Last week when it was announced that Taylor Lautner got cast as “Stretch Armstrong,” we made note that with that project (and “Max Steel”) he was “quite literally becoming a boy toy.” Well, we’re back now to reinforce that claim with an exclusive first look at the brand new Jacob Black doll! The limited edition Jacob action figure, which comes a few (long-awaited!) months after Tonner debuted its Laurent, Victoria, James and “Hungry Edward” dolls during last July’s Comic-Con, will be shapeshifting released this summer. The cost of the 17-inch-tall, hard plastic and vinyl figure will be $149.99 and there are only a limited number (3000 to be exact!) being made, so Twilighters, this is a chance to own a piece of cinematic history!

Lessee … I believe this is the 4th Jacob Black doll that has been released. First, we had the long-haired Jacob Black doll, then we got the overly muscled and shirtless Jacob Black doll/action figure, then we got the Barbie doll version of Jacob Black. Now we see the release of a limited edition, $149.99 Jacob Black doll … which you can check out after the jump …

I’m thinkin’ if you’re a Jacob Black doll collector, this is good news for you. Are any of y’all lookin’ to pick up this newest doll to play with? Would you care to share just how you plan on playing with it? Anyone?

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Taping three minutes of “Twilight: New Moon” during a visit to a Rosemont movie theater landed Samantha Tumpach in a jail cell for two nights. Now, the 22-year-old Chicago woman faces up to three years in prison after being charged with a rarely invoked felony designed to prevent movie patrons from recording hot new movies and selling bootleg copies. But Tumpach insisted Wednesday that’s not what she was doing — she was actually taping parts of her sister’s surprise birthday party celebrated at the Muvico Theater in Rosemont. While she acknowledged there are short bits of the movie on her digital camera, there are other images that have nothing to do with the new film — including she and a few other family members singing “Happy Birthday” to her 29-year-old sister at the theater. “It was a big thing over nothing,” Tumpach said of her Saturday afternoon arrest. “We were just messing around. Everyone is so surprised it got this far.” She was nabbed when a worker saw her shooting video during the movie, Rosemont police said. Managers contacted police, who examined the small digital camera, which also records video segments, Cmdr. Frank Siciliano said. Officers found that Tumpach had taped “two very short segments” of the movie — no more than four minutes total, he said. Tumpach was arrested after theater managers insisted on pressing charges, he said. She was charged with criminal use of a motion picture exhibition. She remained jailed for two nights in Rosemont’s police station until being taken to bond court on Monday, where a Cook County judge ordered her released on a personal recognizance bond that didn’t require her to post any cash. Rosemont police, though, seemed to sympathize with her situation, she said. “They were so nice to me,” she said. Tumpach insisted she recorded no more than three minutes while in the theater — and said not all of the video she shot was of the movie. There’s footage of she and her relatives singing to her sister, she said. “We sang ‘Happy Birthday’ to her in the theater,” Tumpach said … As ads and previews ran on the big screen, she fiddled with the camera — which she got in July and is still learning how to work — and was surprised to see it took clear videos of the screen. The footage she shot also includes the pre-film commercials, as well as her talking about the camera and the movie. “You can hear me talking the whole time,” Tumpach said. She plans to fight in court the felony filed against her because she said she did nothing wrong — and certainly didn’t try to secretly tape the movie. “It was never my intention to record the movie,” she said.

I don’t personally think she was trying to record the movie either but she is an idiot for playing with her camera inside the theater at all. While I feel the theater is taking things a bit too far by pushing forward with these charges, I can understand their desire to punish would-be pirates. I sincerely doubt that this young woman will be sent to prison for this infraction but let this be lesson to all … if you try to get away with something as stupid as recording a movie inside a theater, you run the risk of getting nailed — badly. Forwarned is forearmed.

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The vampire romance “The Twilight Saga: New Moon” sucked up $140.7 million in its first three days and pulled in a total of $258.8 million worldwide, according to studio estimates Sunday. The No. 1 domestic debut for Summit Entertainment’s “New Moon” was more than twice the $69.6 million haul over the same weekend last year for “Twilight,” the first in the franchise based on Stephenie Meyer’s novels. “New Moon” placed third on the all-time domestic chart behind last year’s $158.4 million opening weekend for the Batman blockbuster “The Dark Knight” and 2007’s $151.1 million haul for “Spider-Man 3.” On Friday, “New Moon” set an all-time domestic high for opening day with $72.7 million, topping the previous record of $67.2 million had been held by last year’s “The Dark Knight.” Overseas, “New Moon” debuted in 25 countries and took in $118.1 million. “New Moon” continues the story of teen romance between a school girl and a vampire (Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson), with the sequel adding a love triangle with a teen werewolf (Taylor Lautner). Opening at No. 2 this weekend was the Warner Bros. football drama “The Blind Side” with $34.5 million. The previous weekend’s top movie, Sony’s disaster tale “2012,” slipped to third-place with $26.5 million, raising its domestic total to $108.2 million.

