Chris Weitz Hanging out At the MTV Movie Awards

Chris Weitz has been hanging out behind-the-scenes of the MTV Movie Awards (well, I think he is on the lot filming his new movie The Gardener), and MTV got a chance to chat with him about Bill Condon and Breaking Dawn.

Here they chat about Kristen Stewart giving birth in Breaking Dawn….

Chris also picks Kristen against Zoe Saldana calling Kristen “his girl.”

Robert Pattinson Makes 2010 Time 100 List

Robert Pattinson was voted into the 2010 Time 100 list.  The article was written by New Moon director Chris Weitz.

I have to be careful about what I write here because it will be tweeted the moment TIME hits the stands. And if I say something bad about Rob Pattinson, I’m dead meat. That’s the devotion the Twilight films inspire. It’s certainly not how he planned it. And though I am continually impressed by the aplomb with which he handles the hysteria, I occasionally think he would take it all back if given the chance. Because essentially, Rob, 23, is a reserved, bookish sort of specimen, a guy who’d rather spend the night at the corner table in the pub with friends — a bit of a weirdo, frankly, in the best sense.

So how to write about someone who seems to answer Freud’s rhetorical question, What do women want? Perhaps it’s just worth pointing out that it’d be fun to have a beer with him even if he weren’t Edward Cullen. That we haven’t seen a tenth of what he can do onscreen. And that important things, beyond the veil of Hollywood, occupy his time too — music, conversation, ideas, a sense of the absurd. Which, maybe, explains why he never gets to my e-mails. I love you, Rob! Call me!

Head over here to see the full list!

New Moon UK Fan Event Footage

Here we’ve got the video of the Q&A held at the New Moon UK fan event, featuring Chris Weitz, Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson and Taylor Lautner. This footage was featured on one of the UK DVD versions of the movie.

MTV:5 Secrets of New Moon

In honor of the New Moon DVD  release on March 20, director Chris Weitz sat down with MTV News to reveal five things you probably didn’t know about “New Moon.” Check it out!

 

Going for the Gold: In “Twilight,” RPattz and the rest of his vegetarian vampire cohorts have gold-colored eyes as a result of abstaining from consuming human blood. For “New Moon,” the vamps’ eyes were clearly more golden. Why’d Weitz have his actors switch to brighter contact lenses?

“It’s a more noticeable gold,” Weitz said. “I thought that in the first film they hadn’t popped quite enough and I wanted to have that sense of otherworldliness carry through more.”

The Silent Vampire: Actress Rachelle Lefevre was notoriously replaced in her role as the vampire Victoria following “New Moon,” with Bryce Dallas Howard taking over the part for “Eclipse.” In “New Moon,” Lefevre is seen but does not speak. Is there a connection between her lack of lines and what happened with the casting decision?

“It wasn’t so much that,” Weitz said. “There was a dialogue scene with her, and eventually that will show up whenever they release deleted scenes. It was one of those scenes that, when you look back at it, it’s kind of a surplus to the whole storytelling requirement of the movie. So there was no ill intent there. I wrote Rachelle and explained why that scene didn’t end up in the film, and in terms of filmmaking I can’t regret it, although I do regret it very much if it hurt Rachelle’s feelings.”

Why So Torn Up, Edward?: At one point in the film, Pattinson’s Edward Cullen appears in a ripped T-shirt, but we never learn why. So … what the heck happened?

“What it’s supposed to be is that he’s essentially been wearing the same clothes for several months, and that eventually they’ve just worn out because, as you I’m sure know, his body is like stone. So he must’ve rubbed up against something and it ripped,” Weitz said.

Our Lord?: In its Italian-set portions, “New Moon” features a significant amount of religious iconography, and Edward certainly suffers a great deal. Is he supposed to be a Christ figure?

“I think that he is in a sense he’s doomed to suffer eternally,” Weitz said. “He actually thinks of himself as a damned figure, but he’s wrong about that. So in some senses, yeah, he is a martyr figure.”

Black Eyes: In Stephenie Meyer’s book, Edward’s eyes go black in Italy. Why don’t his eyes turn in the film?

“It’s because I screwed up!” Weitz admitted.

Really? He just forgot?

“Well, yeah, I kinda did,” he said. “Well, there are two reasons. One is that I messed up. The other reason is that I actually thought that onscreen it would be quite bizarre to see his eyes go completely black, and that it would be more satisfying and less jarring to have that moment of reunion be a reunion with revivified Edward. But probably, the long and the short of it, there are many details that I did not drop the ball on, and there are some that I did.”

Chris Wetiz Looking Forward to a ‘Steamy Eclipse’

People magazine spoke with New Moon director Chris Weitz recently and asked him about Eclipse and Anna Kendrick’s Oscar nomination.

