One obvious and really exciting evolution we noticed from the first New Moon trailer here to the latest here are the distinct changes made to Jacob’s wolf form.

Truth be told, the first New Moon trailer featuring the Jacob-to-Wolf snap transformation already had me looking for my sleeping bag and staking out a spot in line. Jake’s 30 foot leap culminating with a snarling hulk of a wolf was the hands-down highlight of the 90 second tidbit. The fine CGI work seemed to me a clear indication of Summit’s commitment to the saga and coupled with New Moon Movie‘s casting coups, it really looked like they were pulling out all the stops to make us forgive and forget the less than stellar effects of Twilight.

The first trailer’s wolf was most certainly a badass. It had excellent CGI work and it appeared to me that they took some visual cues from the Eastern Timber Wolf, with reddish highlights over a full mane, and a shaggy winter coat topping bare fore and rear limbs. There was still a cartoonish feel to it, but I had chalked it off to unfinished rendering, it was after all a really early preview of the movie.

Take a look for yourself:

The new trailer brought with it a whole new Jacob wolf, and I must say, it certainly is badder, er, badderasser! Gone are the Timber Wolf red highlights (or as my sister likes to call it, Clairol Sedona Sunset) and in its place are the deadly drab browns that a wolf hunting rogue vamps in Fork’s forests would be more at ease in. We now see features taken from the Grey Wolf: The shorter, one-length fur, slightly larger nose topping a narrower snout, and the aggressive stalking posture of a wolf with dinner in sight.

Note the major differences besides the fur color change:

The eyes are more slanted, reminiscent of the wolf in ’300′, and gives off a menacing stare.

The upper set of fangs are more pronounced and appear aged, giving an impression of past battles and well, a darn scary bite.

The fighting snarl created by the narrower snout also makes the wolf more intimidating.

All in all, I see welcome changes in the right direction. I’m pleased to see the Summit guys constantly tweaking this movie to make it better and not resting on their Twilight laurels. True, it has a lot more to live up to, but I can’t help but notice that Summit’s been much more active in listening to fan feedback and applying it to the movie in realtime. New Moon promises to be the true Fan’s Film that we are all hoping for it to be.

If Jacob’s wolf is any indication of how hard the New Moon movie is going to rock our faces, then we can expect to be sitting in the theatres come midnight on the 19th, jaws on the floor, popcorn uneaten, minds blown.

Little Red Riding Hood better watch out, this isn’t your gramma’s forest anymore.

Wolfsbane signing out.

TA’ERS: What are your thoughts on the enhanced with better CGI wolf?

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As a Twilight guy who is having the time of his life seeing each of his favorite comic book characters gracing the silver screen, I have had a few run-ins with the die-hards who nitpick about everything they see ‘wrong’ in the movie adaptation. I guess I’m just happy as a vampire in a blood bank when I get to see the characters that shaped my childhood come to life, with all the awesome CGI to support them. I don’t care that Wolverine is being portrayed by a 6+ foot tall Jackman (Wolvie is really supposed to only be a bad hair day over 5 feet), as long as I get to see a REAL actor play him!

The same beliefs carry over to movie adaptations of my favorite books. Sometimes yes, they screw it up badly (especially if they just wanna make a quick buck off a novel’s popularity), but others turn out to be absolute jewels and gems, and some abso-frigin-RULE. No matter what, I’m usually just glad they actually turned what I used to just imagine in my head, into something I can pop into my DVD player and ‘re-read’ over and over again.

This brings us to this fan-made New Moon trailer I came across (Thanks Catherine!). As a fan myself, I’m mostly just thankful Twilight is something visually tangible. There were a few things (well, ok, more than a few) I had issues with, but I kept them mostly to myself and quietly hoped that Summit and the new director will take notice and realize that the success of Twilight was a testament to the strength of its book fanbase, and not necessarily because the movie knocked our socks off. I do have to say that the New Moon movie is looking more and more like the Saga film I WANT to see. I always used to say to everyone willing to listen to a guy ranting about Twilight that I wish the actors would read the book and not just the screenplay, in fact I am seriously hoping everyone involved in translating The Saga to the big screen be at least familiar with the books (or have a nagging sister who is). Considering that this fanbase practically made careers for these actors overnight (I won’t even get into the $$$$), it’s the least they can do. Deliver a movie that gives a nod to the fans and tells them, WE KNOW, WE’RE FANS TOO!

