The amount of hype that Twilight (a movie based on a series of books based on the horribly over-done premise of a Vampire who is actually a GOOD vampire and falls in love with a mortal… how original) is just insane. I hadn’t even heard of Twilight until recently and I never understood why a book based on a tired idea was getting so much attention. Then I saw the first full trailer and although I still don’t get the borderline religious following this thing has, I must admit that it increased my interest. It was a pretty solid trailer and while I haven’t yet drunk the Twilight Kool Aide, I gotta say I’m looking forward to it.
Anyway, although this franchise already has 4 books and the big plan was always to make all of them into movies… the studios will usually wait to see how the first film turns out and performs before giving the official green light to any sequels (does anyone remember Eragon?). However, it seems that the studio has already seen enough excitement from the fans to move forward with plans for Twilight 2 (New Moon) weeks before the first film even hits the theaters.
Nikki Finke scoops the news:
When your soundtrack isn’t even completed much less released (not until November 4th), yet it’s already in the Top 5 Best-Selling Albums on Amazon based on pre-sales alone, you know you have a hit. When Borders makes an exclusive calendar and sells out the first printing in a matter of days, you know you have a hit. And when the new trailer to your movie surpasses 3.5 million views less than 48 hours after its online debut, you know you have a hit. Which is why Summit Entertainment’s CEO Rob Friedman is already readying a Twilight sequel — even though the vampire tween/tween movie isn’t set for release until November 21st which is the date vacated by Harry Potter And The Half-Blood Prince. Oh, and did I mention that Twilight has the fastest selling licensed merchandise since — you guessed it — Harry Potter?
Mental note to self. The next time I make a movie, make sure to target 13-24 year old girls with slops of romance between a painfully plain and ordinary girl who is swept off her feet buy a guy who is 10x outside of her league and exceeds any realistic expectations a woman should ever have of any real life man. They seem to go crazy for this stuff. :P
when will the new moon be in the stores i love them so much want to see the new moon and read the book too i love edword cullen he is hot and sexy to
how come you act like you know so much about Twilight????
OMG! I like omg love Twilight!!!!!!!!!!!! :) It is seriously the best book iv’e ever read, and iv’e read it like 3 times and I still am addicted 2 it!! I have finished reading all the books, and the only thing i am wishing 4 christmas is that stephenie meyer comes out with a 5th book, if she dosen’t I will have to read twilight,new moon, eclispe, and breaking dawn all over again!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! SOOOOOOOOOOOO STEPHENIE MEYER, PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE, COME OUT WITH A 5TH BOOK! i DON’T WANT 2 DIE AT AGE 12, IM STILL SOOOOOOOOO YOUNG! LOLOLOLOL- HAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHA- TFFW TFFW TFFW!!! :)
P.S.- Twilight the film was soooooooooo awsome!!!!!!!!!!, and I can’t wait till New Moon comes out 2!!!!!!!! :)
i reli, reli, reli do hope u carry on with the sequels, i absolutly lvd this film its my favourite in a long tym an no matter how many tyms i watch it i never get bored of any of the scenes.
i lv the hole idea of the romance its so beautiful an 1 scene even made me cry at 1 point lmao,
the onli thing is i wish thy dont split up an i reli want 2 c bella get turned into a vampire 2, the suspense is killin me 2 wether she does or doesnt.
i havent read any of the books but this film defo makes me want 2 go out an buy thm cant wait 4 the film 2 b released on dvd over here.
carry on wot u doin ur fab :)
p.s if u do make a second plz keep the same actors it makes a second movie so much better an easier 2 follow plus the people who play bella an edward were great 2geva…. thnks 4 a great film :) x
Hey all you assholes who think that twilight sucks ass then you don’t like good movies and i think your all fucking blind because i like it and it doesn’t matter it the premise has benn used a 1000 different times in different movies or tv series the point is if people who are into vampires and such then so what at least they get to enjoy a different kind of vampire flick or book and that is the point is the enjoyment of something fresh and new for starters so all you other hypocrites can just fuck off and let us other poeple who like vampires enjoy and appreciate our vampire movies so go and be hypocrite somewhere else and critize a non vampire movie of motherfuckers.
