StephenieMeyer Tagged Articles at Cinematical
What Makes a Real Vampire?
Filed under: Fandom »
The Twilight Saga has whipped up a frantic fervor in fangirls, opening doors to female fandom while sticking incessant and neverending thorns in the folks who want Bella and Edward to go far, far away. But it's also brought up a pretty interesting argument: What makes a vampire? I teased about the notion yesterday when I wrote about the Daybreakers PSA; however, can we really define what makes a vampire beyond sharp teeth and a thirst for blood? And if we can, what is necessary and what can be finagled?
Vampires have been around forever in some shape or form, flying through the worlds of folklore and darkness before shuffling into their modern guise of pale, 19th century blood drinkers. In 1819, John William Polidori presented The Vampyre ushering in this idea of the mysterious man entering high society, seducing young women with vampiric charm. "In spite of the deadly hue of his face, which never gained a wanner tint, either from the blush of modesty, or from the strong emotion of passion, though its form and outline were beautiful, many of the female hunters after notoriety attempted to win his attentions, and gain, at least, some marks of what they might term affection." From then on, no lady was ever safe.
'Twilight' Makes Abstinence Popular?
Filed under: Fandom »
Following in the footsteps of Buffy, Twilight is now getting its round of academic writing, and it's kicking things off with a little abstinence. As research for a new book called Bitten by Twilight: Youth Culture, Media, and the Vampire Franchise, researchers talked to fans about their obsession with the books, and, they, say, "what really surprised us was the obvious abstinence message in the book and that teens were responding favorably to this message. Many of the young women that we interviewed had felt pressure to perform sexually by their peers, but now they have a desire to find their own 'Edward,' who will be interested in them for nonsexual reasons."
BINGO.
'New Moon' Becomes Biggest Advanced Ticket Seller Ever!
Filed under: Box Office », Fandom »
You gotta wonder how many studio people see the buzz and money pouring in for the Twilight franchise and want to break things -- not for dislike of the plot, but because that sucker was passed up by major studios and fighting turnaround before Summit grabbed it and made it for little money only to watch it earn a killing. But it looks like that will be nothing in comparison to what could happen with New Moon.According to Nikki Finke, the sequel has become the top advanced ticket seller ever on Fandango. Twilight was able to make it to the 5-spot, but was never able to bust through the biggie competition like installment number two (part of its success could be due to the film selling advanced tickets beginning in September). What's the biggie competition? The Dark Knight was 4, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince rested at 3, and Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith used to be on top. Yes, folks, Stephenie Meyer's vampires are obliterating some of our classic fandom.
Now the question is whether New Moon can break through to the top 100 grossing movies of all time. Twilight wasn't able to grab a spot on the list, making only $383 million, while the lowest spot is Die Another Day with $432 mil. But the first of the series also wasn't trouncing beloved flicks like The Dark Knight. At the very least, I'd presume it gets on the list.
What do you think will happen when the werewolves and vampires descend upon the theaters this week? Could New Moon transcend its niche and becoming a regular box office success?
Interview: 'New Moon' Screenwriter Melissa Rosenberg
Filed under: Romance », Sci-Fi & Fantasy », Interviews »
While it came as little surprise to the fans of Stephenie Meyers' original books, the success of Twilight caught Hollywood and the rest of the world by storm when the first adaptation arrived in theaters late last year. A big part of the credit for the movie's crossover success must be attributed to screenwriter Melissa Rosenberg, who rendered the romance of Bella and Edward in dimensions that more than die-hards (or more accurately, Twi-hards) could understand and appreciate.
The Twilight sequel New Moon comes to theaters next Friday and offers even more tortured teenage romance than before, as well as a wealth of mythology about vampires, werewolves and other monsters that inhabit the series' supernatural universe. Cinematical recently spoke to screenwriter Rosenberg at the film's press day in Los Angeles; in addition to discussing the process of putting together a satisfying sequel, she talked about subjecting Bella to the universal disappointment of a bad break-up, and examined what audiences might take away from this latest installment in the series.
