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7/31/2010

‘Twilight’ book by Stephenie Meyer passes the Two Million Sales in the UK

Stephenie Meyer's Twilight, the first instalment in the US novelist's hugely popular dark romance series of the same name, has become only the 13th novel to sell more than two million copies in the UK since the turn century.

Stephenie Meyer follows in the footsteps of J K Rowling, Dan Brown and Mark Haddon - the only other authors to have achieved the two-million-in-the-21st-century feat.

Last week, the book sold 16,672 copies in the UK, taking its total sales to date to 2,005,609. Just over £9.7m has been spent on the book since it was first published in the UK in 2006 - a year in which it sold just 1,684 copies, according to Nielsen BookScan data.

It wasn't until the Summer of 2008 and the release of the fourth book in the series, Breaking Dawn, that Meyer became a household name in the UK. In 2007, sales of Twilight totalled 27,000 copies, but the following year were a massive 355,000 thanks in part to its silver-screen adaptation hitting UK cinemas in December. Sales last year totalled 1,267,000 copies while the book has sold 355,000 copies thus far in 2010.

Including The Host, and other Twilight titles such as boxed sets, the Twilight Graphic Novel and The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner, £47.7m has been spent on Stephenie Meyer's books since the beginning of 2006. Last year, one in every 47 books bought in the UK was penned by the US novelist, while almost 20 pence in every pound spent on a children's fiction title went towards one of her Twilight novels.

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7/30/2010

Ashley Greene joined Super Saturday for Ovarian Cancer Research Fund

InStyle Magazine Hosts Super Saturday With Ashley Greene & Kelly Ripa.

Super Saturday is best described as a couture garage sale, but with celebrity guests and a tony Hamptons setting. InStyle has hosted the event with Donna Karan and Kelly Ripa for several years; this time, Twilight star Ashley Greene is set to join in. The 13th annual sale will stocked with merchandise from over 200 designers, including Diane von Furstenberg, Catherine Malandrino, Elizabeth & James and Giorgio Armani, and it’s all for a good cause: Proceeds benefit the Ovarian Cancer Research Fund. If you can’t make it to the Hamptons this weekend, QVC will be broadcasting the event from 2:00 to 4:00 p.m. EST, offering viewers the chance to purchase a variety of items from the sale including apparel, accessories and beauty. Sounds super.

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7/26/2010

Billy Burke Interview On Set of DRIVE ANGRY 3D and talks how Twilight effecteted him

Twilight fans aren’t going to know what hit them. That’s because while Billy Burke has made an impression as Bella Swan’s (Kristen Stewart) mild mannered father in the Twilight movies, in director Patrick Lussier’s Drive Angry 3D, Burke plays an over-the-top villainous cult leader that dresses like a rock star.

Question: So, you’re shirt has kind of got a rock star vibe to it.

Billy Burke: You think? Well, that’s what we were mildly going for. A little cross between Jim Jones, Jim Morrison, and maybe a little bit of Tony Robbins. [laughter]

Is that something that drew you to the part?

Burke: Yeah. I immediately liked just the unreasonable flamboyant attitude that this guy had. So, yeah.

The obvious and immediate thing that all of us nerds are thinking right away is wondering whether or not this is a little bit cathartic after having played the dad in Twilight.

Burke: It is, indeed. I started my career actually, maybe the first 10, 11 years, playing the bad boyfriend with the gun. And I got ill with that and moved on, for some reason, to playing cops all the time. And so this is quite a nice and refreshing departure from all that. I get to, yeah, let loose a little bit, do some stuff that I wouldn’t normally do; that nobody would normally do, I suppose. [laughs]

What’s going on with the nails?

Billy_Burke_imageBurke: That was an afterthought. We started to talk about what this guy looks like and what he does. And then just before we got down here, I thought, well…I was thinking back to movies in the ‘80s and similar characters that I enjoyed watching. And I remember a particular character from a particular movie that I enjoyed watching. And one of the moments in that film started on his nails. I won’t tell you what it is because that will give too much away and I will be stealing. But yeah, that was an idea that sort of came in the midst of putting this guy together. So I went in and had them done, and now they are a pain in the ass to live with. But they are working well for this.

But it’s not really stealing, it’s more of an homage, isn’t it?

Burke: It’s an homage, yeah. We can call it that. I like that word.

Just throwing that out there.

Burke: Yeah. Do we know what movie I’m talking about?

Superman 4? [laughter]

Burke: Wow! Uh, no!

I almost wanted to say something like 48 Hours, but I’m sure I’m wrong.

Burke: No. It’s…I’m not going to tell you, because that’s just not….Once you see it again, you’ll figure it out. It’s a good one. Superman 4? I don’t know that I ever saw Superman 4.

