Wednesday, November 19, 2008
I guess Robert Pattinson actually plays this in the movie....Talk about talent.
Two more days until Twilight!
Robert Pattinson Jets Out of LAX
He’s been working overtime to promote his upcoming film “Twilight,” and earlier today (November 19) Robert Pattinson was spotted hopping a plane at LAX International Airport.
The “Harry Potter” stud looked a bit disheveled as he made his way through the terminal, sporting a Stolichnaya Vodka t-shirt, dark button-up shirt, black trousers, and black shoes.
And though he regularly has ladies flocking to his side wherever he goes, Robert recently told press that he hasn’t had much luck in the long-term romance department.
“No one else seems to get into a relationship with me. It’s really strange. People like screaming at me. Actually they like screaming at me in relationships as well. No one wants to commit.”
Oh... how sad... I wouldn't scream at you...I might look adoringly into your eyes. A LOT!
REVIEW: Twilight Stars, Robert Pattinson, Kristen Stewart.
"Low-Key," isn't the adjective you'd expect to describe this highly anticipated Vampire movie, but of course, there it is.
"Twilight," is a film of somewhat intelligent, well, intelligent strengths, and somehow, the easily avoidable weaknesses, the Adaptation of Stephanie Meyer's phenomenon. (I know of a few weaknesses...1.Robert Pattinson...2.Edward Cullens...3.Robert Pattinson playing Edward Cullens.) They say it's faithful to it's source material, which should please the fans. They say it's also better written then Stephanie Meyer's book, which tends toward froth and fulmination. Whatever that is.
Screen Writer Melissa Rosenberg delineates the cliques and claques from Forks, Washington High School Students, human and other, with a good eye toward actual teeanager dynamics. She tones up her heroine, who was a passive victorian simp...pure fainting-couch matieral.
Director Catherine Hardwicke, (Thirteen, and Lords of Dogtown,) didn't have the means, (money...) or the impulse for the blockbuster machinery. She keeps the scale of most and all things intimate, focusing on the fervent, sexually charged, but doggedly chaste murmurs of her charismatically sullen stars, Kristen Stewart as Bella, the new kid with the Daria vibe and the emotional defense system, and Robert Pattinson, (Cue the Screaming...) As EDWARD CULLEN, the tortured, sensitive vampire with astonishing, fwoopy hair.
Yep, it's the truth, astonishing. The first time Bella accidentally brushes against Edward, she recoils. "Your hand is so cold," she utters. She may as well add, "and your hair is so fwoopy.
Young Bella relocates from hot Arizona to rainy Washington to be with her police chief father (Billy Burke, who seems to be about 10 years older than she is). Unexplained "animal attacks" have beset his quiet corner of the world. The movie wastes no time explaining the unexplained, jumping right in with a blurry forest pursuit involving a spooked deer and its crafty, fleet-footed predator.
The way Edward peers into Bella's soul, and ravishes her with his most unholy gaze, she's like, "zing went the strings of my heart." While he must control his animal urge to suck all her blood, he's a bad guy-good guy, fighting the good fight. He belongs to a "special" vampire sect, as he's a vegetarian Vampire, and snacks on Critters, not humans. So of course, he deserves the bad-boy, good-boy title.
True to Meyer's Mormon beliefs, there is neither hanky nor panky nor anything resembling a third or even a second base between Bella and her dreamboat Edward. At least not in Book number 1.
So where does the movie go? Fall Down? Bring it together?-A simple, but crucial matter of the visual magic. Whenever something fantastic requires straightforward on-screen depiction, "Twilight," to me, looks so wonderful. Hardwicke was right to concentrate on getting the smoldering down between her stars, but the story depends on Bella's (and the audience's) amazement at this strange new world of supernatural feats. If there's a sequel--and there likely will be--here's Job One: Show us, in a striking way, what these undead can do when they're not letting their hair do the fwooping... :)
MPAA rating: PG-13 (for some violence, and a scene of sensuality )Running time: 2:01
Opening: 12:01 a.m. Friday
Starring: Kristen Stewart (Bella Swan);
Robert Pattinson (Edward Cullen);
Billy Burke (Charlie Swan); Peter Facinelli (Dr. Carlisle Cullen)
Directed by: Catherine Hardwicke; written by Melissa Rosenberg, based on the novel by Stephenie Meyer; photographed by Elliot Davis; edited by Nancy Richardson; music by Carter Burwell; produced by Greg Mooradian, Mark Morgan and Wyck Godfrey. A Summit Entertainment release.
Review: 'Twilight' lacks soul???
Picture and Article (though re-written in my words...) by Randy Myers, Contra Costa Times.
How in the hell can Twilight not lack soul? You haven't seen it yet!
"Twilight," aka "I kissed an Abercrombie & Fitch bloodsucker and I liked it," should be slapped with a special parental warning: Drop the kid off at the cineplex, then flee like a vampire dreading daylight.
Yes, some may say that of course the best-selling novel won't be anywhere near close to the movie. Be prepared for 2 hours of ear-piercing squeals whenever a pretty boy appears, and to giggle at the surround-sound sighs when the love-bitten Bella (Kristen Stewart) and the love-biter Edward (Robert Pattinson) first smooch.
Let's be fair, thanfully, "Twilight," isn't intended for adults, it's geared for a different, more younger generation. He says that Twilight isn't a good movie. (Randy Myers, Contra Costa Times.)
Let's look at the characters....
There's lonely, mildly depressed heroine Bella, who relocates from Sunny, hot Arizona to Rainy, cold Forks Washington so she can live with her police officer Charlie Swan, played by Billy Burke.
Then there's Edward, the mysterious ash-white vampire with chiseled cheekbones, smoldering eyes and the best hair stylist in the Northwest, making any girl swoon, and fall head over heels for this mysterious guy.
