Collider scored a heck of an interview with four, count ‘em, four of the New Moon cast last night at the premiere of Summit’s new film Push. Collider interviewed Edi Gathegi/Laurent, Rachel Lefevre/Victoria, Ashley Greene/Alice Cullen and Kellan Lutz/Emmett Cullen. They talked about the script, the mall tour, sugar addictions, Vancouver, Italy, ….the list goes on! Check out the three videos of the four:

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Sarah Clarke, who also stars in Trust Me and 24, plays Bella’s mom Renée Dwyer. MediaBlvd caught up with her to ask her a bit about Twilight and New Moon–

MediaBlvd> Will you get more to do in the next film?

Sarah> I hope. Because it’s about the kids, they wanted to focus on them. The first scene was a really good establishing character scene for Bella and her mom, and they cut it down so much, I was like, “Oh, my God!” In the first book, the mother is written off as a nag, but they made a really good mom character in the movie. If she does come back, in a substantial way, a lot goes down with Bella in the second book and you would need your mom for. Being a mom now, and maybe I’m biased, your mom is a really important part of your life.

MediaBlvd> So, you haven’t read past New Moon yet?

Sarah> No. I don’t have a lot of time to read. I read Twilight so fast. I had the audition on a Monday, and I got the book the Friday before, so I read it over the weekend and I loved it. With New Moon, I’m taking a little more time with just because I’m working.

MediaBlvd> How do you feel about the change in director? Do you just go in and do your work, and you don’t worry about that?

Sarah> Yeah. I feel like there are reasons for everything. I think Catherine Hardwicke did a great job with the first movie, but the Harry Potter movies have different directors, and it’s always interesting to see how they can influence it. I think it will be exciting to see.

MediaBlvd> You’ve been involved with two high-profile projects, with 24 and Twilight. Do you get fans from both, or is Twilight overshadowing everything now?

Sarah> It’s a totally different fan base, in each case. With Twilight, people are so obsessed with that book, and they really want to know the ins and outs of what people think. Just going onto the first book, I couldn’t say anything about what’s going to happen next. I’ve just read New Moon, so I’m just now getting familiar with it. I would say it’s completely different groups of fans. With 24, I get very technical questions about the ins and outs of the CIA and anti-terrorist work. With Twilight, they ask, “Do you like werewolves or vampires?”

Sarah Clarke in ‘Trust Me’

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Kristen Stewart put down her, ah–tobacco pipe just long enough to bemoan how popular New Moon is to MTV:

“It’s such a machine now. All of a sudden, this movie has become [something bigger],” she explained. “With all the expectations — usually, you make a movie and think, ‘If it touches people, great; if it doesn’t, then you move on to the next one, and no one’s personally affected by it.’ [But] everyone’s really sensitive with any changes right now.

“Everyone needs to be on the same page to make the same movie [as the original 'Twilight' was],” she said of the upcoming “New Moon” shoot. “Or else it will be a very disoriented project.”

You know, Kristin–I get it. Down with the man. Make art, not product. But this isn’t high school drama club. You’re in the big leagues now, and with that comes managers, producers, stylists, PR agents, spin doctors, and decisions by committee. You may not like it, but it’s the name of the game in Hollywood when you are working on one of the most anticipated movies of the year. However much I might agree with you–that New Moon has all the signs of potential disaster now that everyone wants a finger in the pie–you’re coming off as unappreciative and oh-so-over-it in this and the recent E! Sundance interview.   There are thousands of young actresses that would kill to be in your position, and though we all certainly appreciate your honesty–perhaps giving thanks that you could even be in this incredible position is the better tact for the press? It’s not all bad vibes and buzzkill for Stewart, though–she digs the new director, Chris Weitz:

“Chris is — on top of him being a really sweet guy — he is entirely devoted,” she explained. “And he’s very clearly not doing the movie just because it’s the next big thing. He really likes it a lot.”