“I’m looking forward to the sleeping bag scene, I gotta say,” Weitz tells PEOPLE. “That’s going to be very steamy.”

In Eclipse’s fan-favorite “tent scene,” – spoiler alert! – a freezing Bella, who is on the run from evil vamp Victoria, gets a warm-up from werewolf Jacob when he squeezes into her sleeping bag – while a jealous Edward looks on. The movie will open June 30.

Weitz also says he is eager to see Edward’s vampire “parents,” played by Elizabeth Reaser and Peter Facinelli, sink their teeth into Eclipse’s more intense action.

“I have a special interest in seeing Peter and Elizabeth tear people’s heads off,” he says with a laugh. “Knowing them, and how kind of kooky and delightful they are, I’m going to find seeing them being ultra-violent very interesting indeed.”

Weitz, who is not helming Eclipse – director David Slade is taking over – says he is showing his Twilight pride on Oscar Sunday by voting for Anna Kendrick, who plays Bella’s pal Jessica in the series. (She is nominated for Best Supporting Actress for her role opposite George Clooney in Up in the Air.)

“I voted for her of course, because she’s my homie,” says Weitz, adding that New Moon – which is being released on DVD and Blu-Ray March 20 – would have been up for more awards if the Academy had a different voting body.

“If only the Academy were composed of teenage girls, I might be looking at a Best Picture nom,” he joked. “It’s a scandal that there are not more teenage girls in the Academy.”

Source: Peoplemag.

Chris Weitz Talks ‘New Moon’

BuzzSugar has a new interview with Chris Weitz in which he discusses his New Moon.

When you go back and watch it again, are there things you’d like to change if you could? I would like to never have shot Rob and Kristen running through the forest and Kristen’s just turned into a vampire. Because everybody always laughs and it makes me feel terrible. [Laughs] I would have shot it a different way so it wouldn’t get that response. But otherwise, I’m very happy with things.

What was your favorite scene to shoot in New Moon? I’m very fond of the memories that a lot of the scenes invoke in me. My favorite scene is probably somewhere between the very last scene, and the cliffhanger that it’s left on, and the scenes in Italy. Just the experience shooting those scenes was so magnificent. We were in this beautiful hillside town in Tuscany, and going home to fresh-made pasta every night, and surrounded by thousands of fans of the series while we were shooting it. I know I’ll never experience anything like that ever again.

Read the full interview here.

Chris Weitz WILL NOT Direct Breaking Dawn

Gossip Cop has confirmed that Chris Weitz WILL NOT be directing Breaking Dawn.  Here’s the scoop.

For months on end there has been speculation about “Breaking Dawn,” and who would direct the final chapter of the saga.

Gossip Cop has received official confirmation from Chris Weitz’s rep that he will not be directing the film(s).

Fans had hoped for some time Weitz, who directed “New Moon” (and “The Golden Compass” and “About A Boy” before that), would helm “Breaking Dawn,” but it’s a no go.

Weitz is next slated to direct a personal project about an undocumented Mexican laborer that he himself is partially funding. That film begins next month.

So loved was Weitz there was even a rumor – albeit false –  that stars Robert Pattinson, Kristen Stewart and Taylor Lautner had written a joint endorsement, urging Summit Entertainment to lock down the director for the final installment. 

Ultimately, it was Weitz’s decision.

As Gossip Cop reported last month, though officially no decision has been made about whether to split “Breaking Dawn” into two films, a well-place source said dividing the final book into two movies is “the direction that it’s going in.”

We’re also told Summit is currently looking at top-tier directors to helm the final “Twilight” film(s).

EW:’New Moon’ Exclusive: Chris Weitz Reveals 10 Secrets in the Film

Chris Weitz has a few hidden tidbits that he wants to point out in New Moon. He is bringing this to us exclusively via the Twilight Tracker App for iPhone (download the app here), as well as in Entertainment Weekly.

1. Hidden wolves
”Look for an upside-down engraving of a wolf in the shot of the bowl in which Carlisle burns his first-aid equipment; on Jacob’s T-shirt when he meets Bella in the school parking lot for the first time; and a wolf trinket on the dream-catcher that he gives her.”

2. Vampire elevator music
”When Edward, Bella, and Alice get into the elevator on their way to see the Volturi, the music playing in the elevator is from Strauss’ Die Fledermaus (a.k.a. The Bat).”

3. Emotional baggage?
”When Bella is looking for the meadow where she and Edward are seen lying down together, she carries a golden compass clipped to her backpack — part of my baggage!”4. Speedy suitor
”We did a little trick when Edward gets out of Bella’s truck and they’re arguing. We wanted to show Edward moving impossibly quickly, so we put Rob right next to the camera but out of sight, and used a double dressed like Rob in the driver’s seat. When Edward gets out, it’s the double, and then Rob steps in front of the camera, and it looks as if he got there faster than humanly possible.”