Cinematical: Is there an emotional core or some central theme that was guiding you through writing New Moon, or do you see this more as an installment in a larger narrative?
Prepare Yourselves: Stephenie Meyer's Other Series to Hit the Big Screen
Filed under: Sci-Fi & Fantasy », Deals », Scripts »
Did you even know that Stephenie Meyer has another series that does not deal with sparkly vampires? It's called The Host, and sadly no, it's not about large, killer tadpoles that have to be brought down by a weird and dysfunctional family. Instead, it's about an alien race whose souls have taken over the planet, inserting themselves into their human hosts by erasing their minds and taking over. But there's a girl named Melanie Stryder who is not so willing to let the aliens take over her mind, and this Wanderer starts feeling what Melanie does, and wants "to locate the last pocket of surviving humans on Earth." Oh yeah -- and it's an adult novel.Variety reports that producers Nick Wechsler, plus Steve and Paula Mae Schwartz, ponied up their own money to grab the screen rights to Meyer's novel, and have tapped Andrew Niccol (Gattaca, The Truman Show) to write the script and direct the feature. Turns out, Meyer had been refusing bids for The Host, but was charmed by "a significant offer, a strong vision for the project, and a collaborative spirit." It helped that Niccol was involved. It seems two of her top 5 sci-fi films are Truman and Gattaca.
Get prepared, Con geeks. If this does even half as well as Twilight, you can bet your bottom dollar that her presence at ComicCons will continue to grow. I mean, she's got vampires and aliens -- she's just one technopunk or wizard away from full-on geek love.
Think The Host will have the same impact as Bella and her supernatural creatures of the night?
Confession Corner: I Watched 'Twilight' Twice
Filed under: Romance », Sci-Fi & Fantasy », Fandom »
...And I kind of liked it.
The first time I saw it was at an all-media screening full of women and the lucky teenage girls who knew them – daughters, nieces, friends' daughters, you get the idea.
(Pet peeve: They took away every. Single. Person's. Cellphone. And made us check them like coats at the most insanely tween club ever. I wanted to die. I understand the need to stop rude movie-goers from texting or Twittering during a movie, especially teen girls typing, "OMG RPattz sparkles!" But still, it only encourages me to hide my iPhone in an orifice next time I go to an all-media. Hopefully, it won't come down to full body searches, though.)
And even though a few girls did scream when Robert Pattinson's name came onscreen, and when he appeared onscreen, and when he took his shirt off onscreen, there was some giggling too. They knew it was silly, but the overwhelming crushed-out feeling took over – you know it from when you plastered posters on your wall, and yes, for the most part, those people were just as silly. (Except me, 'cause I had a Death poster from the Sandman comics. That's just how I rolled.)
It was like I could hear – no, feel – them blossoming into womanhood when he appeared onscreen. Creepy.
Girls on Film: Bella, Buffy, and Bloodsuckers
Filed under: Fandom », Columns », Girls on Film »
I'm about to make a very unpopular comparison, one that surely will have some fans trying to revoke my own Whedon fandom: Bella, Buffy, and the bloodsuckers from Twilight and Buffy aren't all that different.
I say this as someone who only left her house once during the seven seasons of Buffy night, who watched each episode countless times, and amassed a huge pile of memorabilia. I say this as someone who has read Stephenie Meyers' series and enjoyed it for the ways it reflected and improved on my own fluffy YA reading (The Vampire Diaries), and knocked it for the Mormon-esque message underneath.
I haven't ignored my fandom; I just can't help but see the myriad of similarities between the two characters, ones that make Buffy owning Edward seem quite hypocritical. The power behind the slayer comes from Joss Whedon and the themes explored throughout her story -- not from the character herself. Strip away the story arcs and implied messages, and you've got a troubled woman who is no better off than Bella.
What Happens When the Twilight Runs Out?
