Note from Bill Condon on Facebook

If you're on Facebook and you've added the Twilight Saga page to your profile, then you've probably already read the note from Bill Condon (director of Eclipse) to us Twilight fans. It's a really nice note, and he's invited us to ask him questions in the comments section below his note.

I think it's very cool that he's asking for input from the fans. If you want to add your own comment or just read his note, you can find it here (A note to fans from Bill Condon).

Breaking Dawn NEWS!!!

So it looks like Bill Condon will be Directing Breaking Dawn. He won an Academy Award for best adapted screen play in 1999 for Gods and Monsters.

Also Stephenie Meyer is named as one of the Producers. WOW!!!
Thanks: eclipsemovie.org

Kristen Heading Back to Vancouver!

Kristen Stewart heading back to Vancouver to do some reshoots for Eclipse. I wonder if Rob will be there?

Thanks: Eclipse via popsugar

A Lullaby of Bella's Lullaby!

Twinkle Twinkle Little Rock Star has a Lullaby version of songs from Twilight and New Moon. It is a must have for your little rockers. Go to TwinkleTwinkleLittleRockStarMyspace.

Thanks: newmoonmovie.org

Jen Has Great Taste!

It looks like Jennifer Love Hewitt loves Rob too! In an article in OK magazine she was asked who her last celebrity crush was and she said Robert Pattinson. She loves his soft voice.
Thanks: ROBsessed.com

Who is Xavier Samuel?

Xavier Samuel is the lucky actor who gets to play Riley in the movie Eclipse. Here's a bit of background information on both Xavier Samuel and Riley.


Xavier Samuel
Xavier Samuel was born in Australia on December 10th, 1983, which makes him 26 years old. He grew up in Adelaide, Australia. He has light brown hair and brown eyes. Xavier graduated from Rostrevor College in 2001.

Xavier's acting experience includes the Australian theatre, television, and a handful of Australian movies. Eclipse is Xavier's first big American movie.

Xavier says he hadn't read the Twilight Saga books before trying out for the role of Riley, but he did watch the movie on the airplane ride over.

Elle magazine recently interviewed Xavier Samuel. Check out their article, "Bloody Brilliant: The Next Twilight Heartthrob".


Riley
Riley was a newborn vampire in Eclipse. Victoria created him about a year before the story began, as the leader of her newborn vampire army in Seattle.

The newborn vampires were very strong, but volatile and hard to control. Apparently, they fought amongst themselves, so that by the time they showed up in Forks, there were only 18 newborns left with Riley. Riley, being a year older, had more control and maturity than the other newborns.

When Bella first met Riley, Bella described Riley as, "the blond boy...muscular and tall, maybe my age when he was changed." (page 541, Eclipse)

Victoria had seduced and manipulated Riley so that he would help her murder Bella. (Apparently, Riley and Victoria will share a highly-anticipated kissing scene in the movie.)

Edward told Riley about Victoria, "She's lying to you, Riley...She doesn't love you, Riley...Every kiss, every touch was a lie...You don't have to die for her lies." (pages 543-544, Eclipse)

I guess we'll have to watch the movie to see what Riley will do. And with Stephenie Meyer's new story, "The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner" coming out a few weeks before the movie, perhaps we'll get even more juicy background information about Riley and the other newborn vampires.

So, now that we've all seen the new Eclipse movie trailer, which features Riley leading the newborn vampire army, what do you think? Is Xavier Samuel a good choice to play Riley?

Upcoming appearances on Oprah

In case you didn't watch Oprah's show yesterday, Oprah mentioned that Dakota Fanning will be back on her show on Thursday, May 13th, along with Kristen Stewart, Taylor Lautner, and Rob Pattinson.

By the way, May 13th is also Rob's birthday! Do you think Oprah is planning to give Rob a birthday present on her show? Don't forget to watch and find out!

The New Eclipse Trailer is Here!

Finally, the new Eclipse trailer is here! Take a look:



Wow, there's a lot of action in this one! And what a seriously big ring! I especially liked the last shots of the wolves attacking the vampires. What did you think of it?