With a movie that is hyper-violent like this, a very hard movie, do you almost feel reticent to go over the top, that you are going over the top with the character, or are you just kind of going…

Burke: I don’t feel reticent to, but I…it’s a pretty rare moment for me when I really go that far over the top. Sometimes when something gets stuck up my ass, I can be pushed to go there. But I normally don’t like to. I like to stay within the boundaries of what I think is realistic. But in this movie nothing is realistic, so…But yeah, there is a lot of freedom here. I mean there are places that I can go that I have enjoyed going.

We saw you shooting. He seems like a pretty intense guy.

Burke: Yeah. He’s got a vision. He’s got a vision and he feels right. And there’s nothing…As one of the lines in the movie says, there’s nothing more dangerous than a righteous man with an idea.

When do we first see you in the movie? Are you right there from the beginning?

Billy_Burke_imageBurke: No. I think Jonah is talked about early on, we know that there is somebody out there that has something of importance to Nick’s character, and then we see glimpses of him, and then he appears in visions. And then he shows up on about page 33, I think.

Do you get to drive any of the cool cars?

Burke: No. Have you seen the RV? The RV is circa 1975, maybe, something like that, which is completely fitting for what we are doing here, because it could have been a real tricked out sort of supped up thing, but Patrick wanted to stay with something that would fit the feeling of the movie. The movie is very reminiscent of some of the ‘70s movies that they used to make that were made with reckless abandon that I’m really getting a huge kick out of. I’m seeing some of the stuff that we’re shooting and it really feels like old-time Steve McQueen type stuff, but with a little bit of extra 2010 juice.

What’s the story with the… You’ve got the pentagram with the crown there.

Burke: That’s Jonah’s mark. It’s his emblem. It’s the symbol of what he stands for. I guess some would call it satanic, but I don’t really think that he is doing these things in Satan’s name. He is taking it upon himself to take what those ideals might be and putting them into his own school of thought and bringing it from there. So that’s his stamp that he puts on his followers and the symbol of what we are all going after.

Is he a villain that we can kind of understand why he’s doing what he’s doing, or is he just crazy?

Burke: I don’t…[laughs] With what he’s doing, with what we’re actually doing here, I don’t think that anybody’s going to really understand what he’s doing, because let’s face it, we’re about to sacrifice a baby here.

Well who hasn’t thought about that? [sarcastically]

Burke: Who hasn’t done that? [sarcastically] So no, I don’t think anybody is really going to be on his side. But saying that, there’s things being done by all the characters in this movie where you are not going to be on their side. Everybody’s almost the bad guy in this thing; he’s just the worst guy.

Was there any apprehension on your part? Because your character does apparently do some gnarly stuff in the film. Was there any hesitation for you signing on, or were you sort of like, “This is just a good part.”?

Burke: I thought about it for a second. I’ve got a daughter who is almost two years old right now who is about the age of the baby in the movie that we’re about to do nefarious things to. I did think about it for a second, but then I thought, you know, it’s just a movie. And within this movie, you need to…with all the things that are going so over the top and the places that we go to in this movie, you need somebody who is going to go that extra mile in badness. And once I figured out what we were doing and how I could do that, I said, “Fuck it. Let’s do it.”

Did you go back and research any old cult leader, like real life cult leaders and stuff to get a sense of how they kind of roped people in?

Drive Angry teaser poster movie Nicolas CageBurke: I’m normally not a research guy, but I did in this case. I remembered Jim Jones from when I was a kid, and I remembered seeing some tapes, and I remembered hearing some of the tapes from back then, and I immediately thought of some of that stuff. So I did go back and listen to some of the Jonestown tapes for some of this stuff. I don’t know if anybody remembers, but that guy had a really, like, bad, gay lisp. [laughs] And I thought about taking that on for a second, but that would just be too much of an homage. So we 86’ed that. But I did listen to some of that stuff, yeah.

How big is your following in the movie? Is it a cult of like five…?

Burke: I think it starts with a cult of about 11 and ends up with a cult of about 30? [laughs]

Well, that’s pretty good.

Burke: I think he’s a lot bigger…I mean he thinks he’s a lot bigger than he actually is. But, no, it’s not enormous.

Does your character have a history with Nic Cage’s character, or does it start here?

Burke: There is a history. Nic’s character’s daughter was one of my first followers. And she was sort of my muse, my focus. And I took her in, and once I realized what I could get from her and what she could do for me, I started to use her for…basically started to focus on her for what I could really do, and that is produce a baby from her and use that baby to, well, in his mind, bring on a new world order.

Talk a little bit about filming here in Shreveport and your reaction to being here.

Burke: What’s your reaction to being here?

No! You know what I mean. Just talk about filming down here, and, you know, what’s it been like for you?

Burke: When I heard we were filming here, and I’ve spoken to a few people who’ve shot here before, they all said, “Oh, Shreveport. Yeah, well, have fun!” But I’ve actually really enjoyed my time here. I brought the family down, the wife, and the nanny, and the baby, and we got a nice little house on the outskirts of town, and we’re having…Actually, it’s kind of a nice little relaxed vacation. There’s not a lot to do, but it feels unforced, like we’re not really supposed to do anything except sort of work and relax and hang out together when we can. I actually kind of really like the vibe here. How about you?

