As terribly easy as it is to hate on the Twilight films, The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part II was the best of the series. (Not that it was without its share of WTFery — imprinting and vampire fistfights and every second of Michael Sheen onscreen, anyone?) But with Breaking Dawn - Part II nominated for 11 Razzie Awards in just ten categories, up against the likes of Adam Sandler's That's My Boy, Eddie Murphy's A Thousand Words, and the bizarro pop culture sensation/box office bomb The Oogieloves In Big Balloon Adventure, let's be real: Does Twilight truly deserve to win all the Razzies?
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2012 was a strong year for film, delivering numerous high quality event movies and also a ton of very excellent serious fare as well. But perhaps it's the overall high quality that made us take note of the moments in which we were wrenched out of our suspended disbelief, or maybe it's just that the gods of moviedom knew something had to be done to prevent people from taking themselves too seriously. Either way, the year was blessed with some rather amazeballs moments of unintentional awkwardness that really forced us to step back and gasp, "Did that really happen?!" [SPOILERS!] more »
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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With The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part II finally in theaters, it’s time to get to spoiler-talkin’ — did Bill Condon & Co. blow minds with the Big Crazy Twist in their big-screen adaptation? How much sexy time do newborn vampires have? Is imprinting totally not creepy when the power of Taylor Lautner’s abs is compelling you?
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A 20-year-old man was arrested in Bolivar, Missouri after admitting he bought firearms and 400 rounds of ammunition with the intent of shooting patrons this weekend at a screening of The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn — Part 2 — an attack that, had it been carried out, would have echoed the Aurora, Colorado tragedy.
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After spending four years and five movies playing Bella Swan's vampire sister-in-law Rosalie Hale in the Twilight series, Nikki Reed understandably has a bittersweet perspective on the billion-dollar franchise coming to a close in this week's Breaking Dawn Part 2. On the one hand, she won't miss the hate mail from fans who have taken her character's onscreen iciness to Kristen Stewart's heroine to heart for four films. But few of Twilight's central figures have been as close to the saga as long as Reed has, dating back to even before director Catherine Hardwicke had cast Stewart and Robert Pattinson in the roles that would skyrocket them, the films, and all of their cast, to global fame.
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Whether you're a devoted Twihard, an absolute hater, or someone who's still just completely bewildered by Stephenie Meyer's oeuvre, you must give the Twilight saga this — these stories are incredible, unabashed distillations of teenage (or just teenage-at-heart) female fantasy. Male equivalents, like, say, most superhero stories, have come to dominate the mainstream and fill the summer blockbuster schedule to such an extent that the Twilight films are striking simply in how very different they are. And how crazily well they target certain girlish pleasure centers with their themes of eternal romance, playing house with the advantages of unlimited vampiric wealth, and being the one that everyone wants without even trying.
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Screams of elation, excitement — and at one point pure, unadulterated horror — echoed down through the rafters at the Nokia Theater last night as The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part II premiered to crowd of well-heeled industry guests and legions of Twi-hards, all craning for a glimpse of Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson, who were in attendance alongside dozens of their Twilight co-stars.
Hollywood suits and fans alike seemed taken with the action-packed Twilight finale, which concludes the billion-dollar film franchise with a polished touch, new faces, a welcome dash of humor, and more than a few fan service moments dedicated to Bella and Edward's bloodsucking marital bliss.
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The Twilight Saga is finally coming to an end this week as Breaking Dawn Part II sparkles into theaters, which means tonight is the last Hollywood Twilight premiere humankind will see. This saddens me, because Twilight premieres have become one of the great constants of modern culture, at least for the past four years: Hordes of screaming fans will gather, many of them having slept on the ground in Los Angeles for days. I repeat: On the ground. In Los Angeles. That's real dedication.
The air will be thick with hopes and dreams and friendship and vampire marriage proposals. And whether or not said fans actually make it into the theater alongside the idols their devotion and ticket dollars skyrocketed to fame, they will have the best time ever just being there. How many fandoms can claim that sort of eternal, electric energy?
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You think navigating a press junket after a personal controversy goes public is potentially awkward? Try braving throngs of journalists clamoring for an answer to The Twilight Saga's curious "imprinting" storyline, as Taylor Lautner did today when the franchise-ending Breaking Dawn Part II press tour kicked off.
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Those out there who might dismiss the final Twilight pic Breaking Dawn Part 2 as just another vampire movie sequel heavy on Bella Swan's moony-eyed sighs and Edward Cullen's sparkly undead chest, consider: This new behind-the-scenes featurette peels back the curtain to reveal the massive sets, wire work, and action set pieces Bill Condon wrangled for the highly anticipated franchise-ender — starting with Kristen Stewart going Over The Top with a little arm-wrestling action!
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With one last action-packed trailer, Summit continues its final marketing push to bring the $2 billion Twilight Saga down the home stretch. What's nice about this full two-minute trailer is it actually builds tension, at least, moreso than the abridged looks we've had this week. And while it lays down more of a foundation for the final epic throwdown between good vampires and not-so-good vampires that wraps up the series, we also get the tiniest explanation of the "immortal child" hullabaloo at the center of Breaking Dawn.
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It's hard to believe that The Twilight Saga is coming to a close, four years and $2.5 billion and just one (!) world-shattering, tabloid-splattered cheating scandal later. Which means that the blink-and-you'll-miss-it final teaser for the last trailer for the second part of the final series-ending chapter is the last ridiculously sparse preview of a preview for Breaking Dawn - Part 2 we'll see. Sniff. Watch Robert Pattinson, Kristen Stewart and Co. get ready to rumble and pour one out for all 14 glorious seconds of the final Twilight teaser.
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Given author Stephenie Meyer's close connection to Summit's Twilight films (she came onboard to produce the final two films), the vampire saga has retained a firm sense of authenticity even as scripter Melissa Rosenberg has tweaked and added details to translate Meyer's vision for the big screen. But a new EW Breaking Dawn Part 2 preview teases a "pretty big shock" for fans expecting stark faithfulness to the series-ender. What could be more shocking than the all-out vampire/werewolf/baby-loving party that already is Breaking Dawn?
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Though The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn director Bill Condon was absent this year from Comic-Con, (he was off finishing the November release but pre-taped tidings), he sent in his stead stars Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson, and Taylor Lautner, over two dozen cast members, Stephenie Meyer, and new footage for the thousands of attendees in Hall H Thursday morning that included a slew of fan-pleasing moments – Bella Swan devouring a mountain lion among them. But while Breaking Dawn’s bright, well-paced clips (including the first seven minutes of the film) impressed, a surprise screening of footage from The Host – Meyer’s other fantasy-sci-fi-romance YA lit adaptation –confused viewers, indicating an uphill battle ahead for distributor Open Road.
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