In addition to exclusive on-set photos, interviews, and previews of the second installment of the “Twilight” series, the special edition also includes an exclusive shot of “Eclipse,” the third chapter (pictured, right).  

“Twilight” earned nearly $200 million last year, and “New Moon” will continue the story of vampire Edward Cullen (Robert Pattinson), Bella Swan (Kristen Stewart), and werewolf Jacob Black (Taylor Lautner).

‘Twilight’ is about first love; ‘New Moon’ is about heartbreak,” says director Chris Weitz. “That requires the actors to go to some very dark places.”

For Taylor Lautner, “New Moon” represents a big responsibility. “I get nervous trying to represent Team Jacob in the right way. This guy is some pretty good competition,” he says, referring to Pattinson’s Edward. “The fans would love anybody who played Jacob. I’m just lucky to be the one who got the chance.”

More after the jump…

The special collector’s edition also delves into the chemistry between Kristen and Robert in both their professional and personal lives. It’s no secret that the couple has been letting the sparks fly both on and off-screen.

Says Pattinson, “When I read ‘Twilight,’ and there are these moony descriptions of Edward as a godlike figure, I thought there was no way I could play him. But when I got in the room with Kristen, there was a certain chemistry. She’s basically the reason I did the movie.”

Catherine Hardwicke, director of “Twilight,” recalls one scene when things got a little steamy and Pattinson ended up falling off the bed. And co-star Ashley Green, who plays Alice Cullen, says their off-screen romance is the real deal. “They’re genuine, and they’re very talented. It’s like a secret potion that you can’t really pinpoint, but they both have it.”

The cast is already filming “Eclipse,” with the fourth installment, “Breaking Dawn,” on tap for the near future. “We’re all crossing our fingers, and we all want to finish the series,” says Kellen Lutz, who plays vampire Emmett Cullen. “And we want Stephenie Meyer to write more books if she could!”

Images and Source: People Magazine

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The filmmakers and cast of "Twilight" have been showing up at DVD release parties around the country. ETOnline was at a release party in Los Angeles when Ashley Greene, who plays vampire Alice Cullen in the movie, surprised fans. Check out the video below.

The sequel, "New Moon," arrives in theaters on November 20, 2009.

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A bunch of stores, including Target, Best Buy and Borders all have "exclusive" editions, so I guess if you want ALL the content available, you’ll have to buy them all!

Read my review of "Twilight" here. And here’s the scoop on the DVD and Blu-ray sets from Target:

"Twilight" 3-Disc Special Edition DVD includes:

• An iTunes download of the film and bonus content, including a conversation with Stephenie Meyer and Edward’s piano concert
• Features Robert Pattinson on "Becoming Edward," Kristen Stewart on "Becoming Bella," Catherine Hardwicke’s vampire kiss montage, and Bella’s lullaby remix music video
• Commentary by Catherine Hardwicke, Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson, 5 extended and 5 deleted scenes and introductions
• A 7-part documentary, "The Adventure Begins: The Journey from Page to Screen" and music videos by Muse, Paramore and Linkin Park
• A Comic-Con fandom piece, a Comic-Con NY sneak, 3 trailers and a Penelope sneak

Buy the "Twilight" 3-Disc Special Edition DVD at Target.com.  

After the jump, the Blu-ray features…

"Twilight" 2-Disc Deluxe Edition Blu-ray include:

• Audio Commentary by director Catherine Hardwicke, and stars Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart
• 5 Extended Scenes with introductions by the director
• 5 Deleted Scenes with introductions by the director
• 3 Music Videos from Muse, Paramore and Linkin Park
• "The Adventure Begins: The Journey from Page to Screen" — A seven-part documentary
• Comic-Con Phenomenon featurette

Buy the "Twilight" 2-Disc Deluxe Edition Blu-ray at Target.com.

Photo Credit: Peter Sorel, TM and © 2009 Summit Entertainment, LLC. All Rights Reserved; Amazon.com

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Even though "Twilight" was massively successful and grossed more than $380 million worldwide, Summit and Hardwicke parted ways in December. Chris Weitz was chosen to direct the sequel "New Moon." 

Based on Gayle Forman’s novel to be published this spring, "If I Stay" centers on a gifted classical musician and her indie rockstar boyfriend. She’s forced to choose between life and death when she’s in a car accident with her family.