We’ve only been here for…not even 24 hours.

Burke: Yeah. Well, you should check out the El Dorado casino. It’s quite nice.

[laughter]

Burke: I like to play a lot of poker in my off time. So for my first two weeks when the family wasn’t down here, that’s where my off-time was spent, playing a little poker.

Cash or tournament?

Burke: There are no tournaments at the El Dorado. I do play tournament poker, but…Well, they have those daytime tournaments, but I can’t show up for those. So I play some cash games. It’s not big money, but I made some friends there and we had a good time.

Can you actually do things? Like, can you go into…

Burke: You got some black nails, kid. What’s up?

I did it for you! I was told about your nail polish. I was curious. Can you do the casino thing like anonymously? I am curious. How has the Twilight thing affected you? You can’t go into Hot Topic.

 Hot Topic’s a rough one, yeah. When I’m not…when I don’t have the mustache on my face, it’s a lot easier. But yeah…Look, I’m not Nic Cage or Robert Pattinson now. But yeah, it does happen. So when I go into the poker rooms and stuff like that, they…it’s mostly like…especially sitting across the table from somebody, and with these nails, they start with that, and they go, “Hey, what’s that?” And then they start to look up…It’s one of those “I know you from somewhere type of things.” And then somebody else will say, “He’s the da, da, da, da da”. And then it ends up with, “Can you take a picture with my daughter?” That’s where it usually goes. But the guys at the poker table, they don’t really care. They just want your money!

I know you guys are going to make one more of these things. Maybe two, I don’t know. Are you sort of happy that it’s coming to an end or are your sort of like…

Burke: The Twilight stuff?

Yeah, or has it been a fun ride for you?

Burke: It’s been a great gig for me. Let’s face it. I’ve been hanging around in this biz for 19 years now, and the advent of those movies has certainly shed a different light on where I’m at, and has pushed it into a different place. So I got nothing but love and respect for those movies, and for that character and for all the people who make the movies. For me, it’s kind of like showing up on a television show set, because I go back every time and kind of put the same clothes on and get into the same groove, and it’s very comfortable. And in terms of career stuff, yeah, it’s done a lot. So I got nothing but love for it. And yes, we are going to make the next one starting in November, possibly here in Shreveport. We’re going to do some exteriors in Vancouver, and I hear they’re thinking about Louisiana for some stage stuff.

Just buy a house.

Burke: I might as well. The wife’s already looking into it. Went down to New Orleans for a week and she fell in love with that place, as did I.

Don’t take the highway.

Billy_Burke_imageBurke: Which highway?

Any of them. I got two tickets…

Burke: Oh, really?

[laughter]

Burke: We made it down and back with no problem!

I’m not driving back.

Burke: New Orleans is great now. We had a great time down there. But Shreveport, I do not have a problem…

Yeah. You haven’t actually talked about working with Nic and against him in some of these scenes. Can you talk about his process and your process and how it’s… What’s it like to kick his ass?

Burke: I don’t know what his process is like. All that I know is that when he shows up…The first time we actually just ran through a scene and rehearsed, I had one of those moments where I was looking across from him, talking and reading lines, and saying to myself, “That’s Nic Cage. I grew up watching him. I grew up loving him.” And he didn’t let me down in terms of just his humanity. He couldn’t be a sweeter more respectful guy, and couldn’t be more into the…We started riffing on stuff, and I said, “Is that cool that we’re just riffing?” And he’s like, “Yeah man, it’s like jazz. It’s best when it’s like jazz!” And I’m like, “All right. I’m gonna quote you on that. That’s good.”

[laughter]

Burke: Yeah. From what I know of him so far, I love that guy.

He’s a big comic book guy and he can geek out on a lot of stuff. Have you geeked out with him at all? Whether it be that kind of stuff or just about previous films you’ve been in that you’ve been a fan of?

Burke: I have not…I am not one of those guys who will sit there and rant on to a person about how much I love and respect their work and stuff like that. I think that gets obnoxious. But one of his early films, “Racing with the Moon” was one of my top 10 all time movies when I was a kid growing up. It was he and Shaun Penn. It would be nice to ask question like you guys are asking, like, “Hey, what was that like?” But I’m not going to do that. But…What was the original question? Where were we?

If you were able to geek out with him at all.

Burke: Oh. I’m not a…No. I don’t…I’m not a comic book geek. I would love to be because I love the comic book geeks. [laughs] But no, didn’t have any of those moments where we talked about, you know, how cool it would be to be the guy with the skull running around on the motorcycle. No. That would have been cool.

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Rachelle Lefevre to play a doctor in a New Medical TV Drama Off the Map

Rachelle Lefevre apparently isn’t going to rest until she plays a doctor on TV. The ex-Twilight actress, who had a role in John Wells’ ill-fated CBS medical drama pilot, is joining the cast of ABC’s upcoming Shonda Rhimes-backed physicians-in-paradise soap Off the Map.

