Now that the matter of who will be playing Jacob Black in the upcoming Twilight sequel New Moon has been settled (and how!), the focus can now turn to other roles in the film. I’m pretty sure that all of the other actors who had roles in the Twilight movie (ie. the Cullen family) will be coming back to reprise their roles but there are a few new characters not introduced in the first movie that have to be cast for the next movie. It turns out that Vanessa Hudgens, of High School Musical fame, has already auditioned for the role of Leah Clearwater, who plays the Twilight Saga’s sole female werewolf. If she gets her way, she will be among the new castmembers joining the Twilight Saga — BE WARNED! The following report contains SPOILERS that may ruin your New Moon experience if you have not read the books:

Now here’s a role Vanessa Hudgens would like to sink her teeth into. The High School Musical star has auditioned for the part of werewolf Leah Clearwater in the Twilight sequel New Moon, according to Ashley Green, who played Alice in Twilight. “I think she’d be great,” Greene tells MTV. As Leah, Hudgens, 20, would be a foil to Taylor Lautner, who will reprise his role as werewolf Jacob Black. In the Stephenie Meyer novels, Leah is her pack’s lone female werewolf – and a jilted one, at that. Unlike Hudgens’s Gabriella in HSM, Leah experiences heartbreak, being ditched by classmate (and fellow werewolf) Sam Uley.

HMMM … you know, I’m not immediately repulsed by the idea of Vanessa playing Leah in New Moon. Truth be told, I’ve never seen Vanessa Hudgens act so I can’t comment on that regard but judging by looks alone, I think she could play a respectable Leah Clearwater. I’m sure there are many diehard Twilighters who may balk at the idea of Vanessa joining the Twilight cast … but she will add some more starpower to the Twilight sequel. Whether that is a good thing or a bad thing remains to be seen. I’m very curious to see if she manages to get the part … I guess I always figured they’d cast a newcomer but … HMMM. I may have to think on this some more. What do y’all think … could Vanessa Hudgens actually bring Leah Clearwater to life?

[Source]

Yesterday I posted a newslink from Entertainment Weekly magazine that reported that all signs were pointing toward Taylor Lautner retaining the role of Jacob Black (which he originated in the Twilight movie that opened last November) for the upcoming Twilight movie sequel New Moon. As you may recall, there was some chatter that Lautner might be replaced for the role by Michael Copon in order to beef up the character in the next film (which is an integral component of the New Moon story). Some fans thought Lautner should be replaced and others lobbied for him to keep the role … Stephenie Meyer, author of the Twilight Saga books, announced on her official website that the decision has been made and Taylor Lautner WILL keep the role of Jacob Black:

January 7, 2009

- Steph

IMHO, this is great news. Altho I always felt that, if handled properly, bringing in a new actor to play the “much changed” Jacob could work in the next film, I really wanted Taylor to keep the part. First, I hate when major characters get replaced with new actors in between films. Second, I thought that Taylor did a great job of bringing Jacob to life in the first film. In the end, none of this is rocket science and I’m sure they would’ve made any scenario work but I’m happy that Lautner will be able to keep playing the role he originated and won’t be cast aside as the next film is being made. I’m sure he is very happy with this news … Michael Copon, notsomuch.

[Source]

Now that the biz of selecting a new director for the Twilight movie sequel has been settled, the next step is to go about the biz of casting New Moon. With a new director comes the feasibility that character roles may be recast and actors who were hired to play a role in one movie may be axed from playing that same role in the next movie. Specifically, the role of Jacob Black — who undergoes a lot of change from Twilight to New Moon and plays a very significant role in the sequel — is, apparently, up for grabs as new chatter suggests that Taylor Lautner (the actor who portrayed the young Jacob in Twilight) may be replaced by a different actor. Enter Michael Copon, a beefy-looking actor best known from the film Scorpion King 2, who is said to be up for the role of Jacob Black which would thereby leave Lautner out in the cold. Additionally, Ben Barnes (who played Prince Caspian in the Chronicles of Narnia sequel) is said to be interested in playing a member of the powerful vampire “family” the Volturi. It sounds like production on New Moon is already getting into full swing and these decisions are likely to be made very soon:

Following last week’s dismissal and replacement of Catherine Hardwicke, this weekend began with a press release from Summit Entertainment officially appointing “New Moon” director Chris Weitz to the job. Suspicious in its omission of Taylor Lautner, the release seemed to all but confirm Twilighter whispers that Hardwicke won’t be the last “Twilight” talent replaced before the sequel. So where does the series go from here? MTV News can confirm that 26-year-old “Scorpion King 2″ actor Michael Copon [pronounced "COPE-on"] is one of several actors Weitz is considering to play the new, larger Jacob Black. A representative for Copon told us that they’re making a full effort to land the high-profile gig. And in a bit of 21st-century self-publicity, the actor has even recently updated his Facebook status with messages like: “Michael Copon [is] in a Twilight Zone!” and “Michael Copon is the older Jacob Black!” Copon’s representative confirmed to MTV News that the Facebook page is run by the actor himself and that those are indeed his words. Approached for comment on Lautner’s omission from the “New Moon” press release, Summit confirmed that it was not a typographical error. “The casting decision in regards to the character Jacob Black has yet to be made,” a representative told MTV News.