I credit the big box office bucks to Taylor Lautner’s abs … approx. $23 million per ab (X 6 = $140 mil.). I totally knew the movie would have a big opening weekend and was sure it would be the #1 movie … but $140 million?! No way I was prepared for that. The record books now state that Batman: The Dark Knight, Spider-Man 3 and The Twilight Saga: New Moon (all sequel films, btw) are the movies with the 3 biggest opening weekend box office tallies … that is INSANE to me. These Twilight films are basically a license to print money for Summit Entertainment … they really hit the jackpot with these films. It’s unclear how much more money the film will make during its theatrical run but I’m guessing it will pull in many more millions before it’s all said and done. Again, I say … Wow!

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To be clear, I did NOT find New Moon to be a masterpiece by any stretch of the imagination but, considering how poorly written the books are, the movie did a good job of making the story more compelling. I liked the allusions to the Romeo & Juliet story … something I missed in reading the book. If you’re gonna make reference to a piece of literature, you might as well go for the greatest writer of all time. Thankfully the melodramatic hysterics present in the book were toned down A LOT in the movie … tho, I laughed my ass off during the scene where Bella was seen sitting in the same chair for “3 months” — LOL! For me, the werewolves make the movie … they are much more interesting than the vampires, I think. Add to that the fact that they are mostly nekkid in much of the film and, well, you can see the appeal. I also found Rachelle Lefevre’s performance as Victoria very compelling … she just has a cool look and I thought she did an excellent job in the role. It just KILLS me that she was fired from playing Victoria in the future films because the movie studio wanted a bigger name in the role. Rachelle IS Victoria … this movie proves it. The FX are great, I loved the wolves in action … I found the chemistry between Bella and Jacob much more palatable than her chemistry with Edward. Taylor Lautner is good as Jacob. The scenes with the Volturi were really comical but passably entertaining … all in all, I did enjoy myself at this movie. Twilight fans should love it … and how anyone can NOT be Team Jacob is beyond me.

Oh and if you need another endorsement, just read what writer Anne Rice has to say about New Moon the movie:

Saw New Moon last night. Definitely in the tradition of Bronte’s Jane Eyre and DeMaurier’s Rebecca: a romance about a young girl longing to be taken seriously by a powerful male figure. No wonder it strikes a chord in so many.

After the movie, David and I made our way to the 2nd Stage Theater to see the Blank production of The Santaland Diaries starring Nicholas Brendon (of Buffy the Vampire Slayer fame). After the jump, check out a fun pic I got to take with him and hear my thoughts on the play …

The Santaland Diaries is a one man show based on the writings of David Sedaris. They tell the “semi-true” tale of Sedaris’s stint as a holiday elf working at Macy’s in NYC. Brendon is AMAZING in this show … he shows a full range of emotion and expertly delivers some of THE funniest lines Sedaris has ever written. I strongly urge those of you here in SoCal to see this show … it’s really very funny. Nicholas was so cool after the show, he graciously posed for this fun pic :)

After the play, David and I hightailed it to Pasadena to party with our dear friend Gillian on her birthday:

Gillian held court at the 35r and we had a blast. It was so fun celebrating with G last night :)

Tonight, David and I will be spending our last night together before he flies home for the next week. I’m not sure what we’re doing but I’m letting him decide. I’m really gonna miss him … we’ve been together for so long now, I don’t want him to go ;(