twilight was sooooo amazing!!!!!!!!!!! boo anybody who says it sucks and 4 one thing,john, it desrves all the hype it is getting and u obviously no nothing so back off!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! btw i luv edward/robert!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! he is soooooooooooooooooooo HOT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Twilight isn’t exactly just a romance. There was action in the books too. Im a teenage boy and i loved the books just as much as my friends that are girls. Although I cant say that for sure being a crossdresser…
I dont understand how people can be so negative about the movie or book when they havent even read or seen the movie!! i absolutely loved them both!! i have read the series more than once and also saw the movie multiple times!! and yes, of course, the movie was as good as the book, but has their every been a book with a perfect movie to match it exactly? NO! I KNEW it wouldnt be like that with twilight…it came the closest it could in just 2 hours!! GEEZ!!
and those of you that say “TWILIGHT sucked! they arent going to make NEW MOON because it was horrible!”, should shut up and think abou what you are really saying! us TWI-HARDS highly appreciate the movie and will definetly see NEW MOON!!! i actually give summit kudos for how good they did this movie for being such a little company!
people that say that only gay guys liked this movie…well shut up and think again…i went and saw the movie with my best friend (who happens to be a guy) and he loved it more than me! he actually went and saw it again!!! and trust me!!! he is NOT gay!!!
i love these books and hope that they make a sequel of the movies. all the bickering i was doing at the being of my comment made me sound rude but i got a little angry when i was reading some of the previous comments left from others that were talking about how they hated the movie and books….and i totally agree with Carrie!!!
yet, there were some of my favorite scenes that were cut out and some of the most important scenes (like the meadow, for instance), it was still an AMAZING, AWESOME, GREAT MOVIE!
I would’ve enjoyed the movie without the fight scenes….I think the book is better than the movie. More details and this book/movie isn’t JUST for girls..guys can watch too. Althought the book is better than the movie, they’re both GREAT.
AMEN! Carrie, I couldn’t have said it better myself. I agree with you 100% the movie was good, but of course the books are always better. Any book that is turned into a movie is that way. It’s funny how people have to be so negative. Thanks for the great comment.
Obviously most of you people don’t understand how this came about. Maybe this has been done before, but the book is based on a dream the author had, it wasn’t some stupid elaborate scheme from hollywood who got together with Stephenie and asked her to create a book that would eventually make a lot of money if it ever turned into a movie She wasn’t even an author before she did this, she wrote some things but she never got them published or anything, and after she wrote twilight, she didn’t even plan on publishing it. It was simply for her enjoyment. Eventually it did get published, but it was never this huge plan or anything like your suggesting. Oh, and I just wanted to say, congratulations, Twilight paid for itself in presales, the soundtrack went to number one, and the movie has done AMAZING in the box office. I think that is a huge compliment to the director and Stephenie. If you haven’t gotten a chance to see it, I would. I would also read the books, the books are, obviously, better then the movie but the movie did as well as it could have.
Yes, the story of a trying-to-be-good (or trying to redeem) vampire falling in love with a mortal girl has been done a few times. This is indeed evident in such things as Dark Shadows, Moonlight, Buffy and many other series. It is the human condition to repeat, and there aren’t many movies out there that are original. But people love these themes which is why they keep coming back to them for more. As for the Star Wars remarks and the claim that they haven’t been done before. This is very wrong. The theme of a redeemer rising above the odds and fighting an empire is well done. Look at Dune, look at the Matrix and many other tales.
Why do people like Twilight? Because of the overlaying themes: overcoming odds, true love rules out, the struggle with the human condition- which have been played out time and time again in many other tales. But…Truly, these are very strong themes that people love to read/see/be involved with time and time again. Tie that in with the supernatural element of vampires, and it will be successful. Vampires pull in a lot of audiences because of their insatiable, romantic qualities.
The Twilight series is a great read for all ages. It has a lot of themes and issues that relate to all ages. I know for a fact that people as young as 11 and as old as 60 have read AND ENJOY the series. The target audience may HAVE BEEN for teeny-boppers. But it has GREATLY expanded.
its a great idea to turn all the 4 book into the movie…7 i also thought it was great that the movie is exactly like the book….it rocked….
I LOVE TWILIGHT!!!!! IS THE BEST BOOK THAT I HAVE EVER READ & THE BEST MOVIE THAT I HAVE EVER SEEN!!!!