But even once Copon (or whoever else) is officially announced as the new Jacob, Weitz still has many other key casting decisions to make and an extremely brief amount of time in which to make them. With barely 12 weeks until cameras are due to begin rolling, the “Golden Compass” filmmaker needs to find faces to portray several key characters — including the peace-keeping, Italian vampires known as the Volturi. With the buzz building for these roles, MTV News has confirmed that 27-year-old “Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian” heartthrob Ben Barnes is throwing his hat into the ring. The actor is already quite popular with the “Twilight” fanbase and shares the same manager as both Copon and “Twilight” star Cam Gigandet. Barnes is believed to be campaigning for the role of Aro, a mind-reading vampire whose “New Moon” encounter with Edward and Bella helps shape their destiny together.

I mean, I get that sometimes characters have to be recast but something about giving Taylor Lautner the shaft and bringing in a new person kinda irks me. I really think that Taylor can do the job of playing Jacob in New Moon and I would love to see him be allowed to continue playing the part. That being said, I think his Michael Copon guy looks like he would make a pretty good older Jacob Black — in fact, he looks very much like an older and muscly version of Taylor Lautner himself. I would bet money that Ben Barnes will get the role of Aro and I’m sure we’ll be hearing very soon who else is up for playing other Volturi characters. New Moon is still about a year away from hitting theaters and the drama is already in full swing. What do y’all think … should Copon be cast as the new Jacob? Do y’all think that his Facebook announcement is pretty much proof that he already got the part?

[Source]

In an effort to put fears at ease and allay any initial concern, Chris Weitz (the man who directed the big screen adaptation of The Golden Compass and who has just been named as the new director of the Twilight sequel New Moon) has posted a letter written directly to “fans of Twilight, New Moon, Bella, Edward and Jacob” on the official website of Stephanie Meyer, the author of the Twilight Saga books. Here is a message left to fans by Meyer herself that prefaces this letter from Chris Weitz and then the actual letter written and attributed to Weitz as was posted online this weekend as well as :

Hey guys,

There’s been a lot of worry and speculation on the boards lately, and I want to let you know what’s going on. First of all, like you, I’m sad that Catherine is not continuing on with us for New Moon. I’m going to miss her, not just as a brilliant director, but also as a friend. She has such a distinct, authentic voice that did amazing things for Twilight. I’m looking forward to every movie she does in the future. And she didn’t leave us empty handed. We still get the benefits of her amazing casting and the beautiful visual world she created. This foundation puts us in a good place for New Moon. Summit Films is moving forward with a new director for New Moon. They’ve asked Chris Weitz, director of American Pie, About a Boy, and The Golden Compass, to join us, and I am very pleased to announce that he’s agreed to be a part of our Twilight world. I’ve had the chance to talk to Chris, and I can tell you that he is excited by the story and eager to keep the movie as close to the book as possible. He is also very aware of you, the fans, and wants to keep you all extremely happy. (Torches and pitchforks are not going to be necessary.) I’m excited to work with Chris and I think he brings a lot to the table, not the least of which for me is that he wrote the screenplay for and directed one of my favorite movies of all time, About a Boy. I’m really looking forward to seeing his vision for New Moon. Below is a letter from Chris to you. I think you’ll get a glimpse in this note of how cool it’s going to be having Chris as part of our community.

HMMM. On the one hand, I am very happy to see that Chris either decided or was encouraged to write a letter directly to fans. I think this shows a bit of commitment to making sure he is going to at least try to make the best film he can because he genuinely cares for the fans (or at least sounds like he cares). I am concerned to read that the letter implies that Weitz has just now read the Twilight Saga books. The first line makes it pretty evident that he has no real experience with the stories … and is supposedly to start preproduction on New Moon this coming week. That’s not to say he can’t handle the job, in fact I suspect many directors aren’t fully versed in the stories they direct before they get down to the work of movie making but … still …

As much as Stephanie Meyer says that we can put our “torches and pitchforks” away, I think there is cause for concern. The Golden Compass movie was by pretty much all accounts a failure and it was based on one of the most amazingly inventive and beloved books. It is possible the same could happen with New Moon. I’m never one to prejudge scenarios like this … but I think it’s OK to be concerned. I guess we’ll have to wait and see … at least we won’t have to wait long, New Moon is slated for a November 2009 release in theaters. Alls I know is that Weitz better do right by Jacob … the next movie is Jacob’s time to shine … he best not let any of us down. What do y’all think … worried?