There's also Jacob Black, played by Taylor Lautner, a strapping young lad with wolflike tendencies, long raven hair and a killer smile. (Don't dump the vamp, go for Edward, girl!) And — deployed almost like an afterthought — there are the underdeveloped villains, a trio of vampires who resemble Ziggy Stardust rejects in Renaissance Faire outfits. These wannabe baddies hardly make your blood curdle, but they sure are cute.
Pattinson, quite good as Cedric in "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire," poses, preens and pouts, while reciting his lines with the odd, stilted cadence of Christopher Walken.
Stewart ("Into the Wild") fares slightly better, except for an embarrassingly bad crying jag.
A heart does beat in "Twilight," but it's only faintly heard, and it's buried among the montage shots and cheesy special effects. (HUH???)
Hardwicke and screenwriter Melissa Rosenberg ("Step Up") unwisely barrel through what should have been the most intimate part of the movie — the first time Edward spends a chaste night in Bella's room. By sidestepping this pivotal sequence, we're robbed of what we really came for — watching and hearing these lovebirds reveal themselves to each other.
Without that, the audience is left with just a whole lot of pretty and not enough soul. Not entirely a bad thing, but you can get that fix by thumbing through an Abercrombie & Fitch catalogue.
Monday, November 17, 2008
A new Celeb Reality story...I'm trying my hardest to come up with them.....
“I’m good, thank you, how are you?” I asked.
“Good, tell us a little about you.” Simon said.
“Okay, I was raised in Oregon, I went to college, and majored in music, decided that I wanted to try something new, and try out here,” I said.
“Okay, what are you going to sing for us today?” Randy asked.
“Praying for time by Carrie Underwood.”
“Who is someone you look up to when singing?” Paula asked.
“I really look up to Reba, Carrie Underwood and Martina McBride.” I said, looking to them.
“Okay, you have the floor. Just so you know, we are having everyone do the whole song, unless we stop you.” Simon said. I smiled and nodded.
“These are the days of the open hand, they will not be the last, look around now, these are the days of the beggars and the choosers. This is the year of the hungry man, whose place is in the past. Hand in hand, with ignorance and legitimate excuses. The Rich declare themselves poor, and most of us are not sure, if we have too much but we’ll take our chances, ‘cause god stopped keeping score. I guess somewhere along the way, he must have let us all out to play, and turned his back, and all god’s children crept out the back door. And it’s hard to love, there’s so much to hate. Hanging on to hope, when there is no hope to speak of. And the wounded skies above, say it’s much too late, Oh maybe we should all be praying for time. This is the year of the empty hand, oh you hold onto what you can, and charity is a coat you wear twice a year. These are the days of the guilty man, the television takes a stand, and you find that what was over there, is over here. So you scream from behind your door. Say what’s mine is mine, and not yours. I may have too much, but I’ll take my chances ‘cause god stopped keeping score. And you’ll cling to the things they sold you, did you cover your eyes when they told you, that he can’t come back, ‘cause he has no children to come back for. And it’s hard to love, when there’s so much to hate, and hanging onto hope, when there is no hope to speak of. And the wounded skies above, say its much, much too late, mm well maybe we should be praying for time.”
“Wow, Uh, Randy, what have you to say, to this beautiful girl?” Simon asked.
“Wow, Brittany, honey, you have a voice box like none other. How long have you been singing?” Randy asked.
“Since I was about seven or eight.” I said.
“Wow, you’ve got such a wonderful voice, it seems to me that you’re the kind of person that can sing a lot of different things, is that the case?” he asked.
“I try my hardest to learn new songs, and be open to new songs, but I really love country music, I was raised in a small town, on a farm.” I said.
“Where was that?” he asked. “A place called Sisters, Oregon.” I said.
“Okay, can you sing us another song, we want to see how flexible your voice is.” Randy said.
“What would you like me to sing?”
“I hate this part, by The Pussycat Dolls, sing till we stop you.” He said looking to me and smiling.
“ We’re driving slowly, through the snow on fifth avenue and right now the radio is all that we can hear. Man we ain’t talked since we left, it’s so overdue, it’s cold outside, but between us it’s worse in here. The world slows down but my heart beats fast right now, I know this is the part where the end starts. I can’t take it any longer, thought that we were stronger, all we do is linger. Slipping through our fingers. I don’t want to try now. All that’s left is goodbye to find a way that I can tell you. I hate this part right here, I hate this part right here. I just can’t take your tears, I hate this part right here. Every day seven takes of the same old scene, seems we’re bound by the laws of the same routine, gotta talk you no ‘fore we go to sleep, but we will sleep once I tell you what’s hurting me. The world slows down but my heart beats fast right now, I know this is the part where the end starts. I can’t take it any longer, thought that we were stronger, all we do is linger. Slipping through our fingers. I don’t want to try now. All that’s left is goodbye to find a way that I can tell you. I hate this part right here, I hate this part right here…” “Stop, thank you so much Britannee that was amazing, I love that song more than anything, Simon, yes or no?”
“One hundred and fifty percent yes,” he said smiling.
“Randy?”
“Hell, yeah, I love your voice,” he said, making me blush.
“Well, I am hundred and sixty million percent sure, yes, you’re going to Hollywood Britannee,” she said. I didn’t know what to say, but I soon made my way out to my best friend, Grant, who had also made it to Hollywood.
“Alright, next up, singing Carrie Underwood’s Praying for time, is Miss Britannee Andris.” Ryan said smiling, the cameras moved to me on the stage, sitting on a stool, in a nice gown, ready with a microphone.