I think they should make all the other 3 twilight books into a movie!! i love them to death! So hopfully they get enough people to go to the movie so they can make all the rest!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I personaly think they should make Twilight 2 or New Moon. Cuz if they make a movie becuase of book then they should follow the sequals of the book and make sequals of the movie. I have read all of the Books Some even twice and I was never a reader before I read any of these books and personally I am very busy training my horse for barrel racing. So I made time and now I am obsessed about twilight If they can make one movie out of the books. and it does look really good. then they can get extra money/fortune. why not? the movie look fricken awsome with a great cast i think. They should make more movies why stop there when you could do so much more. Its going to be a hit with or without those people who wouldnt like the movie. but hopefully they keep the same cast for all of the books at least edward and bella and jacob.
I love Twilight series and cant wait for them to become movies. I know i will relive the same emotions and overcome of feeling i had when i finished Breaking Dawn and completed the series. For anyone who hasn’t read the book and is waiting for the movie. You are missing out your lazy actions of just seeing the movie will never compare to the book.
hey Heartsonstandby
No iron man 2 was NOT greenlit before the first one came out
I didn’t know how to reply to a previously posted comment, but I’d like to say to PADTHAI that the books were extremely action packed. In each book there is at least one huge fight scene which is described in detail that would last for chapters and keep you turning the pages. The series isn’t only a romance, but is full of many other aspects. It speaks a lot about family and loyalty. Twilight is the type of book that you fall into and will keep you reading for hours without even realizing it.
I’m not surprised that New Moon was approved before the movie comes out. It’s just like when Iron Man was coming out… they signed on to a sequel weeks before the movie was released. It’s not unlike Hollywood to do something like this.
I think Twilight will suck ass, but then again, so did the book (my opinion).
You still aren’t getting it Hazmat.
“Outer Space Wars” is a GENERAL idea. Vampires is a GENERAL idea. You can’t compare movies by general ideas.
But…
“A vampire, who also happens to be a good vampire, who also happens to fall in love with a mortal” is not a GENERAL concept. That’s a more specific one and one that has been done a thousand times before.
Yes, Twilight is about more than that, but that is the premise, and that premise has been done over and over and over and over again.
I’m not saying it won’t be a great movie. I’m just pointing out the fact that it is a premise that has been used a thousand times.
i never said that about star wars i love star wars im saying it would be stupid to say that if u never saw star wars (which i did..all of them..50 times each)
NO there has never been anything like star wars- an ignorant person would compare it to star treck and maybe even starship troopers(a REAL ignorant person), and you defended star wars because you know thats just retarded…nothing is even close to star wars.
WELL
twilight isnt like dracula!
yes it has a good vampire in it….but van helsing has a good werewulf in it as the protagonist..and that wasnt what van helsing was about
so if someone that hasnt seen star wars says that its a cliche story about outer space wars (whihc it isnt) then why is it fair for you to say twilight is just liek dracula?
I read all the books. I read all Ann Rice’s vamp books too.
Is the movie and book for everyone? No. The books are unabashedly, unrealistically romantic, but that is the simple fun of it. Come on. This movie has target, young girls and gay boys. And it will work. It will double its money, which is not a bad investment. If the movie even gets it half right, watch out for a greenlit third and fourth installment too.
Hey Hazmat,
You’re totally missing the point.
The overused issue isn’t just VAMPIRES. That’s your subject. What I’m talking about isn’t as general as just “vampires”. It’s a specific premise:
A vampire… who also happens to be a GOOD Vampire… who falls in love with a mortal.
That’s a SPECIFIC premise that’s been done 1000 times.
Don’t compare that to star wars. Do YOU know of 10 other movies about Jedi Knights who were once slaughtered to make way for a galactic Empire while the son of the main henchman is destined to be the salvation of the universe? No???
Buffy the Vampire Slayer?
you have got to be shiting me….
i see you also havent read twilight yet youre comparing it to..ugh..
and by the star wars thing i meant that i dont go around saying “what!? another space movie? like star treck wasnt enough? well i havent SEEN star wars but its deffinatedly an overused topic about flying spaceships im going to go ahead and compare it to starship troopers”
if i fucking google vampire, duca, im going to get 10000 books, and same thing if i google superheroes, but that doesnt mean that the spirit will be like the dark knight!
it IS about vampires but i just saw something i love being compared to buffy the vampire slayer, cracula and some stupid ass german movie and its just getting downright retarded and insulting hence im a twilight fan
if you havent READ watchmen…you cant say its an overused topic because of all the superhero movies…there ARE alot of superhero movies- but theyre not like watchmen! how do i know that? becaue i READ watchmen and i know that it looks nothing like superman or spiderman
@Hazmet_Likes_Vampires
I am constantly amazed when fans of a book series comment in such a fashion that I question whether or not they are actually literate. Everything that John stated in his article is a fact. And no, he was not dissing Twilight. In literature there are certain ‘themes’. You’ll find them in every genre, regardless of age. The older a concept or genre the more repeating themes you will see. For example, almost every fantasy series has some sort of ‘quest’ that the main characters (often a ‘party’) must complete in order to save their mystical land. What makes each story unique is how the author decides to present the theme.
