Fan Fare

Twi-hards howl for “Twilight Saga: Eclipse”

We knew it would be big. We still don’t know how big, and we won’t until after the upcoming debut weekend. Read about the box office  here.

But we do know that even before it has played one full day in theaters, “The Twilight Saga: Eclipse” has already broken a record. The film’s midnight screenings on Wednesday raked in more than $30 million at North American box offices. Read about that here. In fact, you can read about the movie here, a review here, our interview with Taylor Lautner here, and a story about Native Americans in the film, here.

We were in Hollywood to talk to some of the “Twi-hard” fans, and some folks who were not so excited. Watch the video to see what we learned.

(video by Marc Price)

from Photographers Blog:

Ten minutes or less with Taylor Lautner

Reuters had been approved for a ten-minute portrait session with Taylor Lautner, the heartthrob of millions of teenagers, my editor Sam Mircovich informed me the day before the shoot.

Reporter Alex Dobuzinskis had a one-on-one interview with Taylor scheduled ahead of the premier of "The Twilight Saga: Eclipse." Before the release of a film, the production company organizes press junkets in which the cast is available for media interviews and occasionally for a quick photo session. Photo access is rare so whenever it's granted to us, it's welcomed.

Not unlike other press junkets, this one was held at a prestigious hotel in Los Angeles. The hotel had been rigged and retrofitted for these types of media events.

My shoot was slotted in for 3:15pm on a Saturday. I arrived one hour early, as I always do, to check in, set-up and think about my shots.

Two important things to remember during these portrait sessions are: to create an environmental portrait with no backdrop, and to create a unique look that extracts the subject from the actual hotel setting. I always aim for these two different looks.

To shoot a traditional portrait, I use a medium size Chimera softbox, a Dynalite uni400 head plugged into a jackrabbit battery and a wireless connection with pocket wizards transmitters as I prefer not to have any cables running along the floor. I am able to move around the room freely with my lighting self-contained.

Team Edward or Jacob? Creative or pugnacious? Twihards analyzed

Twilight fans can be fiercely divided in their loyalty to the vampire Edward or the werewolf Jacob but do they know why? Mindset Media, the makers of something  called psychographic ad technology, has conducted an online survey of 2,000 Twilight fans or Twihards and claims that personality may play a major role in which team people are drawn to.

“The diehard fans of each team share the personality traits of the character they support,” said Stephanie Wang, Director of Business Development at Mindset Media, in a statement.

According to the study, fans of Team Edward scored high in three distinct personality traits: 1. Creative meaning  they are inventive, imaginative 2.  Responsible meaning they follow through and get the job done 3. Perfectionists  much like Edward waiting to find his perfect counterpart.

On the other hand, fans of Team Jacob scored high in the following personality traits: 1. Pugnaciousness and unafraid to  tell others what they think of them, valuing honesty and bluntness 2. Impulsive so able to relate to Jacob for his love of reckless activities 3. Spontaneous, like Jacob and his tendency to be there for Bella at the drop of a hat.

Any Twihards fit the bill? To discover what your personality says visit www.twilightpersonalitytest.com.

A bad bromance as “Glee” goes Gaga

Lady Gaga’s presence was stamped all over Fox’s “Glee” Tuesday night as the kids of New Directions explored their self-identity.

This week, Finn Hudson was caught in a bad bromance with Gleemate Kurt Hummel. It was a bad day for Finn as his homophobic prejudices toward Kurt surfaced upon hearing that he and his mother would be moving in with the Hummels and that he’d be sharing a room with Kurt, who has had a not-so-secret crush on him all year. Finn learned his lesson though after a lecture from Dad and came to Kurt’s defense (wrapped in a signature Gaga red rubber dress) just as Kurt was about to get a beating by football bullies who were not down with the Glee club’s new look: “If you want to switch it up, go from Gap to Banana Republic.”

Elsewhere, Rachel Berry realized that Vocal Adrenaline coach Shelby Corcoran was her biological mother. (Did anyone else feel old upon hearing that Rachel was named after Rachel Green on “Friends”?) Mother and daughter tried to bond, but it didn’t work out as they realized things weren’t that simple after so many years. They parted ways, but not before a requisite duet: a fun, ballad-esque rendition of “Poker Face”.

Meanwhile, Principal Figgins issued an edict against goth-wear to Tina Cohen-Chang, stating that “American teens are coming down with a serious case of Twilight fever, transformed from normal children into vampires obsessed with the occult.”