[Source, thanks Jessica]

Holy Moly, y’all! Entertainment Weekly is reporting that Summit Entertainment, the folks that produced Twilight and will be producing the subsequent sequel movies, has announced that New Moon is now tentatively scheduled for a November 2009 release — BE WARNED … the report below contains MANY SPOILERS about the plot of New Moon and should prolly be avoided by those of you who have yet to read the book and want to remain unspoiled:

Summit Entertainment has tentatively slated Nov. 20, 2009, as the release date for New Moon, the Twilight sequel, which means any director who signs on to replace Twilight director Catherine Hardwicke has to be in Vancouver by Dec. 15 to begin 12 weeks of preproduction before a mid-March start date. Reports have speculated that Hardwicke was fired for being difficult on set, but sources close to her suggest Summit’s aggressive production schedule turned her off. “She’d love to do the sequel if she could do it better than Twilight,” says one. “It ­became clear that Summit didn’t have those same priorities.” Indeed, at press time the second movie appeared to have ­little more than a rough first-draft working script. As Summit’s production president Erik Feig told EW during Twilight’s ­record-busting first weekend, “There is that first…script. All the finesse that turns a screenplay into a movie hasn’t ­happened yet.” Two weeks later, Summit is saying it’s happy with screenwriter ­Melissa Rosenberg’s progress. Another of Hardwicke’s primary concerns was that hunky vampire Edward remains MIA throughout New Moon’s middle portion. In her own opening-weekend interview, she told EW, “You have to get the chemistry as strong ­between Jacob and Bella as it was between Bella and Edward. You also have to do ­some­thing with that arc: She’s in love with somebody, he disappears, she falls in love with someone else, and the first guy comes back. Movies like Pearl Harbor have tried it. It absolutely didn’t work.” With or without Hardwicke, Summit ­faces other snags. Two sources tell EW the studio doesn’t want to rehire baby-faced Taylor Lautner (pictured) as Jacob, though Lautner’s agent has apparently reached out to the ­imaging company behind The Curious Case of Benjamin Button in an attempt to demonstrate to Summit how a digitally bulked-up Lautner could work. (Summit says it won’t make a decision until a new filmmaker is on board.) There’s also the matter of finding a cast of Native American actors to play Jacob’s werewolf clan — a difficult challenge Hardwicke was also faced with before ­settling on Lautner, who isn’t completely ­Native American. And with a slightly increased budget of $50 million — much of which is ­assumed will go to leads asking for heftier paydays, location shoots in Italy, and ramped-up F/X — Summit will have to scrimp somewhere. So what director would want to take on such a big headache? Well, at press time, an offer was out to Chris Weitz (The Golden Compass), who put Summit on the map years ago when its foreign sales operation made tons of cash off of his first film, American Pie. (One source says Weitz has already had conversations with below-the-line crew for New Moon.) “We are in a recession,” ­reminds one Hollywood insider. “It’s a hit franchise. Whoever steps into it is guaranteed a $100 million gross. Everyone wants this movie.” Adds an exec at another studio, “You’d have to have a very high standard for art, hate the movie business, and hate ­money to walk off this sequel.”

Oh man … this is really worrisome. There are quite a few things in this report that raise red flags for me. Recasting Jacob Black is a terrible idea! Taylor Lautner made a great Jacob … I can’t believe they hired him for the part only to replace him in the rest of the films. I’m also concerned that they are talking about changing major plot points of the book. Fiddling with the way Edward appears in the sequel is a bad idea … the surest way to piss off fans is to “reimagine” the storyline and make major changes. Finally, I’m really concerned about the rush to make the film. Pre-production is to start next week … and they don’t have a finished script or a director? This just all screams BAD NEWS in my head. What do y’all think … does any of this sound reassuring to you?

[Source]

Sadly, David had to fly back to NYC yesterday after his quick trip out West for Sashie and Will’s wedding … because he’s got, like, a million things to take care of in NYC he couldn’t stay longer. It’s gonna be a little while until I’ll get to see him again … I have a week trip in Detroit coming up and then a couple weeks back here in LA before I jet off to NY again for his birthday next month.

Anyways, I was able to finally finish Book 2 of the Twilight series, New Moon, last night and again found that I enjoyed the book very much:

I liked the way the story shifted in this second book … introducing the werewolves was a very smart move and I liked the author’s allusions to the Romeo and Juliet story (likening the protagonist’s feelings for Edward and Jacob to Juliet’s feelings towards Romeo and Paris, respectively). My one complaint with the series, thus far, is the weakness of the main character Bella. She is always hurting herself and causing accidents that put her in harm’s way … she is always overdramatically pining for Edward, sometimes to the point of nausea. I mean, I get that young girls may eat this stuff up but I think making the character a little stronger, a little less reliant on the boys in the story would make her more interesting. I have a hard time feeling sympathy for a girl who cries profusely at the sight of the beautiful boy she’s in desperate love of … and then hates herself for crying so much that her tears keep her from being able to look at him (this actually happens at the end of New Moon). That being said, tho, the story is compelling … once you get into it, you don’t want to put down the books. I’m looking forward to starting Book 3, Eclipse, later on today.

I have a dinner date later on with my good friends Gillian and Tim, who I haven’t seen in a couple of months … we’re long overdue for hanging out so I’m really looking forward to seeing them tonight. So yeah, reading and hanging … keeping things pretty quiet these days :)