“These are the days of the open hand, they will not be the last, look around now, these are the days of the beggars and the choosers. This is the year of the hungry man, whose place is in the past. Hand in hand, with ignorance and legitimate excuses. The Rich declare themselves poor, and most of us are not sure, if we have too much but we’ll take our chances, ‘cause god stopped keeping score. I guess somewhere along the way, he must have let us all out to play, and turned his back, and all god’s children crept out the back door. And it’s hard to love, there’s so much to hate. Hanging on to hope, when there is no hope to speak of. And the wounded skies above, say it’s much too late, Oh maybe we should all be praying for time. This is the year of the empty hand, oh you hold onto what you can, and charity is a coat you wear twice a year. These are the days of the guilty man, the television takes a stand, and you find that what was over there, is over here. So you scream from behind your door. Say what’s mine is mine, and not yours. I may have too much, but I’ll take my chances ‘cause god stopped keeping score. And you’ll cling to the things they sold you, did you cover your eyes when they told you, that he can’t come back, ‘cause he has no children to come back for. And it’s hard to love, when there’s so much to hate, and hanging onto hope, when there is no hope to speak of. And the wounded skies above, say its much, much too late, mm well maybe we should be praying for time.” The crowd went wild, and I felt in heaven.
“Ladies and gentlemen, Grant Brock, and Britannee Andris singing, Every other weekend.” Ryan said.
ME: “Every other Friday, it’s toys and clothes and backpacks. Is everybody in, okay, let’s go see dad. Same time in the same spot, corner of the same old parking lot, half the hugs and kisses there are always sad. We trade a couple words, and looks, and kids again, every other weekend.” GRANT: “Every other weekend, very few exceptions, I pick up the love we made in both my arms, It’s movies on the sofa, grilled cheese and cut the crust off. That’s not the way mom makes it, daddy, breaks my heart. I miss everything I use to have with her again, every other weekend. I can’t tell her I love her,”
ME: “I can’t tell him I love him.”
BOTH: “Cause there’s too many questions and years in the car.”
ME: “So I don’t tell him I miss him,”
GRANT: “I don’t tell her I need her.”
BOTH: “She’s (he’s) over me that’s where we are.”
GRANT: “So we’re as close as we may ever be again, every other weekend.”
ME: “Every other Saturday, first thing in the morning, I turn the TV on to make the quiet go away. I know why, but I don’t know why, we ever let this happen. Fallin’ for forever was a big mistake. There’s so much not to do, and all day not to do it in, every other weekend.”
GRANT: “Every other Sunday, I empty out my backseat, while my children hug their mother in the parking lot. We don’t touch, we don’t talk much, maybe goodbye to each other. As she drives away with every piece of heart I got, I re-convince myself we did the right thing, Every other weekend. I can’t tell her I love her,”
ME: “I can’t tell him I love him”
BOTH: “’Cause there’s too many questions and years in the car.”
ME: “So I don’t tell him I miss him,”
GRANT: “I don’t tell her I need her.”
BOTH: “She’s (he’s) over me that’s where we are. We’re as close as we may ever be again, Every other weekend.”
GRANT: “Yeah, for fifteen minutes, We’re a family again.” ME: “God, I wish that he was still with me again,”
BOTH: “Every other weekend.”
It was nearing last few contestants, no the last two contestants, and it was between me and Grant, and who would win. I was so nervous, but I had a lot of votes with me, always being the first to be told that I would be staying. I was getting more and more nervous. They put me in a gorgeous gown, and Grant in the most handsome tux I had ever seen, and we performed the night away. The last moments where what killed me. “Ladies and Gentlemen, Grant, Britannee, the moment, that you’ve probably been waiting, dreading, and hoping would come. 2009’s American Idol, is, Britannee Andris!” he said. I didn’t know what was happening, the crowd had erupted into screams, and confetti was flying everywhere. Grant took me and hugged me tightly.
“Welcome, we’ve got today on my show, Miss Britannee Andris, American Idol of 2009, how are you feeling?” she asked, as the crowd was dying down. “Oh, I’m still floating, not really here. It’s amazing, how wonderful, I feel, I’d never thought that Grant would lose. He is such a great singer, musician. I kept second guessing myself. I guess.” “How did it feel to go up against your best friend in the top two?” she asked. “It was really hard, because it was something we both wanted, but we wanted for each other. He’s got such great talent, that in a way I really wanted him to have the title, but since I know he’d do great anywhere, and he’ll get signed on to some studio, I’m not as worried.”
Soon....
Syesha Mercado & Seal-Waiting For You
Pussycat Dolls "I hate this Part,"
Friday, November 14, 2008
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
But Zac Efron’s fancy footwork in the third installment of the HSM films has landed him the lead in a remake of the classic dance romance, "Footloose."
Paramount has fast-tracked the redux to start production in spring 2009, according to Variety.
The studio has brought on "Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist" director Peter Sollett to rewrite the Jon Hartmere “Footloose." The movie will be aiming for an older teen and adult demo. Efron is also getting a very adult deal, a mid-seven-figure salary and script approval. Nice work, if you can get it.
There will also be some new songs that will complement some of the memorable original tunes. Though the Herb Ross-directed film wasn’t a musical, hit songs included the Kenny Loggins title song as well as "Let’s Hear It for the Boy," "Almost Paradise" and "Holding Out for a Hero." At least some of those tunes are expected to be in the new movie. "Footloose" spawned one of the biggest-selling soundtracks of its era and made Kevin Bacon a teen hearthrob. Oh, we hope Kevin has a cameo in the remake! Puhleeze! It's only fair!
Hey, does this mean that Zac Efron will be joining Bacon’s Six Degrees of Separation game?
