'New Moon': Why its girl-driven success is good for the future of movies

Owen Gleiberman of Entertainment Weekly talks about the Twilight Saga and how its girl-driven success might be good for future movies.


Offhand, it would be hard to think of a pop phenomenon as rapturously beloved as the Twilight saga that is also as vociferously hated. My God, the hate! If swoony-gauzy teen-bloodsucker romanticism with a golden-eyed indie-rock James Dean as love object isn’t your cup of passion, then fine — so be it. But why the frothing torrents of resentment? I was seriously shocked, for instance, reading some of the comments on Lisa’s recent post, to see that this much stone-pelting hostility could be directed at an actress as lovely and expressive as Kristen Stewart. What is her crime? Having a personality moody and brainy and distinctive enough that it carries over, maybe a bit too much, from one role to the next? (That was true, as well, of the young Jane Fonda, whom Stewart often recalls.) It makes me wonder what, deep down, is getting the haters so flea-bitten scratchy under the collar.

Frankly, I think it’s this: The ascendance of the Twilight saga represents an essential paradigm shift in youth-gender control of the pop marketplace. For the better part of two decades, teenage boys, and overgrown teenage boys, have essentially held sway over Hollywood, dictating, to a gargantuan degree, the varieties of movies that get made. Explosive truck-smashing action and grisly machete-wielding horror, inflated superhero fantasy and knockabout road-trip comedy: It has been, at heart, a boys’ pig-out, a playpen of testosterone at the megaplex. Sure, we have “chick flicks,” but that (demeaning) term implies that they’re an exception, a side course in the great popcorn smorgasboard. Read More


Source: EW

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Timbaland Gets Twilight Inspired

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Timbaland Gets Twilight Inspired

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'The Twilight Saga' puts Summit in the mega-frachise business

The LA Times has an excellent article about 'The Twilight Saga' putting Summit Entertainment in the mega-franchise business. Competing against Disney, Sony Pictures and Warner Brothers.


When you factor in the original film's $383.8 million in worldwide grosses with the $700 million or more in worldwide grosses that "New Moon" could eventually roll up, Summit Entertainment will soon find itself having the biggest true independent film franchise in recent history. (By true independent, I'm disqualifying New Line, which made even more money with its "Lord of the Rings" franchise but wasn't a true independent since it was already owned by Time-Warner by the time the "LOTR" series was launched.)

Summit's runaway success with "Twilight" is a very big deal, since -- like 'em or not -- franchises provide the building blocks for the modern movie business. With them, a studio has the money in the bank (as well as the blockbuster in the can) to help survive a lean year or a couple of costly flops. You never see any of the top execs at Warners crawling out on a high ledge, preparing to jump when the studio is pulverized by a disaster like "Poseidon" or "Speed Racer" or "Body of Lies." That's because Warners always has another "Harry Potter" or "Batman" saga sitting on the pad, preparing to launch into the box-office stratosphere. Ditto for Sony with "Spider-Man," Paramount with "Star Trek" or Disney with "Pirates of the Caribbean."

Indie studios have rarely, if ever, had the cushion of such a cozy franchise piggy bank. So when an indie studio has a bad year, it's really a bad year. The high ledge can look awfully tempting. It's why in the Miramax days, the Weinstein brothers created the genre-based Dimension division, which gave Bob Weinstein the opportunity to develop such cash cows as the "Scary Movie" franchise, the "Scream" series and the "Spy Kids" saga. Ditto for Lionsgate with its long-running "Saw" horror showcase. However, even though the six "Saw" movies have racked up an impressive $711.8 million in worldwide grosses, it's likely that Summit, with just the first two installments in its "Twilight" series, will end up leaving "Saw" in its wake. Likewise with Dimension's "Scary Movie" series, which has made $672 million around the globe.