Who knew Asian vampires would be such a hit? Tina’s little theatrical, fanged moment at the end made the subject a Twitter trending topic for hours (much to the delight of Glee-watching “Vampire Diaries” fans who are still mourning the deaths of the show’s two popular Asian vampires).

Speaking of Twilight, what did you think of that little jab at Kristen Stewart?

“Glee” has been criticized for its heavy handed lectures on values and life messages. This episode, titled “Theatricality”, was no different, with its focus on tolerance and self-acceptance. As Kurt explained, “I’m proud to be different. It’s the best thing about me,” and Finn — after a mostly angst-filled hour — said at the end, “…We’re all freaks together. We shouldn’t have to hide it.”

Yo man! “Twilight” hunk Robert Pattinson … as a rapper???

Thought you knew all there was to know about the “Twilight” movies and their stars?

Think again.

Heart-throb Robert Pattinson has revealed a surprising ambition before he turned to acting. Seems one of his first career aspirations was to be a rapper.

“I used to want to be a rapper when I was, like, 14,” the British actor, now 24, said during an appearance on “The Oprah Winfrey Show”  with co-stars Kristen Stewart and Taylor Lautner, which is set to air on Thursday.

He recalled that he perfected his American accent by watching Hollywood movies. “But Kristen thinks I do the most terrible American accent.”

“No, no I don’t,” Stewart laughed in response. “Occasionally, some word will come out, and I’ll be like, ‘We don’t say that!’ ”

Rapper or vampire?  How do you prefer your Pattinson?

Taylor Lautner’s Abs – in 3D!

We really couldn’t resist the thought, and we know it seems silly. But it is rather funny. With 3D being all the rage at movie theaters these days, we were dreaming up ideas for special effects that the major movie studios could put into their upcoming summer flicks. And among the first we thought of was Taylor Lautner’s stomach muscles. After all, so much was made of his rock-hard six pack when “The Twilight Saga: New Moon” landed in theaters last year, and “The Twilight Saga: Eclipse” hits theaters this June.

It just so happened that today we talked on the phone with one of the “Twilight” producers, and we asked about the prospect of a “Twilight” movie in 3D. He said that, so far, the producers hadn’t considered it, and that if it were to ever happen, they would shoot it in 3D and not convert the film after shooting in 2D. (You can read about that 3D/2D controversy here). Then we told him what we’d been talking about Lautner’s abs, and he wondered aloud: aren’t they in 3D, already?

Good point, we thought. So, we found a Lautner ab photos and posted it here. And we wonder of Fan Fare readers, what other effects might seem improbable, but look good, in 3D? Feel free to post a comment, and while you do that, we’re off to find a pair of 3D glasses.

‘New Moon’ sinks fangs deeper into box office

(Reporting and video by Marc Price)

Vampire romance “The Twilight Saga: New Moon” took the top spot at North American box offices for the second straight weekend, sinking its fangs into ticket sales and drawing out $66 million over the 5-day U.S. Thanksgiving holiday ($42.5 million for the three days). It’s two-week total in the U.S. and Canada now stands at just under $231 million. Add to that an international haul of $243, and global sales hit $474 million.

Perhaps in this season of swine flu we have a new virus, “New Moon Flu,” which mostly women seem to get. It turns them into zombies (no disrespect, but it seemed appropriate when talking about movies with monsters) who then march into theaters.

But there are more films with broad appeal in theaters. Football movie “The Blind Side” and disaster flick “2012″ held up well to land at No. 2 and No. 3 on box office charts, respectively. You can read our box office report here.

Of new movies, Disney comedy “Old Dogs,” starring John Travolta and Robin Williams, was No. 4 which was likely a disappointment given the star power of Travolta and Williams. But those guys are getting up there and younger movie fans seem more tuned-in to the youthful stars of “New Moon” — Taylor Lautner, Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart (pictured above). That said, there’s a young star in “Old Dogs,” too, Seth Green. He’s featured prominently on the movie’s poster. (Maybe they should’ve given him some fangs).

Similarly, martial arts flick “Ninja Assassin” debuted a few notches down the chart at No. 6. We’re not really sure why. Dictionaries define ninjas as skilled saboteur assassins who wear all black. And we thought, “hey, that sounds like everybody in showbiz.” So it should have played well, right?

Oscar hopeful, apocalyptic drama “The Road” also debuted over the weekend and animated film “Fantastic Mr. Fox,” which features the voice of George Clooney and has earned generally good reviews, expanded wider in theaters. And in a nod to upcoming romantic comedy “Did You Hear About the Morgans,” we spent our Thanksgiving with a family of Morgans in the Hollywood Hills. To see what they had to say about holiday movies — along with fans outside theaters — click below.