Don't forget to vote on which Eclipse trailer you prefer in our sidebar poll.

Also, if you'd like a free Team Edward water bottle from us, tell us why you want one in our comments section here, and you could win one. We'd really like to hear from you!

Eclipse Ice Cream!

Looks like we will have to go to Italy to get some. This is one time I might be Team Jacob. Yum!
Thanks:Twilightblog.net

Results of our Polls about the Twilight Saga Soundtracks

Thanks to everyone who voted in our sidebar polls, "Which Twilight Saga soundtracks have you bought (or plan to buy)?" and "Which movie's soundtrack do you prefer?"

The polls are closed and the results are...

Which Twilight Saga soundtracks have you bought (or plan to buy)
Twilight soundtrack: 4 out of 4 votes (the winner by 1 vote!)
New Moon soundtrack: 3 out of 4
Eclipse soundtrack: 3 out of 4
Breaking Dawn soundtrack: 3 out of 4

It looks like most of plan to buy all the soundtracks, even if we don't know what's going to be on them yet!

Which movie's soundtrack do you prefer
Twilight: 4 out of 5 (the clear winner!)
New Moon: 0
Both are equally good: 1 out of 5

I'm really surprised that New Moon didn't get more votes. I really liked the soundtrack, especially "The Meadow."

Next sidebar poll: Eclipse Trailer
Our next sidebar poll asks "What did you think of the first full Eclipse trailer?" (click here to watch it.)

Don't forget to watch the next Eclipse trailer on the Oprah show this Friday, April 23rd. As soon as the new trailer is available online, we'll post it on our blog, too!

Win tickets to Eclipse premiere in LA

If you'd like to win a pair of tickets to the Los Angeles premiere of Eclipse, Teen Vogue is offering a "Premiere Sweepstakes." Just send them your contact information, and you could be one of 2 Grand Prize Winners!

(Note that this contest is available to US residents only.)

Good luck!

(Update: This sweepstakes is no longer available)

Twilight in Forks DVD Review

I just watched the Twilight in Forks: The Saga of the Real Town DVD last night, and as a Twilight fan myself, I found it disappointing and depressing. (Sorry about the negative review, but that's how I saw it.)



Perhaps it was my expectations. My family is planning to drive up the Pacific coast to Vancouver this summer, and I thought it would be fun to visit Forks and La Push on our trip. I was hoping that Twilight in Forks would provide a nice introduction to the area, its history, and points of interest, with some Twilight thrown in for fun.

But this "documentary" lacked any real substance. It's more like an 84-minute infomercial, full of talking heads, telling us over and over about how much they loved Twilight or how Twilight has improved the economy of Forks and the area around it. It's all about marketing Twilight products to the tourists, with a few fleeting panoramic shots of the Pacific Northwest thrown in.

The overall atmosphere (and message) of this documentary felt depressing and negative to me. The music, the lighting, the transitions, the filming technique --all contributed to this feeling. Maybe the film makers were trying to make it moody and mysterious? All I know is, it was almost painful to watch it to the end, and afterward, I felt depressed by the whole experience.

Perhaps this documentary would have been better if there were an enthusiastic host or narrator who was going on their own Twilight pilgrimage to Forks, interviewing residents and sharing their travel experiences with us. Then it would have a more personal perspective to it. And it might have added a bit of fun to the documentary.

This documentary definitely needed a bit more fun and perspective.

If you are a hard-core, die-hard Twilight fan who just has to watch this DVD, I recommend renting it or borrowing it from a friend. (Thanks for sharing your DVD, Twi-K.)

Of course, if you had a different experience watching this DVD, please let us know. This review is just my own opinion.

If you really want to buy this DVD, it's available on Amazon.com for $10.99.

Robert Pattinson's 24th birthday is coming up (May 13th)

Robert Pattinson will be celebrating his 24th birthday on Thursday, May 13th (which makes him a Taurus, astrologically).