Vampire novels traditionally have a forbidden love aspect to them. It is part and parcel with the vampire lore. Vampires are traditionally very sexual creatures, with many metaphors existing around the concepts of eternal life and blood; the sexual contact and ‘penetration’ of a victim, the euphoric effects of the blood once drunk. When I think of the vampire genre the most obvious example of a vampire turned good falling in love with a mortal has to be the Buffy the Vampire Slayer series. It IS a common theme and HAS been done a great many times. However, a author can take such stereotypes and make them unique by interpreting it in their own style. John was simply pointing this fact out. The CONCEPT is horribly over done, which it is. Google it and see how many books you get.
Everything has a target audience. As a 23 year old female I am almost NEVER in the target audience for the majority of movies/games/books that I enjoy. I don’t take it as a insult, it’s just how things work. Apparently I’m the target audience for this series but I think it looks like a pile of pooh. For each their own I suppose, I’m going to be next door in Quantum of Solace thank you.
PS You should perhaps look at the last few articles John has written about Star Wars, eh? I’m sure we’ll all agree that he had much harsher words to say about that particular series then about this one.
if i had a movie blog and talked abotu star wars liek this id get eaten alive
such bullshit
=]
LoL! It’s all good Phil. :)
I am humbled Meli, and beg forgiveness.
Hmmph…Twilight will probably do extremely well. A lot of people forget that Titanic was basically a fictional love story with a hstorical ship sinking in it, with all of the effects to go with it, and the teen girls saw it over and over and over….
So that type of genre, especially with the success of Sex and the City. I believe that Hollywood is trying for that type of genre again.
Any book series has a following, and because the medium of books continue to remain for hundreds of years after publication they continue to build. (A factor in the continuation of both Star Wrs and Star Trek’s continuations)
I remember when I was a teenager (vaguely), the Anne Rice Vampire Chronicles were extremely popular, especially with the goth girls. The Twilight hype reminds me of that.
Other book series I’d like to see: Some of which had a movie or two…
Ender’s Saga (Orson Scott Card)
Alvin Maker (Orson Scott Card)
Amber (Roger Zelazny)
Xanth (Piers Anthony)
Alex Cross (James Patterson) REBOOT plz (Maybe with Chwitel Ejifor?).
Martin Vail (William Diehl)
The Corps (WEB Griffin)
Kinsey Milhone aka Alphabet Series (Sue Grafton)
Myron Bolitar (Harlan Coben)
I think that a cool concept would be to do some of these as TV series, with each book being a season long (possibly as cable 12 episode seasons).
-clear throat- Phil Gee ….It’s not nice to sterotype! There are well adjusted women looking forward to the movie too! There might not be a lot of us, but we exist. :P
this will have a decent opening weekend and then tail off.
as much as people love to label something the next so and so this is not the next harry potter.
potter was gigantic in its crossover appeal. this thing does not have that same thing.
john
actually i reread it 3 times very carefully because i just had to know for sure that you said that lol
i just thought you said it was horribly over-done and i thought that meant..that you thought it was horribly over done…which is weird cuz you havent read it..but w.e.
and that you didnt understand why a book based on a tired idea was getting so much attention…which also kinda killed some of my brain cells when i read…because its really not like dracula at ALL..which ive read and watched movies about…after READING it myself i can tell you its not like dracula
oh and- im talking about the book! i mean the movie might SUCK…the trailer wasnt great…but the book was amazing…all of them were and if it can be made right itll be a kickass movie. it looks like theyre NOT making it like they should be but thats beyond the point ive been trying to make
like harry potter and i see youve already pointed out eragon
i cant talk about the movie because i havent SEEN it..hopefully we wont waste 10$ on it…but the books..were amazing, and i can say that
Sweet Jesus, those are some impressive statistics I suppose. Even though I find that nothing makes me more rattled than some of these physcotic fans, I suppose its nice that young girls (and some significantly older, clinically obese and lonely women) have a film that they are craving for on the same level as I am for Quantum of Solace…….