Lefevre’s character, Eva, is a free-spirited missionary doc who is well versed in international medicine and global health. She worked at the clinic before, but left due to her troubled romantic history with its founder, Ben (Martin Henderson).

Lefevre is also known for her recurring roles on What About Brian, Boston Legal, and Swingtown.

Source

7/22/2010

Jackson Rathbone Talks ‘Eclipse’, 100 Monkeys, and Celeb Impressions

In E!’s The Daily 10 Twilight saga star Jackson Rathbone shows his musical chops and chats about his mutiple talents: actor, playing several instruments in his band 100 Monkeys and celebrity impersonation - shows off his Jack Nicholson impression.

Twilight stars Robert Pattinson and Ashley Greene Set to Appear in 2010 Teen Choice Awards

According to 2010 Teen Choice Awards Announcement Twilight Saga film stars Robert Pattinson and Ashley Greene are set to attend the star studded TEEN CHOICE 2010 airing Monday, Aug. 9 (8:00-10:00 PM ET/PT) on FOX.

Sandra Bullock, Robert Pattinson, Leighton Meester and Ashley Greene Among Stars Scheduled to Appear.

Music sensations and TEEN CHOICE nominees Jason Derulo and Travie McCoy are set to perform at TEEN CHOICE 2010 airing Monday, Aug. 9 (8:00-10:00 PM ET/PT) on FOX. Derulo will sing his chart-topping single "In My Head,' and McCoy will perform his smash hit "Billionaire' with Bruno Mars.
Hosted by Katy Perry, TEEN CHOICE 2010 celebrates the hottest teen icons in film, television, music, sports and fashion. Sandra Bullock, Robert Pattinson, Leighton Meester and Ashley Greene will join previously announced participants David Archuleta, Kristen Bell, John Cena, Miranda Cosgrove, Zac Efron, Victoria Justice, Khloe Kardashian, Kim Kardashian, Kourtney Kardashian, Zachary Levi, Jim Parsons, Ryan Sheckler, Yvonne Strahovski and Shailene Woodley on the star-studded special.

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‘Twilight’ star Peter Facinelli, Corrente film ‘Loosies’ in Cranston

Director Michael Corrente is sitting on a director’s chair in a hallway of the old Cranston police station watching a widescreen TV monitor where Peter Facinelli is playing an emotion-charged scene in the movie “Loosies.”

Facinelli, co-star of the highly successful “Twilight” movies and Showtime TV’s “Nurse Jackie,” is in his undershirt at a kitchen table which is part of a movie-set kitchen that’s on the other side of the partition directly behind Corrente.

The set, which is supposed to be in a New York City apartment, is so tiny there’s room to fit only the actors, cinematographer and sound man. But Corrente, who is directing his first film since “Brooklyn Rules” in 2007, says it doesn’t matter that he’s not up front with the actors. With the new digital technology, which allows the camera to hone in blazingly close on Facinelli’s eyelashes, he can direct the movie via TV monitor, with only occasional forays onto the actual set where Facinelli’s character is having a tense moment with his mother, played by Marianne Leone of “The Sopranos.”

Although “Loosies” is set entirely in New York, Corrente says 80 percent of it will be shot in the old Cranston lockup, where elaborate sets have been constructed and a small army of movie technicians has set up shop in old offices, even hallways. The crew has already shot some scenes in downtown Providence as well, and Corrente expects there will be a couple of days of filming in New York by a second-unit crew once principal photography is completed here in about four weeks. The crew has been in this location since July 15 and at times the heat has been unbearable, broken only by two huge portable air conditioning units which must be shut off whenever the camera rolls.

For Facinelli, who looks far different and much handsomer than the 360-year-old pale and blonde vampire he plays in the “Twilight” films … and even younger than his own 36 years, “Loosies” is a very personal movie. He started writing the screenplay nine years ago. “It seems like eons ago,” he says, “a coming-of-age story about a 30-year-old guy who finally learns that he must take responsibility.”

In “Loosies” he plays Bobby, a New York pickpocket in his mid-30s who still lives with his mother, dresses in business suits and tells his mom he works on Wall Street when he leaves in the morning. A classy-looking thief, he’s amassing money to pay back his long-absent father’s gambling debts. His footloose life is upended when the young woman with whom he had a one-night stand returns to announce that she’s pregnant with his child.

Facinelli chuckles when asked if the plot came from somewhere in his own background. Actually, he says, “Loosies” is his “updated homage” to the caper films of the 1970s that he fell in love with on TV when he was growing up — Steve McQueen’s films and especially “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid,” which he calls “the whole reason I got into acting. Those films were loose, fast-paced. I wanted to make a movie that reminded me of that kind of genre.”