In a story in Variety, Summit’s president of production Eric Feig said, "When we were thinking of the perfect director to capture the emotion, grace and passion of this beautiful book, one filmmaker became the clear and only choice: Catherine Hardwicke."

You know, that’s nice. It’s good to hear that despite the tensions surrounding the direction of "New Moon," Hardwicke and Summit are friends again.

Photo: "TM and © 2009 Summit Entertainment, LLC. All Rights Reserved; Source: Hollywood Reporter

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Hardwicke says that while she was attached to the series while directing “Twilight,” she appreciates the idea of new people like Chris Weitz coming in and directing other movies in the franchise, much like the “Harry Potter” series. Take a look:

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Written by James Patterson, the 5-book series follows the lives of six teens, known as the Flock, who are genetically altered to be part human and part bird. They escape the lab where they’ve been kept and are chased by a pack of creatures called the Erasers that are part human and part wolf.

Hmmm … beings that fly, chased by wolves, teenagers … maybe Hardwicke is building a career bringing these fantasy books to life. I haven’t read much James Patterson, but maybe it’s time to check it out. Here’s the list on Amazon.com.

Patterson will executive produce the movie; Don Payne, who wrote “Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer,” is writing a screenplay. Let’s hope it’s better than “Silver Surfer.”

Image: Newscom

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Lindsay Long has graciously volunteered to be a Film Gecko field reporter at SXSW 2009, currently the happenin’ place to be in Austin, Texas. That’s Lindsay pictured with "Twilight" director Catherine Hardwicke. More on that later!

Lindsay attended two panels on Saturday. Read on for her report:

Jeffrey Tambor: "Break the Rules"

The first panel was Jeffrey Tambor’s Acting Workshop. For the first part of the workshop, Jeffrey took two actors, Jess Weixler ("Alexander the Last") and Mark Reeb (John Bryant Productions), and directed them through a scene. The two actors had only memorized their lines and the context of the scene they were doing.

More after the jump…

Using different acting tactics such as placing the actors at different distances, telling them to talk to each other the way they would address a family member, or telling them to break "rules," he was able to pull real emotion and develop a scene in under about 40 minutes. During that time, the audience members – comprised of mostly writers, actors, and directors – watched as Jeffrey, Jess, and Mark kissed, cried, and yelled their way through a variety of different ways the scene could be portrayed.

Every Actor is Nervous

Jeffrey stressed the importance of acknowledging that every actor is nervous, and that it is the director’s job to build them up in a positive way and the actor’s job to do the same for the director. Jeffrey said that when an actor automatically rejects what a director is asking them to do and "draws a line," you can actually see the production go "straight to video."

It was amazing to watch him break apart the scene and see what the actors did with Jeffrey’s direction. He told Jess she needed to stop being a "good girl" and do four bad girl things in the scene. The instant she had an objective to accomplish besides reciting her lines, the scene became much more interesting and she discovered another side to her character.

Jeffrey also talked about how flexibility in a script is a great thing to have. He described a script to making a soup — if it’s too sweet, you change it. You don’t say, "Oh well, that’s the recipe." Some of the best moments the actors had were when they broke from the script and were clearly in the moment. Even Jeffrey pointed it out to the audience, saying that you could see in the actors well after the exercise was over that they were still in the moment they had created earlier.

We’re Watching Shows on the Web

The second panel I went to was Comedy on Television and the Web. This panel was also a part of the interactive portion of SXSW. The panelists included Ricky Van Veen (CollegeHumor.com), B.J. Novak ("The Office""), Keith Richman (Break.com), Avner Ronen (boxee.tv), and Meredith Scardino ("The Colbert Report"). They talked about how the shows/websites that they work for are utilizing the web as a way to not only market their TV shows, but also encourage participation among their fans. Meredith, a writer for "The Colbert Report," talked about how the web content on colbertnation.com gives the audience a direct opportunity to contribute to the show and offer feedback. B.J. Novak, writer and actor (he plays Ryan), talked about webisodes and how they allow audience members to see more of their favorite characters on "The Office."

