• Cool Special Effects
• It Might Be Scary
• Quality Casting: New Moon has attracted some honest-to-goodness thespians like Michael Sheen and talented youngsters like Dakota Fanning. I think that says a lot about the strength of the script and the faith folks have in the direction this installment of the franchise is going.

Here is my list of reasons why I think New Moon might be good: “It’s New Moon.” Check out the rest of the reasoning behind their choices over at Buzzsugar.

[New Moon poster by Grodansnagel]

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With the success of Twilight in both film and book form, the Deadbolt questions whether it will spawn a whole new period of supernatural entertainment. They note the Rome wasn’t built in a day–so all the stuff coming down the pipeline may not be apparent yet, however there are already quite a few works in the Twilight style that are doing pretty well–

Fiction franchises like House of Night, Den of Shadows, and the Vampire Academy have lured legions of loyal fans, especially young adults who relate most to the recipe of fantasy and real and relatable teen issues. As successful as each series has been, now amid the popularity of Twilight, New Moon and its stars Robert Pattinson, Kristen Stewart, and Taylor Lautner, you can easily make the argument that these books are simply capitalizing on the previous success of other novels. If it weren’t for one, there wouldn’t be another. It’s a cycle that has existed throughout the centuries of literature, fuelled by money and profit off of something that’s already proven itself lucrative. None of this is new, of course. In the movie world prior to Twilight and New Moon, we went from Lord of the Rings to Harry Potter to Asian Remake, all with a slew of similar stories and concepts that clogged up the theatres until the last dollar was coughed up. Comic book geeks, sorry to say, you’re next.

Now that the Twilight Saga has garnered so much worldwide attention in the production stages, a question of the Twilight ripple-effect comes to mind. How many similarly themed novels, movies, and TV shows will we see because of Twilight and New Moon? How many are already being written, in production, or now wrapped or in post-production? There’s one that we know of for certain.

I find it interesting how the cover of most of the book series mentioned follow a fairly similar design motif as the Twilight series, especially House of Night and Den of Shadows with its monochromatic black and white with pops of red.

Have any of you been drawn in by other pieces of supernatural fiction?

[thanks, Lisa/LMCullen]

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What is it about vampires that makes the world so fascinated with them? 24 Hours Vancouver has a story looking at the history of vamps in culture, and why Twilight has touched such a nerve with the imagination of young and old alike–

“For some reason, Stephenie Meyer has caught on with a sort of Harlequin vampire,” said Hector Williams, a professor of classical archeology at the University of British Columbia who specializes in vampires. “It’s a new form that’s been put with an attractive group of young people. Before that, vampires tended to be middle-aged or older.”

Williams said the Twilight phenomenon doesn’t surprise him but that it’s only one of many versions of the fanged bloodsucker that have seduced the public.

“Vampires have been around for centuries,” he said. “[They’ve had an appeal] for the last 200 years.”

Check out the rest of the article at 24 Hours Vancouver.

[Fan art by Petite-Madame]

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UPDATE: The ET New Moon video coverage has been added! What do you think of what was shown tonight? Tune in to ET tomorrow as well as this weekend for more of their exclusive coverage from the set of New Moon.

The ET New Moon Exclusive Coverage is starting to air right now at certain places in the country! We’ll bring you the video as soon as possible, but in the meantime–anyone who is watching it, you can post your reactions to what you’ve seen here! It’s not coming on till 7:30pm EST–a little less than 2 hours from now–where I’m located, so I’m eager to know what everyone thinks!

UPDATE2: HQ Version of Part 1!

UPDATE: Part 1 from Lisa/LMCullen!

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The Daily Mail notes the trend in fashion and popular culture towards more beefy, built men rather than waifish metrosexuals. New Moon certainly fits this mold, with an entire menagerie of hunky men at its disposal–

Goodbye metrosexual twigman with your sad little manbag – you never did it for me – and hello beefcake beast. Where have you been?

It should come as no surprise. Economic depressions have always walked hand in hand with the worship of raw machismo. That is just the way it goes.

Who needs a sensitive accountant when all the money is going? Who needs a man to talk shoes when all the shoes have gone?

It is better to have a man who can mend things for you. And butcher sheep. And build houses and grow vegetables and make things out of bits of wood.

Won’t you feel safer? Won’t you feel better, knowing that there is a serious lump of muscle between you and the cold, cruel world outside?

Check out the rest of the article over at The Daily Mail.

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