kristen stewart Tagged Articles at Cinematical
Review: The Twilight Saga: New Moon
Filed under: Drama », Sci-Fi & Fantasy », New Releases », Theatrical Reviews »
Even the most egocentric or self-important film critic realizes that his opinions and insights aren't going to be agreed with or respected by everyone, but movies like New Moon offer a special challenge in both honesty and humility. Like with any other beloved literary franchise brought to the silver screen, there's already an impassioned fan base eager to see it realized regardless of its quality, and there's also an inherent distrust among them of nonfans who will eventually be analyzing the object of their affection. In which case, a critic must not only manage his own response to the film, perhaps filtering it through some designated demographic or specific audience that's potentially different than him, but gauge the reaction he'll get when he puts pen to paper, if only to be aware of the relevance of his reaction to what the filmmakers were trying to achieve and what those fans really want. Even if he's also got to be completely honest and unmerciful, too.
By virtually all technical measures, The Twilight Saga: New Moon is a superior effort to its predecessor – well-shot, efficiently told, and by all accounts faithful in tone and execution to its source material. But what filmmaker Chris Weitz makes up for in directorial proficiency he lacks in conveying emotional authenticity, which is why it fulfills the expectations of fans and followers of the franchise but nevertheless still falls short of forming something transcendent and meaningful to everyone else.
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?
Kristen Stewart Goes Southern in 'The Yellow Handkerchief'
Filed under: Drama », Independent », Newsstand », Movie Marketing », Cinematical Indie », Trailers and Clips »
She's about to open the second-biggest film of her career, so what better timing than now to point you to a new peek at Kristen Stewart's next non-Twilight film? Check out the new trailer for The Yellow Handkerchief, a Sundance entry that follows three strangers in post-Katrina Louisiana – Martine (Stewart), Gordy (Eddie Redmayne), and Brett (William Hurt) -- as they search together for life, love, and the perfect Southern accent.
Ok, so it seems the Southern slangin' is done primarily by Stewart, while Brit Redmayne goes American and Hurt rocks the ex-con handlebar mustache. As they embark on a road trip together, the two teens listen to Brett's tale of the woman who got away (Maria Bello) while they navigate the murky waters of young love. (Read Erik Davis's Sundance review here.)
Watch the trailer after the jump.
You Say 'Twilight,' Taylor Swift Says 'Firelight'
Filed under: Drama », Romance », Trailers and Clips »
They're hit and miss, but I always try and catch any new digital short from Saturday Night Live. * Pop / country singer Taylor Swift hosted last night's show, and the 19-year-old star really surprised me, and I'm sure a lot of other people who don't necessarily follow young pop / country singers. Her song during the opening monologue (pictured) got in digs at her ex-boyfriend, made clear her feelings on Kanye West and his MTV Video Music Awards disruption, and commented amusingly on her supposed romance with Taylor Lautner, one of the stars of the upcoming The Twilight Saga: New Moon.
That was followed up by Firelight, the SNL parody of the first Twilight flick, with Swift taking on Kristen Stewart's role of Bella Swan, complete with hair fixing, downward-cast eyes, and lip-biting. The new boy who catches her eye at school is not, however, pasty-skinned Edward Cullen but green-skinned Phillip Frank of the Frank clan. The short captures the key moments from the first film, provides a different excuse for the "good / bad boy" not to kiss the "good / good" girl, and includes a cameo from a very concerned mummy. All in all, a solid little short.
I thought Swift was pretty hilarious throughout the show. I'm not sure if that's because of lowered expectations on my part or because of better than average writing from the staff, but, in any event, Swift displayed a flair for comedy. Check out the video to get a taste.
Watch 'Firelight' after the jump!
Kristen Stewart Bites
Filed under: Fandom », Trailers and Clips »
Her boyfriend bites necks, so why shouldn't she have a nibble too? Kristen Stewart first came to mainstream attention with her role as Jodie Foster's daughter in David Fincher's Panic Room in 2002, though she had a nice, small part in Rose Troche's The Safety of Objects and really hit a home run with Jessica Sharzer's superb, underseen Speak in 2004. But it wasn't until she landed the coveted role of Bella Swan in Twilight that everyone started paying attention. Maybe a little too much attention, as evidenced by the video posted after the jump (courtesy of College Humor). In the video, Stewart's proclivity for biting her own lower lip has been highlighted. And the conclusion is ... she does it a lot, at least in Twilight and Adventureland, which seem to be the two movies that the clips have been drawn from. To be honest, it's a little creepy to see such attention paid to the lips of a 19-year-old actress, and a little unfair to her thespian abilities, but it is funny that, once you notice a quirk, it's hard to ignore.