Facinelli says not much happened with “Loosies” — “I put it away in a drawer” — until a series of fortuitous events found him crossing paths with Corrente. Several years ago Facinelli had auditioned for a role in a film about a group of young guys who get involved with gangsters, but the director at the time thought the Queens-born actor wasn’t right for the script’s Queens-born character. Later, when Corrente took over the film, now called “Brooklyn Rules,” he looked at the old audition tapes, came across Facinelli’s and offered him a role. But the actor was now committed to a TV series and Scott Caan took the role in “Brooklyn Rules.”

Through that contact, however, Facinelli’s “Loosies” script made its way to Corrente. But at the time, the director was in the middle of “Brooklyn Rules” and only vaguely remembers reading it. Later, Facinelli says that while another director “was floating around” the script with some interest, he again sent it to Corrente “because I thought he was right for it.”

Corrente was more open to reading “Loosies” this time and recalls that “I thought, ‘Oh my God, this is really a great script,’ ” describing it as a “romantic dramedy.”

About this time, East Greenwich businessman Chad A. Verdi went into partnership with Corrente to produce films and, as Facinelli puts it, “rode in on a white horse with a bagful of money.” Facinelli entered into a two-picture deal with VerdiCorrente Productions, the second film being “Paz.” It’s the story of boxer Vinny Paz, a role originally slated to be played by Scott Caan ironically enough, and his triumphant return to the ring following a devastating car crash. Facinelli expects “Paz” to go before the cameras in late spring, after he finishes filming the next two back-to-back “Twilight” movie installments, “Breaking Dawn” parts one and two.

“Then I have to get into fighting shape for ‘Paz.’ ”

But right now he’s up to his neck as Bobby, the pickpocket whose life is about to change in “Loosies,” which Corrente says will be ready for theatrical release at about this time next year. When it’s mentioned that it must be fairly easy acting in a film that he wrote, Corrente laughs, saying, “You’d be surprised at the number of times he asks, ‘What’s my line?’ ”

Actually, the script seems to be a work in progress, with Corrente asking Facinelli to change things at the last minute. “Michael is very collaborative,” says Facinelli. “We’re both passionate Italians and when we come together we go at the script to make it better.”

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Jackson Rathbone's Photoshoot and Interview in Nylon TV (Video)

7/21/2010

Kellan Lutz decribes Being part of Twilight as a "Magic Carpet Ride" (video)

ReelzChannel: Kristen Stewart in Welcome to the Riley’s (video)


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Kellan Lutz wins “Do Something For Animals” award

Twilight Stars at Comic Con

The Twilight Saga Group Autograph Signing
Kiowa Gordon (Embry), Kirsten Prout (Lucy- from Jaspers backstory) and Bronson Pellettier (Jared)
Sunday 1:30 pm – 5:00 pm at AA19 (in the Sails Pavilion
on the upper floor of the Convention Center)

Also Michael Sheen (Aro) will be at the TRON: Legacy panel in Hall H on Thursday at 11:15 am, AND Anna Kendrick will be at the Scott Pilgrim vs. the World panel in Hall H on Thursday at 6pm.

Twilight wolf Taylor Lautner #1 Celebrity in Fan Fiction

According to SmallScreenScoop and WattPad, Taylor Lautner is the Number 1 Top Celebrity in RPF (real person fiction). Dakota Fanning is also on the list at number 6 and Ashley Greene at number 7.

According to WattPad lots of celebrity-based stories are being penned, and they’ve made a list of the top ten on their site. Ian Somerhalder clocks in at number five. Apparently Taylor Lautner’s abs are winning this thing.

Top Ten Celebrities in Fan Stories from WattPad:

1. Taylor Lautner
2. Selena Gomez
3. Chace Crawford
4. Megan Fox
5. Ian Somerhalder
6. Dakota Fanning
7. Ashley Greene
8. Logan Lerman
9. Taylor Swift
10. Zac Efron

Source

7/16/2010

Twilight Star to play as Teen Wolverine Says Hugh Jackman

Taylor Lautner already plays one of the most recognizable onscreen characters as werewolf Jacob Black in the teen hysteria-inducing "Twilight" flicks. But another star thinks Lautner should put his ripped physique to good use in another role. "Wolverine" star Hugh Jackman says Lautner could convincingly don a pair of claws as a teen Wolverine in next year's "X-Men: First Class."

"My only question is: Can he grow mutton chops?" Jackman wondered to Eonline.com's Marc Malkin. But then, remembering the droves of girls around the world enamored with the considerably less hirsute Jacob, Jackman reconsidered the idea of a woolly Lautner.

"Actually, I think people would probably prefer him as a hairless Wolverine than a rather hairy-chested version. Certainly about a billion young girls would," Jackman observed.