This fan-made trailer is a prime example. It’s obvious from the start that it was made by a fan, for the fans. She knew the direction New Moon was going, and what it meant for Bella, Edward, and Jacob. She focused on these details so cleanly that it’s like the book came to life. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve said before that the New Moon trailer was made of all kinds of awesome, but you still get the impression that it was made by someone who used the standard trailer formula: Build suspense, give clues, and show some action. What I think they don’t realize is, the built-in fanbase this series has are the ones they have to reach out to. We KNOW the story inside and out, we’ve read and cried (ok, not me *growl*) through Bella’s pain, we freaked when we found out about Edward’s plans, you don’t have to give us the usual buildup: Just show us what we can expect from this movie. We’re the ones who will be lining up around the block. We’re the ones who will ‘Go Verizon‘ and drag our friends and families to the theaters to watch this movie 5x in a row and twice on Sunday. Cater to the fans, and they will come. Make them feel you’re making this series for them, and they will bring everyone they know and some they don’t. Don’t worry about having to dumb it down for the ones who ‘dont know the book’ or ‘haven’t seen Twilight’, there will be a theater full of people who will line up and pay to explain it all to them and even make them buy the DVD.

Ok I need to stop, this trailer has gotten me emotional! Just watch it and you’ll know what I’m talking about. Note to Summit: HIRE HER. Find her and offer her a lot of money. She will pull so many people to the theaters that the Police will start complaining about traffic around Edwards Cinema. Trust me.

Wolfs-”OMG I just ranted”-Bane Out.

Read On

There was a big bad wolf in the room that nobody could ignore.

The 2009 MTV Movie Awards focused the spotlight on Generation Twi and let the world know in no uncertain terms they are here to stay. Twilight is officially a state on the pop map, and its capital, of course, is Forks. Running off with all the top awards, it has cemented its place in MTV Movie awards history.

I stopped counting Twilight nods after Andy did the “Twilight: *audience screams*” shtick. I was just in awe at how much it dominated the show, eclipsing even Em’s raunchy TB. See Slim, if you’d sat near Rob, his stuntman would have helped throw off Bruno, for serious.

Now not only were the Twilight goodies made of all kinds of awesome, I really really loved how the cast delivered! From Rob accepting his award with his trademark self-depracating awkwardness that just telegraphs “I can’t believe you’re giving me a prize, but OK I’ll take it and thanks for the rest of them too”, to Kristen’s so in character but totally unplanned royal fumble of her award. I’m also sure seeing both Rob and Taylor up for the same prize, with Rob running off with the Gold Popcorn, gave the fans a good giggle. I’d love to have seen Taylor sneak in and steal Rob’s seat while he was up on stage being awkward. That would have been gold.

So what does this mean for the franchise? To me (and strictly my opinion mm-kae?) all this attention bodes well for the future. New Moon , while it wasn’t exactly left big shoes to fill by Twilight The Movie, will have to truly deliver. I’m totally willing to give the first movie a mulligan if New Moon is as good as the trailer hints at. Don’t get me wrong, Twilight was ok, but I really did expect more (Don’t tell me you didn’t!). New Moon looks very, very promising. I am hoping Chris Weitz’s experience with CGI, awesome cinematography, bitter-sweet drama, and oh-so-current character banter will turn New Moon into the audience immersive film it deserves to be.

What kind of New Moon goodness did the new trailer hint at for you guys?

For those of you who still need an additional fix, head on over to our gallery where have a play-by-play with screencaps of the trailer.

As for me, my week was made when Sandra Bullock fan squee’ed for Twilight, even if it was a little fake. Yum.

Wolfsbane out.

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New York Magazine online gives us a funny tongue-in-cheek slideshow about how the movie is better than a book.

