Boy, you miss a few weeks work to move 2,000 miles, and you fall behind on all kinds of things going on in the world of Twilight. All you Twilighters have, no doubt, been keeping up to speed with everything that's been going on out there -- you're making plans to attend Breaking Dawn parties, planning what you're going to wear, entering giveaway contests, and getting your Twilight-inspired costumes put together (who knew there were so many varieties of vampire fangs out there?).

I know, you have it much more together than I do on all the Twilight madness, but hey, I've been on the road with four kids, a dog and a cat all crammed into a 1998 Ford Windstar, moving back to Seattle, so I'm just now getting around to catching up. So here's a rundown of all-things Twilight for you -- in case you, like me, have been having a busy summer.

Cinematical is stoked to have received this exclusive Twilight e-card widget for all you Twilighters out there. I know that you, like me, are anxiously awaiting both the August 2 release date of Breaking Dawn, the fourth book in the series, and the December 12 release of the hotly anticipated Twilight movie. This will give you a little something to do to kill the time while you're waiting.

Edward looks much more ... vampirish than in the earlier cast shots we saw, and you'll note that his eyes are most assuredly topaz here. What do you think of the pic? Check it out, send it to all your Twlight-mania friends, and enjoy! For more on Twilight, feel free to visit the film's official website.

One of my colleagues just IM'd me with the following: "Did you see there's a 1-minute clip of 'Twilight' online???? OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG." While I suspect he was being just a teensy bit sarcastic with the "OMGs," there is indeed a nice little one-minute clip up over on MTV of part of the scene at the ballet studio with James going after Bella, and Edward coming to the rescue. It's a short clip, but it definitely gives you a feel for how director Catherine Hardwicke is handling the action of the vampire fights, and it's pretty intense.

It's just enough to whet your appetite a bit for the full scene up on a big screen ... and of course, by that point in the storyline, there will be plenty of dramatic tension from what's taken place before that to up the intensity level even more.

Whew. Now that I'm back from Cannes, it's time to dive back into checking out what's going on in the world outside the glamor and glitz of the world's sexiest film industry trade show. Of course, one of the first things I wanted to catch up on was what's been going on in the world of Twilight fandom. Before leaving for Cannes, I snagged a copy of Stephenie Meyer's' newest book, The Host, and I devoured it every night while on the trip.

Quick thoughts on The Host: Compelling and dramatic story, great characters, and it pretty much has "adapt me into a movie, please!" written all over it. For those not in the know, the book is a tale about an alien invasion by a race of intelligent parasitic beings who take over the body of a host and obliterate the "soul" of the person who previously resided there.

Holy Cullens! Hold onto your seats, all you Twilight fanatics. This is the first official ensemble piece with final hair, makeup and costume (those other photos, we believe, were test shots, but this one gives our first official look at the characters inside the Twilight universe) Click on the image for a larger view -- you know you want to -- then let's take a moment to dissect the loveliness, shall we?

I know all you hardcore Twilighters know these characters, but for those who don't, we have, from left to right: Ashley Greene as Alice Cullen; Kellan Lutz as Emmett Cullen; Kristen Stewart as Bella Swan; Robert Pattinson as uber-hot vampire Edward Cullen; Nikki Reed as Rosalie Hale; and Jackson Rathbone as Jasper Hale.

We've been covering the various bits of Twilight news, set visit write-ups and behind-the-scenes goodies extensively here, but this is the first time that we've seen the cast in character like this. Aside from the fact that the image looks totally cool and perfectly captures that "Twilight-vibe," can I just say that any doubts anyone out there is still harboring about Robert Pattinson as Edward should be totally laid to rest by this picture?

Twilight fans can almost universally agree on one thing: the book's single most romantic moment is the first time Edward plays the lullaby he wrote for Bella on the grand piano in his home. It's a lovely scene, partly because it's the first time Bella has been invited into the home of Edward's vampire family and been accepted into their midst, and partly because, well, what girl wouldn't swoon having a guy like Edward compose a beautiful song, written just for her?

Twilighters have discussed endlessly which song should be "Bella's Lullaby;" now, via MTV's blog, which has an excellent piece full of yummy interviews with Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson, Catherine Hardwicke and Stephenie Meyer comes word that Pattinson himself may compose the lullaby.

Ooooh, boy. Over on Stephenie Meyer's website today, they posted a link to some new behind-the-scenes Twilight video over on MTV, and what I saw on the video looks very promising. They have footage on there of the filming of the fight scene between James and Edward, and some chats with a few of the stars of the film, and I have to say, it seems like director Catherine Hardwicke and her cast seem to really "get" both what Twilight is about, and their responsibility to fans of the series to get it right.

I have never been all that keen to read Stephenie Meyer's vampire romance, Twilight. That is probably because I'm just a little out of the prescribed age range, plus, I'll always be an Anne Rice girl at heart. So like a lot of other people, I'll just catch the movie. Back in February, Monika brought us the first photo from the film set, and now ET Online has behind-the-scene video and interviews with cast members Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson, and Nikki Reed.

In Twilight, Stewart stars as Bella, a young girl who moves to a dreary, rainy town and finds herself drawn to her mysterious (and plasma-challenged) classmate, Edward (Pattinson). The two begin to fall in love, and if all those years devouring anything remotely 'vampy' have taught me anything, it's that there probably won't be a happy ending for these two. When a coven of vampires that doesn't follow Edward's example of eating only wildlife comes through town, Edward and his 'family' band together to protect Bella.

Twilight has been filming on location in Portland, Oregon since February, and the production is scheduled to finish shooting later this month. Fans have had mixed reactions to the film (mainly over casting), but Summit is hoping that they can get enough of them into theaters for at least two more installments of the series. Twilight is scheduled to arrive in theaters on December 12th. Twilight fans, sound off with your thoughts on the casting, and what you hope to see them do with the film.

[via I Watch Stuff]