Although he's got a co-sign from the star of the "Wolverine" franchise, Lautner's not pressed for work. The young heartthrob has some other flicks lined up, including the thriller "Abduction," which recently started production and stars Lautner as a teen who gets entangled in a web of espionage after seeking out his birth parents. And while he might not be shredding foes as Wolverine anytime soon, the "Twilight" hunk is also slated for a superhero flick in the title role of the upcoming "Stretch Armstrong." Lautner hasn't mentioned sprouting heaps of hair for a film, but he has expressed his willingness to transform physically, even abandoning his muscular bod, for the right part.

"If it was for a role that I was passionate about, I would definitely do that," Lautner told MTV News last month. "I want to challenge myself to everything," he added, noting that he's open to sinking his teeth into a range of flicks. "I've got a really cool action thriller [in 'Abduction'] and then an awesome superhero movie [in 'Stretch Armstrong'], but I want to find a great drama script."

Source

7/14/2010

Ashley Greene in Elle Magazine's Fashion Spotlight plus Behind the Scenes Photoshoot (video)

In her now-immortal novel Twilight, Stephenie Meyer describes Alice Cullen, sister of tween dream Edward, as a “devastatingly, inhumanly beautiful” pixie vampire with “obsidian eyes” and an “exquisite, elfin face.” Most actors would rather not admit that casting decisions were based on anything other than their craft, but 23-year-old Ashley Greene—who brought Alice to life in The Twilight Saga: New Moon and this summer’s Eclipse and is signed on for next year’s Breaking Dawn—has no such illusions. “Yes, I’m very thankful that Stephenie Meyer wrote a character that I happen to look like,” says Greene with a laugh. Given the series’ rabid “Twihard” fan base—legions of whom were locked in long before the film’s first scene was shot—if Greene hadn’t been an eerily perfect fit for Alice, the filmmakers would have heard about it. “The fans were already there,” Greene says. “Before they knew Ashley Greene, they knew Alice Cullen, and they all had an idea of how she looked.”

The Jacksonville, Florida, native was still hostessing at the Belmont, a bar and restaurant in Los Angeles, when she got the call about Twilight auditions in 2007. Since then, she says, “I’ve gone from zero to 60.” For Greene, like costars Robert Pattinson, Kristen Stewart, Taylor Lautner, and Anna Kendrick, the vampire phenom has been “more than a big break,” she says. “Every one of us is working like a maniac!”

Though she may be a newbie, Greene is navigating her exploding career with beyond-her-years maturity. “As much as I adore being part of Twilight, I don’t want it to define me,” she says. That means launching a cross-genre attack on the industry, starting with next year’s psychological thriller The Apparition, in which she stars opposite Sebastian Stan (Gossip Girl’s crafty Carter Baizen) as one half of a college couple terrorized by a “presence” conjured in a university experiment. Greene is also testing her comedic powers, joining Olivia Wilde, Hugh Jackman, and Jennifer Garner in the ensemble comedy Butter, which is based on a real-life Midwestern pastime: butter carving. “My character’s father [Ty Burrell] is, like, the Elvis of butter carving in this small town—he is the god,” Greene says.

Sex symbol is yet another role Greene has been exploring of late, causing red-carpet ripples in sleek, body-conscious dresses by Dolce & Gabbana, L’Wren Scott, and Antonio Berardi. “There’s something about being a woman, being appealing, and being sexy and feeling good about yourself,” Greene says. With fictionworthy looks and a career in warp speed, she should know.

Source

Twilight Star Michael Welch Dazzled Military Teens on First USO Education Tour

“Traveling with the USO and meeting military families has been a new experience for me, and one that I will never forget. Hearing firsthand what it’s like to have a loved one deployed is humbling and it makes me realize how much military families sacrifice, and how grateful I am for their service.” – Michael Welch

Twilight star Michael Welch recently completed his first USO education tour to Germany. During his six-day adventure, Welch visited 10 teen and youth centers, signed autographs, posed for photos and participated in acting workshops. In addition to visiting with over 600 military kids and teens, the young star made a trip to the Landstuhl Regional Medical Center, where he met with wounded warriors, as well as children recovering in the hospital’s pediatric ward.

As part of his USO tour, the 86th Services Squadron hosted an online contest and two lucky young winners were treated to dinner with Welch. Best known for his role as ‘Mike Newton’ in Twilight and most recently seen in the newly released Eclipse, Welch has also made appearances on hit TV series such as “CSI: Miami,” “Numb3rs” and “Law & Order: SVU.” Check out our photo essay below!
















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7/11/2010

Real-Estate Tycoon Tom Barrack Red, Likes and Learns something from Twilight Book

Tom Barrack is one of the biggest real-estate deal-makers in the world. His investment firm, Colony Capital LLC, has raised $16 billion from pension plans and other big investors to buy properties like gaming company Station Casinos Inc., Michael Jackson’s Neverland Ranch, and possibly even Walt Disney Co.’s Miramax movie studio.

But recently, it turns out, Mr. Barrack has also been doing some soul-searching—thanks to Stephenie Meyer’s popular vampire-novel series, “Twilight.”