Taylor Lautner was loyal to his wolfpack at the New York premiere of New Moon on Thursday night. Asked if vampires or werewolves were sexier, Lautner told EW: “That’s a hard question. They’re sexier in different ways. But, I mean, I’ll stay true to the pack. I’ll go werewolf.” Score one for Team Jacob. Lautner — and his co-stars including Robert Pattinson, Kristen Stewart, Nikki Reed, Ashley Greene and Kellan Lutz — continued the promotional whirlwind for New Moon at a Big Apple screening hosted by The Cinema Society and D&G. The stars might have been relieved that the New York event didn’t reach the fan frenzy of the Los Angeles premiere on Monday night — this low-key event was under the radar of most Twihards, attracting about 100 fans who stood patiently in the drizzling rain on Houston Street at the Landmark Sunshine Cinema. Notable audience members included Natalie Portman, Gossip Girl’s Jessica Szohr and Taylor Momsen, Howard Stern, Agyness Deyn, and Patrick Wilson. Lautner told us that he was happy to see Jacob’s role expanded in the sequel. “It was really exciting for me that Jacob has the opportunity to develop his relationship with Bella in this movie,” he said. “Really it’s setting up this entire series, which is this love triangle. So it was great to have them develop their relationship.” That also meant more bonding time on the New Moon set with Kristen Stewart. “Kristen and I have a very similar relationship to Jacob and Bella. We’re very open and honest with each other, we can tell each other things.” The pair probably won’t be sharing a row in your local cinema on Friday, though. Stewart was asked if she would be checking out release-day frenzy at a theater. “No!,” she said emphatically. But she did sound appreciative of all the attention directed at her character, Bella. “I think Bella is a really good role model. To be able to play her is just a serious honor.” Robert Pattinson had a guy’s guy approach when asked about how he chooses which suits to wear to his appearances. “I don’t know, I just see which one fits and see which one looks alright I guess,” the unshaven actor said. Director Chris Weitz joked that he had a hard time with the paparazzi. “They’re after me all the time. They just want pictures of me holding Rob’s hand,” he said with a laugh … Ma and Pa Cullen also spoke to us about how New Moon is a much different film than Twilight. “Twilight was like a 30-35 million dollar movie which is not cheap. But for sure, it feels a little more studio-based, this movie. It feels a little crisper, a little more epic,” Peter Facinelli (Dr. Carlisle Cullen) said. “I liked the intimate feel of [Twilight] but I think that for New Moon this works better…Chris Weitz did a fantastic job with the special effects.” Elizabeth Reaser (Esme Cullen) agreed there was a “huge difference” between Twilight and New Moon. “I thought the first one was kind of big and crazy, and this is just different. It’s a whole other level.”

And that, folks, is that … the movie is OUT in theaters now and has been for the past few hours. I, like countless others, ventured out to see The Twilight Saga: New Moon last night only to discover — after my friend Amber and I were well sated, seated and ready for action — that I had purchased tickets to a re-showing of the original Twilight movie! OY!!! By the time we realized what was going on, it was too late to get tix for New Moon (which was WELL sold out) so, because of my dumb ass, we were forced to watch Twilight again last night. My dear Amber was SUCH A SWEET SPORT for finding humor in the whole thing … I, of course, wanted to find the nearest hole to crawl into and DIE! UGH. We did have a fun night out tho … but I’ll be venturing out, again, this afternoon to finally see New Moon. I’m sure a great many of you have already seen the movie by now … so is it all that? The Twilight Saga: New Moon is OUT … what are you waiting for?

[Photo credit: Wireimage; Source]

Fans lined up Tuesday night as Regal welcomed two stars of “New Moon,” the second movie in the highly popular “Twilight” series, in a benefit premiere. Stars Kristen Stewart and Taylor Lautner spoke to the media and signed autographs for fans on the red carpet. It was all hands on deck at the Regal Pinnacle 18 in Turkey Creek Monday. In addition to the regular theater staff, an extra crew of 75 people spent the day building props, setting up lights and making sure everything is perfect for the premiere. “The guest list includes mostly sponsors. That’s how the fundraiser is able to raise so much money,” says Russ Nunley, Regal Entertainment Group Vice President of Marketing and Communications. The proceeds benefit Variety, The Children’s Charity of Eastern Tennessee. “Variety is a non-profit organization that helps a lot of existing children’s groups do good work,” Nunley says. The money goes to programs for kids across East Tennessee. Last year, Regal raised more than $300,000. This year’s total will be announced at the premier. “I think everyone will be very pleased and even shocked at how much money can be raised by showing a movie one night here at the Pinnacle,” Nunley says. Winners for tickets to the screening were already selected and called for the opportunity to purchase two. “New Moon” opens for its first public screening at 12:01 a.m. Friday. But all 18 screens at the Pinnacle are already sold out for that time, so the theater has added a new 2:55 a.m. showing as well. This is Regal Entertainment Group’s seventh annual Tennessee benefit screening.

What a great event!! I am, again, very impressed with Kristen Stewart’s willingness to give so generously of her time to help raise funds for needy charities. As you may recall, she recently participated in an event to raise funds for Juvenile Diabetes research and now this … well done, Kristen. She and Taylor both looked great on the red carpet last night … I’m sure the fine folks in Knoxville really appreciated their attendance last night. We are just a few days away from the release of The Twilight Saga: New Moon in theaters … are y’all ready for the onslaught?