Stewart has been able to strike a good balance between roles in independent movies and studio productions. Sure, The Twilight Saga: New Moon awaits release on November 21, but so does Welcome to the Rileys, in which she plays a stripper / prostitute, a "really broken, damaged little kid," as she told Cinematical last year. And she'll be Joan Jett in the forthcoming biopic The Runaways. Will she still be biting her lip in those movies? Time will tell.
Will Kristen Stewart Be 'An American Girl'?
Filed under: Drama », Casting », RumorMonger », Scripts »
First things first: No, Kristen Stewart is not going to be a slightly over-aged American Girl from the famous doll series, following in the footsteps of Abigail Breslin. (Thank God -- how weird would that be?) Now, with that out of the way: Coming Soon reports that during a talk with James Woods on the Straw Dogs set, the actor mentioned a passion project he's been working on -- and Stewart is the focus of his cinematic attentions.Woods is planning to direct a film called An American Girl, with the Twilight star in the lead role. He approached her "before she was famous," professing that this was her movie, and he wouldn't make it with anyone but her. She read the script, and "has been urgently wanting to get the movie made." The Tim Metcalfe and Sean McCarthy story follows a self-destructive young woman who has turned from the swimming and diving champion of her high school to a wild child busy with booze and drugs. After a sexual tryst gets caught on a cell phone and ruins her reputation, she joins the Marines and starts to find her own inner values. She enters the Linus Program, learns Arabic, and heads overseas to work with Muslim women. (There are more details through the C.S. link.)
Woods says: "It's a phenomenal story and a slam-dunk Oscar for her." At the very least, it'd be another great step toward fighting type-casting as her Twilight stint wraps up. But what do you think? Can you imagine Stewart clutching that little, oft-desired little naked statue?
The Inevitable 'Twilight' Porns
Filed under: Fandom », NSFW », Remakes and Sequels »
.jpg)
Yes, we all knew it would come to this (har har). In the darkest recesses of the Internet, people have been writing slash-fiction for years -- fantasies of what fans wished would happen between Sam and Frodo, Willow and Tara, and yes, even Kirk and Spock. A quick search for slash fic will give you more info on the hobby than you probably ever needed or wanted to know.Of course, the adult industry picked up on this trend, offering up plenty of XXX take-offs of franchises like Pirates of the Caribbean, Star Trek, and the tongue-in-cheek horror-porn take on Re-Animator, cheekily called Re-Penetrator. Local NYC "cinema of transgression" filmmaker Nick Zedd even made a film that took its name from Lord of the Rings, in a play on words that I'm sure you can decipher or Google for your edification. Let's not even discuss the adult parody of Edward Scissorhands.
So now there's not only a sparkly Twilight sex toy, but two Twilight naughty knock-offs. First there was Twilight of Virginity (shot in the home of Nikki Sixx!), and now there's a new one called This Isn't Twilight: The XXX Parody coming your way October 15th, just over a month before Twilight: New Moon is unleashed on audiences.
The real question is, who are these marketed to? Even the grown-ups who enjoy the Twilight franchise say that the fun is because of the way it portrays high school crushes -- yearning, unconsummated, and most certainly virginal, especially in the case of this sex-phobic book series. And Twilight fans, don't spoil the plot for the rest of us if they do get it on. OK?
Someone check these out and report back. I want to know if the term "spider monkey" is used in any context. Thanks!
Scenes We Love: Adventureland
Filed under: Miramax », Scenes We Love »
Maybe it's a little early to canonize a scene from a movie that came out only a few months ago, but as fall responsibilities quietly encroach on our sweaty summer abandon, it feels right to point out a scene in Adventureland that particularly reminds us of freedom, unexpected fun, and most of all romance. Thankfully, Greg Mottola's film arrived on DVD and Blu-ray this week, so we were not only able to recall it as our favorite moment in a movie filled with many memorable ones, but make sure the details weren't lost in the intervening (three) months between now and its original release.
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.
SDCC: A 'New Moon' Makeover For 'Twilight'
Filed under: Sci-Fi & Fantasy », Fandom », Exhibition », Comic/Superhero/Geek », Remakes and Sequels », ComicCon »
.jpg)
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:
_thumbnail.jpg)
'New Moon' Smashes 'Dark Knight's' Opening Day Record!
Black Friday Movie Deals: Best Buy
Sex and Nudity Don't Draw You to the Movies?
What Makes a Real Vampire?
Robert Downey Jr. Wants to Retire?
_thumbnail.jpg)