Filed under: Action », Drama », Romance », Mystery & Suspense », RumorMonger », Fandom », Remakes and Sequels »
As much as we might like to poke fun at Twilight now and again, there's no denying it's a multimedia juggernaut. Besides the books, you can read about the stars in their off-hours in celeb gossip mags, listen to Twilight-inspired bands like The Bella Cullen Project, read Twilght fan fiction, peep fan art, buy all the Twilight tchotchkes your heart could desire over at Hot Topic or Amazon (like this jewelry box!) and, yes, get inked with Twilight-inspired tattoos.But unless Stephenie Meyer starts cranking out some more books about Bella and Edward, the four Twilight tomes are going to be the end of Bella and Edward on the big screen... right?
Not necessarily, according to Twilight's producers, who were caught on video by the folks over at RadarOnline.com at the 36th Annual Vision Awards this past weekend. RadarOnline's intrepid reporter tracked down Wyck Godfrey and Greg Mooradian at one of the awards parties and asked them about the possibility of a spin-off about the Volturi family.
For those not in the know -- myself included -- the Volturi family is the big daddy coven of vamps, the "de facto royal family" according to the extensive Twilight wiki. The cast list for New Moon's Volturi clan stands out because it includes Michael Sheen, star of Frost/Nixon, The Queen and Tim Burton's highly anticipated remake of Alice in Wonderland, and future Runaway Dakota Fanning.
While Greg Mooradian played coy, he left the door open for spin-offs depending on how well the saga does in theaters and "[where] the audience demands us to go from there."
Coming 'Twilight' Spoilers Shared on NYC Subway Poster
Filed under: Action », Romance », Sci-Fi & Fantasy », Fandom »
Don't worry: this post is perfectly safe to read. The link included, perhaps a little less so.This might prove to be most amusing to those few souls who bothered to see this Twilight flick over the weekend -- since they've presumably already torn through the three books that follow -- but for everyone else, here's a word of warning: the image included after this link is one of a Queens subway poster for the film on which some considerate individual has succinctly written key spoilers from the remainder of the series.
(Also, he/she drew a penis on Edward's cheek. For dramatic effect, I suppose.)
Some of the remarks shared, I must admit to having skimmed over, and with any luck, they'll be lost to either apathy or amnesia once the other films come around (I can already feel the former kicking in). Only the first sequel, New Moon, has formally been announced, but come on: most people don't hesitate to print money once they're given a license to.
Review: Twilight -- Eric's Take
Filed under: Drama », Romance », Sci-Fi & Fantasy », New Releases », Theatrical Reviews », Fandom »
Look, I know the drill. If any element of the Twilight movie varies even slightly from the way you pictured it in your head, then it is the worst film ever made and you hate it and Catherine Hardwicke has ruined your childhood. Or, alternatively, you've built up so much anticipation for the movie that you're going to love love LOVE it no matter what, even if it's bad, you don't care, you refuse to listen to any criticisms LA LA LA I CAN'T HEAR YOU. I know how it goes.
The book's most devoted fans are seeing the film anyway, so I guess I'm talking to everyone else -- those who haven't read the book, or who (like me) read it, mostly enjoyed it, then didn't give it another thought. Is the Twilight movie of any use to those people? Or, as a friend asked me, does it work purely as a vampire movie?
Oh, heavens, no. Noooooo. This is not a vampire movie. This is a somber teen romance that happens to have some vampires in it. Little attempt is made to establish the mythology of the bloodsuckers, and the supernatural elements are downplayed -- a wise move, since the special effects, when they are necessary, are at about the level you'd expect from a movie that is more focused on romance than sci-fi action.
All of which is in keeping with the tone of Stephenie Meyer's book, which is eight parts romance and two parts action/fantasy. That's why it's been such a phenomenal success with women, and why the male-dominated geek industry -- the Nerderati, if you will -- has been so skeptical of that success. "What?" they scoff. "A super-popular vampire book that we, as men, AREN'T interested in? Inconceivable! It must be terrible, and its popularity is probably being over-reported!"
Indie Roundup: 'Sweetgrass,' 'Clarkworld,' 'Broken Embraces'
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Watch: Famous 'Matrix' Scene Re-Created with LEGOs
Peter Jackson Says Spielberg's 'Tintin' is Done Filming, but...
Interracial Harmony: 'Ninja Assassin' vs. 'Blind Side'
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