As Sarah Palin would say, 'You betcha!' I’m quoting Sarah because it may be a long time before you hear from her after next week’s presidential election. Polls and pundits seem to think that we’ve just about seen the last of Miss Wasilla.
At least until 2012!
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
HSM 3 Star looks beyond the Lockers...
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
Zac Efron to Star in Pirates 4????? Who'd a thunk??? Sorry I didn't post!
It doesn't say for sure, but Zac Efron will star in Pirates of the Caribbean 4, and according to some reports, he will bag 6 million for the role! Efron is one of Disney's biggest stars through the HSM films, and now it seems they can't and won't let him go! The deal also secures the 21 year old for High School Musical 4- which he’d previously been reluctant to commit to. Some sources say that Zac will star alongside Keira Knightley and Johnny Depp, others say that Orlando Bloom and Keira Knightley won't be in the fourth installment, and according to more sources, Disney things the HSM star will be the perfect person to join Captain Jack Sparrow on screen, perfect enough to even maybe take the lead role in the future. The inside source explained that when the film was first discussed a year ago: “Zac was extremely interested. But Disney realised they couldn’t make the fourth Pirates movie without Johnny. They had to offer Jonny a small fortune to do it. Now that Johnny's on board, they're finalizing the deal with Zac. He’s getting a lot of money for it too but Disney think it’s worth it.
The first three film in the series - The Curse of the Black Pearl, Dead Man’s Chest and At World’s End, are thought to have grossed more than $2.7 billion worldwide. And Zac has reportedly signed a 12 million deal to star alongside Johnny Depp. So is it 6 million or 12 Million? What's the deal here? So, if it's true, look for Zac as Jack Sparrow's younger brother, in cinemas in 2010!
Monday, October 13, 2008
push it To the Limit: Corbin Bleu
YeahCome on nowHere we goLet's do itYeeaah..Push it push it to the limit limitCause we're in it to win it in it to win itOh yeahI realized that this is where my heart isNow is the time to finish what i startedCan't worry bout what other people might sayIt's who i amGotta live my dream my own wayWork work it harderGotta take it fartherNo holding backYou know we gotta do it right nowBe even betterWork work togetherIt's now or neverShow em how we shine we gottaPush it push it to the limit limitCause we're in it to win it in it to win itOh yeahPush it push it to the limit limitGive it all we can give itWe're in it to win itOh yeahPush it push it to the limit limitThat's rightGonna turn it upThat's the way we do it nowNo time to stopThe champions are in the houseYeah we can beWinners 'cause we understandOur destiny is right here in our handsWork work it harderGotta take it fartherNo holding backWe reaching for the sky nowBe even betterWork work togetherIt's now or neverShow em how far we gottaPush it push it to the limit limitCause we're in it to win it in it to win itOh yeahPush it push it to the limit limitGive it all we can give itWe're in it to win itOh yeahGotta work it nowWork it outWe got itWanna hear the crowdEverybody nowGotta work it nowWork it outCan't stop usGotta show them howWe gonna bring the house downPush it push it to the limit limitCause we're in it to win it in it to win itLet's goPush it push it to the limit limitGive it all we can give itWe're in it to win itOh yeahPush it push it to the limit limitCause we're in it to win it in it to win itOh yeahPush it push it to the limit limitGive it all we can give itWe're in it to win itOh yeahPush it push it to the limit limitCause we're in it to win it in it to win itOh yeahPush it push it to the limit limitGive it all we can give itWe're in it to win itOh yeahPush it to the limit....
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Dwayne Johnson to journey to Tomorrowland
Saturday, September 27, 2008
MY LATEST OBSESSION... I think I'll stick with him for a while.
Dwayne Douglas Johnson was born on Mat 2nd 1972 in Hayward California, to Rocky and Ata Johnson. His father performed in the ring, and he'd travel a lot as a kid to watch. During his high school years, he played football, and received a full scholarship from the University of Miami where hea had tremendous success as a football player. In 1995, he suffered a back injury which cost him a place in the NFL. He then signed a 3 year deal with the Canadian League, but left after a year to pursue a career in wrestling. That's where we all know him and love him as "THE ROCK." He made is wrestling debut in the USWA under the name FLEX KAVANAH, where he won the tag team championship with Brett Sawyer. In 1996, Dwayne joined the WWE and became Rocky Maivia where he joined a group known as "The Nation of Domination" and turned heel. Rocky eventually took over leadership of the "Nation" and began taking the persona of The Rock. After the "Nation" split, The Rock joined another elite group of wrestlers known as the "Corporation" and began a memorable feud with Steve AUstin. Soon there after, the Rock was kicked out Corporation. He turned face and became known as "The Peoples Champion". In 2000, the Rock took time off from WWE to film his appearance in The Mummy Returns in 2001 and he returned in 2001 during the WCW/ECW invasion where he joined a team of WWE wrestlers at The Scorpion King in 2002 a prequel to The Mummy Returns. He was married 11 years to wife Dany Garcia Johnson, and they had one child Simone Alexandra Johnson, born in Davie, Florida on August 14 of 2001. They were married the day after Dwayne's 25th birthday.
Some of his Wrestling Trademark moves:
-Wrestling finisher: The People's Elbow
-Spine on the Pine
-Three open handed punches, followed by a hand spitting motion, followed by a fourth punch which typically levelled the opponent.
-Flowing DDT
-Floatover DDT
-Sharpshooter
-Samoan Drop
-Charging Double Leg Spinebuster
-Rock Bottom
-He was the first ever 7 time WWE World Champion.
-He's the Grandson of Peter Fanene Maivia.
-He's a member of the elite group of wrestlers, such as Hulk Hogan and Ric Flair to hold the WWF and WCW world titles on several different occasions.
-He was named one of E!'s "top 20 entertainers of 2001."