Stewart is glad Taylor Lautner is staying for his role:

“I’m so glad they didn’t have to find somebody else; we already had him! I didn’t understand all the deliberation on [whether to bring him back]. But now that it’s set, we can all rest.

Kristen Stewart Confident In Taylor Lautner, Chris Weitz For ‘New Moon’

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Ashley Greene showed her excitement for New Moon in an interview with MTV recently. The gorgeous Alice Cullen actress is particuarly stoked about the yellow Porsche she might drive in Italy:

“I want to drive the yellow Porsche, really bad — in Europe,” she giggled, citing the “New Moon” moment she’s most eager to film. “That’s what I’m most excited about now. I keep saying I hope they let me drive it, because on the first ‘Twilight’ we wanted to do our own stunts, and they let us do everything we realistically could. So, I’m hoping if I learn how to drive stick-shift, they’ll let me drive the Porsche.”

Greene is also eager to work with the new director, Chris Weitz, though she admits she is sad to see Twilight director Catherine Hardwicke leave the series:

“I’m sad to see Catherine go, but I think Chris is going to do a really great job,” said the star. “I’m excited to work with him, because obviously he’s worked with CGI before, and he’s very familiar with it. It’ll be good. We all knew [Catherine leaving] was a possibility, and I respect the fact that she said, ‘Hey, I want more prep time. Maybe I wouldn’t do the best job,’ and that she gave someone else her place. That’s what we do; that’s our job. We work with different, great people every day.”

Ashley is joining fans in rooting for Lautner to return to the series. She says that “we all love Taylor. He’s the best kid. He’s so adorable and so good-hearted, and he’s a good actor too. He did a great job, so I’m hoping to see him come back.”

‘Twilight’ Star Ashley Greene Is Excited About ‘New Moon’ Director Chris Weitz

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J14 has snagged an exclusive interview with Michael Copon, and he talks in some detail about the possiblity of playing Jacob Black in New Moon. Is he auditioning? No. Just talking. Behind the scenes at Summit, he says that–

There’s no auditioning going on, it’s a lot of talking. My representation has been talking to Summit and they’re hearing that I’m one of the first picks. I got offered CSI: Miami recently without auditioning, so a lot of great things are coming without auditions. But I wouldn’t mind going in and showing them what I’ve got. At the same time, it would be really great if they saw my work and trusted me. It would make me feel like they look at me more as a team player.

He gets in a pretty harsh jab at Taylor Lautner saying that he was too one-note in Twilight, and maintains he would be the better choice for the role:

I have nothing against Taylor personally. I think he’s great and tremendous at what he does. But it’s just adjusting to the fact that Jacob has to grow. It’s a matter of going with the storyline. It goes with the territory. I see so much in Jacob Black that I feel like wasn’t brought to the first film that if I had the opportunity, I would totally create an amazing character. He’s more than just a guy who walks around and smiles and likes Bella. It’s just too one-sided. It’s two colors and I feel like Jacob is full of a hundred colors.

So, he thinks that Taylor Lautner as Jacob “just walks around and smiles”. Ouch! He gets in another jab at Taylor by saying that he isn’t the right size for the role, dismissing Lautner’s stature, “Taylor’s probably what, 140 [pounds], if he’s lucky? I’m already 200 pounds, so there’s no need for me to get any bigger. Plus he’s 5′6″ and I’m 6′2″. In the book, he grows eight inches and I’m exactly eight inches taller than Taylor. Huge difference.”

As to how familiar he is with the books, well, he’s read Twilight and “dabbled through the Cliffs Notes” of New Moon and Eclipse and he says “I kind of know what happens.”

Copon feels the line on his resume from Scorpion King 2 is enough experience to bring to New Moon:

I think with the experience I got from Scorpion King 2, I Iearned how to carry a film from start to finish. Plus, it was a very similar role – Heroic warrior who had passion for someone. It’s a similar story in a different realm with werewolves. I would be fun to play this dark yet romantic story.