5. Look it up
”And last but not least: If you want to know what Jacob says before he almost kisses Bella, ask a Quileute! The address of the Quileute tribal council is quileutenation.org. I can tell you this much: He says, Kwop kilawtley.”

6. Tower of glower
”You can see Volterra’s tower and the red-cloaked revelers from the festival of San Marco on the cover of Bella’s copy of Romeo and Juliet when she wakes up in her bedroom.”

7. Hope it was a rental…
”In the wolf-fight, we purposely knocked over the camera when the wolves tumble towards it; you can also hear the microphone thumping, as if an actual on-set animal had run into the camera and boom.”

 8. Quileute culture
”When prepping to visualize Jacobs and Emily’s houses, production designer David Brisbin and his team visited La Push and met the Quileute executive council. While they were there, a young Quileute girl gave David the first drum she made (this is a Quileute custom). To show appreciation, we decided to put the drum in a prominent shot — it’s at the entrance of Emily’s house, and you see it when Bella first enters. Also, the high pitched ‘call’ that Embry and Jared give when they jump out of Bella’s car is a thing the Quileute kids do.”

9. Waxing romantic
”The reason the moon phases ‘backwards’ to reveal the title is that this is scientifically correct! I moderated an astrophysics seminar for the Science and Entertainment Exchange with noted astronomer Neil DeGrasse Tyson and he complained about the number of films that get simple science wrong. (Don’t ask me to justify vampires or werewolves).”

10. That’s Italian!
”In the Volturi chamber, Aro speaks Italian — ‘La Tua Cantante’ should be easy for readers of the books — he’s referring to Bella’s being Edward’s ’singer,’ whose blood calls out to him stronger than anyone else’s. Later, when Bella tells him that he doesn’t know anything about Edward’s soul, he replies, ‘Fore … ne il vostro l’uno o altro’ — ‘Perhaps … nor yours either.”’ 

Source: EW.com.

Woman Arrested for Allegedly Taping ‘New Moon’

A a Chicago-area woman,Samantha Tumpach, was arrested and jailed for taping 3 minutes of New Moon on a video camera. What came to light after her arrest was that she wasn’t so much taping the movie as she was taping the guests at a birthday party that just so happened to be going on at the theater that was showing New Moon.   It looks like, given the alleged specific context of the situation, Chris Weitz agrees that jail time is not necessary.

According to the Chicago Sun Times:

“There is, needless to say, a difference between trying to protect the copyright of a film and making an unfair example of someone who clearly seems not to have any intentions towards video piracy,” Weitz wrote.

He said he had contacted the studio that released the film, Summit Entertainment, to express his concern about her arrest, but he acknowledged there’s probably little he can do to influence the outcome of her case.

“I am not sure what effect I would have on the case,” he wrote, noting “the film is, after all, not my property.”

See the whole story here.

Kristen Stewart Talks With MTV Radio

Kristen Stewart recently spoke with MTV radio . Check out what she had to say:

“Chris did a very different thing that I’ve never had a director do,” the 19-year-old explained. “He put together a syllabus of what we were supposed to achieve and how he was going to make it easier for everyone — sort of an introduction to how he likes to work. It not only introduced the idea of collaboration but said, ‘Please, everyone, love it and be invested and work hard.’ It was very encouraging. It had technical aspects of [the shoot] — how he was so sorry that so much of the movie was going to be CGI stuff that we would have to react to — but that he was going to always make us aware of what we were acting with and never leave us high and dry like a lot of effects movies [do], because you don’t know what you’re reacting to. It was a full rundown of how he planned on making the movie. Most directors are like, ‘Have you put together notes for our meeting?’ and it’s like, ‘No. That’s your job.’ ”

“It was really good [working with her],” Kristen said. “Bryce is scary. She is really oddly sweet as well, so it’s weird to see her switch back and forth. Victoria, for Bella, is an ever-present fear — even when Victoria isn’t around, she is scared that she is coming back. Bryce is such a good actress, and it was easy to be scared of her.”

“I’ve gotten more comfortable with it,” Kristen said of the media attention. “And the whole rumor/tabloid stuff, it’s so obviously false to me. Even before I became a part of it, once I was sort of the star of that, it’s like a show; it’s like a ridiculous show. With false realism, like a soap opera that seems real, but you’re not quite sure. It doesn’t bother me; I don’t take it personally.”

Source: MTV.