A few of Rob's fan sites are putting together a birthday card project for him, including RobPattinsonOnline, RPattzDaily and PattinsonLife.

If you'd like to send Rob Pattinson a birthday card, check out RobPattinsonOnline.com.

Clean or Scruffy?

Cosmo has a great article on what you like better Clean shaven or a little scruffy? Regarding Rob, for me there is no comparison. SCRUFFY! Although the picture they are using is a good scruffy. There are some pictures out there with Rob that are really scruffy. What do you like better?

Thanks:ROBsessed.com

Final Eclipse Trailer!

It looks like the final trailer for Eclipse will be on Friday April 23rd on the Oprah show.
Thanks: Tweet from Summit

Countdown Widget for The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner

This countdown widget was provided by Stephenie Meyer on her website:

Thanks, Stephenie!

Team Edward Water Bottle!

It looks like Ashley Tisdale (Sharpay in High School Musical) is Team Edward. She was caught out and about with her Team Edward Water Bottle. Do you want one? Maybe we could do a Give-a-way! Comment below and tell us why you want one and you could win one.

Thanks: cullencreampie.com

A Bigger Edward?

According to Clevver TV, It looks like producers asked Rob to bulk up for Breaking Dawn. I thought he looked good in New Moon. Do they want him bigger? Do they want him competing with Jacob?

Rob & Kristen Together Again!?!

So I found some interesting info! It looks like Rob and Kristen was spotted leaving the Budapest Airport Sunday Night (4-11) Together. Why am I so excited? Do you want them together? Please comment below.

Thanks: robertpattinson.com / Popsugar.com / Justjaredjr.buzznet.com

How to make your own New Moon Dreamcatcher

In the New Moon movie, Jacob gave Bella a special birthday gift, a dreamcatcher, to ward off bad dreams. It turned out that Bella really needed it!

If you're decorating for a New Moon-themed party, or want to send someone a special New Moon-themed gift, you can make your own dreamcatcher from items at your local craft store.

Background Research
My daughter and I planned to visit our local craft store to buy materials to make her a dreamcatcher. Before we left, we checked out the New Moon Official Illustrated Movie Companion (pages 54-55) to get a closer look at Jacob's dreamcatcher.

Jacob's dreamcatcher:


Jacob's dreamcatcher appears to include a grapevine frame, leather lacing, beads, string, a shark's tooth, a small seashell, and a beautiful silver wolf charm.

Gathering Materials
We bought our own materials at Michael's to approximate Jacob's dreamcatcher:
- 1 small, pre-made grapevine wreath ($0.49)
- 6 metal ocean charms, chosen by my daughter ($3.99)
- leather craft lace, 5 colors ($4.99)
- hemp cord, 4 colors ($4.99)
- 3 string of beads, chosen by my daughter ($3.99)

Total cost: about $20

Our dreamcatcher materials:


Making the Dreamcatcher
Next, I found instructions online about how to weave the web that catches the bad dreams. There are good instructions at nativetech.org.

Note that we started with a pre-made grapevine wreath, so we didn't use a metal hoop at all.

Tip 1: When using grapevine, you might need to cut off the picky bits that poke out and snag on your string.

Adding Personal Touches
After I wove the string (hemp cord) into a web, we had to decide on what beads and charms to use. We tried various beads, but some were too small to fit on the cord. We found some extra puka shells from a broken necklace that fit nicely on the cord. Also, my daughter really wanted to use feathers, so we found a few extra ones from her pillow.

Tip 2: If your string or cord doesn't thread well through the holes in the beads, try adding a tiny bit of clear nail polish to the end of the string to strengthen it.

Tip 3: You can also use a tiny bit of clear nail polish to strengthen knots in your string or cord (but don't use it on leather).

We used small pieces of leather craft lace to tie on the charms and the feathers, to give it a more finished look. We attached a longer piece of leather craft lace to hang the dreamcatcher. The final touch was a metal dolphin charm, chosen by my daughter.

Here's the final dreamcatcher:


It is now hanging on my daughter's bed. Hopefully, it will help ward off her bad dreams, too!