[Photo credit: Wireimage; Source]

“Twilight” fans have taken over the Westwood neighborhood of Los Angeles. Thousands of fans filled the streets near UCLA on Monday, hoping to catch a glimpse of their favorite undead stars attending the evening premiere of “New Moon’ — the second film in the “Twilight’ vampire saga. Some “Twi-hards” — as they call themselves — arrived as early as Thursday afternoon to secure a place in line for tickets allowing them to watch the stars’ arrivals on the red carpet. The 800 available tickets were all distributed by Monday morning, but the line still stretched for blocks well after lunchtime. Nicole Zamora, 36, was sixth in line after getting to Westwood on Thursday afternoon. She and her three sisters wore “New Moon” T-shirts they’d made for the occasion and said they spent the weekend “reading, listening to the iPod and trying to sleep — anything to pass the time.” Christina Fuentes and four of her friends traveled from New Jersey for the “New Moon” premiere. The 24-year-old wore vampire teeth (“They just clip on,” she said) and carried a home-made sign that read, “We flew in from NJ! We’ve been camping out for three days just to see you!” She pasted her airline boarding pass to the poster as proof. They were number 313 in line, she said. The weekend warriors were rewarded with appearances by some “Twilight” stars. “Less than an hour ago we saw Peter Facinelli drive by on his Harley, looking hot,” said 19-year-old Kelley Metoyer, referring to the actor who plays the vampire patriarch in the series.

Metoyer had camped out with six friends since Friday Scores of other fans — mostly young women — crowded onto street corners near the Mann Village and Bruin theaters, where the premiere will be held. They sat on beach chairs, displayed homemade signs and wore T-shirts proclaiming their allegiance to Team Edward or Team Jacob — the handsome vampire (Robert Pattinson) and his werewolf rival (Taylor Lautner). Michelle Cueva carried a sign identifying her group as the “Twi-hard Grannies.” “We’re representing a different generation,” said the 38-year-old, who recently became a grandmother. She and her two friends said they “planned for a whole year” and took a vacation day from work to be part of the excitement, arriving in Westwood at 5 a.m. Monday. “You see it on TV, but to see it in real life, it’s crazy,” she said. “It’s worth it to have taken the day off.” Elizabeth Rios, 20, came to the “Twilight” premiere last year and won a spot on the red carpet. This year, she was on the sidewalk across the street from the theaters. “This is like three times as crazy as last year,” she said. But not everyone was excited about the “New Moon” premiere. “I’ve never seen so many Gothic 12-year-olds in all my life,” grumbled one man as he tried to make his walk through the crowded street. “New Moon” opens Friday.

LOL! I knew this premiere was going to be crazy but … wow … it sounds really crazy. I totally understand that some young women want to be part of the hoopla and choose to camp out for days to be a part of this craziness but I cannot, for the life of me, understand the fanatical mothers and grandmothers! I mean, seriously? You’re 50 years old and you want to fight for position on the sidewalk with a bunch of teenage girls just to get near a movie premiere? Really? That’s so weird. BUT … fans are fans, I suppose. After the jump, check out a couple pics of The Twilight Trinity posing for photos at the New Moon premiere after party …

Yeah, I bet these poor guys are really, really tired of all of this promotional craziness. My guess is that they have one more event to attend in NYC before the movie FINALLY opens in theaters on Friday. Are YOU ready?? The Twilight Saga: New Moon is almost upon us … at long last.

[Photo credit: Wireimage; Source]

Mario Lopez is proving he’s “got the guns,” as Kristen Stewart has said. “Extra” superimposed the shirtless host into a “New Moon” promo shot. Check out behind-the-scenes footage of Lopez here. Lopez fits right in with Chaske Spencer, Alex Meraz, Kiowa Gordon and Bronson Pelletier. In a sit-down interview with “Extra,” Pelletier — who is nicknamed “Slater Jr.” — joked to Lopez that, “when we were casting this thing I thought I was gonna lose my role out to you.” Added Meraz, “You’re the missing wolf pack member!” Taylor Lautner says it’s “definitely a possibility” that Lopez could join the pack. Stewart was more sure. “You totally could be,” she said. “We’ll get you in there,” Spencer promised.

Damn … yeah, he fits in nicely … werewolf tattoo and all. What do y’all think, does Mario Lopez look like a bona fide member of the Twilight wolf pack to you?

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You may recall that the Twilight Trinity also spent some time gettin’ up close and personal with the fans in London as well … so it sounds like they are doing everything humanly possible to promote their new sequel film The Twilight Saga: New Moon as much as they can. After the jump, check out a few photos of these three making their exit from a restaurant in Madrid last night after their long day of promotion …

I love K. Stew’s t-shirt … it reads You Can’t Handle This. LOL … I’ll bet. These three still have a full week of promo work ahead of them … I hope that they can handle it.

[Photo credit: Wireimage, Splash News]

Hmmm … I wonder if they’ve yet grown tired of being shipped from country to country in order to be paraded in front of a room full of photographers before they’re shuttled from one interview to the next and then shipped off to the next country. It does not sound like a fun time … but I’m sure all those millions they are making in the process does make the whole experience more worthwhile. Round and round the world they go … where they’ll stop next is anyone’s guess.

[Photo credit: Wireimage]