It doesn't mean that Summit's future is secure. The studio eventually will have to prove that it's more than a one-trick pony. But for now, Summit has some pretty serious bragging rights, proving that being an indie studio no longer means you have to be a second-class power, even when it comes to playing with the big boys in the franchise game.
Source: LA Times

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FX nabs cable rights to "Twilight"

Acording to Variety, Twilight is about to descend on cable television via FX channel. The cable company nabbed the rights to the Twilight saga.

Vampires are set to descend on FX. On the heels of "New Moon's" sizzling opening weekend, the cabler has struck a deal with Summit Entertainment for basic cable rights to the red-hot pics in the "Twilight" franchise.
"New Moon," the second of the four planned pics, bowed to the third-best opening weekend of all time with $142.8 million.

Cabler's purchase also includes theatrical rights to 2008's "Twilight"; the forthcoming third installment, "Eclipse"; and the planned fourth pic, "Breaking Dawn."

Deal between FX and Summit is standard in that pricetag will be 10%-12% of the domestic box office take, but with a cap.

Summit's deal with FX also includes rights to well-reviewed Iraq war pic "The Hurt Locker," as well as "Knowing" and "Push."

"Twilight," the first book of the series from Stephenie Meyer that was adapted into a film, earned $191 million when it was released a year ago. FX can begin airing the pic in late 2011.

The window for "New Moon" starts in late 2012, and "Eclipse," which is scheduled for a June 30, 2010, theatrical release, will have its basic cable debut in 2013.

Showtime has the pay cable rights to the "Twilight" franchise.

As part of its business plan, FX has been aggressively pursuing rights to theatrical blockbusters to complement a growing number of original series. Cabler recently acquired summer tentpole sequels "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen," "Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian," "X-Men Origins: Wolverine" and "Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs."

Addition of the "Twilight" franchise gives FX a way to draw females. Net, which is enjoying success with the second season of "Sons of Anarchy," tends to skew heavily toward males.

Source: Variety

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Miley Cyrus is a Twilight Hater

As the alter ego of the fictional Hannah Montana, Miley Cyrus is no stranger to pop trends and scarcely believable transformations. But when it comes to vampires, werewolves and Twilight, she's giving them a big thumbs down.

"I've never seen it and nor will I ever," Cyrus, 16, tells Ohio radio station Q92 about the movie event that has infected the country.

"I don't believe in it," she continues. "I don't like vampires. I don't like the wolf that pops out of the screen when I'm watching my TV at night. I don't like it. I don't want anything to do with it. I don't like the shirts. I don't like any of it."

And, yes, she knows that she's a nation of one when it comes to her age group, at least in this regard. "I feel really lame because everyone's, like, so excited, and I'm like, 'Don't even talk about it.' "

Of course, Cyrus has surprised people by bucking trends before – like when the onetime Twitter addict swore off the networking tool forever, or when she said she doesn't listen to pop music.


Source: People.com

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'Twilight' publisher releasing new titles tied to the franchise

According to a press release from the publisher, the Breaking Dawn Special Edition, on stands Aug. 4, will include a DVD of the Breaking Dawn concert series and interviews with Meyer. Those who pick up the hardcover book can also expect a poster and reproduction of handwritten lyrics for “My Never,” by Blue October’s Justin Furstenfeld. The Twilight Journals (pictured), out Oct. 13, are packaged in a tin and include “decorative quotes” from each book. For those hoping to buy books tied into New Moon, Little, Brown will release New Moon: The Complete Illustrated Movie Companion on Oct. 6 and New Moon trade and mass-market paperback tie-ins in September and November, respectively. They will also publish a New Moon Collector’s Edition on Oct. 6. Click here to read more


Source: EW

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Win Twilight Saga Boxed Set Signed by Stephenie Meyer!

Kaleb Nation (aka Twilight Guy) and NoMoreMarbles (aka Bailey) are having a subscriber war and they are both giving out some very awesome prizes! All you have to do is subscribe to their channel.

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Win Twilight Saga Boxed Set Signed by Stephenie Meyer!

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