Entertainment Weekly – Chris Weitz’s Reaction to New Moon

Check out Entertainment Weekly’s Q&A with Chris Weitz where he reveals his favorite cast moments and how he’s dealt with the fans.

ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: What was your biggest fear going into [opening] weekend?
CHRIS WEITZ: I didn’t have any particular fears. The tracking numbers were enough to indicate that I wouldn’t be letting the studio down. But if one could imagine their biggest fears, it would be complete rejection of the movie, by the fans. What I’ve realized over the last week is I won’t necessarily get good reviews for this movie. Having swallowed that, this was made for the fans, and if you don’t get it, then you don’t get it.

Did the negative reviews surprise you?
Nothing surprises me in terms of reviews. Having been a reviewer myself, there are only two ways to spin this story. You can either be the one guy who says this is a great movie, or more likely, take a more jaundiced view of the whole thing. And given the media blitz that has accompanied New Moon, it’s rather unsurprising. I do wish there was more appreciation for cinematographer Javier Aguirresarobe. I think he’s a genius and I think he made something beautiful.

A lot of fans say they like the movie more than the book, that New Moon was their least favorite book in the series.
New Moon takes a lot of time to read and you have a lot of time without Edward in the picture. And here in the compressed scenario of the movie, there is less time without RPatz. And the fact that Taylor [Lautner] does such a great job, to the reading audience who’s been very skeptical of him, here he is in the flesh, and it’s quite something.

Read more HERE

Fancast Exclusive Interviews With New Moon Cast

Check out this exclusive batch of great new interviews from Comcast’s own Sara Castillo with the people behind The Twilight Saga: New Moon, including Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson,Taylor Lautner and director Chris Weitz. Everything you ever wanted to know and more!

First up is Kristen talking about fans, the co-dependent romance she’s
portraying and surprisingly disagreeing with Bella’s choice of suitor 

Rob Pattinson, talking about obsessive love and getting in shape for
shirtlessness 

Taylor discussing stuntwork, his wolfpack buddies and what happens in his
favorite book Eclipse 

The Wolfpack: Kiowa Gordon, Chaske Spencer, Alex Meraz & Bronson Pelletier 

The Volturi: Jamie Campbell Bower, Michael Sheen, Dakota Fanning & Cameron
Bright 

The Cullens: Peter Facinelli, Nikki Reed, Kellan Lutz, Elizabeth Reaser &
Ashley Greene 

Director Chris Weltz

Click HERE for the link to the videos

Chris Weitz Reveals New Moon DVD Details

 

Director Chirs Weitz talked with MTV about some DVD details for New Moon which will be release in the first quarter of 2010.  

“There will be a commentary track,” Weitz revealed, saying that he’ll soon head into the recording booth with his three big stars, Robert Pattinson, Kristen Stewart and Taylor Lautner. “It’ll just be us riffing off each other in our intimate way,” he grinned. “We kind of like each other, so that should be fun.”

There will be probably about 20 minutes of deleted material,” he explained, promising some meaty footage. “It really is good stuff and a bonus for the fans.”Among this bonus footage could be several moments MTV knows were shot but did not make the final “New Moon” cut, including:

»A scene with Rachelle Lefevre as Victoria driving to Forks in a car, snacking on a dead human. It was one of the final moments the actress filmed as the nomadic vampire.

» A scene with the human characters eating Burger King.

»Another scene with the humans, this time with Justin Chon and Michael Welch expressing jealousy over Edward’s car.

»More scenes with the Volturi in Italy.

» An extended cut of the scene where Mike Newton quotes Shakespeare to Bella in the Forks High parking lot; in it, he does a Marlon Brando impersonation.

» Scenes alluding to the ongoing breakup between Newton and Anna Kendrick’s Jessica.

Source: MTV.

Chris Weitz Says “Please don’t spoil the ending of New Moon”

Chris Weitz tells fans that he hopes people who see the movie don’t spoil the way it ends for others who haven’t seen it yet!

“The final scene is extraordinarily emotional, and it leads to a very potent climax,” he told MTV News on the red carpet of the NYC screening of “New Moon.” “And it’s kind of a spoiler, which I hope people won’t give away.”

“I feel really good about the final product,” he said. “I feel it was as close to the final product as I could make it, which was an honest version of the book and something that a fan would appreciate. So it’s not made for any particular demographic, except for the reader of the book who really wants to see it visualized.”

Read more at MTV.

Vanity Fair Interview With New Moon Stars

This is by far my favorite set of interviews. The questions asked and the answers given were all things I was interested to hear about. AND not one group of the main cast was left out. There are interviews with the Cullens, the Volturi, the Wolfpack, Chris Weitz, Taylor Lautner, Kristen Stewart, and Robert Pattinson.

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