In a July 2 memo encouraging his employees to consider outside points of view—you can read it in full at the end of this post—Mr. Barrack describes a lonely evening on a yacht in Turkey after a cancelled business meeting. In the yacht, Mr. Barrack writes, he came upon a book on which “were written the words that strike terror in the hearts of every macho, red-blooded male…TWILIGHT.” He goes on:

As I sat there with nothing to do the book kept taunting me. I began to think that there must be something I don’t understand. What could it be? What is it all about? Women don’t just read these books, they live them. They become each paragraph. I picked it up, but then immediately dropped it like a hot coal. What if someone saw me reading this? My macho reputation would be finished! I would be kicked out of the bench press section of the gym. My polo compadres would send me packing to the pony rides and my surfing buddies would exile me to the kiddie pool.

But it was a long night and there was absolutely nothing, and I mean NOTHING else to do. Long story short—not only did I read Twilight, I read the other two as well!! I was fascinated, captivated even. However, what intrigued me was not the same thing that hooked the millions of women whose lives and had been changed by this series, but something else entirely.

Mr. Barrack argues that the “anticipation” in the romantic relationship between a teenage girl and a vampire has made the “Twilight” series compelling to millions of women.

Men, however, are all about the destination, the result, the speed and the outcome. The journey is merely penance to get to the destination. Which is why despite the vampires and werewolves, this book is kryptonite to most men.

Mr. Barrack urges his employees to take the July 4 holiday to draw a lesson from the kind of entertainment offered by “Twilight.” (None of the 21 senior-management executives and six of the 30 “other senior executives” listed on Colony’s website are women.) “In every day business, we think we know it all,” he writes. “We are lacking creativity.”

The memo was briefly posted on Mr. Barrack’s public “Chairman’s Corner” blog on the Colony website. Someone who had seen the memo on the website sent a copy to The Wall Street Journal. A Colony spokesman confirmed the memo was written by Mr. Barrack and said it was meant as an internal letter to employees.

Here it is in full:

Bella and Edward Who????
July 02, 2010
Gang,
The last few weeks have been an incredible adventure. Thanks to you, Colony is on fire across the globe and we are conquering new frontiers and new themes on a daily basis in almost every venue in which we conduct our business. You are the A Team and I am deeply grateful and proud of what all of you have “teamed” to our reality.

As you know, I have been caught in a vortex of meteoric movement in every aspect of life and that has intensified on a cosmic scale the last few weeks. My personal goal has always been to feel the wind blow through my hair when standing on the ledge. Well, I certainly found the ledge, if not the hair. It is where I thankfully and excitedly anticipate the scent of excitement and fulfillment the most. I seem to love the edge.

My real job is to act as the Senior Information Officer for all of you and share my points of view, newfound information, instincts, and reactions so that you can incorporate them into a plan of action, which, through sweat and alchemy, becomes profit for our investors as well as ourselves. Today the volatility and uncertainty in the world is at epic proportions and perhaps the most valuable tool that I can share with you is the ability to adapt to, and analyze other points of views. Especially, to understand those points of view which you find truly frightening, disturbing, or life threatening. We all find comfort in crawling into our own “content” of life and with death defying stubbornness refuse to look outside to the “context” in which other people view our “content”. The wars of the world since the beginning of time have been fought over diverging points of view. There is no price too great to defend it. Unfortunately, that inflexibility does not work well for global traders or businessmen. Adaptability and understanding of strange bedfellows becomes a competitive edge.

I am going to share with you a personal breakthrough, which does not relate directly to our business but does reflect upon how we all look at all the “stuff” that drives us on a daily basis. Many of you will think that I have lost my mind or have finally experienced a mystical intervention of “my feminine side”. I promise you, it is neither.

I have had an agonizingly tough couple of weeks and have survived on pure adrenaline in the midst of tumult, controversy, tough negotiations with business counterparts, and a grueling travel itinerary that was challenging even for me. One of the recent meetings was in Turkey with our Mars partners. I made arrangements to have a bit of yacht time with them. When the meeting got cancelled I did the unthinkable for me, have a little down time all to myself. I boarded the gorgeous but stark Turkish Gulet right as the sun was setting. As I made my way into the main cabin I saw something so frightening it left me speechless. There, staring up at me from the ebony coffee table was a book. On the cover was a gorgeous red apple nestled between two soft and caring hands. Between the hands were written the words that strike terror in the hearts of every macho, red-blooded male…TWILIGHT. AAAARRRGGGGHHHH!! Alone, on a boat, with no wifi, no satellite, no magazines, no newspapers, just me and this book. This piece of chick lit, teeny bopper heartthrob stuff. Terror on the high seas! I wanted nothing to do with any of it. Not relevant, not interesting.