He seems like a decent enough guy–as witnessed by the recent interview where he was interrupted at dinner and went ahead and gave an interview anyhow–but wow, he does he seem a bit cocky here!

J-14 Exclusive Q&A with Michael Copon  

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HUGE news for Taylor Lautner supporters! He was just interviewed and he insists that reports he won’t be on New Moon are greatly exaggerated. In fact, he’s going to meet Chris Weitz for lunch on Friday to speak about his role. Will he get bad news or good news from Weitz? I have a feeling Friday might just be the big decision. Speaking to MTV News, he says-

“I’ve heard a few things,” he said of Copon. “I don’t really know too much to comment on it. As far as I know, I haven’t been told ‘no’ yet, so it’s still all up in the air.”

“I have been working out. I’ve been working out since the day we finished filming ‘Twilight.’ I just weighed myself today; I’ve put on 19 pounds,” the noticeably larger Lautner told us, promising that he’ll be big enough to fit Stephenie Meyer’s physical description of Jacob Black in “New Moon” when cameras begin rolling in 12 weeks. “I’m guaranteeing Weitz 10 more [pounds] by filming.”  

So if all this is true, and it’s he’s meeting with Chris Weitz tomorrow, why the mysterious omission of Lautner’s name in the recent press release from Summit? The Jacob Black hopeful says that-

“I think it’s because, well, Rob and Kristen were the lead roles in ‘Twilight,’ so they’ve got to be back,” he reasoned. “I don’t even know if they’re officially signed; maybe they are, I don’t know. They just hired Weitz, and now they’re just moving down the cast. All I can say is, I’m going to be ready if my number’s called.”

He also says that the claims he was being CGI’d by the makers of The Curious Case of Benjamin Button to see if special effects could make him look more buff in order to play the older and bigger looking Jacob Black are off-base.

Nothing [along those lines] has happened, and I don’t know if it will,” he told us. “I think there’s a lot of things that have gotten blown up that haven’t really occurred. That hasn’t happened. I’ve just been working out for awhile, and I’m ready.”

He finishes with a pretty strong signal that he will stay on as Jacob Black in New Moon–

“My job for ‘Twilight’ was to bring ‘Twilight’ Jacob to life — the friendly, happy-go-lucky little Jacob,” Lautner explained, looking forward to the Friday lunch that will shape the future of his career. “And my job for ‘New Moon’ is completely different; I’ve been looking forward to that. I’ve been getting ready for it, and I can assure them that I will follow through with that job.”

‘Twilight’ Star Taylor Lautner Talks About His Campaign To Stay On ‘New Moon’

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Hollywire tracked down Michael Copon at Katsuya in LA where he was dining on albacore tuna. They’ve posted a short video interview where they quiz him about being in New Moon:

Hollywire Exclusive: Michael Sets the Record Straight

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Michael Copon briefly addresses the buzz that he will play Jacob Black in a new interview today. While he mostly just plugs the other projects he is working on, he does have this to say about New Moon:

I think that it is pretty clear that there are huge rumors going around the Internet about me up for the role as Jacob Black. At this point, they are only rumors. There are a lot of opinions going around on the Internet about this role. It is definitely a role of a lifetime and I would love to have that chance.

Clearly things are still up in the air, though he does seem excited at the prospect of playing Jacob. He is finally getting around to reading the books, too. He says that “I have just started reading Twilight. Everyone kept saying that it was the best book in the world so I had to go and read it.” You can read the rest of the interview at Popstar.

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In this interview from Comic-Con 2008, Taylor Lautner says he has been preparing for his potential role in New Moon by “hitting the gym five times a week–I’m cranking out, overdosing on protein, i’ve put on 7 pounds in 2 months.” It is still unclear whether his hard work will pay off, though he does note “I don’t know what they’re going to do about the height issue, we’ll see,” and laughingly suggests “cheat shoes”.

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