Fans seek midnight romance under light of “New Moon”

Fans lined up Thursday night at movie theaters to be among the first to get bitten by the “New Moon” phenomenon, the sequel to last year’s “Twilight.” The vampire romance movie ended up setting a box office record of $26.3 million for those midnight screenings by drawing fans like the ones profiled in our Fan Fare video below.

Who will go to “New Moon?” Lots of teen girls, for sure, but also moms who are into the story, young women and the men they drag along on dates. Those groups are expected to snap up tickets to the tune of about $100 million at U.S. and Canadian box offices this weekend. That’s a lot of howling at the “New Moon.”

“New Moon,” of course, has generated plenty of buzz. Tracking firm Trendrr said that in the last three months, more than 100,000 “New Moon” related videos have been added to YouTube.com. Trendrr also said that on Thursday, Twitter.com received more than 91,000 posts related to “New Moon.”

But despite all that popularity, the Vatican is not on-board. This week, an official with the Catholic Church called the film “nothing more than a moral vacuum with a deviant message.” This despite influential film critic Roger Ebert saying that the “Twilight Saga is an extended metaphor for teen chastity.” Who to believe?

For the uninitiated, “New Moon” is the second installment in the “Twilight” franchise based on the books by Stephenie Meyer. In the books and the movies, high school student Bella Swan (Kristen Stewartin the films) falls in love with the vampire Edward Cullen (Robert Pattinson). But in “New Moon,” there’s another boy competing for Bella’s affection, and that is werewolf Jacob Black, played by 17 year-old actor Taylor Lautner, photographed above at right. As a result, some fans going to “New Moon” are on Team Edward and some are on Team Jacob. As if any fan support is going to change which way Bella’s vampire-loving heart really leans.

Check out the video below.

Zac Efron, Robert Pattinson, not fans of their own movies

Zac Efron, a graduate of Disney’s star machine and teen heart-throb of the “High School Musical” series and “17 Again,” is not the biggest fan of his own movies.

And he’s not the only one. “Twilight” stars Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart are not exactly talking their own work up either.

With his latest film “Me and Orson Welles” due out next month, Efron told Nylon Guys magazine, “It’s the first time I’ve ever watched a movie (that I’m in) and in the end I’m like, ‘OK! I didn’t check my watch once!”

In fairness to Efron, he is only 21 year-old, so it’s not like he has the long list of movie credits of, say, a Jack Nicholson. Maybe it takes him a while to get warmed up, and he will have some other favorite roles after “Me and Orson Welles.”

But that does not sit well with some Disney fans.  At the Disney fan website, DisneyDreaming.com, they whipped up an article titled “Zac Efron Disappoints Us Again” after his latest comment.

“C’mon Zac Efron, really? We love your movies, and we support all of your roles,” the short article states. “And on top of that, we PAY to watch your movies in theater, purchase them on DVD and buy paraphernalia with your face on it. The LEAST you could do is act like you enjoyed those movies too.”

Wow, who knew those Mickey Mouse ears could be so sharp?

CORRECTED: Robert Pattinson calls “Twilight” character a weirdo, and worse

(Corrects last paragraph to replace Cullen with Pattinson) 

Robert Pattinson is looking to put some distance between himself and the lovestruck vampire he played in last year’s surprise hit movie “Twilight.” In remarks to OK! Magazine, the British-born Pattinson compared Edward Cullen’s fan appeal to women’s age-old love affair with the bad boy.

“With virtually anyone, the nice guys always seem to come last,” Cullen told OK! in remarks posted on the magazine’s website on Tuesday. “You always get weirdos like Edward who seem to attract women for some reason.” 

“If Edward wasn’t a fictional character and you met him in reality, he is like one of those guys who would probably be an axe murderer or something,” the actor added.

What do the hard-core “Twilight” fans, or “Twihards” as they’re known, think of that comment? Does it detract from the appeal of the vampire romance movie series that features Cullen, as the dark vampire heartthrob at the center of it all?

Pattinson continues to star in the movie series, with sequel “New Moon” due out on Nov. 20. Pattinson is a rising star who was virtually unknown before playing Cullen in “Twilight,” so slamming the character he is most famous for portraying is an interesting move on his part.

“People just project their idea of my character on to me and they just seem to assume that I’m the same, when in reality I’m not,” Pattinson told OK!