As I sat there with nothing to do the book kept taunting me. I began to think that there must be something I don’t understand. What could it be? What is it all about? Women don’t just read these books, they live them. They become each paragraph. I picked it up, but then immediately dropped it like a hot coal. What if someone saw me reading this? My macho reputation would be finished! I would be kicked out of the bench press section of the gym. My polo compadres would send me packing to the pony rides and my surfing buddies would exile me to the kiddie pool.

But it was a long night and there was absolutely nothing, and I mean NOTHING else to do. Long story short – not only did I read Twilight, I read the other two as well!! I was fascinated, captivated even. However, what intrigued me was not the same thing that hooked the millions of women whose lives and had been changed by this series, but something else entirely.

For you male Colonists, here is a brief synopsis. Stubborn teenage girl meets a handsome but moody vampire and against all odds they fall in love.

Here is my macho take – Stephanie Meyer is a total genius. As I flipped through the pages I was startled by the lack of detailed description of Bella and the surgical and illuminating development of Edward. As hard as I tried I could not really picture Bella, but I was grabbed by Edward’s character – gorgeous, super human, super strong, super fast and most importantly encompassing the wisdom of a 109-year-old man in the guise of a 17-year-old boy.

The description of Bella on the other hand, was not moving, or compelling. What I realized is the genius of Stephanie was that she knew that by keeping the character generic, any and every woman could climb inside and picture herself in Bella’s shoes. Thus the fascination and deep emotional reactions to what many (including myself) thought was a foolish teenage trashy novel.

I definitely got that the “anticipation” was much more romantic and sexy than the “consummation” to the woman. Slow, patient, caring, tender…. (guys have you heard those words before?) I found him incredibly appealing as he was taking care of Bella, putting her first, distancing himself from her to protect her and yet never being able to get her out of his mind. The relationship stood the test of time through many years, other men, family challenges and misconceptions of valiant and loving acts. A human relationship with a vampire is challenging on many levels, the least of which being you get older as your partner remain timeless. It was enticing, captivating, alluring…and dangerous. Through it all she believed that she could do it…. change her life… change his life…make it different…in spite of what conventional wisdom dictated.

Every woman longs for the anticipation, the romance, the journey, the taboo, the patience, and the attentiveness. Men, however, are all about the destination, the result, the speed and the outcome. The journey is merely penance to get to the destination. Which is why despite the vampires and werewolves, this book is kryptonite to most men.

In a world of technology these books are unique. There is so little imagination left in most of forms of entertainment today. See it, Google it, play it, do it…there is very little old fashioned make believe anymore. I could go on and on, but I know by now many of you are saying, “what happened to our leader?”… “Maybe Lebanese really is a sexual preference rather than a nationality”. I promise none of the above. [Mr. Barrack is of Lebanese descent.]

Here is my point. The idea of devoting half a day to reading these books was something that never, NEVER, entered my mind as something I would ever, EVER do. I hated them. I mocked them. It made no difference to me that over 20 million books were sold, movies made, and Team Edward and Team Jacob pandemonium had engulfed the world. I was simply stuck in my point of view.

Once I ventured into the books I learned something. I now understand why some women are emotionally altered from merely reading a book. I have also gained a deeper realization that understanding the circumstances and points of views of those with whom we are negotiating, working, living, loving or fighting is the key determinant factor in an enduring relationship.

In every day business, we think we know it all. We are the captains of our industry and we possess all the global knowledge. That which we don’t understand we push a button and it appears before us. We are lacking creativity…. it is hard for us to dream… harder for us to change our lives… hard to live in a situation that other people view as unconventional. And for sure, we all have no idea on how to be satisfied with the status quo.

It is time for all of us to become more creative, spend more time outside of the strict arithmetic cadence of our business, and understand foreign points of view. Most importantly we must really find the “moment”. Anticipation is everything. The process of getting to a destination is the objective and the more illumination, color, and vitality we give to the “road” the less important the final destination becomes. It will be what it will be!!!

On this 4th of July, slow down, take a breath, rediscover your imagination and create some excitement in your life. Take a few days to expand on the qualities of the character you would really like to become. Then live it, do it, become it! The better you are as an individual, the better we will be as a team.

I feel renewed and refreshed, having gotten out of my comfort zone and experiencing something so totally out of my normal realm. I don’t get it…. but I feel it. Taking the agenda-less time to absorb a point of view that I had ignored while loved ones around me relished in it, was an oasis for my soul. Having been unwilling to investigate the cause of such a startling movement until now was ignorant. Move your cheese!!!! Break through the comfort barriers, you can handle it whatever it is. The earth is turning on its axis. Planets and moons and suns are in orbit. Gravity is pulling and tugging, and molecules and quarks are warring inside of us. We need movement to live…

Do it Now!

Tom

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7/06/2010

Eclipse actor Robert Pattinson on dating with a fan

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Rolling Stone Off the Cuff Interview with Ashley Greene

Peter Travers Rolling Stone chats with Ashley Greene who opens up about auditioning for Bella, her party girl vampire character Alice and why Eclipse is the most “guy-friendly and action-packed” film in the series.