Readers of Stephenie Meyer's Twilight books know what happens at the end of Breaking Dawn... or do they? Movieline sat down with director Bill Condon for an all-out, no-holds-barred, spoilery chat about the shocking changes at the end of Breaking Dawn Part II that had fans gasping in theaters around the globe over the weekend — including how the filmmakers decided who lived and who died, and why if you blinked you may have missed the most earth-shattering character fates of them all.
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There's a ballyhooed sex scene between Bella and Edward that received a respectable 8 on ML's Scream-O-Meter, but it apparently was some violence that almost earned Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 2 an R-rating from the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA), which would have caused quite a stir and conundrums in Twi-hard Land, which still counts quite a large crowd of teens among its ranks (not that that crafty crowd wouldn't have found a way). more »
With Lionsgate's big screen adaptation of Suzanne Collins’ teen-centric sci-fi survival-adventure The Hunger Games hitting screens this week, it’s kind of impossible not to draw comparisons to that other YA juggernaut series, which concludes its billion-dollar run on pop culture this fall. So how does The Hunger Games measure up to Twilight?
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Today in the NY Times, David Carr has an intriguing look at the notorious 28-minute "documentary" When Mitt Romney Came to Town, a piece of presidential-campaign propaganda so slick and evocative that it brings to mind the work of contemporary Hollywood pros. Perhaps most notably, Carr writes, the film implicates Romney in a kind of "vampire capitalism" -- which calls for some perspective from the Oscar-winning director of The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn, Bill Condon. Naturally.
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Throughout the Twilight franchise, one screenwriter has adapted author Stephenie Meyer's bestselling book series about a teenager and her love for a vampire for the screen: Melissa Rosenberg. It's a tricky job, balancing the desire to satisfy fans with the need to make Meyer's 500+ page-novels cinematic, all while transforming heroine Bella Swan (Kristen Stewart) from unsteady teen to self-possessed woman. But in Breaking Dawn - Part 1 Bella finally is an agent of her own destiny, her senses awakened, and her choices confident. Was she, as Rosenberg insists, an active heroine under the surface just waiting to spring into action all along?
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The Twilight Saga sparkled to another #1 opening, as if you had any doubt; it was just a matter of how many millions Breaking Dawn would rake in, after Friday's $72 million opening day. But while all the excitement over weddings, butter-colored honeymoons, and monster vampire babies couldn't quite help BD eclipse New Moon (groan), it still nudged out Pirates of the Caribbean: The One with the Kraken for the #5 biggest opening of all time. That's forever, baby. Let's get our imprinting on in today's Weekend Receipts.
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As Cullen family ringleader Carlisle, Peter Facinelli has faced off with the Volturi, rallied his clan to keep Bella and Edward safe and, in The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn -- Part 1, walks a tightrope trying to keep Bella unharmed during her unexpected pregnancy. Facinelli talked with Movieline about working with writer/director Bill Condon and Stephenie Meyer on the final two films and the daunting task of shooting them -- at the junket for the film earlier in the day, Facinelli was still marveling at the screenplay's heft.
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The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn -- Part I is such a departure from the previous three Twilight pictures that you could almost consider it a rogue offshoot. Director Bill Condon steers the franchise away from visions of wan, suffering teens and fake-fur werewolf tussles and brings it closer to -- if not necessarily close to -- something resembling human adult sexual obsession and its attendant responsibilities and anxieties. It's like Jules and Jim for the Tiger Beat set.
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Every director who's gone through the whirlwind circus that is filming and releasing a Twilight movie eventually gets to relax and breathe a sigh of relief, but Bill Condon (Gods and Monsters, Dreamgirls) still has miles and miles to go. Fans and critics will finally see what the Oscar-winner brings to the YA vampire franchise when The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 1 hits theaters Nov. 18, but if they find themselves displeased with his treatment of Stephenie Meyer's beloved novel, it could be a tough year's wait until Condon's simultaneously-shot series ender (Breaking Dawn - Part 2) concludes the series next fall.
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If Guinness World Records recognized fictional successive rites of passage, The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn -- Part 1 would be the clear victor. As weddings go, yes, there most definitely is one -- possibly two, if you believe Robert Pattinson. Kristen Stewart's Bella finally gets her way during the honeymoon. Then there's the emotion-soaked pregnancy that puts Bella in peril once more, and all the dominoes that are set off for the pair and for Taylor Lautner's Jacob as a result. Pattinson, Stewart and Lautner talked up the first installment of the Twilight finale Thursday ahead of its debut Nov. 18, with a surprise news conference appearance by series author Stephenie Meyer, who shared some tidbits from her stint as producer.
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Bill Condon rang Movieline today for a special early chat about The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part One, and while the full interview will post soon, we've got a snippet to whet your appetite. Between talk of vampire weddings and critical expectations and such, Condon shared a particularly fond memory of the time when, during filming of an epic battle scene from the simultaneously-filmed Breaking Dawn Part Two, the guy from The Fall led his entire cast in an impromptu flash mob dance-off to the sounds of the Eurythmics. Hear the tale after the jump!
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Hot on the heels of yesterday's mysterious Breaking Dawn cast poster (as we reported, it's not the official movie poster but licensee key art from NECA, so rest easy) comes a brand spanking new synopsis and set of nine hi-res images from The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Pt. 1, which will set Twi-hard hearts aflutter with its focus on romance, passion, and babymaking. Dive in!
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Today, after four months of investigation, Summit Entertainment released a press release identifying the young woman who allegedly stole photos and video of Bill Condon's unfinished Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn back in March and leaked the images and screen grabs on the Internet. The investigation spanned four continents and the studio has filed civil action in two countries and criminal action in one. But enough with the boring legal details! After the jump, Movieline conducts its own high tech Facebook research on the woman who allegedly released those Bella/Edward sex pics.
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Movieline caught up with The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn director Bill Condon in San Diego, where he made his first Comic-Con appearance, joining stars including Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson, and Taylor Lautner in debuting two revealing clips from the November release. But what parts of The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn (The wedding! The honeymoon! Imprinting!) will Condon fight to keep secret until the film lands in theaters?
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Yesterday in San Diego, The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn director Bill Condon mysteriously hinted that Stephenie Meyer could have more Twilight spin-offs left in her. Movieline caught up with Condon for a chat overlooking the Convention Center (full interview to come) and asked him to clarify: Is Stephenie Meyer planning to write more Twilight stories?
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