SDCC: A 'New Moon' Makeover For 'Twilight'

If you were anywhere within the Northern Hemisphere, we're assuming that you heard the euphoric outcry of fangirls who screamed and applauded at the sight of Twilight's Robert Pattinson, who appeared at the San Diego Comic-Con to help promote the upcoming sequel, New Moon. If however you were unlucky enough to experience it – and like us, lose all ability to hear in the process – Cinematical was there and is only too happy to offer a short overview of Summit's panel for the film. Remarkably, the film appears to be in far surer hands at least from a genre standpoint, which should come as no small relief to the fellows out there who will eventually be dragged to see it by their girlfriends or significant others.

Among the panel's high points:

• Director Chris Weitz (The Golden Compass, About a Boy) screened two brand-new clips, and both of them looked pretty terrific, at least in comparison to some of Twilight's cheesier action scenes (not to mention emotional exchanges).
• The highlights of the clips? In the first, Taylor Lautner removing his shirt to wipe blood from Bella's brow, in the process revealing his quite frankly amazing muscles. And the second? Robert Pattinson removing his shirt, in the process revealing translucent skin and a physique that appears to have been enhanced with CGI to suggest muscles.
• Kristen Stewart was predictably tortured, especially given how gaunt and overdyed she looked to play Joan Jett in The Runaways, but she managed to have some interesting insights into Bella. Specifically, she agreed with a fan who observed that the characters are all sort of selfish: "She's intent on doing what she needs to do for herself, just feels what she feels and that's it, especially with [Edward]."
• After the commercial failure of The Golden Compass, Chris Weitz seems much more comfortable, happy and empowered at the helm of New Moon, describing his experience on the New Line movie as "terrible" in between discussions about the relevance and meaning of the Twilight saga to him.
• The overall vibe of the footage and the panel was that New Moon is clearly capitalizing on the success of the first Twilight, particularly in terms of having a bigger, budget, but as a film it promises to be stronger and more satisfying for non-fans.