-Attended Freedom High School, Bethlehem, PA.
-Has a wax figure likeness of himself at Madame Tussaud's museum.
-He played his own father in an episode of "That '70s Show"
-As of 2008, Doom, made in 2005 and Southland Tales, made in 2006 are the two only R-rated films he has starred in. All of his other films have received PG-13, at the most.
-While filming Be Cool, in 2005 he was Punk'd by Ashton Kutcher's crew. They set his trailer on fire, which didn't seem to faze him. It was only after Vince, one of the Punk'd crew blamed the fire on him that things got really heated and they revealed the gag.
-Dwayne was Tim Burton's 2nd choice for the Role of Willy wonka in the 2005 production of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.
-As of October 2006, in an interview with "Entertainment Magazine", he no longer wants to be known as "The Rock". Because of his retirement from the wrestling business, he now considers himself an actor: "I no longer am a wrestler, I am now pursuing a future as an actor and someday as a director. I am not the Rock. I am Dwayne Johnson".
-Not only was his father, Rocky Johnson, a wrestler, but his grandfather, three uncles, and six cousins (one adopted) have been in wrestling too.
-He has a fear of spiders.
Honored by the Congressional Award in Washington, DC on June 19, 2008 with the Horizon Award. The Horizon Award is a special recognition from the Joint Leadership of the United States Congress and the Congressional Award Board of Directors. The Horizon Award is presented to individuals from the private sectors who have contributed to expanding opportunities for all Americans through their own personal contributions, and who have set exceptional examples for young people through their successes in life.
Here's a few quotes I personally like from Dwayne...
1. The Rock will take you down Know Your Role Boulevard which is on the corner of Jabroni Drive and check you directly into the Smackdown Hotel!
2. It doesn't matter what you think.
3. I have so much love and respect for the fans. I'll never forget where I came from. I love the business. I grew up in the business. And everyone always asks me, from Letterman to Stone Phillips, what I miss about wrestling. Hands down, I miss the interaction with the fans. Outside of the ring I loved it, too. I mean, how hard is it to sign an autograph? Don't be an asshole to your fans. And there's many in the WWE that won't, which is bullshit. But inside the ring, just that energy and feeding off that energy is great. There's something so special about it. And every night I would just have a blueprint of what I would say and rely so much on ad-libbing and waiting to see what happens when I get out there and let it materialize organically and see what happens. Every night was a different crowd and they gave me so much energy, and I'll always love that and always miss that for sure."
Check out these movies:
1. Doom
2. Game Plan
3. Get Smart
4. Gridiron Gang
5. The Mummy Returns
6. The Scorpion King
7. Get Smart
and...
Last but not least, my favorite performance
9. Walking tall
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
TOP 10 ACTION ACTORS!
8. Harrison Ford of Indiana Jones
7. Bruce Willis Sin City
6. Orlando Bloom of The Pirates Trilogy
Monday, August 25, 2008
Stephenie Meyer on Twilight
While sales of the movie rights were inevitable, it's always daunting for creative artists to imagine their work in others' hands.
Author Sources Twilight "I lost a few nights of sleep over it," said Meyer. "The two sides were: more adaptations than not turn out badly. There are a few that are amazing, every now and then, but most of the time its not a good thing. Then on the other side, I saw the book very visually when I was writing it, and just to see one scene of it on the big screen, that was the lure. I didn't care about anyone else going to see it. This is about me alone in the theater, getting to see it on the screen, and having to be real. That's what swayed me." She was involved with preproduction, so she has it on good authority that they're getting it right. "I have not seen the whole thing yet, but from the script and from the day that I got on the set, the goal was to make it as close to the book as possible given the time constraints of the film."The visual inspiration Meyer mentioned was actually her own internal visions. "I was not planning to write, I had no aspirations to be a writer, and I had this really fantastic dream. I wrote it down so I wouldn't forget it, and then the one day I was hooked on writing, to be able to take this dream and make it concrete and real, I could go back and visit it, I was hooked."
Leave it to Hollywood's visual effects artists to bring literal dreams to life. "I've seen some, about 15 minutes total. I mean obviously there are going to be a little differences, but some of it really is nailed." Now four books into the series, Meyer is going on instinct. "When I was writing at the time, I was not writing this for anyone ever to see. Even my husband didn't know what I was doing, so I was just having fun. If you could sit there and create your own little world, it was just as I was going, 'What if she could see the future? Well, that would rock" and it goes in. 'What would happen if they played baseball? Oooh.' It was just pure fun." The phenomenon her books became only hits Meyer at specific times, like when she came to San Diego Comic Con for the film's fan panel. "It's a very strange and surreal thing. Most mornings, I get up and don't think about it at all, and then I come someplace like here, and I'm not allowed to walk in the front doors. Its just weird. It's hard for me. I have a very normal life, and so when I have to step out of that and realize that I have all these readers and all this excitement, it's weird. It's great, but it's really strange." Perhaps the Meyer children should get ready to experience it too. "I don't know if they're old enough to use that. My oldest is eleven and I have an eight-year-old and a six-year-old. [The oldest] is getting there. He's right on the cusp of being able to say to some pretty little 11-year-old girl, 'Hey there, want a signed book?'"
Thursday, August 21, 2008
Twilight being released early...
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince was moved to July 17, 2009. This is Warner Bros.' decision, and it was not motivated by anything "'Twilight'-related," wrote Twilight author Stephenie Meyer on her Web site Friday.