We’re sure plenty of superfans of Stephenie Meyer’s Twilight series will complain loudly about the movie adaptation of the first book, Twilight, after they leave tonight’s midnight screenings. They won’t like the casting, or they’ll be upset the filmmakers left out their favorite line, or they’ll think the sparkle effect looked stupid.

But let us disagree in advance. As far as we’re concerned, Catherine Hardwicke’s movie of Twilight does what most movie adaptations can’t: It dramatically improves the book it’s based on. It’s more exciting, it’s more fun, and — most important — it’s way less annoying than Meyer’s gazillion-selling blockbuster. (The sparkle effect, though, did look better in our imagination.)

How can you say such a thing? indignant Twilight fans will howl. Let us count the ways, in our spoiler-filled slideshow.

It is a decidedly funny take on things, considering the consensus is almost 100% that the book is still better than the movie. I do agree on a couple of points, especially the sparkle effect. There were a thousand ways to make that look more convincing, and I’m surprised they took the easy way out. It’s all in good fun though, and it’s something I’m sure was written to draw more people to the theaters. So check out the slideshow but watch out for the spoilers if you haven’t seen the movie, there certainly are a bunch of them in it.

Was there anything the movie did for you that was better than the book?

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(FYI: Wolfsbane, THE Wolfsbane, has hereby recovered from all injuries sustained from tweeners during the Twilight Red Carpet event, including, but not limited to, the blows to his ego. Anybody asking how he’s doing and if he’s healed will hereby be referred to his psychiatrist. Kthx.)

Let me cut to the chase for those of you who don’t want to deal with spoilers or read my whining:

THE GOOD – IT WAS GOOD.

THE BAD – IT COULD HAVE BEEN BETTER.

MY RATING – [B-]

Ok so I was one of very few guys standing in line for the midnight screening in Valencia. With me were Len aka the Queen B and Vince aka Jake, and boy, were we caught off guard by the ridiculous line that snaked across the plaza and around the street. To be fair, I walked into that theater with no expectations whatsoever, except perhaps the possibility of having the ringing in my ears (it started at the Twilight Red Carpet event) might come back and stay…permanently. Luckily the theater staff came out like Rambo and threatened potential screamers and squealers with pain and suffering, to be dealt by the popcorn dude. We got to enjoy the movie in relative peace, at times actually in awe that most of the people in the packed to the rafters theater had turned blue in the face from suppressing audible swoons.

I would have to say that the movie delivered to those it meant the most for, the fans. IF you had read the book (which from the looks of it, accounted for about 99% of all the people who watched it with us), then the movie will be fulfilling.

Seeing the tale unfold visually is at times a treat to the senses, and this is confirmed by the numerous whispers I heard of, “OME, that’s just how I pictured it!” (shhhh!) Kristin Stewart’s portrayal of Bella was spot on for me, and I did often wonder what kind of actress could possibly give enough convincing visual cues to what was going on in Bella’s mind. That kind of actress it seems, was Ms. Stewart. Though at moments a mite too fidgety, Kristin embraced the role and owned it from the start. She projected Bella’s haunted thoughts with ease, at times outshining just about everybody else on screen, including Robert Pattinson. It’s not that they were mediocre actors (though I would have casted a couple of them differently), it was because, having read the book, Bella was well developed in my mind and Kristin showed the depth of understanding she has for the character.

Edward is a different matter entirely. I do believe that Robert Pattinson is good for the part…but. Playing a conflicted vampire is hard enough without having to adapt a foreign accent, and Rob has had to do that on top of having to find the chops to convincingly portray a superhuman who is doubting his humanity. His struggle to consistently hold an accent showed, and at times distracted even the audience. Also, the emotional intensity was there, but it really seemed the conflict was about whether to come across as a very cool super strong vampire, or one attempting romance for the first time. Add to that certain lines that are incredibly hard to say with a straight face, and you have the recipe for some really confused acting. I do admire his attempts to stick the landing, even when it appeared the words he was about to spit were souring in his mouth. He seemed too delicate at times, considering he was supposed to be hard as rock, and that bothered me. That’s not to say he was not a convincing Edward. Robert took the role and ran with it, I can forgive a few stumbles.

