Here are some news bites for our long weekend:

• Ashley Greene has had a whirlwind of press lately, once she signed on to play Alice Cullen in Twilight. Now The Hollywood Reporter posts that she's signed onto an indie thriller called Summer. In it, she'll get another horror-themed family, but much less sexy than well-coifed, blood-sucking vampires. See, she plays a girl looking for the "father she's never known." And while that's always a risky adventure -- you never know what you'll find -- this is even more so because her family is a group of serial killers. The film is currently in production in Ottawa.
• Meanwhile, Variety reports that CMG has closed deals for Iron Maiden singer Bruce Dickinson's Chemical Wedding. Starz/Anchor Bay are handing distribution in North America for the film that focuses on "the most evil man in Britain," Aleister Crowley. CMG President Edward Noeltner has noted about the big, Iron Maiden fan base eager to see the film, and I have to say -- I'd go see it for the experience. Forget a woman-filled theater of Sex and the City fans. Can you imagine a theater full of Maiden worshippers?
• And finally, there's some great news for Todd Solondz. As I outlined at the beginning of this year, the indie filmmaker has had some issues funding his work, which was leaving his PeeWee Herman-led Life During Wartime in limbo. But now Variety reports that a new indie production company, Werc Werk Works (yes, that's their name..), will fully finance the part-companion piece to Happiness. On the negative side, it looks like Mr. Reubens might be out of the production. (Variety says he was only rumored.) Whoever ends up starring, it is scheduled to go into production in October.

You could say that Bella's father in Stephenie Meyer's young adult fantasy collection Twilight, which is about to become a big-screen series of movies, is the reason for all the vampire romance. In the book, the young Bella (who will be played by Kristen Stewart) heads to Forks to live with her father. There, she falls for Edward (Robert Pattinson), and in typical YA, romantic, vampire fare, things get sticky.

Up to this point, we've gotten a slew of casting notices about Bella and the parade of vamps, but now MTV, which seems to be the official source for Twilight info, has confirmed that Billy Burke will be playing him. The actor has popped up in a ton of television shows, but he's also been in flicks like the recent Untraceable.

Ashley Greene, who plays Alice Cullen in the film, confirmed his casting and said: "I've only met him once, and I don't really have any scenes with him yet. But I think he's a pretty good fit ... He's commented on making the character a strong character." Strong, weak, or anything in between, he's definitely a good fit to play the dad of Stewart. If you're a fangirl or boy itching for more info, in another post, Greene discusses her involvement in the film, from softball to complaints that's she's just too darned tall for her character.

I've been writing so much about the upcoming young adult vamp horror adaptation Twilight that I'm beginning to think I should read it. I probably would have if I were 10 or 15 years younger, as I used to devour every vamp or horror-themed YA book out there. (Oh, how I loved The Vampire Diaries.) Now it's just picking at those old interests.

Anyway, that's Stephenie Meyers' first vampire family up above, and yes, that means the casting for the Cullen family has been completed. Following up the casting of Nikkie Reed and Robert Pattinson, MTV reports that Peter Facinelli (Can't Hardly Wait) will play Carlisle, Elizabeth Reaser (the once faceless girl on Grey's Anatomy) will play Esme, Jackson Rathbone (The O.C.) will play Jasper, Ashley Greene (King of California) will be Alice, and Kellan Lutz (Stick It) will play Emmett McCarty Cullen.

I have no idea if these guys are right for the roles, but I'm really getting a kick out of Facinelli with blonde hair. Go to MTV to see a bigger version of that pic, plus two more.