"Though we're all sad to have to wait for 'Harry Potter,' this open spot at the theater creates a cool opportunity. "The good people at Summit [the movie studio] were thrilled to let me know that now Twilight fans are going to get their movie three weeks earlier than scheduled. "Based on first book, The movie is based on the first installment in the teen phenomenon series, which is dominating four out of the top five spots on USA Today's best-seller list for the past two weeks. The books, using such locations as Forks and LaPush, tell the stories of human teen Bella Swan and her dashing vampire boyfriend Edward Cullen. When the star-crossed couple meets, adventure and romance ensue. The newest in the series — Breaking Dawn — which was released Aug. 2, soared to the top of the best-seller list. Twilight, the first book in the series by Stephenie Meyer, was fourth. New Moon, the second in the series, was fifth, and Eclipse was second. Only the supernatural thriller Acheron by Sherrilyn Kenyon interrupted the series' showing on the USA Today list, based on sales at selected bookstores nationwide.
Nothing filmed in Forks, although none of the movie was filmed in Forks — locations in the Portland, Ore., area were substituted — director Catherine Hardwicke visited the West End several times. But the Twilight saga continues to be a draw for fans from throughout the nation and world. While juggling the 100-or-so visitors a day, the Forks Chamber of Commerce is planning a tribute event Sept. 13, which is Bella's birthday in Twilight. The town is expecting hundreds, if not thousands, of fans to show up on that Saturday to celebrate the officially proclaimed "Stephenie Meyer Day." However, Meyer isn't expected to be one of them.
Mommies Love Zac Efron.....Go Figure...
The High School Musical star says teenage girls are usually too embarrassed to approach him in public.
But mums use their daughters as an excuse to get his attention.
Efron says, "It's not the kids - it's not the 'gaggle of girls', it's the 'gaggle of parents'. The parents are the ones who want the pictures. The girls are too shy so it's really sweet. I love to wave at them and stuff. It's really funny.
"The parents are the most excited. The kids are like: 'Mum, let's go,' and she's like: 'No, we're taking a picture, it's really exciting for everyone in your class.' Really, truthfully, I love the kids. It's a pleasure."
News from an Author
I know everyone is anxious to hear some updates on Twilight. Here's a few short, non-spoiler stories and a new picture...
Funny story: On April 1st, she got to watch as they shot Bella's first hospital scene...(The above mentioned van careened into here, With Charlie (Billy Burke) and Carlisle (Peter Facinelli) Between takes, Peter came back to the monitors where I was hanging out with Nikki Reed (Rosalie), and producers Greg Mooradian and Gillian Bohrer. Nikki and I were talking about how Kellan Lutz (Emmett) kept eating during the Cullen's cafeteria scenes (Kellan is always hungry) and how the editors would have to cut around that. Greg asked the question many of you have asked: what happens to food eaten by a vampire? (He referenced the infamous bite of pizza Edward takes in the book.) I explained the icky truth—they eventually have to cough it back up. Peter was listening to all of this very quietly, and then he and I had the following conversation (I'm paraphrasing, because I don't have a vampire's perfect recall):
PETER: So vampires would never eat food, unless they are trying to fool humans? They would never eat at home?
ME: No, of course not.
PETER: Huh.
ME: Why do you ask?
PETER: Well...when we were filming one of the scenes in the Cullen house, Esme brought me a bowl of Raisin Bran. I was eating it through the whole scene. I don't think they could cut around it, because I was chewing through some of my lines... I guess that wouldn't make a ton of sense for Carlisle to do, though, would it?
ME: (slightly panicky) Er, no. It really wouldn't.
PETER: Oh, well.
ME:
PETER: And also, April Fool's.
(The part I can't convey here is how convincing he was. Peter is, after all, an excellent actor. He got Kristen/Bella at dinner, too, so I wasn't the only one.)
6 fun facts from the set:
1) While watching the playback from a very intense scene with Bella and Edward, the girl next to me literally slid right out of her chair—I think her bones melted. She also may have stopped breathing for a few seconds, too. I know I did.
2) Mike Welch can dance.
3) Hugging Kellan Lutz is the closest you can get to hugging a vampire; he is made of granite. (But please do not try to hug Kellan without his permission. Thank you.)
4) Portland is too cold. For anyone. But especially for Arizonans.
5) Jackson Rathbone can really play the guitar. Our taste in music is not exactly the same, but we found common ground with Radiohead's Creep, with which he then serenaded me.
6) As you might guess, I do a lot of internal swooning on the set. However, I have an excellent poker face.
To conclude, I would like to make a few comments about Rob and Kristen, who are the true heart of this movie. First, they are both amazing actors. Second, they are channeling Edward and Bella like nobody's business. Third, you might want to bring a paper bag to the movie, because their on-screen chemistry may cause hyperventilation. That is all.
THE STORY BEHIND TWILIGHT
I get a ton of questions about how I came up with the story of Twilight and how I got it published. I may be killing my FAQ page by doing this, but here is the whole story:
(Warning: there are Twilight spoilers contained in the following; if you don't want to ruin the suspense, stop reading.....now. Warning #2: As you might have guessed from the length of my book, I can't tell a short story—this is going to take a while. You have been warned.)
The Writing: I know the exact date that I began writing Twilight, because it was also the first day of swim lessons for my kids. So I can say with certainty that it all started on June 2, 2003. Up to this point, I had not written anything besides a few chapters (of other stories) that I never got very far on, and nothing at all since the birth of my first son, six years earlier.
I woke up (on that June 2nd) from a very vivid dream. In my dream, two people were having an intense conversation in a meadow in the woods. One of these people was just your average girl. The other person was fantastically beautiful, sparkly, and a vampire. They were discussing the difficulties inherent in the facts that A) they were falling in love with each other while B) the vampire was particularly attracted to the scent of her blood, and was having a difficult time restraining himself from killing her immediately. For what is essentially a transcript of my dream, please see Chapter 13 ("Confessions") of the book.