The gloves come off from this point on along with some spoilers, so you’re all welcome to stop now.

I was expecting more, but I totally understand why I didn’t get it. I did read about the initial budget being a mere $37M and I do know that there are aspects of the book that just doesn’t translate well into the big screen. That said, there were times when I was sorely disappointed by what I saw. Kristin and Robert carried the movie on their shoulders, with the more than capable cast giving ample support, but even stellar acting can only do so much. It also felt at times that Catherine Hardwicke was out of her element, and it showed the most during the action and effects-heavy scenes.

The vampire abilities of Edward and his siblings necessitated certain effects to give the audience the proper visuals. This is where the budget constraints were truly apparent. Most of the special effects seemed more appropriate on an episode of Heroes. The term “cheesy” comes to mind. The whole baseball scene was hard to watch, especially the confrontation between James and Edward when James got a whiff of Bella. There was a way to show how these vamps could move at superspeed, and speeding up the tape wasn’t it. The flashbacks and cut scenes were also too contrived, giving me the feeling it was just added on to flesh out the movie, but nobody paid attention to how they were going to be edited into the film. One area that they could have redeemed themselves was the final fight scene, but once again, it came across as something made for TV, with the budget to match.

Catherine Hardwicke’s directing of the emotional core of the film was impressive, yet at times she apearred at a loss when the shots called for visual impact. Admittedly, Kristin couldn’t have given us the Bella that she did without formidable directing, but we also needed Edward to come across as the invincible and physically intimidating vampire that he was. If this was a pick up baseball game, Hardwicke’s expertise as a pitcher shines in her fast balls and strikes, but put plainly, she is completely out of her element in the outfield, struggling to keep up and stay on point. What were supposed to be scary moments when James and co. were hunting were just plain campy, and the sweeping panoramics that could have been put to good use seemed tacked on at the end of each scene.

A last gripe, the background music! It was distracting and poorly coordinated. I have no doubts I’d be alone in thinking that.

As a male fan, what would I have wanted to see? First of all, please please please give this movie the budget it deserves. Harry Potter running around a completely imaginary set with a crooked stick was given more. If we had even half of what the Potter series got, we’d have been in the running for a decent action flick with a romance on the side. How can you not have cool action scenes with superhuman characters fighting?

Also, three words – Yuen Woo Ping, embrace him, love him. He will make turn this movie into the franchise it deserves to be.

We stayed for the credits and I was suprised to see that ILM was tapped for the visual effects. Shocked actually. I expected more out of them, and the only thing I can think of why the effects failed the movie was that $37M really doesn’t get you much movie nowadays. The Twilight series still has the potential for re-invention. The story has already been established, and Bella and Edward are credible characters that just need fleshing out. The following books have potential for incredible scenes and mind blowing effects, please give it what it deserves.

Discuss this in our forum!

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Here we go again.

I suppose Hot Topic hasn’t learned anything from the San Francisco fiasco and now we’re hearing about another gross mishandling of the Chicago stop of Robert Pattinson’s autograph tour.

Here’s a report from Chicago’s Southtown Star:

Southtown Star’s site also showed a picture of the sign posted at the mall entrance, announcing that wristbands were sold out, apparently posted by a clerk who can’t tell the difference between the character and the actor.

Another report from ABC News in Chicago showed an overhead shot of the hundreds of fans outside the Orland Square Mall.

Here are some excerpts from emails sent in to us by people who were there:

“…my daughter and her friends left from Minnesota to Chicago yesterday (Nov. 11) in hopes of getting wristbands to the meet and greet with Robert Pattinson –WELL, they were informed that they could be at the mall at 5:00 A.M. Wed., Nov. 12 to start lining up to get their wristband. They weren’t the only ones at the mall waiting for their wristbands, when they were told that if they didn’t leave, the police would be called, and, oh by the way, people had lined up at midnight i\with the same thought in mind). They weren’t following the rules by being there at that time, while others obeyed the rules of the mall and showed up at the correct time – and because the weather at midnight was inclement, the decision was to just give the wristbands out at that time and screw everyone else who were following the rules and show up at the right time. So, for any future meet and greets, people beware that the rules for giving out the wristbands can be whatever the store/mall decides.”

