tMF Special report on Twilight: Part 4 of a four-part series

What makes a movie worth waiting for? Is it the cast? The fact that you’re a big fan of the leading man? Or because you simply love the story? Perhaps you just enjoyed the teaser trailer(s) and really wanted to see the whole movie?

In the case of Twilight, if you’re big on the books, then there is every reason for you to want to see the movie.

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In Part 1, we talked about Stephenie Meyer. Next, we discussed the Twilight fandom and featured interviews with leading Twilighters. In Part 3, we put the spotlight on the upcoming movie and talked about the cast and crew. In this last installment, we'll talk about the future of the Twilight saga and its chances of becoming a successful film franchise. But in order to do that, we need to make a series of comparisons. Here’s what we said in our intro:

As JK Rowling's Harry Potter is about to end, enters Stephenie Meyer and her initial offering, Twilight - a movie that is already one of the most-anticipated of this year.

Why the comparison? The Harry Potter series is as big and as successful as it can get. Eragon, on the other hand, may boast a big fan base but the movie sucked big-time and talk of a ‘franchise’ now seem preposterous.

The question now is: can Twilight follow Harry Potter’s success or will it become the next big disappointment just like Eragon?

The Twilight teaser trailer was just released! What's the most striking part?

I find Robert Pattinson as Edward Cullen to be awesome! He has this preternaturally gorgeous yet dangerous look on his face, and his voice! While Anne Rice's the Vampire Lestat maybe the rock star, Edward Cullen is the ideal romantic vampire hero. No wonder, Pattinson was voted tMF's hottest young actor!

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Oh, I don't know about you, but the sexual tension between Kristen and Robert is almost palpable! Catherine Hardwicke has done it again!

Remember how The Joker promised the new movie trailer for The Dark Knight on Sunday? Well it’s now Sunday, and the movie trailer is officially online.

This new trailer features some great moments and great quotes. For example, Batman flying through the air 100 stories above the city, or Harvey Dent’s “Either you die a hero, or you live long enough to see yourself become the villain” or The Joker’s “The City deserves a better class of criminal, and I’m gonna give it to them.” The trailer also seems to confirm that the film has taken a new approach to the Two-Face origin. Notice how Dent is being held face down in a puddle of gasoline as opposed to the traditional acid storyline.

Watch the new trailer in High Definition on WhySoSerious.

Our Twilight series is not yet over, but as tMF celebrates its first birthday this coming June, we want to give you even more!

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We have in-depth articles that go beyond simply covering this year's most anticipated movies. We know you want more than just the plot and the cast and crew, so aside from our two-part summer preview, we're launching a series of articles to celebrate a number of these upcoming films, and these will include tMF's comprehensive reports on:

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tMF continues its coverage of the summer movie season with Part Two of tMF 2008 Summer Movie Preview. Read Part One [ here ].

Starring: Robert Downey Jr., Terrence Howard, Gwyneth Paltrow, Jeff Bridges
Director: Jon Favreau
Release Date: May 1, 2008
Running Time: 126 min
MPAA Rating: PG-13
Distributor: Paramount Pictures

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Review by David DiMichele

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Look past the scorching cosmic-candy red armor that Iron Man dons - which will have fan boys salivating feverishly - and you’ll find that director Jon Favreau has created a superhero film that puts the action on the back burner in order to focus on a deeper and more resonant worldly conflict. I’m not saying the action isn’t there. We get an initial abundance of the high testosterone action that Marvel comics used back in 1963. But what makes Iron Man distinctly different to previous superhero films is its well-polished script, written by the team that brought us Children of Men. This script invites us to shift our minds from action to a profoundly important issue, and that’s more than any other comic book-to-screen adaptation has ever dared to do.

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In a two-part series, tMF will preview the 2008 Summer Movie Season! Part One will explore the May and June releases, and later this weekend, Part Two will finish up with July and August. Sit back, relax and enjoy the show!

One of the most anticipated movies for 2008 is The Lovely Bones. We have it as one of our top50 Book to Movie adaptations, as well as, on-going updates with the cast and crew and just about all the latest buzz about the movie. After the controversy regarding Ryan Gosling's replacement by Mark Wahlberg, here comes another issue this time about the future of the movie itself...

Flicks.Co.NZ is reporting that Peter Jackson and one of his art directors are in a big tiff on the set of The Lovely Bones. Why? Because they can’t agree on the film adaptation’s notion of Heaven. Filming has temporarily stopped until The Pearly Gates, a major aspect/set in the film, meets Jackson’s satisfaction. “More clouds I say!” Crew is said to be on an extended break for cigarettes and GTA4.

"Peter Jackson is really a nice guy and very interesting. It was really a very different way of working. We had a good time, I’m really curious to see what it’s like because he kept pushing me to be more and more extreme and sometimes that’s when you make your big mistakes so I’m not sure how it will come off - it will be interesting to see it from the point of view of the audience."