Though I had a million things to do (i.e. making breakfast for hungry children, dressing and changing the diapers of said children, finding the swimsuits that no one ever puts away in the right place, etc.), I stayed in bed, thinking about the dream. I was so intrigued by the nameless couple's story that I hated the idea of forgetting it; it was the kind of dream that makes you want to call your friend and bore her with a detailed description. (Also, the vampire was just so darned good-looking, that I didn't want to lose the mental image.) Unwillingly, I eventually got up and did the immediate necessities, and then put everything that I possibly could on the back burner and sat down at the computer to write—something I hadn't done in so long that I wondered why I was bothering. But I didn't want to lose the dream, so I typed out as much as I could remember, calling the characters "he" and "she."
From that point on, not one day passed that I did not write something. On bad days, I would only type out a page or two; on good days, I would finish a chapter and then some. I mostly wrote at night, after the kids were asleep so that I could concentrate for longer than five minutes without being interrupted. I started from the scene in the meadow and wrote through to the end. Then I went back to the beginning and wrote until the pieces matched up. I drove the "golden spike" that connected them in late August, three months later.
It took me a while to find names for my anonymous duo. For my vampire (who I was in love with from day one) I decided to use a name that had once been considered romantic, but had fallen out of popularity for decades. Charlotte Bronte's Mr. Rochester and Jane Austen's Mr. Ferrars were the characters that led me to the name Edward. I tried it on for size, and found that it fit well. My female lead was harder. Nothing I named her seemed just right. After spending so much time with her, I loved her like a daughter, and no name was good enough. Finally, inspired by that love, I gave her the name I was saving for my daughter, who had never shown up and was unlikely to put in an appearance at this point: Isabella. Huzzah! Edward and Bella were named. For the rest of the characters, I did a lot of searching in old census records, looking for popular names in the times that they'd been born. Some trivia: Rosalie was originally "Carol" and Jasper was first "Ronald." I like the new names much better, but every now and then I will slip up and type Carol or Ron by accident. It really confuses the people who read my rough drafts.
For my setting, I knew I needed someplace ridiculously rainy. I turned to Google, as I do for all my research needs, and looked for the place with the most rainfall in the U.S. This turned out to be the Olympic Peninsula in Washington State. I pulled up maps of the area and studied them, looking for something small, out of the way, surrounded by forest... And there, right where I wanted it to be, was a tiny town called "Forks." It couldn't have been more perfect if I had named it myself. I did a Google image search on the area, and if the name hadn't sold me, the gorgeous photographs would have done the trick. (Images like these of the Hoh Rainforest (a short drive from Forks). Also see forks-web.com ). In researching Forks, I discovered the La Push Reservation, home to the Quileute Tribe. The Quileute story is fascinating, and a few fictional members of the tribe quickly became intrinsic to my story.
All this time, Bella and Edward were, quite literally, voices in my head. They simply wouldn't shut up. I'd stay up as late as I could stand trying to get all the stuff in my mind typed out, and then crawl, exhausted, into bed (my baby still wasn't sleeping through the night, yet) only to have another conversation start in my head. I hated to lose anything by forgetting, so I'd get up and head back down to the computer. Eventually, I got a pen and notebook for beside my bed to jot notes down so I could get some freakin' sleep. It was always an exciting challenge in the morning to try to decipher the stuff I'd scrawled across the page in the dark.
During the day, I couldn't stay away from the computer, either. When I was stuck at swim lessons, out in 115 degrees of Phoenix sunshine, I would plot and scheme and come home with so much new stuff that I couldn't type fast enough. It was your typical Arizona summer, hot, sunny, hot, and hot, but when I think back to those three months, I remember rain and cool green things, like I really spent the summer in the Olympic Rainforest.
When I'd finished the body of the novel, I started writing epilogues...lots of epilogues. This eventually clued me in to the fact that I wasn't ready to let go of my characters, and I started working on the sequel. Meanwhile, I continued to edit Twilight in a very obsessive-compulsive way.
My older sister, Emily, was the only one who really knew what I was up to. In June, I'd started sending her chapters as I finished them, and she soon became my cheerleading section. She was always checking in to see if I had something new for her. It was Emily who first suggested, after I'd finished, that I should try to get Twilight published. I was so stunned by the fact that I'd actually finished a whole, entire book, that I decided to look into it.
Getting Published: To put it mildly, I was naive about publishing. I thought it worked like this: you printed a copy of your novel, wrapped it up in brown paper, and sent it off to a publishing house. Ho ho ho, that's a good one. I started googling (naturally) and began to discover that this was not the way it is done. (Movies lie to us! Why?! A side note: you will not be able to enjoy the new Steve Martin version of Cheaper by the Dozen when you know how insanely impossible the publishing scenario it contains is.) The whole set up with query letters, literary agents, simultaneous submissions vs. exclusive submissions, synopsizes, etc., was extremely intimidating, and I almost quit there. It certainly wasn't belief in my fabulous talent that made me push forward; I think it was just that I loved my characters so much, and they were so real to me, that I wanted other people to know them, too.
I subscribed to writersmarket.com and compiled a list of small publishers that accepted unsolicited submissions and a few literary agencies. It was around this time that my little sister, Heidi, mentioned Janet Evanovich's website to me. In her Q and A for writers section, Janet E. mentioned Writers House, among a few others, as "the real thing" in the world of literary agencies. Writers House went on my wish list as the most desirable and also least likely.
I sent out around fifteen queries (and I still get residual butterflies in my stomach when I drive by the mailbox I sent the letters from—mailing them was terrifying.). I will state, for the record, that my queries truly sucked, and I don't blame anyone who sent me a rejection (I did get seven or eight of those. I still have them all, too). The only rejection that really hurt was from a small agent who actually read the first chapter before she dropped the axe on me. The meanest rejection I got came after Little, Brown had picked me up for a three-book deal, so it didn't bother me at all. I'll admit that I considered sending back a copy of that rejection stapled to the write-up my deal got in Publisher's Weekly, but I took the higher road.