Another fan had a little better experience:

“Hey guys! Last night I was lucky enough to get a wristband to the Chicago tour stop. I got there at 12:45am and they had already been letting people in. I only stood outside for about 20 to 30 minutes before being let in. I was number 451 out of the 500. It was handled very well and was organized this time. After what happened in San Fran they were ready for us! We all stood in a huge line outside the store inside the mall. Then after about 45 mins to an hour they let us in 10 at a time. It took a few hours to get everyone in and out but the line moved pretty quick. They also had us wait and leave in groups from the mall. Overall it was nothing what I was expecting from the stories I heard from past tour stops. Everyone was very cooperative and only started screaming once for a couple minutes.”

However, she still had this to say about how things were handled:

“The only negative thing is how they let people start lining up so early. A lot of people are upset because they drove for hours (like myself) and even got there at 3 in the morning only to find out they had already given out all the wristbands. I heard a few people say they were told they wouldn’t be allowed to start lining up til early morning. Besides that it went very well and am thankful for not having to stand out in the rain for hours in the cold. I’ll be trying to get photos and video of the Q&A tonight. No cameras are allowed during the signing! I’ll get photos and videos email when I get back home.”

Thanks for the feedback, kittiebeatz

I’m sure Hot Topic had a good reason for not allowing picture taking, but I hope they start realizing that a simple picture with the star is a great validation for the autograph and the trouble the fans went through to have this opportunity. It takes 5 seconds to set up a shot with a digital camera and it really doesn’t seem like that much more bother to let the fans have one measly shot with their idol.

The folks at Hot Topic have a couple more opportunities to get their act together. Robert Pattinson is expected in Philly and Boston next on the 13th and 14th respectively, while the rest of the cast will be making several more stops as well. I sincerely hope Hot Topic can step up its management of these events and consider the safety of Twilight’s fanbase and most especially their feelings, in light of all the trouble they go through to support the movie and its stars. I’m also quite sure Twilighters have accounted for a huge jump in their sales as well, something Hot Topic can’t ignore in these troubled financial times.

So Twilighters, how have the news of these crowd management errors affected your enthusiasm for attending the Hot Topic events?

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Hello Twilighters! Coming on the heels of the unfortunate event in San Francisco, I’d like to just remind all the Twilighters out there to be careful and try to respect your fellow fans. Twilight fans have generally been known to be a very friendly bunch with much to share with each other, but we all can get caught up in the excitement. It pained me to hear of fans getting hurt and parents getting very upset. That’s the last thing we need right now is for parents to be paranoid about letting their kids watch the movie for fear of anything happening. You all know how they can over react. *wink wink*

So, lets try and behave ourselves, as some people who were there reportedly flew in from as far as Hawaii and other places just to be there. That’s a few dreams ruined and much money wasted. Some were even physically hurt in the process. I wouldn’t wish that on anyone and my heart goes out to them. I just hope they don’t lose their enthusiasm for the film and series. Also, Rob P might have been endowed with vampire superpowers but I bet even he would be a little worried about having a stampede of 3,000 fans running after his sparkly butt.

Anyway, I certainly hope that this also serves as a reminder to Hot Topic and any malls/venues hoping to host Twilight related events. WE ARE LEGION! Please, please, please do not underestimate the following of this movie and book and be properly prepared for it. A little added security and staff to keep things in order would have helped immensely.

In other news, awesome movie trailer site Trailer Addict posted 15 full minutes of B-roll footage from the Twilight film. It’s a montage of juicy behind the scenes stuff that gives us a different perspective on how some of the scenes were shot, including the technical aspects. Check it out:

It kind of puts things in perspective huh? I mean for KS to act all smitten and gooey in love and for Rob to project his inner undead and well, smolder and stuff, in front of all those people! How do you think you’ll handle that?

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