…..and all us folk will be watching that in the theatre next door. Except for Kristina, who is not a Bond fan i think, and clearly not a Twlight one either. She might stay home.
The soundtrack not being finished isn’t a lack of track list. The track list was released last week and some of the songs on the list have been published for a long while, but a few were/are recorded specifically for the movie.
It does/doesn’t surprise me that New Moon has already been given the greenlight. While the majority of Twilight fans are chopping at the bit for Nov 21st are they enough to make this movie a hit? I’m not sure how many people outside of the book reading community will go see this movie, not counting parents who will take their teens.
As a fan of the books I’ve seen news on fansites, movie blogs/news sites and MySpace, but in the real world I’ve seen little. I went to the movies this weekend and there wasn’t even a poster hanging up in the lobby. The movie is just over a month away and I’ve seen no TV spots, so I wonder if Summit will pony up some cash for those or if they’re going to solely rely on the rabid fan base.
The 3.5 million viewings of the trailer in 48hrs is an impression number, but that isn’t a figure of 3.5mil people having watched the trailer. I can attest to my daughter having watched that trailer at least twenty times in the first couple of days.
Summit will without a doubt make their money back on this movie, which had a budget of $37-40mil, in fact, I believe they’ll make it back on the first weekend. I think it’ll make modest money, and will be a big hit for Summit as a small studio. So, I guess greenlighting a second movie is probably an easy decision considering the budget for the first movie and the money the fans will give this flick in the first couple of weekends. Whether or not New Moon gets a heftier budget will rely on how much Twilight pulls in at the box office.
No interest in this over-hyped series whatsoever. Next….
I have a good story, get a girl to be a good vampire and let her suck a blood “latte”out of many guys’ staves until she falls in love and eventually sucks the life out of the guy. Great drama!
maybe you don’t understand all the hype because you’re not a teeny-bopper school girl. have you ever seen any guy on the mtv movie blog talking about twilight? they’re all chics. they are the target audience. although i don’t fit that demograph i’m only wanting to see this on dvd just for kirsten stewart.
This does not surprise me.
While I’m rooting for Summit, it won’t shock me either if the film tanks and the sequel is called off. In any case, it hasn’t been the first film to announce a possible sequel before the film’s release.
However, there is at least one red flag. Did anyone catch it? I’ll repeat it:
“When your soundtrack isn’t even completed”
What’s the matter? Not enough “inspired by” songs that aren’t heard in a film and/or problem finding filler? Or are folks still working like hell to get the post done in time for the release?
FUCK TWILIGHT!
I think they added the action sequences to get the teen boys (and John Campea) interested. I mean, this is supposed to be a romance series, right? I doubt they had that action stuff in the books. Or, maybe the movie use very little of the books like the James Bond series. This doesn’t look like a romance movie.
I LOVED Eragon!
Hey HAZMAT,
Dude, you really need to learn to read the article more carefully before trying to scold me.
#1 – I never said making the movie was insane. I said the amount of hype it’s getting is insane.
#2 – I already said there are 4 books.
#3 – I never said the story was stupid. I said it’s an over done premise (which is a FACT) of a Vampire who is actually a GOOD vampire and falls in love with a mortal.
#4 – The primary target of these books IS teenage girls. That is a fact. Doesn’t mean it’s ONLY for teenage girls, but that is the main target audience.
#5 – Every part of my article was completely 100% ON. :P
dude its not insane to make a movie if the books are great…if you have no time to read them because youre busy thats fine…but that means you can freaking say the storys stupid! it just makes no sence to say a book is just like dracula or that other wanna be movie from germany or w.e. if you havent READ it. the story might be the same if you wiki twilight but if you havent read it then wtf..i dont get it…its not a john campea-ish thing to say and im shocked to hear that
btw theres 4
twilight
new moon
eclipse
and breaking dawn
i love twilight..and im not a teenage girl that likes romance and likes to be swept off my feet by dudes i actually love gore and action so there goes your theory on that… and every part of the article you just posted was completely off if you dont count the
“Twilight has the fastest selling licensed merchandise since — you guessed it — Harry Potter”
and your opinion abotu the trailer which you may talk about hence you SAW the trailer (i personally didnt liek the trailer that much)
…im a big TMB fan…not being a dick..just showing my opinion on why i think your wrong about twilight being for teenage girls and telling you why i feel that way…and that its “just like every vampire story” which makes me want to tell you the ending of ll the books but that would be a dick move