All the panelist predict that webisodes will in the future become a normal part of how new shows are conceived, and that consumers will be moving toward a more web-based way of watching their favorite shows. They also stated that they are seeing a trend of consumers cancelling their cable subscriptions in favor of watching their TV shows online through such sites as Boxee.tv and Hulu.com, which can average a better viewing count than some traditional TV shows.

"That’s What She Said" 

However the best part of the panel was when B.J. was talking about how new technology, such as web based "TV" shows, will work. "No one can shove anything down anyone’s throat … that’s what she said." It was awesome to hear a "that’s what she said" joke from basically the creators and propagators of the ongoing "Office" gag.

"Splinterheads" Breaks Free and Takes Risks

After the panels, I jumped over to the Alamo Draft Hourse to catch the world premiere of "Splinterheads," a coming of age comedy about a guy who is in search of his own "thing." Starring Thomas Middleditch and Rachael Taylor ("Transformers," "Shutter"), the film centers around a guy named Justin (Middleditch) trying to find himself. He meets Galaxy (Taylor) a hot scam artist "splinterhead" from the local carnival, and they bond after a geocaching adventure.

It’s a great little film about breaking free and taking risks. I wouldn’t be surprised if this gets picked up and goes mainstream. Director/Writer Brant Sersen has created a funny, quirky, romantic comedy that has a wide appeal. (See photos from the Q&A with the director and cast of "Splinterheads" at the end of this post.)

Random Notes

It is really hard to watch a movie when the cast and director are in the room. I was so nervous for them! How stressful it must be for them to watch an audience react to their hard work. The film took 25 days to shot, which seems incredible to me. Outside of each theater, there is a mini "red carpet" with a backdrop of the sponsors logos for the actors and directors to have their picture taken.

Last night, I went to the A&E Independent Film Chanel Opening Party for SXSW (celebrating 16 years of film at SXSW). The place was packed with actors and directors and other famous people. The entire cast of "I Love You, Man" was there.

Lindsay Meets Catherine Hardwicke! 

What was most awesome for me was seeing Catherine Hardwicke at the table next to me. When she was getting up to leave, I mustered up the courage to ask her to take a photo with me. She obliged, and I wish I had said something intelligent or amazing to her, but I was a bit starstuck and was unable to come up with anything of substance besides, "You’re awesome. Thank you." The party was super cool, but very odd to see actors "out of context," as in, not at the movies or on TV. Craziness!

Photos from the Q&A with the director and cast of "Splinterheads": 

Images: Lindsay Long, 2009

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A lot of us were surprised to learn that Hardwicke wouldn’t be directing the second movie, "New Moon." That task went to Chris Weitz, who promised fans that he’d do a good job. I believe him.

Now we’ve got several names swirling around for the third movie, "Eclipse." Drew Barrymore had been rumored, but now it looks like Chris Weitz‘ brother, Paul Weitz is the chosen one.

So if you were in charge of the world, who would YOU choose to direct "Eclipse"? Vote in the poll, and tell me your reasoning in the comments below!

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Image: Drew Barrymore, Lucky You, Warner Bros. Pictures, 2007

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A new book by director Catherine Hardwicke, "Twilight: Director’s Notebook," is scheduled for a March 17, 2009 release.

The book will go into all the details about the casting process, shooting locations, and wardrobe details – all from Hardwicke’s perspective, of course. It will also include lots of behind-the-scenes photos from the vampire romance.

The "Twilight" DVD will be released on March 21, 2009. Sounds like a great week for "Twilight" fans!

Image: Summit Entertainment, 2008

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"Twilight" 2-Disc Special Edition

I loved the movie (read my "Twilight" review here), and can’t wait to get the DVD. Especially looking forward to the documentary, as well as the commentary by Catherine Hardwicke, Kristen Stewart, and Robert Pattinson. Here’s what’s on the DVD:

• Presented in widescreen format only
• Audio commentary by Catherine Hardwicke, Kristen Stewart, and Robert Pattinson
• Muse music video: "Super Massive Black Hole"
• Paramore music video: "Decode"
• Linkin Park music video: "Leave Out All the Rest"
• Five extended scenes with director introductions
• Five deleted scenes with director introductions
• Seven-part documentary: "The Adventure Begins: The Journey from Page to Screen"
• Comic-Con "fandom" piece
• Comic-Con NY sizzle reel
• Three trailers
• Penelope trailer

Image: Amazon.com

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