My big break came in the form of an assistant at Writers House named Genevieve. I didn't find out until much later just how lucky I was; it turns out that Gen didn't know that 130,000 words is a whole heck of a lot of words. If she'd known that 130K words would equal 500 pages, she probably wouldn't have asked to see it. But she didn't know (picture me wiping the sweat from my brow), and she did ask for the first three chapters. I was thrilled to get a positive response, but a little worried because I felt the beginning of the book wasn't the strongest part. I mailed off those three chapters and got a letter back a few weeks later (I could barely get it open, my hands were so weak with fear). It was a very nice letter. She'd gone back with a pen and twice underlined the part where she'd typed how much she enjoyed the first three chapters (I still have that letter, of course), and she asked for the whole manuscript. That was the exact moment when I realized that I might actually see Twilight in print, and really one of the happiest points in my whole life. I did a lot of screaming.
About a month after I sent in the manuscript, I got a call from Jodi Reamer, an honest to goodness literary agent, who wanted to represent my book. I tried really hard to sound like a professional and a grownup during that conversation, but I'm not sure if I fooled her. Again, my luck was tremendous (and I don't usually have good luck—I've never won anything in my life, and no one ever catches a fish when I'm in the boat) because Jodi is the uber-agent. I couldn't have ended up in better hands. She's part lawyer, part ninja (she's working on earning her black belt right now, no kidding), a pretty amazing editor in her own right, and a great friend.
Jodi and I worked for two weeks on getting Twilight into shape before sending it to editors. The first thing we worked on was the title, which started out as Forks (and I still have a teeny soft spot for that name). Then we polished up a few rough spots, and Jodi sent it out to nine different publishing houses. This really messed with my ability to sleep, but luckily I wasn't in suspense for long.
Megan Tingley, of Megan Tingley Books, of Little, Brown and Company, read Twilight on a cross-country flight and came back to Jodi the day after the Thanksgiving weekend with a preemptive deal so huge that I honestly thought Jodi was pulling my leg—especially the part where she turned the offer down and asked for more. The upshot was that, by the end of the day, I was trying to process the information that not only was my book going to be published by one of the biggest young adult publishers in the country, but that they were going to pay me for it. For a very long time, I was convinced it was a really cruel practical joke, but I couldn't imagine who would go to these wild extremes to play a hoax on such an insignificant little hausfrau.
And that's how, in the course of six months, Twilight was dreamed, written, and accepted for publication.
Things keep getting crazier, what with the movie deal and all the pre-publication attention that Twilight continues to receive. Though I've gotten impatient from time to time, I'm glad I've had the last two years to try to come to terms with the situation. I'm greatly looking forward to finally having Twilight on the shelves, and more than a little frightened, too. Overall, it's been a true labor of love, love for Edward and Bella and all the rest of my imaginary friends, and I'm thrilled that other people get to meet them now.
Do you have any tips for aspiring writers?
Beware: I can only give writing tips for my style of writing, because I don't know how to do anything else!My focus is the characters--that's the part of the story that is most important to me. I feel the best way to write believable characters is to really believe in them yourself. When you hear a song on the radio, you should know how your character feels about it--which songs your character would relate to, which songs she hates. Hear the conversations that your characters would have when they're not doing anything exciting; let them talk in your head, get to know them. Know their favorite colors and their opinions on current events, their birthdays and their flaws. None of this goes in the book, it's just to help you get a rounded feel to them.I think outlining--in a very non-structured, free-flowing form--can really help. I didn't have to do that with Twilight, but it was very necessary for the other two books. I changed my outlines often as the writing led me in other directions--the outline is just a tool, not something mandatory that you have to follow.Some of the best advice on writing I got from Janet Evanovich's website. She said if you want to be a writer as a profession, then treat it like a job. Put in the hours. Set aside time for writing, and then make yourself sit down and do it. Sometimes it's easy--the words flow and you can get a lot done. Other times it's hard, and you might only get one sentence done in an hour. But that's better than nothing.Here's a tip that really helped me with book two and three: forget writing in order. With New Moon and Eclipse, I wrote out whichever scenes I was interested in, rather than starting at the beginning and working through to the end. I wrote most of the books in scenes, and then went back later and tied the scenes together. It cut out a lot of writer's block to write whatever part I was most interested in at the time. And it makes it easy to finish. By the time you get around to writing the less exciting transitions, expositions, and descriptions, you already have so much done! You can see a full novel coming together, and that's very motivating. (But you really need an outline to work that way--to keep from getting lost!)
All From Stephenie Meyer...
Friday, August 15, 2008
Robert Pattinson is a Les Deux Dude...
When recently asked how he approached kissing scenes in the movie, Robert jokingly said, “I kinda just approached it from the front [and] I always try to slip a bit of tongue in.”
Considering 6,5000 fans stormed Comic-Con’s Hall H last month to see the Twilight cast, you can only imagine how many fans will turn out for its December 12th release.
Monday, August 11, 2008
I CAN'T WAIT...
Twilight is such a great book, I'm starting New Moon, and reading it with Megan. I can't wait for the movie...
Here's some things I've learned with readying Twilight!
1. I totally want Edward as a boyfriend!
2. Kristen Stewart is lucky to be playing Bella!!!
3. Stephanie Meyer is brilliant...
4. I wish I could write that brilliantly...
5. Robert Pattinson is probably one of the greatest Edward's of all time..
I couldn't believe the choices, but I'm looking so forward to see this great movie...