Sarandon went on to say that her character, Grandma Lynn, didn’t seem like a “real grandmother,” and seemed more like an alcoholic, tacky caricature there to serve comic relief. So, does this all equal another case of the trendy “complicated birthing process” or is it a troubling sign of things to come for the actual film?

Source: Shock Till You Drop

Well, according to Collider, Summit Entertainment is shipping out prints of a Twilight teaser trailer with Speed Racer which opens in theaters on May 9th. Take note, however, it's not going to be attached to prints of the film so it's only suggested theater owners run the teaser with the film. Either way, there's a very good chance you'll be seeing it in theaters or online on or around Friday, May 9th.

Shock has also be informed that attendees of this year's San Diego Comic-Con can expect a huge Twilight presentation.

The film opens on December 12th and is directed by Catherine Hardwicke.

Further from Collider:

"I’ve heard that the trailer ships in the can. That means it’s not attached to the print, but when a trailer ships in the can it usually means the studio wants it played with the movie. However, a theater may decide not to. The rules of the game for trailers are like this…if a trailer ships attached to a print it means it has to play with the movie. If it ships in the can, it’s strongly suggested that it plays…but it’s not mandatory.

With the teaser set to play in front of “Speed Racer,” that probably means it'll be online a few days before or right around that time. That also means millions of “Twilight” fans are about to see their first footage from the film. I’m sure they’re going to start counting the days. "

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We simply can't get enough of Jake Gyllenhaal! Here's the latest buzz on the awesome Hollywood actor: From 24 Hours Vancouver

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By DARREN PARKMAN

One of Hollywood's hottest couples may soon be headed our way. Rumour has it, none other than Reese Witherspoon and Jake Gyllenhaal will be here to star in an epic new flick called 2012. It centres around a group of people who face natural disasters, such as typhoons and volcanoes, that coincide with the end of the Mayan calendar in 2012. Filming is expected to get underway in Los Angeles and in Vancouver in late June. 2012 will hit theatres next year.

Also from Variety: Studios Vie For Emmerich's '2012'

Source: Variety

'Lost in Translation' actress unveils 'Falling Down'
By STUART OLDHAM

Scarlett Johansson is in front of the camera again--this time for "Falling Down," the first single off of her debut solo album, "Anywhere I Lay My Head." The record, which is being released May 20th on Acto/Rhino, is an eclectic mix of Tom Waits covers, boasting an impressive guest list of performers like David Bowie and members of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. The video for "Falling Down" was just released on Yahoo! video and features lyrics from Mr. Ziggy Stardust himself.

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Source: Slash Film

Slash Film says:

Doesn’t look like we’ll be seeing the new movie trailer for 'The Dark Knight' online tonight after all. The latest viral game has led everyone to a new directory on the WhySoSerious.com domain called “Happy Trails”.

The clipping from The Gotham Times classified section is for a “Fully Automatic Threading Projection System”. The model in the advertisement, who has been doodled over in Joker make-up, says “Now I Can Watch Moving Pictures Whenever I Want!” The advertisement also says that an “All-New Model” will be “Available This Sunday” and that we’ll be able to “See What You’ve Been Missing”.

Yup, that’s right folks… looks like we’re going to have to wait until Sunday before we see this new trailer officially online.

Thoughts on these new posters? Better or worse than the new one that debuted last week? I really think the three photos where each is holding out an object in front of them that represents them is a great idea - just not sure how well it'll go over. I'm still loving the marketing for this movie - and the hype is really going to start quadrupling today as we lead into the summer.

Source: First Showing and Omelete

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Source: The One Ring

In an exclusive interview with TheOneRing.net, Guillermo del Toro talks about Ian McKellen, Andy Serkis, Howard Shore, Animatronics vs CGI, the ‘tone’ of the upcoming ‘Hobbit’ films and much more!

We had the opportunity to chat with Guillermo del Toro this morning from his current HQ in London. He’s hard at work putting the finishing touches on ‘Hellboy II: The Golden Army’ and taking interviews from news outlets about that film, and the recent announcement that he’ll be doing ‘The Hobbit’ and a subsequent Hobbit sequel down the line.

First things first, YES, that is him on our message boards, he told me he intends to post there as often as he humanly can. And yes, he is as cool and approachable as he sounds. Take a look at my interview!

How did this whole process get started?

GDT: I met Peter (Jackson) a long time ago when we were planning on doing ‘Halo’ together, I really love how they have that setup in New Zealand, I call it ‘Hollywood the way God intended it’. New Zealand has all the technical advantages when doing a big movie and you are shooting it in paradise, both in terms of artistic freedom and commitment.

When ‘Halo’ didn’t happen, Peter and I stayed in contact on a regular basis, and last winter I started getting inklings that ‘The Hobbit’ may come this way, mainly from the studio. The first thing I said was that I would only be interested if Peter was involved and the (New Line Lawsuit) problem gets resolved. When that issue was resolved I got a call from Peter and we chatted, and it started from then, it was my Christmas gift!