Tag: Twilight

BATFILMS OF THE FUTURE? The end is near — when the credits roll on “The Dark Knight Rises” this July, it will mark the close of Christopher Nolan’s Batman trilogy and the final adventure for Christian Bale as the caped crusader of Gotham City. Warner Bros. executives have made it clear they won’t leave the iconic property sitting on a shelf, however, and a new director and star tandem could be inhabiting Wayne Manor by 2014. But how on earth will any filmmaker follow the work of Nolan and company? Working together, Hero Complex lead writer Geoff Boucher and graphic artist Sean Hartter came up with 15  imaginary Batman reboots — and, yes, they did it with tongue in cheek. Ang Lee’s “Wayne Manor”: The director of “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon” can certainly handle the fight sequences in super hero film but ...

Ever feel like the world’s bookshelf has been hijacked by “Harry Potter,” “Twilight” and ”The Hunger Games“?  If so, you might want to visit Springfield this Sunday night when”The Simpsons” delivers one of its most ambitious episodes — an elaborate heist spoof that finds Homer, Bart and guest star Neil Gaiman trying to steal the thunder of today’s mega-successful publishing series. The episode, titled “The Book Job,” is a parody of Steven Soderbergh’s “Ocean’s Eleven” (and, yes, that is Andy Garcia playing the wealthy, cold-blooded heavy) but it saves its most savage parody for today’s novels of the fantastic which target young-skewing audiences. And, according to Matt Selman, an executive producer and longtime “Simpsons” writer, the episode has stirred excitement for the show’s creative team. “The show is all about the world of young-adult fantasy novels, as Homer assembles a team of Springfielders to write ...

Robert Pattinson, Kristen Stewart and Taylor Lautner are set to appear at “The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn — Part 1″ Official Fan Convention next month to promote the next installment of the vampire romance movies based on Stephenie Meyer’s young adult book series. The three actors — who play the brooding Edward Cullen, the conflicted Bella Swan and the earnest Jacob Black, respectively – will join their fellow cast members for two days of panels at the Hyatt Regency Century Plaza Hotel in Century City. On Nov. 4, it’s Julia Jones (Leah Clearwater) and BooBoo Stewart (Seth Clearwater), Tinsel Korey (Emily) and franchise newcomer Mia Maestro (Carmen) who will appear onstage, sign autographs and answer questions at the convention. On Nov. 5, the elite trio of Pattinson, Stewart and Lautner will participate in a “Welcome to The Twilight Saga’” panel with costars Maestro and ...

What happens when a show founded on the science of hypothetical battles between knights, ninjas, gangsters and centurions swaps swords and guns for fangs and claws? Fans of Spike TV’s “Deadliest Warrior” series are likely to find out Wednesday when the show, in the second half of the 2-1/2-hour season finale, will pit vampires versus zombies in a bloody battle to the death. Airing at 9 p.m. PDT, the two classic horror movie monsters will spar to determine who has the bigger, badder bite and more skull-crushing strength. On a visit to the set of the season finale earlier this year, hosts Richard “Mack” Machowicz, Geoff Desmoulin and medical expert Dr. Armand Dorian were busy trying out an arsenal of mechanically propelled limbs and sharp-toothed animals (and reptiles)  designed to mimic the damage supposedly inflicted by both sides. “Every nerd ...

For Bill Condon, director of “The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn,” Comic-Con 2011 was all about the art of the reveal. The director, who made his maiden voyage to the San Diego geek fest to debut footage for the second-to-last “Twilight” movie, which will open in November, had to be very selective with what he showed the screaming fans. “Once we decided that we didn’t want to show the wedding dress and once we decided we didn’t want to show her pregnant, we were limited to the honeymoon,” said Condon, who has been tasked with chapter of the “Twilight Saga” in which heroine Bella Swan (Kristen Stewart) marries her vampire boyfriend Edward (Robert Pattinson), has a baby and is turned into a vampire herself. “Then the question was do we want to show the sex, which would have been crazy and ...

“Snow White and the Huntsman,” the fairy tale project that begins shooting next week in the United Kingdom with Kristen Stewart as the lead, has some tough hurdles to overcome. It’s competing with another “Snow White” project from Relativity Media that has already begun filming and features Julia Roberts as the evil queen. It’s also set to come out June 1, three months after Relativity’s “Snow White” movie will debut and close to two months before a Comic-Con International audience will be back in Hall H. What’s a studio to do? How about recruit fans at Comic-Con 2011 with some stills of the cast in costume, a charming British director with an impressive commercial reel and a crew of good-looking lead actors? That’s what Universal Pictures did Saturday afternoon during a  panel featuring Stewart, evil queen Charlize Theron, Chris Hemsworth ...

The Twilight saga’s “Breaking Dawn” is the conclusion of the incredibly successful and beloved vampire book franchise. With all the anticipation for the film version, which will be divided into two parts (the first half hits theaters in November), there are also a lot of questions. Fans — many of whom had been waiting in line at Comic-Con International since Monday afternoon — are eager to see the wedding and honeymoon of their favorite couple, Bella and Edward (Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson) and the subsequent birth of their half-vampire, half-human baby. Director Bill Condon and cast were on hand at Comic-Con on Thursday morning, presenting the first panel in the San Diego Convention Center’s massive Hall H to share some details of the final two movies — though few surprising secrets were actually revealed. “This movie is all third ...

They had begun their vigil Monday night — and this morning, the throng of fans waiting in line to be the first to grab a seat in the San Diego Convention Center’s Hall H to see the first panel presentation of Comic-Con International 2011 were rewarded for their patience. Five cast members from “The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn — Part 1,” the movie that kicks off four days of entertainment programming in the 6,500-seat venue, showed up to greet their public bright and early Thursday morning. And they brought breakfast. For the first time, Summit Entertainment orchestrated a surprise meet-and-greet where Nikki Reed, Ashley Greene and Elizabeth Reaser were joined by Julia Jones and Boo Boo Stewart. The five stars signed autographs and posed for pictures as Summit staff passed out “Twilight” posters, coffee mugs, juice and muffins. The fans were ...

Fanboys and fangirls, start your engines. Comic-Con International has released its programming schedule for Thursday, July 21, the first official day of the annual pop culture fest in San Diego that brings together filmmakers, cinephiles and stars. While there are a number of highlights — we’ve broken out 13 for you below — the convention also makes great use of MySched. It lets you create your personal schedule right from the listings, meaning no longer will you need to copy and paste your preferred panels into a text doc, or try to get the program early and highlight what you want. The app allows you to browse panels, pool favorites and either print out exactly what you want to see or send the information to your smart phone. But until you have a chance to design your own  roster, here’s ...

GUEST ESSAY Vampires are everywhere in film, television, novels, comics and beyond and there’s no end in sight. But when did they shift from malevolent predators to conflicted antiheroes? Those are the questions asked by  Christopher Farnsworth, a writer living in Los Angeles whose latest novel, “The President’s Vampire,” is on sale now. It used to be you’d never see a vampire as the good guy. After all, a vampire, by its nature, hunts and kills human beings. There are centuries of folklore detailing how mankind has been forced to defend itself against these lethal parasites. That’s not a reputation you lose overnight. But today, vampires have moved into the light – metaphorically speaking, anyway. Edward Cullen and his family of vampire vegetarians – who only drink animal blood – are only the most famous examples. The ranks of on-screen vampire ...